Honestly I nearly dropped the show after a few weeks. The story is just your average shounen, nothing really outstanding yet. The art is only slightly above average, the magic circles look kind of weird and the fights aren't as intense and well animated as they could be. So normally this would have been dropped by me, as many other average to slightly good shounens.
However there were three things that kept me hooked, and these are the main things I want to talk about here.
First, and this is only for the fanboy in me, this show does not only have Hirano Aya, but also Kugimiya Rie. That alone was enough for me to keep me interested for a while, and if your a sucker for their voices like me, then you'll probably really like the interaction between Lucy and Happy. As for the other voices, they are generally quite good too.
The second thing I really enjoyed about Fairy Tail are the characters. Most of the mages in Fairy Tail and especially the main characters are either awesome, funny or both. They are not to deep characters, but Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Grey and Happy as the main bunch are really enjoyable, so are the others like Juvia or Makarov.
But what really kept me watching the show is the music. This anime has one of the best background music I've ever heard. Nearly every piece of music is memorable and extremely well down. From Irish Folk like pieces over Pop/Rock themes to pieces with influence from Symphonic or Power Metal the soundtrack is simply perfect. They could probably show a few stick figures doing their laundry and I would still watch it just because the music is so great. They could even air a discussion of your local parliament and with this music it would seem like an awesome battle. Almost everytime a new piece of music starts I can feel shivers running down my back. The music in this anime is just outstandingly good.
So if you are interested in shounen I would suggest at least trying Fairy Tail. It is a fine show, with a few flaws and an unbelievable awesome Sound.
