I have watched Fairytail since the beginning, and after 300 episodes it has ended its last season ( as far as we know), I don't read the manga, but I know the story is still continuing with 100 years quest but this will be an analysis of the anime not the manga. I'm writing this review not because I hate this anime and want to keep other people from enjoying it, but because I really do care for it and I just wish it could have reached its full potential and have been something greater. If you don't know already this anime is about a guild of wizards called Fairytail that go on adventures, get into fights constantly, and do so much more.
The Characters:
There is an entire universe of characters in this anime, even just in the fairy tail guild. But the main group consists of Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Juvia, Erza and Wendy. Each character from the main hero, Natsu to the main villain, Zeref are all likeable. Every character has a good design, that makes each one of them standout, even if their just background characters. However a lot of their personalities are exactly the same, especially the fairytail guild, each and everyone one of them just wants to do the right thing, have fun, and protect their guildmates no matter what, each character has a quirk or two but their all very similar. You do feel the emotional connection between them though, since they do convince you that they are a family and that is the real magic here.
The Villains:
Lets just say you wont remember a single name of any of the villain bosses, its not to say you wont while watching that particular arc, but not one of them is very memorable. But when they are its because they converted to the good side, which is actually pretty common, which isn't a bad thing, if the redemption is done right, except some of the villains are complete homicidal maniacs, who become chill and kind after joining the good side, almost turning into different characters and are easily forgiven by the heroes. They even show flashbacks of tragic backstories to make you the audience forgive these villains and forget the very evil things that they just did (But then there are similar villains who are not worthy of redemption?) Hiro mashima builds these villains up pretty well, and tries to make them as OP as possible however since the heroes are more OP, the villains always end up losing in the exact same way.
The Action:
The action in this anime goes from epic to bland. Despite there being amazing fights there is a whole sea of bland repetitive fights, its like there is so much fighting that your brain turns off for most of them. The reason why most of the fights become boring is because there are no stakes, you know that despite the characters screaming in pain that they will not be killed, that despite all the villains power, the heroes power is even greater. Which can make dragged out fights begin to feel pointless and repetitive. What could have made the fights more intense, Is if there was more deaths. I'm not saying any of the main characters should have died, but at least more of the pointless background characters should have, to increase the stakes of the situation or make the villain that more terrifying. Even when there is a death you will not believe that it is permanent, since so many other characters have survived worse, which just makes the few actual deaths feel very random.
The Music:
Lets just say this is my favorite part of the anime, the intro/outro songs are legendary. The background music during the action scenes and dramatic scenes, is just epic, I actually listen to the soundtrack all the time. My absolute favorite song is Fairy Tail - Tsuioku Mezameru Tamashii Ost. This soundtrack could be one of the best in all of anime.
The Fanservice:
This is one of the main reasons to watch this anime, as shallow as that sounds, let me just say it will keep you watching. The amount of fanservice in this anime has become an in joke, and it serves as 50% of the comedy in this anime. Every single woman in this anime has the body of a goddess and every man has rock hard eight pack abs. The level of fanservice is sometimes so gratuitous (especially in the ovas) that it will leave you feeling uncomfortable but happy at the same time ( Don't lie to yourselves).
The Romance:
Okay I know this is a Shonen action anime, but I'm sure a million shippers will all agree with me, that many of the characters had the potential to become lovers based on their interactions alone. In fact im sure some characters were created just to be shipped together. Despite the romance not being central to the show, a lot of the time its focused on, to the point of trolling. Even some of the intro songs clearly show some couples acting like lovers, and that will make you want to pull your hair out. And unlike other anime where romance is nonexistent, this anime clearly acknowledges the existence of romance, but usually just with background characters. Which will make you angrily question why the creators didn't just go all the way, the main culprit of this, is the time when jellal and erza kissed. While a lot of characters have cute moments together they are still very vague, and I would say only a handful had truly meaningful relationships that I would even consider romantic. My main couples being Gray and Juvi, gajeel and levy and mavis and zeref.
The Magic:
The power scale in this anime is garbage, every time you think you have an understanding of exactly how powerful someone is, its ruined by a new source of untapped power that makes the main heroes even more OP. Which is honestly the only way they are able to defeat their villains half the time, without requiring any major onscreen training, they just magically already have a new power. However every type of magic in this anime is creative and interesting to watch being used. There's no way to really describe the awful power system in this anime, basically you should always assume that the main heroes will always overpower any threat with the pure power of friendship. And yes that is an actual superpower in this anime. They try to show you that the heroes can get hurt, but make quick recoveries from what should have been a life ending attack, this just makes you feel like every fight is just white noise until that final attack.
The Emotion:
Let me just say this is what will make you a fan of this show, this anime is an emotional rollercoaster that will make you feel invested in the main characters. The music helps tremendously, but due to the length of this anime you will come to appreciate or even love the characters so much that you might start cheering when they make a triumphant speech or last stand. The dramatic scenes are surprisingly very effective, and when the characters cry you might get a little teary eyed yourself. Sadly it sometimes feels artificial and manipulative, especially with that damn good music, there are a few "almost" deaths in this anime ( yes there are a lot) that will make you consider that your favorite character might actually die, only to be prevented at the last second or be totally retconned, which in my opinion weakens the anime, since you see this trick done so many times that you come to the conclusion that no one will ever really die or stay dead. This really does keep the anime from having any real depth or sense of loss, which is credited to the creator hiro mashima hating the idea of death and wanting to cherish life, which I deeply respect but its not effective for a story especially one as long as this one.
The Finale:
The final season was something I was really looking forward too, since it would be a war arc, and it would be time for the fairytail guild to fight the 2 most powerful villains in the anime, that being Zeref and Acknologia. I thought all the previous problems I had with this anime would be fixed here and provide a satisfying conclusion. Sadly It didn't, in fact it might have expanded upon them, although the war was interesting to watch, it dragged out far too long with no causalities and just a ton of cop out deaths that were just meant to pull at your heart strings. While there were many epic moments, it was far too convoluted and lacked any sense of dread. However the final fights with zeref and acknologia were interesting to say the least and provided satisfying ends to the villains. Also there was an epilogue that does hint at possible romance finally being developed among the ships, but is not satisfying enough, the anime then ends on a cheerful note, with the main characters heading out on another adventure. This anime is not the masterpiece that many have claimed it to be, it has plot holes in the story, its emotionally manipulative, and lacks any real depth and stakes, which I feel are all the traits that if done right, could have made this one of the greatest anime ever. Despite its flaws, I still love watching it, it has a charm and sense of wholesomeness, not to mention familiarity that always make you happy to see the heroes win and being happy. There are some legitimate moments where you'll hear a grand corny speech ( a lot) about friendship and doing the right thing that will inspire you and leave you feeling enlightened. The comedy in this anime is Gold. Although the entire show is not perfect there are some solids arcs that are a must watch, this includes the tower of heaven arc, the tenrou island arc, the grand magic games arc, the tartaros arc, the zero arc and the final arc.( trust me these are just a few of the entire anime series) Despite these being my favorite arcs of the anime, go ahead and watch any episode you want, im just saying not every single one is absolutely necessary to watch. Fairytail is not a perfect anime, but it is a feel good anime, that brought me a lot of joy in my life and I'll gladly watch it again now that its over. I hope this anime brings you some happiness as it did me, and may it inspire you as well, after all, this is a fairytale.
