When I watched the first episode of FT, I exactly knew what kind of anime it was going to be. Not a refined anime with a captivating story, no. I just wanted to watch an diverting/childish anime and FT suited perfectly for me.
Story : 4/10
The true good point of the story is that it takes place very quickly. You don't have to wait 40 episodes for it to begin. Even if it can be considerated as disregarded, most of people dont have the time/patience to wait that much and it makes them leave the show. The background is basic (magic, guilds, mages, ...) but still cool. The first episodes were really good since they described the guild and its crazy atmosphere very well. The plot really depends on the arc you are watching... Yes, there is a lot of "clichés" in FT but, in my opinion, it's not important since it's a shounen...
I also appreciated the fact to not see them practice over and over again... It trends to be boring and not interesting sometimes.
Characters : 6/10
Despite its poor story, Fairy Tail has nice characters. Even if they are all similar because that is Fairy Tail, they all love each other, blablabla... They still have their own personality/role in the anime. I'll just define the main group characters as members of a body.
Lucy "the brain" : Maybe I defined this way because she is the only one to use her brain in the anime but she always magages to find a solution which is not "smash smash smash". I know a lot of people will be like : " WAIT WAT LUCY HAS A BRAIN AND NOT ONLY BOOBS?LOL" but no, she figured out a lot of problems despite the fact that yes, she gets undressed a lot (most of the time because of the group is asking her to...).
Natsu "the arms/fists" : just because of his "burning" personality. He is rushing the fight everytime. And God, that's funny to see him get wrecked by a villain. Yes, he mostly wins his battles by getting powered up but... Is it not the case in 95% for this kind of animes ?
Erza "the body" : her power (she is feared by almost all the others) and appearance (strong charismatic woman) will always bring the group together to face their problem. She is also the "shield" for the group/guild.
Grey "the legs" : my regret in this show... Grey is nothing but an alternative Natsu / a support in the group. First time I saw him, I was like "oh god it's a Vegeta-like" but no, they didnt managed to develop him correctly to make him badass as hell (but Luxus is here to catch this up I guess).
Wendy "the heart" : a sweet little girl who always cares for the others / wants to help them the best she can with her healing magic. She is also the only character that trully evolves in the anime (growing up, getting stronger, getting her own battles, etc...).
All the characters have a decent story even if we all regret that some of them don't get more attention from the author. The perfect example is Lisanna. She came back from the dead (or sort of) and she still remains unexploited ! She had a "something" with Natsu but it seems it is over... There is no more interactions between those two... That's too bad !
There is almost no characters dying in FT and it's fine for me ! I would still be so sad if a secondary character like Mira or Reby died :/ and it's just the case in FT I don't know why...
Art : 8/10
The animations in the different battles are very good ! It's the same all along the anime but I don't get bored. The chara design is good too. Some people blame the show for his fanservice or more precisly, the fact that all the female characters have a big breast, you have to consider that it's completly normal in FT world... (judging by Levy, Wendy and Mavis reactions when they are talking about that lol).
Sound : 10/10
Wow ! In my opinion, FT has the BEST OST among the anime world ! I never feeled like that with a soundtrack before. Battles OST are intense, sad moments OST are touching. I can't tell more. But it depends on you I guess... For my part, when I'm watching an anime, I am completly immersed into the anime's world and, because of this, the OST is very important to "live" these moments.
Enjoyment : 9/10
I really enjoy to watch Fairy Tail because it's very entertaining. It does not have a fantastic plot as others animes but it does have sweet characters and a proper atmosphere and I don't expect more from FT when I'm watching it. Fanservice gags make me laugh more than they disturb me (some people feel uncomfortable with it) and I don't consider them as annoying because it's a part of the FT's charm. Also, FT is one of the only animes which can make me laugh during a critical moment, forcing me to release all the pressure I accumulated (as I previously said, I really live through the anime when I'm watching it haha).
Overall : 7/10
Pros :
- Very entertaining.
- BEST OST EVER.
- Cool battles / animations / powers.
- Characters are sweet and you learn to like them but...
- Story/plot/arcs are cool but...
Cons :
- ... not pushed hard enough. It could have been much more interesting.
- Villains are not that bad ass / captivating (except for Zeref).
- 90% of fillers are really bad.
- [troll mode : on] Don't look the Eclipse Celestial Spirits arc ! [/troll mode : off] :P
