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

• jelly

  I wonder if any of that is anime filler?

• Ian

  Most of the doll poses, all of Lucy’s attacks AFTER Hikaru’s shining light burst attack before Natsu came along, and the conversation between Natsu and Ultear were not in the manga.

• Ian

  It seems you forgot to bring up Gray’s stalking of Ultear in the next episode preview. As expected, a confrontation between them was inevitable. Of course, since Ultear is the leader of the Seven Kin, they’re probably going to leave her fight for last before the arc’s final boss.

  Also, something also tells me that Erza won’t be playing that much of a part against Meldy. Just think, when there’s rain, SHE is usually involved. (And I doubt rain makes her stronger because her power has been consistent even without it. If anything, it’s she who makes the rain stronger.)

• setsuken

  Haha, more like intentionally left out. I’m quite excited for the whole Gray thing, and I’ll be discussing it at length in the next episode. I avoided mentioning it, because I really do not want anything about it spoiled even a little bit XD

  Ultear may be the leader, but I think Gray could take her on and defeat her. I mean, Gray’s kinda always sidelined, it’d be nice if he actually took out someone worthy of mention. It HAS been forever since he’s done that XD

  You bring up an interesting point with the rain. I think the fact that rain is around gives HER (I’m assuming I’m on the same page here) more stuff to interact with and meld attacks with. I am hoping SHE is focused on in the battle more than Erza, although a combo attack would be pretty darn awesome.

  No opinions on the episode itself? XD

• Ian

  Actually, I think Gray would be screwed if he were to fight Ultear normally. I refuse to say why for the same reasons you currently refuse to talk about Ultear. Still, I can bet they’re gonna save their fight for last, at least before the final battle against Hades. But since Gray seems to meet Ultear early (if not outright talk to her), there’d probably have to be something to draw things out before any fight between them happens. Even so, it’s practically destiny that they meet, since they’re both connected to Ur/Ul.

  (Sorry, I can never really decide on how to spell her mom’s name. At the moment, it would seem that the official translations are “Ur” and “Ultear.” However, episode 18 explicitly stated that Ultear was named for being “the tears of Ur.” Then again, I was fortunate to get Part 2 of Funimation’s DVD release early, and it appears the dubbers tried to remedy the situation by spelling Ultear’s name as “Urtear.” I can get behind that, though it’ll probably cause a lot of confusion, much like One Piece’s “Zoro/Zolo.”)

• http://anime-evo.net HappyNatsu

  i love this episode and chapter… i just loved it it was so awesome and funny

• setsuken

  Totally, Totally agree with you there man. Hilarious and awesome episode!

• Clinton

  A fun fact about Kain Hikaru. He is based on Oda’s newest assistant Kain.

• setsuken

  This little fact raises so many questions about what the work environment is like for Oda’s manga assistants. Must be a darn fun time XD

• Clinton

  wait why did I say Oda. I meant Mashiro

• Clinton

  and by Mashiro I mean Mashima creator of Fairy tail.

• FlareKnight

  Now this was the best episode we’ve had in the last couple weeks. Instead of focusing on selfishness we got a great team effort. This was a great time to restore the Natsu, Lucy, Happy team. Three people who could say “forget the test let’s reform the team.” Three people who knew what was the most important thing which was surviving and making sure these guys paid for crossing Fairy Tail.

  Have to say Kain was definitely a scary villain by the end. More than just his magic, his own physical power was scary. True his magic helped, but in the end he was able to take on all those Celestial Spirits and win. Unfortunately Loke wasn’t in fighting form at this crucial time. But yeah Kain was pretty damn frightening and willing to just beat Lucy to death.

  This lead of course to another one of Lucy’s shining moments. She just gets these wonderful moments where she refuses to abandon her friends and pushes herself to her limits. In this case you felt proud of her courage and loyalty, but at the same time terrified for an instant that she might get killed there. Sure in this kind of series people don’t die much, but they did a good enough job of making it an intense scene that you could almost forget about that.

  Still I’m surprised Lucy again fell into that trap of using up all her magical energy in mass summonings. She got that special whip so she could use her spirits at the right moment not just continuing to bring out anyone and everyone. Of course this situation was desperate and she was under a lot of pressure.

  Don’t even want to mention Cana, but too bad Lucy doesn’t realize the girl betrayed her. Of course Lucy would never think that which shows the difference between her and Cana.

  Anyways epic episode. Go Lucy fire! The preview gives hope for a great Erza fight, but also possibly a Gray and Ultear encounter.

• setsuken

  Aye, as I said in this review, the whole crux of finally seeing some good old “Awesome” character moments and banding together of friends, was much needed.

  I totally missed mentioning how Lucy totally totally did not suspect Cana had put her to sleep and left. Its just not something you expect from any member of Fairy Tail. I’d rather not prattle on about Cana any more, as this will turn into a rant XD

  That said though, Hikaru was not a villain I expected to be impressed with or take seriously at all. I didn’t take him very seriously, but there were moments when the guy was just friggin scary, as you mentioned XD

  Again, Lucy’s brave actions in this episode, definitely cemented her as one of the best, if not the best, shounen female leads in the current anime/manga industry! XD

  Yeah Lucy does fall into the trap of just using every Celestial Spirit she can and quickly. Given that she has a lot of magic power, it kinda works, but leaves her in undesirable situations. Then again, no matter what Lucy did, Hikaru wasn’t going to be a person she could’ve taken on herself XD

  Cannot wait for the Ultear x Gray showdown. I seriously seriously hope its a battle between her and Gray XD

• FlareKnight

  I think Hikaru managed to bring the most fear of these enemies so far and some of them have been intimidating. Think it was the physical aspect of him that helped. This guy is tough and without magic can still beat people to death.

  In my mind Lucy had one good chance to win this fight one on one (after he introduced the magic). Aries was her best shot. Someone who could get in close while his guard was down and grab the doll. Once they had that it’d be a matter of just doing whatever they could to beat him. Instead it was kind of wasted on the wool bomb. Still the combo was worth it, so don’t mind. I just think if you’ve got a cool spirit whip, use it XD.

  It shows how well done the Fairy Tail characters are though that you don’t have to lock them down to any one pairing. Natsu has a few people he can go with (Lucy/Lisanna/etc), Lucy (Natsu/Loke/Hibiki/etc), Gray (Juvia/Erza), and it can go on. Some seem to be pretty locked down (Gajeel/Levy and maybe Elfman/Evergreen), but they do keep options open for those characters in the spotlight.

  Don’t know why, but I’ve really wanted to see this Gray and Ultear matchup for a while. Just seems like a great chance for Gray to get a matchup that means something. Really he hasn’t had that kind of opponent since he fought Lyon. He’s had fights, but they’ve mostly been about helping the guild or his friends. It’s personal in a way, but this really taps into his background. Anyways it just better happen and be crazy good XD.

  I’m worried about a new OP/ED. They can really be hit or miss sometimes with this series. The current ones are pretty good, hopefully they don’t falter.

• http://www.knux-the-killer.deviantart.com Ana

  I loved the way Lucy was been powned and, basically, humilhated, XD
  It was a fun episode in every single angle. It got many fillers parts, including that “fanservice part” though made me chuckle when the fatty was actually having fun *smirk*
  He actually wasn’t jealous of relationships or looking for a girlfriend in the manga. Let’s say there he was just plain dumb.

  People love the Lucy and Natsu combo (yeah riiiiiiiiiiiight, I’m smelling Lucy X Natsu on them, you can’t fool me!) but seriously I’m completely indifferent about it.

  However this fight, I can’t help to find it mildly amusing. It was funny, even was about the two characters which I dislike most of the whole series. Lol, I fancy main characters, you don’t even imagine. *roll eyes*

  My favorite characters in these series are:
  1st: Mystogan
  2nd: Jellal
  3rd: Zeref

  Oh yeah, I’m plagued to suffer for that, lol. But I never liked main characters. No series so far made me fancy mains. Is not my fault to prefer serious and hotties badguys, ahaha!

  Next episode will be interesting. Just saying that!

  P.S: It was confirmed that in beginning of next year will be debuted a new opening and ending.

• setsuken

  Lucy is often the butt of the jokes in Fairy Tail, but she also has her cool moments, which make her a nice combo between down to earth and friggin awesome.

  Agreed, no matter what your opinions on the characters, this was a pretty fun and nice episode XD

  And yeah, its totally Natsu x Lucy vibes man! Gotta love it! XD

  Also, those characters you like, are pretty friggin awesome as well. I know shounen main characters get a lo of flak for being kind of the way they are, but a part of me has a soft spot for them. They’re not really very real characters, and you won’t see people like em in real life most of the time. That’s kinda what makes em fun XD

  Also… DAMN! Did not hear about that yet. They really like to burn through OPs super fast. I rather liked this one! Hopefully the new OP/ED set can top the current ones!

• Ian

  The new OP/ED are probably gonna spoil some things for the later half of this arc, though…

• AyeSir

  This episode is so awesome!! I haven’t laughed like that in weeks xD

• setsuken

  Totally agreed!

  This is one episode that was so funny and fast paced, that I couldn’t help but alternate between a smile, a chuckle, or an all out fit of laughter XD

• http://anime-evo.net HappyNatsu

  my computer couldnt come to this website for days ._. i was afraid it got shut down

• setsuken

  We were having some server issues, but its all fixed now. We should not have any problems for the foreseeable future XD