My score of 8 is disregarding the "filler" that is in the series, though the filler isn't that bad for the most part. There is a noticeable difference in quality when filler takes over. If you are a fan of the Manga and haven't tried the anime then you might be a little disappointed. If not, then you should find this to be a fun series that has its own little charm.
What is Fairy Tail? Yes the "Tail" is how they spell it, and the usage of the word is addressed at one point during the story. In a nutshell, this is a story about mages in guilds that battle each other. There are different kinds of magic, and most mages specialize in one type. It is more or less medieval themed, and the main male lead character is trying to find a dragon (his "parent"). The story holds strong themes of comradery and friendship. It's about finding strength by being a part of a guild, and Fairy Tail is more of a rowdy family than an organized guild. They are always destroying towns by mistake and just getting into lots of trouble while saving people. It has a lot of good messages embedded into it, and it's also filled with lots and lots of comedy.
The anime holds to the overall feel of the Manga for the most part, but falls short on the quality of the artwork. It tends to be a little "cartoony" which takes away from it a bit. There are a lot of inconsistencies throughout the series in the animation and artwork, but it's easy to ignore with all of the zany and comedic scenes.
The music is pretty catchy and works well, and the voice acting is a little above average. There are plenty of cheesy moments, but it all seems to be on purpose. It is overly cheesy at times, but then they come back around and hit home when they mimic the Manga a little more closely. I can't use the word "inconsistent" enough when talking about this anime series.
The story is great, and it's the story that smoothes the inconsistencies out. I love the story in the Manga series, and they don't butcher it too much in the anime. I have definitely seen far worse adaptations. They have interesting but predictable plots throughout the duration of the show, but it really is fun to watch despite that fact.
What makes Fairy Tail are the characters. Natsu is one of my favorite anime characters, hands down. He is the motivational character of the series that drives the others to do their best. Again, he's not as cool as he is in the Manga (by a long shot), but they hold true enough to his character in this series. Every character has their comedic moments, but the anime really does push that trait a little further than its source does.
The series does end before it should, the manga is still ongoing but the gap was closing between the two fairly quickly. They do end it with a "to be continued" so there must be plans for some form of continuation because most series just end with a black hole.
I know I keep saying Manga this, and manga that.... but if you like this series and you haven't read the Manga then you must read the Manga. It's a fun read, and it is a much higher quality. Even with that said, I will repeat what I said before about this being an above average shonoun series, so I do recommend it.
