Story: 9/10
The story of Fairy Tail is very typical of arc-based shonens; however, there's nothing wrong with this, as it turns out to be both well-executed and unique in its own way. It is light-hearted, but it also throws in drama when necessary. Good messages are conveyed through the adventures, like the power of friendship, the necessity of willpower, and redeeming oneself. The only major drawback (and why I give it a 9 instead of a 10 in this category) is that about two of the arcs have been very much filler-esque, and have not been as good as the rest.
Art: 9/10
It's clean, it's crisp, and it's unique. Not much else to say on that matter. I know that art is really a matter of personal preference, but Fairy Tail's art is my second favorite among all the animes that I have watched. A few animation errors, especially in the beginning, are what gives it a 9 instead of a 10 for me.
Sound: 10/10
The voice actors and actresses match their characters and never falter from this, even when challenged with influxes in voice or crying. The music is absolutely beautiful: easily my favorite in any anime I have seen. As a musician, I weigh background music very heavily, as poor music detracts from the story to me. No complaints at all for Fairy Tail. I even listen to a bit of it regularly!
Character: 6/10
This is where Fairy Tail begins to seriously start lacking. The characters start out very much like a typical shonen. You have Natsu, who is your hot-headed protagonist with an affinity for food, sleeping, and fighting. Lucy is your intelligent, big-chested girl. Grey is your mysterious one in for the fanservice and the early-on angst fest. Erza is really the redeeming aspect of the "main 4" characters, to me. The characters around them also rarely waver from typical animes: Juvia the fangirl, Makarov the pervert, Wendy the shy one, and Jellal/Gerard the one that the writers clearly wrote while very high, for examples. Even then, they mesh very well together, and there are a few gems in the characters (Gajeel, Erza, Gildarts...).
Enjoyment: 9/10
Fairy Tail is humorous, sad, suspenseful, and inspiring. To me, it is at a pinnacle of enjoyment in animes. While the characters do detract from the overall anime enjoyment for me, it is still very fun to watch. The writing is clean, the plot is dynamic, and dramatic parts are well-distributed throughout the series.
Overall: 8/10
It's a great anime, with a few drawbacks.
Pros:
-Amazing music and voice acting.
-Clean and attractive art.
-A fun, and sometimes heartstring-yanking story.
-A different approach on the "power of nakama."
Cons:
-Stock characters.
-Somewhat long.
-Some arcs take awhile to build to a climax.
-The dub is pretty bad (I rated sound based on the sub).
Overall, I highly recommend Fairy Tail, as it was my first shonen and still one of my favorites!
