The story is set in a medieval-ish fantasy where some people can do completely random magic and everyone else is a backdrop. Like One Piece, this setting has the potential to work favourably on some levels, as antagonists can have some very creative powers resulting in unpredictable battle sequences. However, as our hero Natsu's abilities are more variable than Ash's Pikachu's, allowing him to scorch an entire city to the ground one moment and lose to a little girl the next, these battles rarely present the possibility of him losing. The supporting cast, however, have much more interesting battles, with the earlier ones in the series being highly inventive through sheer innovation, regardless of the lack of tension. With many earlier arcs containing imaginative fights and ending on interesting twists, Fairy Tail gets off to a relatively healthy start. However, this inventiveness is worn down over time, as both Mashima and the audience inevitably grow tired of trying to enjoy the story. It's a shame the series is as long as it is, because the beginning has a lot in its favour.
Natsu is a poor main character, having negligible development and encouraging brash, impulsive and occasionally sadistic behaviour. Some of the supporting characters are interesting, such as Gray and Erza, whose character motivations and attitudes are explained early, yet it becomes apparent quite early that Hiro Mashima didn't do much planning for the others, hence most of the tertiary characters have their backstories pulled out of a hat with no foreshadowing or subtlety. Nearly every character is used for fan service, with some moments that could have been intense suffering due to poor angles and ridiculous character designs. They never descend to the level of some of One Piece's characters, as there are far fewer, but they can come close. Lucy, one of the main characters, has become one of the biggest jokes in recent anime, though the hate isn't entirely warranted. She's a simple character, yet full of compassion and support (fan service aside), and at least Mashima can make her relatively likeable most of the time. She knows when to make sacrifices and, given the audience of the manga can be as young as 10, displays some admirable character traits. She grows in strength and, unlike Natsu, becomes a stronger character.
The art of Fairy Tail is clean and consistent, which is a meritorious accomplishment for a weekly shounen. Unfortunately, most of the panels are filled with blank space, displaying a rather disappointing lack of effort in the character designs, and this problem only worsens as the series continues. The main characters' proportions took time to become consistent, as the writer didn't seem to be immediately sure of how they should look (Happy being the most obvious example), but Natsu, Lucy, Gray and Erza are mostly drawn to a satisfying quality. The action, with this being a fighting shounen, is the high point. They're crisp and detailed, with the character movements being easy to follow and punches seeming impactful, even if the don't actually do have any impact on their opponent. The over-utilisation of the two-page format does become bothersome, with nearly every chapter using this at least once, but this isn't too big of a deal.
Overall, in spite of some significant flaws, Fairy Tail knows what it is, embracing it's silly, happy-go-lucky nature rather than trying to be dark and grim just for the sake of it (*cough* DeadmanWonderland *cough*), resulting in a manga that will keep you entertained if you go into it knowing that it doesn't raise the bar. It has some interesting characters, above-average art and is entertaining for a young audience.
