Summary Key Points:

[spoiler]

• Gray takes on Ultear while Juvia chases after Meldy and Zeref
• Gray and Ultear battle, and Gray is able to freeze his blood to counter Ultear’s time Ark magic
• Ultear uses her own Ice Make Magic, which is exactly like that of her mother’s
• Ultear and Gray both fall into the sea from atop a cliff
• Ultear remembers her past, and how she was abandoned by her mother, while battling Gray underwater
• Ul, who had previously melted and merged with the sea, shows Ultear her memories, and Ultear learns the truth
• Because of her immense Magic power, Ultear was very sick, and entrusted to Brain’s research facility
• She was lied to and told that Ultear died
• Finding out the truth, Ultear is soon  after, defeated by Gray, and loses the will to fight
• Gray prepares to gather his comrades, and take down Master Hades/Purehito and end this once and for all

[/spoiler]

Opinions: (A)

Gray opens with a full buster to the face! Ahem… For those of us that have been waiting to see Gray finally have a bad ass battle all to himself have not been disappointed with the latest Fairy Tail episode.

The issue of Ultear’s past and her relationship to Ul took front and center this episode. You’ve got to hand it to a show like Fairy Tail, it takes a fairly predictable and cookie cutter story about a Mother-Daughter separation story, and still manages to be fairly emotional. Its hard not to feel your heart sink a bit when Ultear ended up being tortured and escaping, only to find her mother smiling with two other young boys.

I think one of the reasons that this episode and origin story so successful is the fact that it seems like a fairly plausible event. Unlike Cana’s whole issue with her dad, Gildarts, you can kind of understand that Ultear, having been left by her mother, alone in a facility where she had to deal with painful tests everyday, would be a bit fucked up at the end of it all.

Of course, had Ultear behaved like any normal child, she could’ve just screamed at her mother or something, rather than walking away and swearing revenge on her. Then again, Ultear was a child, and children don’t always do the most sensible thing, especially when issues of abandonment come into play.

We do find out however, that Ul was actually misled to believe that Ultear was dead, and the whole sorrowful pain scene was really well handeled. Not only that, the fact that Ul was  able to smile again, even after losing her daughter, was beyond impressive. Losing a child is something a lot of parents can never get over, and while I’m sure Ul was never able to forget or get over the issue of losing Ultear, she did, however, choose to move and stand strong.

I also liked the fact that Ultear was able to view her mother’s memories because of whatever remnants of Ul had been melded into the sea, a nice way to harken back to the Deliora arc near the start of the anime. Its easy to think that Ultear, Ul and the whole thing with Gray was some expert plot crafting by the mangaka from the start. Another reason why Fairy Tail is one of the best shounen series out there.

It also needs to be noted, that Gray was friggin amazing this episode. Freezing his blood to take down Ultear. Gray I think, is hardly the strongest Ice Make Mage around, but he’s definitely the most resourceful. Seeing Ultear’s Ice magic was pretty sweet as well, as her magic clearly matched that of her mother’s. The roses and flowers, Kind of describes her quite well doesn’t it? Outwardly pretty, but thorns as you dig deeper.

All that needs to be said: Dawww!!!!

At the end of it all, it seems that Gray was able to put his master’s daughter to rest. In many ways, Ul was able to train the one person that would bring her daughter peace and back to her, even if she could sadly never really know of it.

With all of this, it seems that all that’s left is the enigmatic clash between Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Erza, Wendy and Hades. Its definitely going to be a very exciting battle, and I look forward to seeing it.

Preview:

Seems like Zancrow is back? I suppose Natsu only knocked em out. See ya all next week! XD

Bonus Stuff:

[spoiler]

You get some good old fanservice, curtesy of Virgo. And yes, in answer to Lucy’s question, the fanservice is for the audience XD[/spoiler]

• Anonymous

  I have to agree that Gray really is one of the most resourceful of the Ice Maker mages. He just finds ways to adapt and like Ul said find his own style. Certainly he hasn’t reached Ul’s level, but almost think if he continues to get stronger that may not be unattainable. Like how we’ve seen the very different approaches for three Ice Makers. Of course Ul/Ultear had the impressive flowers that came with their magic, Lyon went for animals, and Gray for various weapons. But anyways this fight was definitely good for Gray. It had the emotional level that really has been missing since he fought Lyon way back in the early series. The blood ice was certainly bad ass and that final attack wasn’t bad either. Of course it was his words that was truly important. Using the words Ul used and of course getting angry when Ultear was talking like that about Ul and her magic.

  Liked how Galuna came back into this. Helps prove that Ul really is out there in some way. Her memories reached all the way to Ultear as she watched over her daughter and pupil fighting.

  Thought they did a good job with Ultear’s background. Unlike with Cana this could bring some sympathy, which is surprising since you know how many terrible things Ultear has been involved with. Ul really was trying to help her and unfortunately they fell into a trick by another villain. Didn’t think Brain/Zero was involved in all this. He made Ultear who she is now and Hades just took advantage of it.

  Was surprised since I didn’t think all this happened after Ul had taken Gray and Lyon and pupils. Ultear probably thought that she had been replaced. But even Ul said later to Lyon that she never saw him and Gray as replacements for her ‘dead’ daughter, just more things that mattered. If Ultear had just called out….But it’s the smallest things that can change someone’s life.

  Kind of makes sense now why she went so far against Deliora. Ul had already lost her daughter and couldn’t save her. But her pupils were still alive. If she could save them and seal away Gray’s darkness then she would use Iced Shell.

  Wasn’t at all disappointed with this one.

• Anonymous

  Agreed, we finally got some sort of villain that Gray can really invest himself into. And he fights much more sensibly than Natsu does, something that I enjoy about his battles, when we do get to see them.

  The one thing that makes me wonder is that Lyon stated, in the Deliora arc that Gray still hadn’t mastered “living” Ice Make Magic. Which makes me wonder if Lyon and Gray kind of had similar Ice Make styles at first, but Lyon is just farther along than his senior.

  I think if there’s one flaw in Fairy Tail, its that it doesn’t seem to give Gray a real reason to fight in each arc, as opposed to Natsu and Erza. Hopefully, with this arc, we have a change for the better and a continuing trend.

  And yes! Ultear’s background is how you create some manner of sympathy for a character. The comparison with Cana is wonderful IMO. I mean, look at what Cana did and what Ultear did. One was just a selfish prat for ONE arc, and the other has been continuously ruining lives throughout the series.

  Yet, we can feel sorry for Ultear, because her background story is actually tragic and sad. I don’t think it excuses her actions, but you definitely can understand what all that torture, abandonment and jealousy could have done to a child.

  I don’t think Ul lost Ultear after she took in Gray and Lyon. More or less, I’m assuming, a significant amount of time passed between Ultear’s admission in Brain’s lab, to her escape. I’m sure the memories of Ul where she cries at the death of her daughter were after she gave Ultear away, but before she took in Gray and Lyon.

  And I think Ultear really did benefit from her selflessness. By giving herself up for Gray, she was, inadvertently creating the person that would correct her Daughter’s twisted path of destruction and manipulation.

  A solid, sweet, character driven episode for sure!

• Anonymous

  It is good to have a villain that Gray can invest himself into. The other times most of his investment was because others were at risk not because the enemy had any real connection to him.

  Interesting point though. I think he meant more that they had different specialties. We didn’t really see Lyon using anything static so maybe just a style preference. If it was just being ahead then over the years Gray could have worked on living ice. There are probably a variety of Maker Magic types and those two fell into those categories. Think for growth reasons it’s best for Gray to keep going down his route than try to become an all-around Ice Maker.

  It really is amazing when you think about it. Ultear has done a lot more terrible things, but it’s so much easier to hate Cana. Of course one can’t forgive Ultear just like that since her actions hurt a lot of people like Jellal. Sure, she was ‘following orders’ but don’t think she cared. She just has to start walking down a better path and find her own redemption. Unfortunately for Jellal the new magic council got their hands on him, he deserved better than his current situation. Curious to see where Ultear’s character will go now.

  It really is hard to tell when it comes to timelines. I just kind of followed the episode’s flow, but definitely possible that Ul escaped after she had been called dead. Suppose though it doesn’t really matter.

  I’m going to assume you meant that Ul benefited from her selflessness since I can’t recall Ultear being selfless yet XD. But true that Ul did get something from her sacrifice. In a sense it helped both Lyon and Ultear be pulled away from the paths they had been on. She might not be ‘alive’ in a normal sense, but she did so much for her daughter and pupils. She sealed Deliora for Gray and eventually it was shown that she did kill it and she was able to reach her daughter in the ocean. In the end full respect for Ul and what she accomplished. Think she did a good job protecting her happiness.

• Clinton

  Brain and Ultear are both part of the Belam Alliance. The Tower of Heven was joint work between Grimoire Heart and OS. Hell Brain was the one who gave Ultear to Grimoire Heart. Remember he said that Ultear was a gift for them.

• Ana

  Way for intelligent battles!!! Brainless raw-power ups drool!!!
  Zamb bam, Gray is teh man!
  Oh yeah, the whole thing with him was worth of an awe. And that scene, that bloody ice scene, THEY DIDN’T CENSOR IT AT ALL! BLOOD IN TEH ANIME AT LEAST! I thought the animators were allergic to it, XD
  Please the old excuse to cut blood cuz it’s a kid show is lame. Don’t ever underestimate kids (experience word from an illustrator focalized in children’s education)

  Well, about Ultear. Seriously, whatever. Whatever her reasons, she is still a bitch. Okay she was just a friggin kid that misunderstood everything, but for PETE’S SAKE, she is friggin adult now. Why the hell she didn’t GROW UP inside and get over it? Or simply investigate instal getting stuck in her psycho damn mind? AND SHE FUCKED UNCOUNTABLE PEOPLE’S LIVES JUST BECAUSE OF HER PERSONAL WHINING. Oh man, so touching, right. She is nothing but an attention whore. In the manga her whining didn’t convince me a damn thing. The anime didn’t neither. Whatever the effects and the chosen soundtrack. A bitch is always a bitch.

  The manga fandom forgave her immediately. I never will. She ruined Jellal’s WHOLE life. She is free while Jellal is on jail. Is that fair? No.

  There’s no redemption for her bitchiness. I seriously hate villains with no or wimpy reasons.

  On a brighter side, loved Juvia’s willpower, XDDD!!! And man, Zeref surely is an heavy sleeper. How many episodes he is napping anyway?

  Next episode will be the last one that I will watch for a while. After that one, in the next 3 ones I will skip completely. They are completely out of my interest. I’m not going to torture myself to watch them.
  I can say there’s only 6 episodes left before the conclusion of this arc. After that, I fear will be a filler arc or hiatus.
  The manga it’s only 28 chapters forward from the anime. Something like 14 episodes. There’s no way the anime is going to it immediately.

• Anonymous

  I don’t think it redeems Ultear, as she’s done some truly terrible things, but it can be clearly argued that She was misled and ruined, both in terms of her childhood and her personality, by two of the series’ villains, Zero/Brain and Purehito/Hades.

  Does this excuse her behavior and all the lives she’s ruined? No. Much like Jellal has had to own up for his actions, I’m sure as some point Ultear will too, at least, if the series follows the conventions it’s thrown itself.

  Sure, characters can redeem themselves, but they also have to deal with the punishment before their sins are thrown out of the equation. And much like for Gajeel, Jellal, Laxus and Juvia, there is going to be some sort of punishment for Ultear. We’ll see where it goes.

  Juvia’s willpower ftw!

  I’m guessing the next few episodes are the team combo versus Purehito XD, Understandably.

  And yeah, I’m curious to see what Fairy Tail is going to do once this arc wraps up. Fillers? Argh, that’s going to turn my weekly writing into more of a chore than the joy it is now.

  It’ll be sad to not see your comments, so I guess I’ll see you in about 3 weeks! =]

• Clinton

  Brain can be blamed for both Jellal and Ultear.

  He made Ultear what she was and helped start the tower of Heven so he could link himself to kids with strong potental. He also taught Jellal his Magic and helped him get started on his plans. So blame Brain for Both Ultear and Jellal.

• Ana

  I will comment next episode, then I will skip three in a row

  There’s some things I forgot to check about comparing manga with anime: in the manga Brain didn’t appear at all. Anyway, there’s no way to tell if that’s a lie from the animators or the author secretly told them to show that. I say that because the thing that Oracion Seis’s members being formal slaves was never confirmed in the manga and the author confirmed it as true.
  The conversation between Lucy and Natsu is completely filler (and also extremely unnecessary) and well the shitty appearance of Virgo for fanservice (she EVEN said that in first person. Way to ruin even more the reputation of the author’s perverted nature when he is not being pervert)

  The only way for redemption for Ultear is suicide. There’s no hellish way that one track minded bitch can compensate after she did. Oh one track minded. Suddenly I remembered Laxus. He is as bright as her.

  Oh yeah, 17th February will release a new manga volume in Japan, and with an OVA along completely exclusive from the author for both manga and anime audiences. If it’s Lucy X Natsu, the author better NEVER meet me.

• Anonymous

  I’m willing to believe the author told them they could add that. Wouldn’t be the first time they added things that wasn’t in the manga with the author’s ok. Either just something that wasn’t thought of at the time or wouldn’t have fit the pacing of the manga quite right.

  Somehow I doubt Fairy Tail is going to suggest suicide as redemption. Interesting I suppose to suggest she selfishly take the easy way out and simply do more harm to those who care about her. Her actions certainly can’t be forgiven, but it’s a waste to say “just die.” But really can’t wait to hear your thoughts on whatever they do with Laxus. Considering that brief appearance he had earlier in this arc he’s bound to return to the series and redeem himself.

• Ana

  Laxus is one of the reasons why I will refuse to watch the episodes after the next one.

• Clinton

  Virgo appeared in the manga and said the same thing.

• Clinton

  Also its not a lie from the animators. They are just expanding on the world.

• Clinton

  Zancrow was never knocked out remember. He was disabled but he never lost consciousness

• Ian

  Thirteen comments and not a single one of them acknowledging that they get your “full buster” joke like I do.

• Anonymous

  Haha, I was hoping someone would get it!

• Anonymous

  Well I’m finally back everyone My account got erased and stuff but I just copied it Also I’m happy that the animators finally showed blood (Though not in liquid form but still good enough). I mean seriously it’s not like seeing something realistic like blood is gonna mess you up XD

• Anonymous

  Welcome back!

  And yeah, the blood ice blades were friggin awesome! =D