When Fairy Tail started, it wielded the sense of wonder and mystery in a land of magic and mages. The world was quickly established, the first page of the first chapter immediately introduces the Magic Council then weaves into Natsu in Hargeon Town into meeting Lucy while it establishes the world in the background. Mages, guilds, magic council, finding draconic fathers and it quickly establishes the protagonists Natsu and Lucy, which are interesting characters. When Lucy joins the guild, we are introduced to a plethora of characters. We are also introduced to Gray and Erza which are gonna be part of the main crew. In the early arcs of Fairy Tail, Mashima showcases his talent in worldbuilding and character development.
Although, it follows the monster of the week formula for the first few arcs things change as we get to the Phantom Lord arc, one of the best arcs in the series. In my opinion, the series had its best arc in the Tower of Heaven. In this arc which focuses on Erza and her tragic past, I can already see the overarching story of Fairy Tail. We get some references to Zeref back in the early arcs like Lullaby and Galuna but the Tower of Heaven seemingly establishes itself as the arc that will start the main story. The Tower of Heaven is my favorite arc of the whole series because of the great characterization and development of Erza and the seemingly Aizen tier plan of Jellal. One thing I really appreciate in this arc is the symbolism of Erza's armor as the symbol of her hiding her insecurities and protecting herself from other people but when she fought Jellal she does not don her armor that symbolizes that she is not afraid and hide anymore of her past and her insecurities.
After the Tower of Heaven, things began to change. The Laxus and gang arc was pretty decent, it lets other characters to shine. My first major complaint of the whole series was the revelation of Mystogan's identity because it just doesn't make sense since it kind of lessens the impact of the last arc. Move on to Oracion Seis arc, where the cracks began to show. We are introduced to a few new characters, some more interesting than the others. Oracion Seis was kind of a decent arc but nothing really stands out. Jellal's "revival" is really redundant. Edolas arc's premise is ridiculous, the plot seems out of place in the context of the story, but it was a decent arc. At this point of the story, Fairy Tail stagnated, it did not live to the heights of the early arcs and it's turning into a formulaic shonen. Enter Tenrou arc, the S-Class trials, the entrance of Zeref into the story, Tenrou invigorated my interest in the series. The actual arc is still formulaic but it's a significant improvement of Oracion Seis and Edolas.
Fairy Tail had a timeskip, in accordance to the Shonen Scriptures. When 7 years have passed a lot changed, and Fairy Tail once again captures the sense of wonder and mystery that prevailed the early arcs. We got a tournament arc for a change and behind the curtain, a conspiracy unveiling. Things are getting interesting. But in the end, it was a huge letdown. The arc had a great hook but it didn't have a climax that deserve its buildup. The power levels doesn't even make sense anymore at that point. Tartarus arc is decent enough but it's not really enough. This is fault of bad characterization. Especially Natsu's character despite being the lead has stagnated throughout the series. Natsu is just not interesting enough to be a protagonist. He doesn't have depth and virtually no development. Natsu spouting words of friendship and flaming punches gets really old and it does not change even in the final arc.
Speaking of the final arc, it's where everything goes wrong. Alvarez Empire came out of nowhere and we got 12 characters that can easily defeat Saint-level characters. The whole arc is just a mess. The arc is supposed to be a war arc but it does not feel like one because there are no long term consequences. Deaths are reduced to cheap plot device and not used in a meaningful way and what's worse is that they are faked. Deaths in the arc doesn't hold any semblance of emotion. The power levels have been more wacked in this arc. The introduction of plot points that are unnecessary and boring, including "Why has His Majesty' son not loved?", Irene and Erza, Lacarde's existence, Anna and Neo Eclipse. The Spriggans are unmemorable considering they are the strongest mages in the series, some where just easily defeated. Chapter 536 was just a big slap in the face as Natsu defeats a guy who possess infinite magic and can instantly kill you in one simple fire punch and the hype completely collapse around Acnologia as he was conveniently defeated by something that is doesn't even exist in the series 10 chapters before.
Fairy Tail had a great start and great potential for worldbuilding. It just began to lose its sense of direction and stagnated. As the series continues, Mashima is just lost on what to do with the story and the characters. Battles are not suspenseful because there are no consequences. Some characters are over utilized, underutilized, or mishandled completely. Mashima should take time in exploring the world he created and develop his characters. In the end, Fairy Tail failed to build upon its solid foundation and was the cause of its downfall of quality.
