Before I start my review, I would like to inform you that I'm writing this review after 3 years of complete loyalty to both the Manga and Anime of Fairy Tail. I used to love Fairy Tail...while I was still naive. I had this rated 9/10 but now, after re-analyzing/re-watching the anime I have realized how poorly written it's plot is and how unnatural the characters seem, it's a 4/10.
First I'll start with the good points: The art (8/10) and sound (9/10).
The art style is very good. I love most of the character designs, the buildings/backgrounds look excellent, etc. and the soundtrack is just gorgeous. But the animation is average and even worse in the 2014 version. The main theme is very catchy and has a unique and epic feel to it. But as far as the pros go...this is it....no wait...excellent, unnecessary fan service (10/10)!!!
You may have heard several Fairy Tail fans say "If you love One Piece and Naruto, you will LOVE Fairy Tail!" Don't fall for this. Naruto and One Piece are miles better in terms of plot, action, world building, etc. If you've watched Hunter x Hunter, Naruto, One Piece, I suggest you do NOT waste your time on Fairy Tail. I regret ever getting into this series. I'm being completely honest, I watched/read Fairy Tail more than a year before I even thought about starting One Piece, I promise you that my opinion on Fairy Tail is NOT biased in any possible way.
The plot of Fairy Tail (3/10) is riddled with inconsistencies in almost every aspect. The setting seems good, vast, exciting at first but it's almost never used. Fairy Tail is the perfect example of wasted potential. The magical kingdom of Fiore, with several strong guilds like Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale, Sabertooth, etc. is ruled by a wimpy, childish, weak king. Why? No one knows. And it looks like we never will (no mentions anywhere in the manga despite it seemingly reaching it's climax) He's also never shown doing anything except hosting the Grand Magic Games. He holds no strength and has a fairly weak military. Literally ANYONE could've been the king.
The plot lacks structure, subtlety, and complexity. It almost too simple. There is an unnatural contrast between the good and the bad in Fairy Tail. Zeref is the only sensible antagonist to have ever been introduced in Fairy Tail. There is absolutely no foreshadowing or prior information to almost all the major enemies and plot points which I've almost never seen with an anime as popular as this. It's like a new enemy just randomly appears out of nowhere and the plot points where thought of just minutes before Hiro Mashima drew it out onto a sheet of paper. Without spoiling much I can tell you this, only Zeref and Mavis have a proper place in the actual overlying plot. Most characters are not well written and I would have to type in a loooong essay just about that...
Quite a few unexplained plot points. We never got an explanation as to why a Flame Dragon Slayer gets stronger when fused with lightning. (Natsu eats Laxus' lightning and gets a huuuuge power up) Do we just have to blindly accept whatever is stated? Plus why didn't Natsu eat lightning when facing off against Laxus? Seems more like it was made up on the spot than an actual fact, doesn't it?
Face was an extremely strong weapon that was never even remotely mentioned before it's appearance.
More often than not, the protagonists/good guys will find themselves against an extremely powerful enemy, lose to them at first then minutes/hours later tadah..the enemy is down flat like a carpet with absolutely no explanation to the rapid increase in strength. Example? Natsu vs. Zero/Brain, Natsu vs. Jiemma, Erza vs. Azuma, Sting and Rouge vs. Demon Jiemma, Natsu vs. Zancrow etc.
Power levels are extremely random. If the fights mentioned above weren't enough to prove it, here's more, Gajeel, Gray, and Natsu are supposed to be equal. Supposed to be. But Natsu is always portrayed as being much stronger than these two. He's supposed to be weaker than Erza and Laxus by both hype and rank, yet we've never once come across a situation that proves this right. Natsu has countless times defeated enemies that Gajeel and Gray struggled against...again no explanation..Natsu just becomes stronger and we have to accept that...all hail the unbeatable protagonist! He's only ever tasted defeat against Gray (as a kid) and his mentor, Shanks...I mean Gildarts.
Gildarts is a straight up copy of Shanks from One Piece, barely any differences what so ever...so no point in talking about his absence. He's just roaming around the world even when his guild members are in severe danger. Oh wait....Natsu can handle them, he can be as strong as Gildarts if Hiro wants him to. Explanation is for pussies...
Pointless/random fan service. At first I thought this was an action, adventure, shonen manga...but as the story progresses it becomes more ecchi-centric. You get naked chicks all over the place. The anime actually tries to reduce it as much as possible. In the 2014 version, we see Kyoka torture Erza in a very suggestive way but at least Erza had her clothes on....well she didn't in the manga.
Character development seldom lasts long. We all felt Natsu's loss when Lisanna died...I mean disappeared. When she came back, it was still a happy moment, nothing too unexplained and bad but it get a lot worse. Do you remember when Lucy cried a lot and we all witnessed the drama when she broke Aquarius' key? Well guess what, *SPOILER ALERT* she's back and all is good...and Natsu is even more reckless after the year time skip..it's absolutely pathetic. It's like he faces no consequences for being stupid and unwary of his environment.
I would have a lot more examples if I included things going on in the manga right now (as of writing this obviously) but I choose to not spoil the 'fun' for you.
If you are someone who is thinking of starting Fairy Tail, I suggest you don't but it's only my opinion. You are the only one who can judge it for yourself. If a sensible plot isn't what you need, go ahead, enjoy Fairy Tail. It's got good comedy and flashy fights that look amazing (but seldom make sense) so you could still like it.
(Plus you get a bonus every other episode, more tits!!!)
If you actually went through all of that, thank you, you are very patient. But there's still a lot more I could've said against this series that I used to love.
