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9

Summary Key Points:

[spoiler]

  • Gildarts continues to battle Bluenote as Natsu and the rest retreat back towards the camo
  • At the camp, RustyRose is attacking Panther Lily, Levi and Lisanna
  • Freed and Bickslow arrive in the nick of time to save the day
  • As it seems Fairy Tail is winning, Purehito enacts his master plan
  • Azuma takes control of the big tree on the Island, and is able to nullify the blessing that the Island gives to any member of Fairy Tail
  • He leaves Erza alone though, and asks her to show him the strength to protect her friends
  • The episode ends with Erza and Azuma about to duke it out, with literally every other Fairy Tail member helpless on the Island

[/spoiler]

Opinions: (A)

After last week’s slightly disappointing focus on Cana, Fairy Tail dives right back into form with the latest string of battles, and a very doom and gloom horizon on the forefront. For a second there, it seemed like Fairy Tail was going to dive into the dreaded pit of no return. I am of course, referring to a filler arc. Luckily, it seems to have been nothing more than a flash forward of sorts. If there is one sad part about this episode, its that it ends a bit too quickly, and leaves you wanting a lot more.

I’ve got to hand it to Fairy Tail’s latest arc, every time the heroes seem to be gaining some ground, boom! Another curve ball by the villains and the situation is horribly grim again. Thus was the case this week, where we had the highly capable Gildarts, along with Bickslow and Freed come to the rescue.

Man… The Gildarts battle with Bluenote, however short lived, was exceedingly friggin awesome. It really did feel like two giants duking it out, and they seemed very evenly matched. In fact, I might even venture to state that Gildarts might’ve slightly edged out a victory if things had gone on for a bit longer.

It was interesting to note, Gildarts was super uber pissed. And why wouldn’t the guy be? More than any of the others, he had really put his all into raising up the next generation of Fairy Tail. I think one thing that Gildarts raised, makes me suspect he might know Cana’s intentions, if even a little bit? The whole talk about how “The young ones were looking forward to this even more than us adults realized” was quite an interesting choice of words.

Of course, for however much Gildarts continued to dominate over Bluenote, there was the pressing issue of Rustyrose attacking the camp. As expected, Lisanna, Lily and Levi weren’t able to handle him, and were saved by the intervention of none other than:

Freed and Bickslow arrive!

Freed and Bickslow!

Oh boy, I actually must confess to thinking that it was Gajeel that had gotten up again when Rusty Rose  was sent flying. It turned out to be Bickslow and Freed though. Now, earlier, I had wondered if there was anyone who could stand up to Rusty Rose, and then it hit me with this arrival. Freed is the perfect counter measure to Rusty’s imagination. With Freed’s runes, the sky is just about as much of a limit as anything, which makes him the perfect guy to take down RustyRose, and with Bickslow at his side, it was only a matter of time before Rusty Rose was taken down.

Now I’ll digress a bit, because at around this point, we got the “flash forward” with what I’m thinking is Makao’s son, and I shuddered when I thought that this was the start of a filler arc. Given that Bleach has done this a few times, it’s not unheard of for a series to suddenly pause the action at some of the most intense moments and throw some fillers your way. I seriously, seriously believed that that was the case, and tbh, It would’ve really hurt Fairy Tail if it had happened.

Future or Filler?

Future or Filler?

Thankfully, we dove right back into the action. Before that though, I heard the ominious naration from Lucy that Fairy Tail had thought it would win. Now I’m not sure what happens, but it doesn’t seem like Fairy Tail is going to lose just yet. Yet those deceiving words make it sound like Fairy Tail does indeed lose to Grimoire Heart. Either way, no spoilers from those who’ve read the manga regarding this please! XD

That said, just as it seemed like everyone from Fairy Tail was going to win, along came Purehito’s ultimate plan. By using Azuma, he was able to remove the blessing of Fairy Tail’s sacred Island, be taking out the Tenrou Tree. It was interesting to learn that the members of Fairy Tail couldn’t die on Tenroujima, mostly because the Tree amplifies their magic power and gives them protection. With that taken away, however, Fairy Tail could be technically defeated. But it got much worse, Azuma pretty much drained everyone’s magic power out of them…

Of course, like all villains, Azuma’s selfish interests came first, and he left Erza as she was, in order to fight a strong opponent. It was at this point, that Grimoire Heart pretty much lose the battle in my eyes. Azuma had the ultimate weapon, and he choose to give Erza of all people a chance. Not only that, he put her friends on the line, which is when Erza is strongest.

Thus, while everyone else’s fights have all paused, with every Fairy Tail mage in a  rather life threatenning situation, it seems that everything now rests on Erza’s battle with Azuma. Should she win, the battle will flow back towards Fairy Tail’s favor. And if not, well then, I guess Fairy Tail might actually lose. Either way, this was a rather exciting episode and an interesting turn of events.

Also as a special note, Crunchyroll has begun offering most of their Anime simulcasts in 1080p true HD. Given that Crunchyroll is where I watch this series and blog it from, this is just waay too awesome. So a special thanks and kudos to them for doing so!

Preview:

Everyone else seems to be struggling, while Azuma has that twisted look on his face as he enjoys his battle with Erza. See ya all next week! =D



About setsuken:

The Owner, webmaster, designer, coder and writer for the site. Anime Evo is Setsuken’s proclamation of love for Anime, which he can’t seem to get enough of. He’s a 21 year old male, and current resides in the Unites States of A and is persuing an education in college for Video Game Design. He likes to draw, watch anime, game, and generally enjoy life. While his addiction for in door entertainment is strong, he’s also a fan of the outdoors.


  • Clinton

    In the manga there was a huge shock during the battle with Erza and Azuma.

  • Ian

    If you ask me, Azuma seems to be one of those villains more interested in fighting than what is really on his guild’s agenda. He also seems to be one of the only members who realizes that the power of Fairy Tail should not be underestimated. I’m pretty sure that Rustyrose’s overconfidence will be his own undoing, but Azuma? Sure, he’s pushing Erza to her limits and that ain’t the best move, but Erza will definitely be in for a tough fight.

    Also, I couldn’t help but notice a very familiar face at the very end of the preview for the next episode, if only for just a split second…

    Lastly, about that scene you suspect to be a “flash forward.” Did you see the newspaper that fluttered past that mysterious boy’s leg? Because there’s something written on it: X791. That’s how a year in this series is written. The dragons disappeared on X777, seven years ago, meaning the events of Fairy Tail are in X784. Let that sink in for a bit.

    • Anonymous

      Aaah! Good catch. That definitely confirms that its set in the future, and quite a few years at that. Thanks! =D

  • Anonymous

    Now this was an episode that left you wanting even more. A bad ass battle between Bluenote and Gildarts was looking like everything you could have hoped for. Two super powerful mages were just going at each other though clearly Gildarts had more rage motivating him than his opponent. No idea how much he realizes, but clearly he was angry. All the members of Fairy Tail are family and Gildarts has watched them grow over the years. He’s probably also a bit angry at himself for being late and having Master Makarov in that condition.

    Of course made sense that Freed and Bickslow would return with him. I’m sure if Lucy was there she’d have a “how did we win that easily” moment, XD. Those two really showed the level of power they have when fighting with their comrades and not against them.

    I can feel your fear about seeing Romeo (Makao’s son) like that. At least Fairy Tail isn’t like Bleach. No series should be so bad that they actually cut out in the middle of an arc for filler. That’s just completely stupid. Still it might hint at future filler and/or future canon since I’d imagine Fairy Tail is closing in on it’s manga.

    Purehito is one cold jerk. Of course not surprising he’d know the secrets of the island and use it. Fairy Tail lost in that instant and would have been stuck that way if Azuma hadn’t gotten selfish. I was actually instantly worried that Makarov might die. I mean if you assume the blessing was keeping him alive…with his condition and those serious injuries I’m actually pretty worried.

    Agree that Erza has now been put at her strongest with the very lives of every member on that island on the line. If she loses they all lose and they may all die. Of course that’s what Azuma wants. He wants his opponent at their most strongly motivated to fight him with everything they have. Unlike with Mirajane Erza has the strength left to fight all the way. No one is immediately in her sight suffering so she can just attack and think later, plus she’s had a lot of tough battles so not like she’s rusty.

    Can’t deny I’m really looking forward to that battle. It will without a doubt be epic.

    On a side note…don’t fall for it Gray! He can’t be falling for Ultear’s lies right? Hopefully Erza wins soon since I’m kind of worried if he’s alone with her and in a weakened state.

    • Anonymous

      Yeah I wouldn’t be too surprised if we got a filler arc after this. Although, a series pause like what Gintama did might be a good idea as well.

      If anything, the hype for the resume can be through the roof! XD

      And on the topic of Purehito… how did someone so dastardly and despicable become the second Guild Master of Fairy Tail? I wonder if he grabbed power or if Mavis chose him.

  • Ana

    Well, there’s what we call a twist of events, all right. Fairy Tail was basically doomed and then, poof, teh the rescue team has come. I could say if the villains were decent I would be pissed for this kind of overused kind of hero timing, but since almost all of them suck, I came pretty impartial.

    However I did to cheer for Gildarts kick that fugly ape’s ass.

    And seeing Natsu and Lucy kissing the ground (literally) was amusing for me. Protagonists need to drool more often lol

    I didn’t think the triumph card from Azuma was that lame. I WOULD be lame if was Natsu the only one who’s spared from the magic’s loss. No, this time was Erza. Yeah, let other characters be teh heroes for a while. Azuma is not bad, compared with that gay jerk, the overpowered ape and the old boss fart.

    ….I will not give direct points regarding that boy staring the sea, but regardless from it meaning, you can make all the assumptions but I have serious doubts that FT will advance for the next arc right away.
    I mean, it’s already heading for the climax. And that’s bad, cuz the next arc it’s just it starting ropes.
    Anime = based in 2 chapters of the manga in a row. Easily will catch us soon.

    There’s two things that will happen:
    - Or the anime will enter in hiatus until the next arc gets a better upperhand.
    or
    - Filler arc (I seriously prefer the first option. However I wouldn’t mind a filler arc about Edolas.)

    Since the anime says it’s getting this year on air, I don’t think this arc is the last being animated. I mean, there’s an inedit OVA exclusively written by the author for next month and a movie in August (which guest characters were designed by him, which means he is part of the project) so that’s mostly unlikable.
    That also would be terrible because next arc is amusing.

    For next episode will happen something that made many manga readers (including me) seeing something that didn’t expect any soon.

  • Ana

    Well, there’s what we call a twist of events, all right. Fairy Tail was basically doomed and then, poof, teh the rescue team has come. I could say if the villains were decent I would be pissed for this kind of overused kind of hero timing, but since almost all of them suck, I came pretty impartial.

    However I did to cheer for Gildarts kick that fugly ape’s ass.

    And seeing Natsu and Lucy kissing the ground (literally) was amusing for me. Protagonists need to drool more often lol

    I didn’t think the triumph card from Azuma was that lame. I WOULD be lame if was Natsu the only one who’s spared from the magic’s loss. No, this time was Erza. Yeah, let other characters be teh heroes for a while. Azuma is not bad, compared with that gay jerk, the overpowered ape and the old boss fart.

    ….I will not give direct points regarding that boy staring the sea, but regardless from it meaning, you can make all the assumptions but I have serious doubts that FT will advance for the next arc right away.
    I mean, it’s already heading for the climax. And that’s bad, cuz the next arc it’s just it starting ropes.
    Anime = based in 2 chapters of the manga in a row. Easily will catch us soon.

    There’s two things that will happen:
    - Or the anime will enter in hiatus until the next arc gets a better upperhand.
    or
    - Filler arc (I seriously prefer the first option. However I wouldn’t mind a filler arc about Edolas.)

    Since the anime says it’s getting this year on air, I don’t think this arc is the last being animated. I mean, there’s an inedit OVA exclusively written by the author for next month and a movie in August (which guest characters were designed by him, which means he is part of the project) so that’s mostly unlikable.
    That also would be terrible because next arc is amusing.

    For next episode will happen something that made many manga readers (including me) seeing something that didn’t expect any soon.

    • Ian

      I think I have an idea on a good place to put a filler arc:

      Once the events of this arc are given closure, they could go into a filler arc or two before heading into the next arc.

      (Kind of hard to talk about it without giving things away…)

    • Anonymous

      I do agree that its nice that they’re giving Erza the main role in this battle. A lot is on her shoulders XD

      And yeah, I doubt the series will jump on the next arc. We might get a filler, which really scares me because the last this Anime did a filler, we had Gray become really OOC and become the villain. IT was quite stupid, and I’d rather not ser that again XD

      Hrm… This whole year eh? I guess then we’ll be seeing a filler arc sooner rather than later. XD