Summary Key Points:

[spoiler]

• Lucy wakes up just as Hikaru is about to crush her and dodges
• Hikaru’s magic is a curse magic, where he uses a hair from his victim with a cursed doll to control them
• Lucy tries to fight Hikaru with her spirits but has little luck
• Lucy is sent flying towards where Natsu is
• Ultear escapes while Hikaru takes on both Natsu and Lucy
• Natsu is trapped underneath some rocks, and Hikaru starts to beat down Lucy
• Natsu grabs the doll that flew next to him during the last attack and uses Lucy to take down Hikaru
• The episode ends with the ultimate combo attack “LUCY FIIIIRE!”

[/spoiler]

Opinions: (A+)

After a few episodes of characters doing some really dumb and stupid things, its  great to see Fairy Tail finally bring back the cool, awesome moments that really brings the whole comradeship and friendship thing shine. The fact that it uses the true central characters of the series, makes it all the more better, and with the excellent dose of comedy we had this week, “Lucy Fire” turned out to  be a nice, light hearted and fun episode. A much needed change of pace after the grueling losses we’ve seen our heroes incur over the last few episodes.

That said, Hikaru ended up being a pretty interesting little villain. I was really afraid that floating fat boy was going to be a major annoyance in the series, and his and Lucy’s battle would consist of nothing more than Lucy running away from him as everyone else focused on their battles.

Much to my surprise, the comedy segment between Hikaru and Lucy as she stumbled upon him was pretty darn funny. The guy didn’t pull his punches and was ready to friggin cream Lucy at the very start had she not gotten up and dodged right there and then!

The fact that Hikaru didn’t just rely on his dolls for his magic definitely made him a more likeable character as well. The guy was super strong, and took down most of Lucy’s armada of Celestial spirits. We had Cancer, Taurus, Sagiitarius, Scorpio, Aries and even poor little Plue were powerless to stop him:

Of course, things took a turn for the interesting when Lucy was hurled towards where Natsu and Ultear were fighting. It was definitely amazingly awesome to see Natsu and Lucy team up and do their high five as they prepared for battle:

Fairy Tail's Trio of awesome!

I think it was just around this time, after all the losses that Fairy Tail got in the past few battles, alongside some selfish and stupid actions of certain individuals that we  really needed to see the main heroes shine and be awesome. Lucy and Natsu did this amazingly as they got ready for battle. Ultear ended up making her escape, and everything was left for Hikaru to handle, which is pretty much what he wanted.

I’ve always been a huge supporter of the Lucy x Natsu pairing, and it was because of their teamwork and chemistry that even Hikaru was starting to get a little jealous, top that off with with Happy’s signature “THEY LIIIIIIIIIIKE each other!” and my inner shipping fanboy was really teased out XD

Of course, the best was saved for last, and Hikaru managed to even over power Natsu and trap him underneath some rocks. It was at this point, that Hikaru truly became the villain, pummeling Lucy without holding back even a bit. It was at this moment, where Lucy really really impressed me, and sky rocketed to the best Shounen series heroine.

Lucy didn’t complain, she didn’t scream for help, she didn’t run away either, she just smiled and refused to abandon her friends. THAT, was awesome, and equally horrifying as I generally felt a sense of urgency and tension for the girl. Unlike the monsters that are Natsu, Gray and Erza, physically, Lucy is pretty human. Lucy being able to sustain damage from someone like Hikaru was not going to happen for very long before she did literally bite the dust. That moment, as awesome as it was, was quickly overshadowed by one of the most awesome combo attacks in the series yet.

Natsu using the doll to pretty much control Lucy, Fighting game style and wipe the floor with Hikaru was epic. Top that off with Natsu and Happy combining their powers to create the ultimate finishing move, and this episode ended with the funniest, most awesome looking attack I’ve ever seen in a shounen anime:

And with that, Natsu and Lucy mange to take down Hikaru. A nice, short and sweet one episode fight. Any longer would’ve seriously felt forced and would drag on. And after a huge while, Fairy tail was able to thrown in a nice, lighthearted, funny episode, without really compromising on story or advancement. I honestly feel refreshed, and am ready for the next few doses of intense that will be coming inevitably in the next few episodes!

I’ll close this review up with a shot of the Fan service poses that both villain and heroine did: (XD)

Preview:

Possible bad times for Cana? And Mest returns to the Island. See ya all next! =D