Fairy Tail was the first anime I ever watched, unless you count random episodes of Pokémon aired in the worst Polish dub I've heard in my life. It was also one of the best to this day, for the sole reason that it captivates, motivates, and innovates (kind of, anyway).
[STORY]
The story revolves around a girl called Lucy finding her way to her favourite guild, Fairy Tail, and after she does this, generally having adventures. The general story is amazing, to the point where even the filler episodes/arcs aren't absolutely terrible, and actually worth watching. I won't go spoiling much, but Hiro Mashima has really succeeded in writing a captivating and interesting (as well as worthwile) story for me in Fairy Tail.
[ART]
Whilst it's not ground-breakingly ridiculous, the art is no joke in Fairy Tail. It's animated very well and makes me feel as if I am experiencing the story, and not just watching some guys have it. Especially when compared to the 2nd Generation of Fairy Tail, the art is about as good as the rest of the show.
[SOUND]
The sound is perhaps one of the best things in Fairy Tail if not the anime itself. I have literally purchased every song in the OST because it's one of the most amazing I've heard in the 5000 or so days that I've been on this Earth. The Main Theme is super bad-ass and pairs very well with action scenes, "Snow Fairy" makes me want to cry whenever I hear it, and any theme after that is actually memorable to me, for example "Rock City Boy" and "Towa no Kizuna" - which is another great theme. The voice acting is very well done in my opinion, although I stuck to the dub with this one, for the reason being that there's a lot of action on the screen, and I didn't want to miss any details or the action itself because I'm looking at the subtitles. Not to mention, FUNimation has done a really good job of voicing this one. I have still not found a single song that I don't like in the series. Even the "background" songs that are only there to play when somebody is talking so things aren't silent!
[CHARACTER]
Whilst perhaps the characters aren't the most original bunch you'll ever meet, they're certainly enjoyable to watch. Lucy is a materialistic but surprisingly friendly and loyal owner of 12 (and more) keys that summon spirits. Natsu is a swagmeister twat who destroys everything he touches but will overcome anything if it's for his friends ("U made lucy cri. i will kill u now"). Gray is an amateur stripper who controls ice (but not his shirt) with a somewhat poor sense of humour but sad past. Erza is what I would hesitantly call a "tsundere", even though she's not really that. She's very intimidating and scary on the outside, but once you get to know her, she's just an awkward silly girl who likes to have fun and eat cake (and maybe kill some monsters on the side).
Even the minor characters are lovable and/or fun to watch, take for example Cana or Makarov. Cana is an alcoholic who never gets drunk and an interesting history as well as humour, and Makarov is a fun-sized old weirdo who doesn't give a fuck about the police - sorry, Magic Council - and loves perving on his guild's female members. He is, however, a great Guild Master and is ready to fight and sacrifice for Fairy Tail and it's members.
[ENJOYMENT]
Well, I'll keep this short. Let's just say that I finished the entire first series of 175 episodes in less than a week.
If that doesn't tell you how much I enjoyed this bloody thing, I don't know what will.
[OVERALL]
A must-watch for anybody who likes shōnen, magic, or a bit of fanservice (what can I say, with characters like these, you can't NOT use some fanservice). Previously rated a 9/10 by me, but changed to a 10/10 because I realised how good this anime really is.
Rated "A" for "A magical guild in Fiore is destroying everything in it's midst and that's alright because all it's members are hot"
