STORY
Set in a fantasy world, Fairy Tail opens with a teenage mage/wizard named Lucy who runs away from home in order to pursue her dream of becoming a fully-fledged Mage by joining the most powerful mage guild, Fairy Tail. She joins after meeting infamous Fairy Tail mage Natsu on her travels and soon embarks on many adventures while taking on jobs for the guild. Now, I haven't watched many battle shounen anime so I can't compare the plot of Fairy Tail to other shows of the same genre, but I was pretty interested in the concept at first - at first. I mentioned earlier that it makes a good beginner's show, as it contains a large mixture of things you can expect from many anime - comedy, action, romantic subplots, emotional scenes, a wide variety of characters and even some good old fan service. It provides something for everyone.
Later down the line, I began to notice a very repetitive theme - our protagonists would face up against another opponent and be badly defeated, and would naturally rise up against them a second time; only this time they'd be boosted with the Power Of Friendship which alone was enough to enable them to win despite every logical piece of evidence suggesting they shouldn't.
Now, I have nothing against friendship as a motivation. I myself have a small circle of close friends who I would be more than willing to try and fight for if I had to. However, when portrayed in a way that instantly seems to give your protagonist extra strength for no apparent reason, it gets kinda old. Of course, friendship should be your motive to fight and live - but it shouldn't awaken special powers that enable you to do so without ever losing a single battle. Of course, this is borderline Plot Armour, with them surviving unsurvivable feats (for example - being stabbed right through the stomach, stopping attacks that the character themselves say they won't be able to survive) just because they are important to the plot. This repeats time and time again in every arc. I can think of several occasions where a significant character could have (and probably should have) died, which would not only be more realistic but also lead to plot and character development - but it never happened. This leaves us the expectation that they will make it out alive every single time, which sort of takes away from the tension of the story. Had the show ended after the fourth or fifth arc as it was originally planned, it might not have been too bad but as it dragged on for over a dozen story arcs, it soon became repetitive, predictable and consequently boring. STORY: 5/10
ART
As the first anime I watched, I didn't pay much attention to the animation first time round - indeed, I barely knew what made anime art "good" since I'd never seen one before. After seeing other shows, I can confirm that the animation in Fairy Tail isn't bad at all. The simplicity of the character animation makes them memorable as the art style isn't too realistic or complicated, while the bold, solid colours and unique character designs make each character stand out. Unfortunately, the colour gets progressively less bold as the series goes on which made the last few arcs a bit less vibrant and enjoyable. This might have been done to better fit the darker themes of the last few story arcs, but I still much preferred it towards the start of the show. However, that doesn't mean the art is "bad". ART: 6/10
SOUND
Sound is by far one of the anime's strong point. Aside from having a pretty good English dub (let's face it, there are some pretty bad English dubs out there), the soundtrack is really very memorable. It provides upbeat Celtic-style music in battle sequences which, as someone who grew up in Scotland, I could thoroughly appreciate. For emotional scenes, it combines beautiful string and piano music that heightens the desired emotion. I found the soundtrack ideal for independent listening and even learned to play a few pieces on the violin. Overall, the sound in the show was very enjoyable - 8/10.
CHARACTER [*This section may contain minor spoilers*]
Character is by far one of the anime's weak points. Don't get me wrong, there is some character development, and I love me some high-quality Character Development. We see Lucy develop from an easily frightened young mage who won't hesitate to back down from fights to a strong, independent young woman who grows much stronger magically and emotionally while learning to stick to her dreams. We see Wendy develop from a timid, sheltered little girl to a tough, confident one who's as brave as she is kind. We see Gajeel (one of my personal favourites) develop from a callous, brutal individual willing to beat his own allies to a gentler, slightly dorky character who appreciates comradery. The characters have distinctive personalities and are all memorable and lovable.
Unfortunately, the one character who doesn't receive any character development is the main protagonist himself, Natsu. As the main character, you'd think he'd be the most developed, but this is not the case. Nothing challenges him or changes him, and he has only one notable goal which he rarely makes an active attempt to achieve. While he has flaws like any character (chronic motion sickness, problematic recklessness) they don't really count as flaws as they are merely a catalyst for comic relief and never get in the way of his goals or change him. Nothing challenges him - we're just supposed to love him because he is funny, loyal and "badass." He's honestly not a very good example of a good protagonist. CHARACTER: 5/10
ENJOYMENT
As mentioned before, I greatly enjoyed the show the first time I watched it. However, as I became aware of its flaws I just couldn't enjoy it as much as before - in fact, I often found myself being annoyed by its repetitiveness. ENJOYMENT - 5/10
TL;DR
STORY: A good beginner's anime as it contains lots of different aspects to the plot, but the plot soon becomes predictable, repetitive and unrealistic. 5/10.
ART: Becomes duller in colour as time goes on, but generally bold and memorable. 6/10
SOUND: Soundtrack effectively heightens the excitement and emotion of a given scene, as well as a high-quality English dub. 8/10.
CHARACTER: Some characters get adequate character development, but the main character disappointingly gets none. 5/10
ENJOYMENT: Enjoyable to start with, but gradually became less so for me. 5/10
OVERALL: 5/10
It's not terrible, but defiantly flawed. If you're new to anime, by all means give Fairy Tail a go - but if you've already watched several shows that you thought had an interesting and divers plot, I honestly wouldn't be recommending this show.
