Fairy Tail Movie 1: Houou no Miko

Let's not look at the score and assume so soon that I'm not fond with the series altogether; I like Fairy Tail as a shounen series. I'm not the biggest fan of the series, and granted that the series has lots of flaws which can be easily improved, but altogether the series is very entertaining, the characters are memorable and some arcs can be really fascinating. And now, the long-running popular shounen series finally gets its take on a movie. It's fun having a series you may love or like to get a movie, so I was naturally looking forward to some more Fairy Tail ... fun.

That was when I finally realized that movies don't really work that way.

Movies are completely different from anime series, even if it doesn't seem like it on the surface. They're similar in how they tell tales of any kind of stories, achieving many things in the anime industry that cartoons and non-japanese animation can't and, of course, the fact that they're both animation. However, movies tend to be in a much more grand level, and it generally takes difficult steps to achieve the things series can't. Experience can be remotely different considering it being inside a much shorter animation time to tell the story, and it's not so surprising that presentation and development are taken in a completely differently way, as well as budget and production values going all out.

And it's mainly the reason why people's expectations go up when a popular or favorable series gets given a movie. Movies tells a story in ways that series sometimes cannot do, and movies like Evangelion, Ghilbi films, Mamoru Hosoda's movies and many, many more are so spectacular in different ways. But what about movies in addition to existing series? Unless some kind of prequel/sequel/remake link is involved in any way, it's hard to add a newly born story to a long-running series because of time-line issues (difficulties as to where it takes place in the series, for example), which leads to many disadvantages with how you can tell a story. Because of this, it'd have to be regarded as a side-story (or in harsher terms, a money milker), and even one where it doesn't effect the series at all.

And Fairy Tail fell right into that trap.

"B-but hey! It doesn't matter so much if the movie is regarded as a dairy money milker! Who cares, as long as the content is well-written, entertaining and unpredictably gripping with the same charm, right?" Yes, you're kinda right. Except... the movie is nothing like that at all.

Firstly, this takes place far in the series, and I don't when exactly but you've got to pass the 'time skip' bit in order to get what's going on around you (vaguely discribing for fans who haven't seen that much of the series). But then again, it doesn't really matter as it's only little details to limit the questions you'd be wonderingly asking, so if you're really desperate to watch this then ask someone to fill you in the very basic details. In other words, do what I did because I haven't caught up with the series.

Assuming you've read the quick synopsis on the top, do you know how the bad filler arcs in Fairy Tail are like? Yes, and this movie is on par with them. Go up to the relations and realize that the actual movie is NOT an adaption of the original manga, so it's completely original. Remember that silly Gray arc for example? It's probably worst than that. Not that it's more complicated or contradicting, but the writing is just plain bad.

It's basically another set-up like 'the heroes getting caught in a bad situation and they solve stuff' sort of thing. You see the fun atmosphere of the Fairy Tail guild, they gets caught in a mess and get their asses kicked, figure out what to do and attempt to defeat the bad guys (and to stop the world getting destroyed too). If you can convert the inside story into summarizing words on a single paper, you'd find out that it's really, really basic story writing about the fact that two stones would cause big trouble, and the new girl has one and the bad guys has the other. Considering it's made into a movie, the entire plot is basically about all said (with a little more background for teeny development), and it's just too uninteresting and unoriginal to be in film format, as well as being too little and less grand than nearly all the main arcs of the original series.

The writing is so cheap that everything inside the story felt so uneven that... nothing seems right. The very fact that some girl with amnesia has some unimportant stone (to the main guild that is) which can destroy the entire world just gives a big sense of doubt, and that can subtract to the experience of watching the film by a lot. Given the thin, thin storyline, it's no surprise that it'd be extremely predictable at some places too. You get your bad guys who shows off their skills and somewhat thrashes the guild at first, but with the comeback of various battles between the two sides, it's easy to guess who would win. And not forgetting to mention the battle of massive monster who's aiming to destroy the world, guess who won that one? There are some story twists in which may shift differently in accordance to what you may think during the film, but the story and premise just seems so silly that you can't even be surprised about it. It's really hard to sense a real feel of hope or anxiety towards anything, and I can ensure you your edge of the seat won't be necessary for you to sit on.

Apart from those points, there's quite a few plot holes here and there, though not enough to hurt the writing (well it's damaged enough I'd say). There also isn't enough background on the stones and Eclair (I'll talk about her later though), considering the time limit of the movie. And even with the background given, once again it's not nearly as interesting as what the bad story is, and it doesn't help if they're only presented in single explanations from either narrative or a character's point of view at scenes (which isn't a creative way of telling backgrounds). There's nothing much else to say about the story, except it's just child writing at best. Some may argue that this sort of writing is how shounen shows work, but it's nothing on par with the original Fairy Tail series, and that what mainly matters. It's so unoriginal and predictable that it passes the point where it's beyond help.

Let's get aside the point of the writing content for now, and go into the production values. Let's not forget that this is in movie format, because one would expect that the animation would be taken in better consideration than the series. Results? Well... mixed answers actually.

In comparison to the original series, the animation is certainly better. The most noticeable thing about it is that the animation is much more fluent and smooth in movements, and this makes the experience of some fight scenes more practical and less forced. With the more cartoony style, it's simply more fun to watch the scenes go less picture-moving style whilst it allows more experimental movements. However, that's the most worth noting in the department, because it's nowhere as close as "movie quality". The style in the art is a little different than the original series (and no worries, it's not by a whole lot) but what you'd expect from a big movie isn't going to be in here at all. Also, quality. There's still a lot of 'quality' moments where the faces from far distance are hilariously distorted, weird positioning at times, and the infamous cheap tricks of moving one frame in certain directions are used here.

If anything was really worth getting out of the movie, it'd be the opening song. 200 miles (Jang Keun-suk) is one of those rock songs that you'd find in either classic anime openings or songs from old rock bands outside Japan. I've listened to the full song like, 50 million times, and I still love it. It's a catchy and good-ass rock song, and it's probably the only really, really awesome part of the entire movie. That said, the OST and ED is fine, but nothing really worth saying. The newly composed OST is just on par with the original OST used, and it's mostly not noticeable because the scenes are cliché enough to not even care for the soundtracks. Voice acting is the same as what you'd expect from the series, and Aya Endou (Sora no Woto's Filicia, Needless's Cruz) does a decent job voicing the new, unfamiliar character.

Ah yes, Eclair, the new highlight character of the featured movie.

The entire movie is based around Eclair (and her bird Momon). She's a pretty good character actually, personality wise. The big problem was though that she was more of a plot device than an individual; It was her being that Fairy Tail was driven into this mess, and if she never met Fairy Tail, then they weren't have the care in the world about whatever's happening (oh and the world would end too, woops). It's not necessarily a bad thing though, as many stories feature encounters of characters who then gets involved in all sorts of troubles, and Eclair even had a decent amount of past behind her considering the amount of time in the movie was only 86 minutes long. The past wasn't so significant though, and definitely wasn't too interesting to know about, especially if the story wasn't good at all. The other problem, again, lies in the fault of being in movie format; it's too short to bring up the development between Fairy Tail (especially Lucy) and Eclair herself; she kinda just met them by chance and became fond with them. This means you won't feel much for her on anything that happens to her, and considering she's the center character of the story, she alone isn't enough to drive my interest towards the story during the entire movie.

The entire Fairy Tail cast is involved. It's fun to see every character again, but... that's really it. The lovely charm of seeing the tropes of every individual in funny scenes is there, and if you're a fan of the characters then it's a given that you'd smile to how they usually act. But that's really what they're there for... oh, and the fact that they all try to stop the mess from happening and stuff. They're all trying to do the same thing as a group, and not one of them, apart from Natsu and maybe Lucy, do anything really significantly interesting or important as a whole. They're just there to involve the charm of the Fairy Tail; if Eclair, Natsu and Lucy were the only main characters (excluding bad guys), then it'd still be enough to carry the burden of the thin, thin story forward to where it is.

Oh, and the bad guys. The bad guys, uhh... I forgot their names, are bad. And not bad as in "evil bad", but they're actually "badly-written" characters (you can probably tell since I don't even remember their names at all, both group and people). In a long time, they probably have the worst motives anyone can come up with; the motives are generic, rubbish excuses that even contradict each other, and the fact that the world is going to end because of the given motives is just plain horrible for the movie. They're nothing worth mentioning (except a few bad guys are kinda cool), but the rest are your usual assholes with uninspiring motives.

It wasn't zero percent enjoyable though. I got through the movie because the introductory was entertaining and was a okay set-up, but from where the story unfolds just unfolds a rotten smell and unpleasant cooking. It's a given that the fight scenes, unique style and seeing the characters again were quite enjoyable, but the story felt like a pathetic excuse to bring up an entire movie, and it's really not worth putting it in film format.

A massive fan of Fairy Tail? You'd probably enjoy this, as you get to see every character be themselves and cool fight scenes. But a casual fan of Fairy Tail? Don't bother, because this really isn't anything compared to the original series, and the story is just an extremely cliché, generic and dumb linear story which doesn't add to the series in any way possible. Movies are a cool addition to series, but sometimes they don't work at all, especially if they're setting the bar up high by making it a movie in the first place.

But who cares, isn't it about the content? Oh, wait.

The movie was fantastic.I wanted to watch this movie for a while and it was totally worth the wait. There were so many epic fighting scenes. So many explosions! I love the new characters too, they had such cool and interesting abilities! The art was amazing! The plot for this was great! The ending was awesome and quite different from the show. Some of you might like this so much you might like it even more than the show itself. It's a 10/10 from me!

Note: You should probably watch the movie if your in the 100 episodes in the show.

Wow. Just completely blown away.

There are alot of Fairy Tail lovers out there, as well as people who hate it for being kinda a main stream Shounen Anime.

Fairy Tail the series always had/has the knack for being kinda all in your face with the whole Nakama thing, like we are friends because we say we are, and therefore you shall also think this.

But in Fairy Tail Houou no Miku they really mad a good job, they took the basecore of the friendship trough thick and thin to a whole new level. The whole picture of we are friends because we say we ... are was removed. This movie made me excited when the fights went on, and made me tear up at the later parts. They painted such a lovely scenery of how true friendship can be so lovely and how it helps you keep strong at the tough parts in your life, like death, sorrow and so on. Bravo Fairy Tail, this was truly not main stream. I salute you.

For fairy tail made me participate in how all those feelings are. A Must Watch.

I was excited for this movie! I mean, jeez, a fairy tail movie! I can already tell you a few things: The movie is okay, but disappointing if you watched the anime.

The story is okay, nothing wrong with it. It's not very original but it's just fine so I decided to give it a seven. It doesn't deserve a higher mark though because they didn't work it out like I expected.

I heard people say that the art of fairy tail is terrible. Maybe it could be a bit more modern (I also heard they have a rerun of fairy tail with a new animation team ... so that's nice) but I personally love the STYLE of the art. You have those animes with a terrible art style. I don't know something out of my head now but it's understandable I guess.
My problem is that it sometimes (and ESPECIALLY in the beginning. Like the first half hour and sometimes at a random moment) seemed like the art style just changed! And that bothered me a lot, so yeah a four.

The sound is excellent. Fairy tail is one of those animes with awesome sound and music. Except for the second opening theme of the anime then.

The characters were a bit different and I'm sorry, but I just don't know how to explain that mkay?
But hey, I always loved the characters of fairy tail and I still do. They could've worked out the main character in this movie a bit more though. So enjoy your seven.

The enjoyment was okay except for in the beginning. The beginning annoyed me a bit, but a seven seems good for this section.

I gave a five for the overall, but a 5.2 or 5.4 would be better cx
One more important thing: The fights were way too short. I'm not expecting them to focus on the fights and make the duration of it forever. This is not the anime so we don't have to focus on the non very important fights, but c'mon. This was just too short. Everything was way too short starting from the middle point. The movie was just too short and that's the most disappointing thing.

SPOILER





But I liked the way Eclair left with Momon and the nalu moment was great! And espescially Lucy's question if magic is evil or good!

Let me have the honor of stating my opinion about this movie!
this is going to be a long topic.so please have the patient to see through it!
before that let us go a way back!
First of all,
who is the main character of this anime!not as the male or female but as whole!!!
NATSUUUU!!!!so what i thought when i started this anime!!!!after a while i watch while yawning Lucy heartfellia that! Lucy heartfellia this!finally Well no more whining!
let us get back to the topic!

Again first of all,this movie is about a girl called eclair.what was interesting was her dress setting!a poor class indian dress which really looked good!a ... lonely girl who stays away from everyone at first then becomes friend with our heroes because they are persistent then dies in the end and the main character cries!A common,simple,obvious plot!No complains here!nothing interesting!
Story(7/10).

Next,an anime can be hit or flop depending on the sound!opening lame!!!!
background music has no match with the anime!voice well!!!it was alright!
ending!!!didn't have the interest to hear it!so
Sound(5/10)

after that,art can create a really good impact on the viewers!Wait a minute!was there any art at all???? for a second i thought it was 2d!!!print was horrible!!!!well that may be my fault!but still it was no good!now if someone says that the art was good then "Yo!man!you really have good sense of humor!!"
Art(4/10)

Characters!!!!let me get to that latter!
Enjoyment:here is the list of my likes and dislikes
likes:
1.Dist.the villain was really good!especially the one where natsu becomes like a rubber ball!
2.Erza.she is always a normal girl underneath her stupid attire!her dream to become a bride!
3.eclair.well only after she died!(phoenix scene)
4.i watch fairy tail mainly because of its comedy.Well was there any!!!HMM!ohh!
like the part lucy you are very appealing!
5.are there any!!!!sorry can't find!
dislikes:
1.Lucy as always!!!her voice is also a pain the neck in my ears!so as her character!
"is magic good or evil"!!!!reminds me of an essay "science,blessing or curse!"
what are you a grade schooler!
2.Natsu is also a reason why i watch fairy tail!He was lame in this movie!what was interesting was laxus came stole the spotlight on his first appearance!
3.art and sound.
4.i can give 20 more reason to dislikes!this anime had no emotional scene although there were about 100's!there were actions!!more like playing tags!
so
Characters:(6/10)
enjoyment(7/10)

now,what annoys me the most this movie project had a huge budget!so why it was so so-so type!well some viewers rated this movie 10!!!!!!well you guys will be god in the afterlife of heaven!!!!!!
well!never mind me! i think you should watch it but don't expect anything!

I watched the entire film last night, and instead of jumping to write a review I thought through the pros and cons of the movie.
Cons First
For being based upon Hiro Mashima's work I was greatly disappointed how cliched the plot was as a whole. If you have some of Hiro Mashima's work you would know that he is a master at taking peoples expectations of events to come, and turn them on your head. This film wasn't stuffed with a thick/ complex plot like each story arc in the mainstream anime/ manga series.

The new character introduced didn't come to me as a fully ... rounded out character that I can instantly care about. But her partner was a truly heart felt character I cared about.
Pros
The animation was no doubt spectacular in every way. The greatly improved animation really improved how the characters actions and fight scene felt to the audience.
The musical score is aguably the best part of the film. It sets up the mode for each and every scene in the movie. And for giving the film the atmosphere and tone it has.

Watched this movie today, rated this creation of a solid seven. Firstly, the dash is not as realistic as in the original series, secondly, that there is no fun, which is inherent in Fairy Tail. Throughout the movie I was waiting for a classic, so to speak, jokes from Natsu, Happy, Lucy and others, but alas... But in spite of all the things that I personally did not like the movie at the highest level! The plot is unpredictable and it pleases. All the characters are good as always! But the most important thing - that's what the theme of friendship is revealed in the ... same way as in the original series. :)

my english not good so be nice with me ~

This film taken from one shot of the same name

I expected better from the film, but unfortunately

the film has lots of flaws and when you when you see a lot of shounen less desire to watch things duplicate and this is what happened in this film, as in some episodes of the series.

story :

The film revolves around a mysterious girl named Éclair who appears before Fairy Tail, the world's most notorious wizard's guild. She lost all of her memories, except for the imperative that she must deliver two Phoenix Stones somewhere. The stones ... may spell the collapse of the magical world, and Natsu, Lucy, and the rest of the Fairy Tail guild are caught up in the intrigue.

the idea of film is duplicate and make you feel bored.

5/10


Art :

I do not want that I compare with the series but certainly better than drawing the series, but certainly not amazing

8/10


sound :

its fine .


8/10

enjoyment :

At first I enjoyed the film then I am a bored, there was not anything amazing to see it or any good idea .

6 /10



overall :


6/10

Hello to whoever is reading this. Is my 2nd ever review so i like to keep it short and clear to the point. As this is a movie and not a series I would talk each section independently but I'll summarise for an easy spoiler review.

What I liked:
1. There was the humor we know and love in Fairy Tail and it was easily identified early on but it did eventually turn serious as the story progressed.
2. The music. Probably my favourite part, the opening I loved I believed it went well for the type of leadup for the movie. But i more liked the ... background music throughout.
3. The feels. You'll know what i mean and the sneaky NaLu moment ;)

Cons:
1. The story felt a bit bland. I've seen the plot/theme used quite alot but I still didn't mind
2. I wasn't the biggest fan of the fights. Like the fights were Fairy Tail packed but I just wasn't a fan unfortunately.

Well I did enjoy watching this movie but I would only recommend hardcore FT fans to watch this but if you're only a casual pleb ;) it isn't worth it but by all means if you got 1.5hrs to spare

P.S I tend to write more reviews in the future but mainly on series as I can go in more depth but hope this helps at least one person

-B_Raiden_

SPOLERS alert

The film began with a strong fight scene, which made me to think "Amazing". But fast after the scene my expectations began to fall. I find the story line to intresting, but not well done. The anime(TV) always managed to me some emocional feeling, but here un the moive i cant feel that. There were times where the plot was slowing down too much and moment where there was a plot hurry so that you can not follow the story I dary to say: the movie is strong and good for people who not follow the manga and anime for years, ... because they will not be affected iii of difference "of making". These who follow wich maybe thing like me. For me the film I did like,
but no matter how weak I seemed preserve the spirit of "Fairy tail".

Fairy Tail: The Phoenix Priestess

Yes, guys, there is a Fairy Tail movie, although I'm bit late idfc.

So let's jump into this review, shall we, now I watched the entire movie last night but *sigh* I'm honestly disappointed. I expected better from this movie, the movie has a lot of flaws that makes it almost unwatchable, however, I gave it the benefit of the doubt since it's the first movie. The start starts off, pretty interesting in fact, but then everything changed when the story grew stale, not even Natsu the master of epicness can save this from this L, but what I ... believe the fight scenes can save the movie.

Again it's Fairy Tail, so the characters are pretty much the same ya know like Erza, Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Useless person. There is a new character introduced I think her name was Eclair, she seems cool tho, I would've like to see her as a regular in the anime series! So need for me to go any further with the characters, Hold up! Someone we all know and love will make a cameo appearance can you guess who?

Again animation is the same, but it does have a few tweaks. I pretty much prefer this animation over the original, no need to say more it's basically the same.

I roughly give this movie, a solid 6/10, gee it could've been better, maybe they just wanted some quick and easy profits. I strongly suggest if you're currently watching Fairy Tail, finish at least to the first season, before watching this movie. As stated before this movie has a lot of flaws some would be: Natsu, it's always gotta be Natsu when it comes to saving the day, why can't be someone like Erza, or maybe even Gray. The Lucy fanservice.
But there's a nalu moment in there so I'm happy....

Story 4/10
Animation & Sound 6/10
Characters 7/10
Overall 6/10

*This is my first review so bear with me* I am a huge Fairy Tail fan, but I did not find this movie as enjoyable as I hoped I would. The artwork was a definite let down for me and I felt like the characters could have been portrayed better. The plot was okay, but it did remind me of several anime movies in the shounen genre. It still had some decent action and comedy. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who has seen an abundance of anime, unless you are a hardcore Fairy Tail fan, but for a beginner it wouldn't be a terrible ... experience. Also, I would like to state that I would not recommend this to anyone who is interested in Fairy Tail and hasn't seen it yet. I believe the movie would be a terrible introduction to the series. Overall I'd give it a 6/10.

What is there really to say? It's a shounen anime movie. If you've seen one you've seen them all. In a show that didn't have too many filler arcs it feels like the quintessential shounen filler. Bring in some new characters from the next town over that we didn't know existed until now and is never brought up again, have them invite the main cast on some quest or adventure with a mcguffin and have protagonist-kun do a one-time use slightly better version of his signature move buffed by said mcguffin. It's not rocket science, anybody could write the plot to one of these.

Fairy already ... feels like such a generic product of a shounen anime that it's no wonder it's first movie would do absolutely nothing to raise the bar in any way. If you're into cozy, predictable plots maybe this one's for you. For my money, it's barely scraping by with an average 7/10 kind of score.

Ehhh, it was okay. It didn't have the most memorable or interesting plot. I liked the fight scenes, but I guess it was kinda plain. I noticed the animation was inconsistent at some points. But I do recommend watching it, just felt like an average anime movie to me. That being said, love the show but the movie wasn't too great. It could've used a more interesting storyline, I like the new villains introduced but again the premise and plot I just didn't really care for. the fight scenes were epic and the animation was nice at times but could've worked on those previously mentioned ... inconsistencies. I personally had fun watching it though and I have rewatched it a few times, needed a more interesting story though.

WELL, a truly great movie.
First of all, in order to better understand the movie and it's story, let me explain, how you should watch the Series so far.
Long Story short, after the Grand Magic games Arc which finishes with Episode 201 or Fairy Tail (2014) episode 26, A Gift (Okurimono), watch the Fairy Tail OVA (2016) Episode Fairie's Penalty Game (Yousei-tachi no Batsu Game), after it watch the Fairy Tail OVA 6: Fairy Tail x Rave, then it is recommended to watch the short Prologue of this movie first and only then the real movie. If you watch it some other way, you might miss ... the full Enjoyment of Fairy Tail.
Now the Story is great, Events take place after the Magic Tournament, The Fairy Tail guild has restored it's former Glory, they are back at their original HQ.
Our beloved characters are introduced to a new character, Eclair, a slender young woman, who is dressed in outfit reminiscent a traditional Indian Sari.
This already let's us recognize, that Eclair is some kind of Priestess, and in deed, our Phoenix Priestess has touching story to tell after which she gives a quest to the Guild, and Fairy Tail goes to another Adventure. In Veronika, there is real Evil hidden away which has the power to destroy the whole world, yet many evil Magicians want to unleash that power, not knowing the real Truth, hence our Guild fights to save the world.
As expected from the series, Art and Soundtrack are outstanding, like always. We get the Typical OSTs and funny Fairy Tail fan service moments, which unlike in other Anime, makes this Anime Great.
This movie is a great choice to spend an evening enjoying a Movie.
WATCH It!!!

It was ok overall, I've seen better and worse anime movies. It was fairly average.
The storyline was pretty basic for an anime movie, but it had its own creative twists. It doesn't really fit into a specific part of the anime, which I liked. It can be watched anywhere throughout the later half of the first season without too much confusion.
I enjoyed seeing aspects of the characters' lives that aren't always focused on in the show. Though it wasn't for a super long part of the movie, watching them have fun was enjoyable. The art could have been better, it's not really up to ... par with the anime. Sound-wise I didn't have any issues.