Fairy Tail is overall a good anime in the sense that it has a great combination of action, comedy relief, and romance (but not too much), which is really why I've continued to watch it for so long.
However, as time progresses, the quality of the show begins to decline. The plot is introduced early in the story, but progresses VERY slowly. Unfortunately, this causes the show to feel very repetitive and pointless. There were times when I forgot there was a plot, and the series reminded me of some American cartoons where each episode is totally unrelated to the next (except FT is in arcs).
172 episodes later, I'm still asking the same questions I did when the plot was first introduced.
Aside from that, the animation is pretty good. The artwork is pretty modern and doesn't feel old or outdated. I'm very picky about how the characters of an anime look, and this series is very pleasing to my eyes. However, there are a lot of still frames... and the fighting scenes could do with a lot of improvement. Battle scenes in Fairy Tail are nothing close to the wow factor of Bleach (or maybe even Naruto).
One thing the producers of this show are really good at is ending an episode. Each ending always leaves me unable to wait for the next (except for a small amount of exceptions). I always find myself going, "OMG, what's going to happen?! Why do I have to wait a week?! *facepalmpullhaircrycry*"
One of the things about this series I can say nothing bad about is the music. I absolutely love it! The main theme sends me chills, and I often find myself rooting for Fairy Tail as it plays. Sometimes I feel like I, myself, am a Fairy Tail wizard. What got me hooked was the way the directors ended each episode... something would happen, the picture would freeze, and then an AMAZING ending song would begin to play with that picture before the credits appeared. I don't know why, but I find it beautiful.
The summary:
Pros:
1. Good balance between action, comedy, romance
2. Good artwork
3. Good episode transitioning
4. Amazing music
Cons:
1. Weak/Slow Plot
2. Unexciting battles
3. Repetitive theme
4. Long, unexciting fillers
Despite the cons, Fairy Tail is currently my favorite anime and the ONLY anime I'm watching.
