Story 3/10:
It is Fairy Tail, if you are expecting a fully fleshed out completely sensical story you are wasting your time. Even going into this final season with this knowledge I was blown away by how low the standard had dropped. The biggest issue I have with the story is when something crazy happens or someone comes up with a plan, idea or theory, literally nobody questions it and just accepts it as fact. For example, in a certain fight scene the characters attempt to defeat the enemy by trapping him in a time rift. Nobody questions the existence of a time rift, how it works or if it would even work against the enemy. Another example of this is when certain characters disappear, someone has a premonition about where these characters might be and everyone just accepts this as fact. Nobody bothers to offer alternate theories.
The other issue I had with the story was Zeref's motives for why he was doing what he was doing was incredibly logical and made perfect sense. I don't really understand why anyone was even trying to stop him as if his plan succeeded then essentially all of the issues within the Fairy Tail universe would be resolved. In fact stopping Zeref creates more problems than it solves. I won't go into details as it is a spoiler, but there is this one scene were Zeref is incredibly close to doing something, but then he suddenly stops doing it to do something else.
Art 2/10:
The art is alright. I was debating whether or not to give it a 1. What I want to criticise is not so much the art per se, but the way the actual anime was directed.
The funky thing about Fairy Tail is particularity in this third season is the director does not understand comedy. Randomly in the middle of scenes that should have an emotional impact or should be action intense are ruined by a random art direction to make the characters Chibi and throwing in some random gag that is not funny in the slightest which then goes on to serve to ruin the entire atmosphere they were working to build.
The other awful thing the director does is have incredibly drawn out sequences. Instead of directing a fast paced action scene with high tension like Mob Psycho 100, the director uses long drawn out shots that make it impossible to generate any sense of exhilaration. The camera will randomly pan over someones face for an extended period of time in the middle of battle or the character will have an long dialogue sequence while he is attacking with just a moving background. Worst of all is the sequencing of the action scenes. There are no grand epic battles like season 1 or 2, it is only ever one side over powers the other for about ten seconds, they have some lengthy dialogue and then all of a sudden the good guys wreck the enemy. There is no tension or sense that the good guys have a chance of losing. Even worse is when they make a dramatic sequence out of characters deaths only to say a few episodes later 'lol guess what they didn't die hahahaah.'
Sound 1/10:
Don't get me wrong, the soundtracks for Fairy Tail are fantastic. Each of the individual tracks are brilliant and suiting to the universe. The opening and ending songs are very catchy and upbeat. So why is it that I give the sound a 1?
The reason the sound sucked is because of how it was used. The editor randomly switches between tracks of different moods and tempos that really throw you off. For example, they might pick an appropriate battle theme and then mid-way through the battle theme switch to another piece that has more 'hopeless feel' to it.
The problem is that the music does all of the thinking for you. The sound directing would have been far more effective if they left certain sections of the anime without music all together or at least faded out soundtracks before jumping to another one. I can excuse the poor visual directing, but coupled with terrible sound directing just made the third season of Fairy Tail at points almost unwatchable.
Character 6/10:
There are far too many characters in Fairy Tail. I literally don't even remember half of them. But nonetheless most of the characters are fun besides the ones that are either purposely designed or are only inserted for the sake of fan service (which there are a lot of). It is amazing how easily characters get away with sexual harassment in this universe.
But yes, the main Fairy Tail crew are fun and are well developed. The only character that could have been developed better is probably Acnologia. Each of the other Fairy Tail villains have fleshed out motives for why they are doing what they are doing which makes them seem realistic. This was attempted with Acnologia, but wasn't properly fleshed out.
One other point I wanted to make is that they randomly give Lucy upgraded celestial powers that are still just as useless as her regular celestial magic. A pointless character development
Enjoyment 4/10:
There was the odd moment in the final season of Fairy Tail was quite good. Whether it be a concept, a character, or something else. But overall due to the technical aspects of the anime, my overall enjoyment was limited. If the director was more competent then this anime could have had some very impactful action sequences and emotional dialogue.
Overall 3/10:
The final season of Fairy Tail fails to capture the magic of the first few arcs of season one. I absolutely adored the beginning, Natsu going on quests, meeting interesting characters with well choreographed action scenes, but never taking itself too seriously. Much like all other long-running series, as it drags on, the story becomes more focused, the characters become more and more over-powered, gradually it loses its charm.
I really wanted to enjoy the ending for Fairy Tail. The actual ending itself is a satisfying conclusion, but the arc leading up to that point leaves much to be desired.
You can be the judge. Watch this final season, but just don't come crying back to me to tell me that I was right and you regret your decision because I very much do. Locking myself into an entire year, waiting a week for each episode only to put it off because I found something better to watch, but then coming back to it out of obligation.
