April 05, 2014

Fairy Tail restarts

The first new episode of Fairy Tail in a year is out, and it begins with a bang, with a flash-forward to future-Lucy in the devastation brought about by the return of the dragons. Most of the episode takes place in the dragon graveyard, which is suitably spooky. It's a great beginning. Next episode or the one after will begin the last day of the tournament, everyone-versus-everyone out in the town. That should be exciting, but it's also going to include Team Natsu arrested by the Princess's troops.

Which is to say that they're picking up the story in the manga right where they left off, rather than trying to do something new. And that's great news, because the part of the story that's upcoming is outstanding and should make for great anime.

(Oh, and the picture of Lucy I just posted is from the new episode.)

UPDATE: Spoiler comments about the latest manga chapter (379) below the fold.

So Lucy, Natsu, and Happy are having their souls drained by the demon, who already absorbed Taurus and Aries. Lucy shouts that she is closing her contract with Taurus, and then the demon begins to be pulled into the Celestial World, until he releases Taurus. The same thing with Aries.

What I'm interested in is the fact that this means Lucy no longer has contracts with Taurus and Aries. Can she form new ones?

Three possibilities: Yes, Maybe, and No.

Yes: In that case, when she has a free moment, she'll call them again and create new contracts. Not an issue, not a major plot point.

Maybe: Perhaps she can, but only if the spirit agrees. In that case there still isn't any problem. Taurus and Aries both like working for her, and both will agree readily.

No: Perhaps the Celestial rule is that if you voluntarily end your contract with a spirit, you can never form one again with that spirit. In that case there are two ways it could play out.

No1: Lucy has another face-to-face confrontation with the Spirit King and gets him to grant her an exception. Since she terminated her contracts because she was trying to save Taurus and Aries from the demon, and since they both want to keep working for her, I imagine it wouldn't be a terrifically difficult sell. Also, at this point the Spirit King seems to think pretty highly of her.

No2: Nope, no way out. In that case Lucy gives those two keys to Yukino, who henceforth will have five golden keys (Taurus, Aries, Libra, Pisces, Ophiuchus), while Lucy will have eight (Leo, Aquarius, Scorpio, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Virgo, Gemini, Cancer).

It would definitely be Yukino. Lucy would want to find a good master for them, and she knows that Yukino cares about her spirits the same way that Lucy does (unlike, for instance, Angel or Karen, who abused Aries dreadfully). Besides which, there might not be anyone else. Yukino says she thinks Lucy and Yukino are the last two Celestial Mages.

I don't have the slightest clue as to which way he might handle this. No inkling at all. "No2" would lead to a great scene between Lucy and Yukino, and the attraction of that might be enough.

But if that's the direction is goes, then it means Lucy can never own all 12 at once, so any prophecy about what happens when a single mage owns all 12 could be written off.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 10:53 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1 I went back two episodes (174 & 175) to get back inot the series. I probably should have gone back to

One thing I always noticed about the series is it seems the artists absolutely love Lucy. In the last series ending, there is a moment where Lucy is standing in the castle courtyard as it gets obscured by clouds (approx. 22:45). The scene shifts to Lucy, in front of the clouds facing sideways, looking down. Right before she too gets obscured, she turns to the camera and reaches out to (the viewer, but possibly Natsu, or another FT member). The look is a mix between happy and sad, full of  hope and regret. it lasts but an instant, but it is beautiful.

I look forward to how they string us along regarding the messenger(s). They did a great job in the manga. The reveal was executed at the perfect time.

I thought this was going to be a 'FT gets back their reputation' arc when it started and I didn't think it would be anything more than fight and fight until the end. Instead it became my favorite arc, with the best parts (other than the four dragons fight) yet to come.

One last note: did it seem like the art was a bit less detailed in the new series?

Posted by: topmaker at April 07, 2014 09:05 AM (2yZsg)

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