Anyway, let me say that I started watching Fairy Tail by mere curiosity. I had never heard of if at the time, but the Freeze fansubs, group that was doing Dragon Ball Kai (as I big fan of the DB series of course I watched it) had it among its projects and it caught my eye. There were only about 30 episodes or so released and I thought that if the group thought of if to be a good series to work on, that I should give it a try. At first I was skeptical because I never really liked fantasy animes that had magic involved, and from the little research I made around the web, Fairy Tail was just a clone of One Piece (a series that I have yet to watch - too much to catch up with). Yet, after a handful of episodes it had me grabbed. It was a very nice surprise. I had finally found a typical shounen series that really satisfied me. Obviously, after catching up with the anime I started on the manga and kept following both ever since. But long story aside, let's go to the actual review of the anime, shall we?
Story - 8
I won't lie, there is nothing of really new and innovating about Fairy Tail story wise. It's your typical shounen anime and all the clichès that the genre entails. It portraits the adventures of your typical carefree shounen hero and his group of friends. The main theme of Fairy Tail is of course, friendship, and therefore good always triumph over evil, not because the good guys are stronger, but because the good guys have friends who support them and that protect each other. As I said, nothing new here. If there is something that may, or may not be kind of new, is that we are not exactly sure who the main character is. At first glance you say, Natsu. He's the strong, cheerful guy with cool powers - the obvious choice. But soon you notice that it's the heroine, Lucy, who's in charge of introducing the story to us, and she's often the center of the story. I find that very refreshing.
The story arcs follow the manga faithfully, and throughout them we are presented with a bit of everything: drama, humor, bits of romance and of course lots of fighting and cool powers, everything in the right doses and well timed. The often dreaded fillers are rare, and when present don't really disappoint, keeping the same spirit of the series and not interfering with the flow of the main story.
One could say that the story is one of the weakest points of Fairy Tail. Yet it is far from being bad. It's the opposite actually. It's simple, straightforward but interesting enough to keep you hooked and far from being bored. You don't need to pay extra attention to be able to follow the plot. Most events are predictable in all good shounen style, but at the same time you won't be able to figure out the story's biggest mysteries until the due time comes.
So while it is true that there is nothing of really outstanding about the story of Fairy Tail, there is nothing of wrong about it either.
Art - 7
Fairy Tail's art is in my opinion the weakest point of the show. There is nothing about it that stands out, neither good or bad. Everything is as expected in a long ongoing series such as this. The animation can vary from fairy decent to something more blend and flat at times. But at least in key scenes of the story the anime staff seems to put extra effort in the art and its animation.
All in all, even if the art in Fairy Tail is not anything worth of jaw-dropping awe, it is good enough not to make you cringe. It's on the same quality level of any other long series anime show currently airing.
Sound - 9
I'm giving 9/10 mostly because of the OST (background music). I may not understand much about music, if it's well composed or not, if it's rich or not, but I just know I like what I hear. The music always suits very well the moment which is playing, being varied enough to suit whatever moment is playing. The music has a particular significance during emotional scenes. It helps conveying the feelings of the characters.
The sound effects are neither bad or good. Most of the times you don't really notice them. But that's a good thing. It means they are well timed and serve their purpose. But there is one sound in particular that I particularly like. I call it the "ecchi" sound. It that little "ahhhh" you hear in every scene where there is any sexual reference. It's hilarious really. It's not unique to Fairy Tail, but it's in this anime that I've seen it being used better.
The voice actors also seem to know what they are doing pretty well. All characters sound good and befitting of their personalities. i would say the cast was perfectly chosen and they make such a good job that you tend to forget that what you are seeing and watching are animated characters.
The opening and ending songs are nice too. I personally prefer the ending songs mostly because they are usually more on the slow side. But the openings songs always have that hype that really say "look, this anime is cool and very fun to watch" .
Characters - 9
Here is one of the points that I think Fairy Tail has of best. There is good number of characters, suitable for all kinds of tastes, all of them interesting and likable, both main characters and supporting characters. Every single character is unique in their own way. It's normal to have one character or two that you like best, but in Fairy Tail you will find yourself having trouble electing one. They are all so cool and/or funny. Throughout the series most of them have a good share of development an focus. Even minor characters are important. Even if they don't do much by themselves, they are an important part of the whole.
As I mentioned earlier, it's not easy to define who the protagonist of the show is. I guess we can talk about a main group instead of a particular character. Which, in my modest opinion, is a good thing. I get tired of anime of this same genre that talk about how important is to work as a team but that in the end everything is put in the hands of one main character while the others stay in the sidelines, being useless or getting in the way.
There is another thing that I really like about Fairy Tail characters - the female characters are not there just for fan service. Most of them are strong and can put the male characters to shame.
Enjoyment - 10
I'm giving such a high note to 'Enjoyment" because in all sincerity, Fairy Tail is, above all, fun to watch. There have been several occasions where I was brought to tears, both from laughing or from getting emotional. And Fairy Tail does a good job at balancing all those good and happy emotions with the sad and bittersweet ones. It's curious how you will find yourself laughing even when the characters are at a particularly difficult situation. It wouldn't go as far as calling it comic relief though. Comic relief usually is only present in between "heavier" scenes or when a particular character is present. But in Fairy Tail it looks like every moment is a moment of comic relief.
It's not just the comedy that is enjoyable though. As any good shounen, Fairy Tail provides laughs and tears. And although most of the fights are resolved quickly [that's right, in FT fights aren't dragged on forever] you will feel "pumped up" even after they are finished.
All in all, Fairy Tail has a happy vibe about it that will put a smile on your face every time you watch it.
Overall - 9
Fairy Tail is not the perfect anime masterpiece, not at all. It has its flaws and its qualities like any other anime. But if you let yourself go with the flow you will find yourself really enjoying it, independently if this is your kind of show or not. I highly recommend you try it. I'm convinced you will not be disappointed.
