Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest Chapter 1 Review - The First Guild and the Best Guild

Written by Shiggins

Fairy Tail Z!

With storyboards, and so I assume the written story, by Hiro Mashima, and the final illustrations by Atsuo Ueda, Fairy Tail has made it's predictable but no-less welcome return! I believed the series would make a comeback after Chapter 545 left the series with an ending that was satisfying but open to possibilities. However, with the story of Acnologia and Zeref over, is there anything left for Fairy Tail to grab us with?

Chapter 545 Review: CLICK HERE

A Laxus spinoff, another season of the anime, Eden's Zero, and now this? Mashima-senpai, you are crazy!

Our first chapter, which is also technically Chapter 546, begins with a glimpse into a horrific past that began the creation of the first ever Guild. Years later, we see three new mages being introduced to the Guild of Fairy Tail! More interestingly however, this is what the chapter uses to show us all the old faces we're used to. Mirajane, Makarov, Jet, Droy, Pantherlily, Gajeel and Levy (in the same panel together obviously), Elfman, Cana and the others who aren't important but still good to see. Except Warrod. Meh.

*deep sigh* Oh yeah. There's my ship!

Negative impressions on the Guild quickly rise however when it becomes clear that the tallest of the lot is only here because he is a loud, condescending asshole who wants to be with "the best". This is when the wonderful badass Laxus comes in and knocks the brat down, with the Thunder Tribe in tow. Obviously terrified, the asshole runs away. The second of the trio, the small one, also runs away because Laxus is that scary. Who can blame the kid?

Most fans would want to run towards Laxus, not away!

The only one not to leave is the woman, who introduces herself as Touka and that she's arrived because she is a fangirl crazy for Natsu. As she fangirls, we get to see the great Juvia again as she wishes Gray hadn't left her behind. And this leads Touka to ask where Natsu is, and we get a reminder that at the end of FT, Natsu left to do the 100 Year Quest.

Finally, we go to Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy and Happy as they are on their way to the quest. The magical energy is so strong in their current area that it is literally visible and falling like snow. Erza takes this as a sign that they're getting closer to Magia Dragon, the first ever Guild. To reach this land, they had to travel to an entirely new continent, and we get a brief explanation of what these "100 Year Quests" actually are, if you've forgotten since last you read the series.

Wow, they're really building up this quest aren't they? Hope it doesn't suck.

A brief flashback brings us to when Natsu shared a drink with Gildarts, who had failed this 100 Year Quest (A nice callback to when we first saw Gildarts in the franchise), and is telling Natsu that he has to go there and find out for himself. Cute banter, then back to the present! They've reached Magia Dragon, which has an awesome dragon statue on it by the way.

They enter the massive building to find it deserted, but Natsu senses something. A presence he's not felt since... Oh look, it's a giant bearded dragon! His name is Elefseria, with the title of "Dragon of Law", and he wants their help.

Wouldn't "100th heroes" been a bit more epic and fitting?

Opinion: Can it be considered nostalgia if it's only been a year?

Well at any rate, I'm back where I belong and glad to be reading and reviewing more of Fairy Tail! And much to my relief, this doesn't feel like a cash-grab! One of my biggest problems with Boruto, the continuation by Naruto, is that I constantly have this suspicion that it only exists to create more money and keep the series alive after it ended completely. Fairy Tail however, is not the same. Unlike Naruto, it ended shortly after the final battle. An epilogue is how you end a series forever. Naruto had an epilogue. Fairy Tail had a happy party, which means that it could always return and bring us a combination of new and old to see where we could go next.

Another advantage to Fairy Tail coming back, for me at least, is that the plot was never the main attraction. While it's always enjoyable to have big strong villains and dramatic plot twists, Fairy Tail's biggest strength is its characters. So if they're as fun as they were before, then the plot is just icing on the cake. And yes, they are as fun as they were before!

Sylvester Stallone/Karl Urban might have something to say about you calling yourself in charge of the law.

It's obvious I wanted to see more Gajeel and Elfman, but what we saw was what I wanted to see. Laxus got a surprisingly great introduction with his dominance, clearly showing that Makarov can now retire and let him take charge, and everyone else got a brief cameo to remind us that they exist and we can (hopefully) expect more of them in the future. And of course, the usual group of protagonists have kept up their chemistry and personalities, so nobody feels off.

If I had to nitpick, I'd say that the new character Touka is somewhat... obvious? While certainly not bad, at least from what we saw of her, she does remind me too much of Juvia. A problem that is showcased even more by Cana literally saying she's like Juvia! If this is setting up for future events, perhaps creating jealousy in Lucy as Natsu gets a lady's attention or a twist where she is a spy, then great! If it isn't... eh.

Personally, I wish I knew how long this series is going to last, especially since the title is "100 Year Quest" and it could easily end immediately once it's finished. If anyone remembers when I reviewed Naruto Gaiden, they'll know I was somewhat disappointed at the amount of chapters we got and wished their could have been more. I do understand that Mashima-senpai is working on the storyboards for this, as well as working on Eden's Zero (review for chapter 5 coming later this week), so maybe he won't be able to make as much time. However, I have a selfish side that wishes I could get a double-bill of Mashima every week. If I did, I might even stick to double reviews each time and review them both together!

I kinda miss the robot Happy now.

Bottom line, it's Fairy Tail. And it isn't trying to be a grim reboot or an annoying child-led story, but rather just a continuation of what we've all come to enjoy by this point. If you're not a fan of the series, then I wouldn't recommend starting here. If you are a fan of the series, I'm sure you'll be satisfied. I was. And I can't wait to see how far this goes! Please! Please be super far!


Manga Rating: 4.5/5

Character of the Week: Laxus, for showing why he should be the next Guildmaster.

Best Part: Laxus vs Assholery!

Worst Part: The crushing feeling this will be another 10-chapter instalment.

I wonder if this is a hint that Mashima's dark side will be utilised more here.

Shiggins:[Admin]
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Born under the stars of the Dark Gods, Shiggins owns the power of the Great Eye and is utterly magnificent in his omniscience. If you dare to discover more about someone as great as him, then go ahead. And to all my friends and family members, YOU are wrong and I should be disappointed! Not the other way round!,. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/