Fairy Tail: Youkoso Fairy Hills! is a series of special episodes 26th, 27th and 31st volumes of the manga. If you're a faithful fan of FT, then you're in the right place. The four episodes incorporated does not much have story by themselves but they do have one thing: entertainment. Hell, most people who've seen the original series would know that Fairy Tail is one of few series in the anime industry that has watchable fillers. And of course, these OVA episodes are watchable as well.
That's right, Fairy Tail isn't always about battles but sometimes is about fun, fun..and fun.
These five OVAs are standalone episodes that are nonlinear. In other words, there is no direct story or expansion from one episode to the next from this bundle. Don't face palm yourself yet though because they all are all amusing to watch in a variety of reasons. In fact, comedy is one of Fairy Tail's greatest aspects and it shines through in these episodes. (only in terms of comedy though...not else worth more adding)
The OVA themselves contains characters from the original series consisting of Team Natsu -
The outgoing Lucy
The over hyperactive Natsu
The naked Gray
The tough and boss Erza "Titania" Scarlet
All of them get their moments in these episodes ranging from being a bunny girl, wearing a cat/neko costume, the school uniforms, being a kid all over again, and beach fan-service. Speaking of which, the fan-service does shoot off the charts occasionally in these episodes. Unlike ecchi series though, they are for comedic purposes. Like I said before, Fairy Tail brings out laughter, fun, and entertainment rather than the typical "accidental shower walk-ins".
The Fairy Tail atmosphere is still there though with some action scenes and the OST. Hiro Mashima likes to play with some of his typical battle shounen scenes often from the original series. In these short episodes, he brings out his skills of creating humor and that he did quite so-so from my perspective. It's a welcoming aspect from the original series that has high levels of energy to induce entertainment rather than the more serious fighting scenes anime fans watches in so many long running shounen today. It's not something serious to take into light.
The artwork of the series remains generally the same. Beyond the fan-service, the characters are drawn like from the original series with similar edges, proportions (including those boobs), and backgrounds. It's sort of like the typical shounen artwork you see in many of today's anime series. Fairy Tail doesn't have the best art but it gets the point across.
The soundtrack of the OVAs remains generally the same although two different OP and ED songs are used. Aya Hirano and Tetsuya Kakihara does their roles and gives their songs a magical rhythm . It's not too exciting but it gets to the point that reflects on the FT atmosphere.
All in all, these Fairy Tail OVAs are a fun watch. Don't take it serious. Just don't. If you do, you won't enjoy this as much as some other fans. The original main characters return in this so it makes it worthwhile to watch them all have their fun, awkward, and entertaining moments.
If you're having a bad day, watch this to brighten it up.
If you're bored with your life, watch this to make your life more fun.
If you're tired of waiting for the latest FT episode from the original series, watch this to pass some time.
If you're frustrated about today's other onsen/"beach" OVAs in other anime series, watch this to laugh at them
If you want to just enjoy some typical Fairy Tail entertainment, watch this to appreciate.
Ultimately though, these OVA episodes connected together are just of something amusing to watch but don't expect much out of it, even if the above are how you felt before watching.
