Opinions (A+):

Man, is it good to have Fairy Tail back. While it was worrying for a while there, we really are back to the show firing on all cylinders once again. In a season where sequels and even newer high potential shows have failed to deliver, Fairy Tail has risen back to the point where it was when it captivated many. This week’s episode was another great episode, and it genuinely entertained, while also generating some real excitement and hype for what’s coming down the line.

Honestly, ever since last week’s episode aired, its almost like we’re in a completely different show from the one we saw at the beginning of this season. Each week now, has its share of awesome reveals, immaculate pacing and is just generally oh so good. Nothing feels unnecessary, nothing feels wasted , it all just feels… Good and satisfying. And I know that’s kind of stuff that you expect from any form of entertainment, but I honestly can’t remember the last time I have felt like this, in what seems like a really long time. These last two episodes? They’ve reminded me of why I got into anime, in the first place.

High praise, sure, but I think the show has just kind of earned it. So, with all of that said, lets actually talk about what happened this week. The main headline, was of course, finding out about Makarov and his reasons for disbanding the guild a year ago. The reasons we got were certainly believable, but I still can’t exactly get behind Makarov’s big plan. Yes, I get that he did this all to protect his family, and I can’t say I like it. Sure, Its the typical “old man, manly man” thing to do, but its also super friggin annoying for everyone else involved.

It makes sense in Makarov’s head at least…

I feel like a better plan would’ve been to sit down with everyone, and tell them what was going on. Communication and transparency is something that I feel the guild’s members have earned at this point, especially after all that they’ve been through together. Makarov spitting on that, even if with good intentions, isn’t altogether all that noble or great to see. What it is, however, is very believable and true to his character.

See, I can dislike a character’s actions, but still find the overall idea plausible and even entertaining. Very few shows, however, can pull that off, and I’d say Fairy Tail did it this week, because it kind of went with a character asserting his agency over a situation, rather than the plot requiring him to. Makarov is always a bit of a rash guy, especially when it comes to the kids that he views as his children (i.e the entire Fairy Tail guild). So it makes sense, therefore, that Makarov would do this rash kind of action, and basically make a mess of things.

Erza Scarlet – The Seventh Guild Master of Fairy Tail.

At least Makarov’s actions put some much needed context to Fairy Tail’s disbanding, even if the chief reason here is to setup a nice rescue mission arc for the “chosen” few that learn about this whole situation. Speaking of which, its worth talking about the other big thing that happened this week; Erza becoming the seventh Guild Master of Fairy Tail.

Now, here’s the thing, I’m a bit conflicted on this whole idea. On the one hand, I’d say that Erza is probably the best choice out of everyone that’s current around. On the other hand, however, she hasn’t exactly been all too likeable lately. The show and Mashima-sensei haven’t done her any favors with what she’s done thus far, ever since we got the show back. Her lack of communication and trust with her closest friends is certainly a growing concern.

Uh yeah… I don’t think Mirajane’s gunning for anyone big roles anymore XD

Honestly, I’d rather we get someone like Laxus or maybe even Mirajane to take over and be the guild master. Laxus, is unfortunately not around, and Mirajane seems like she doesn’t want the responsibility at all, so Erza is the de facto choice at this point. Its just a bit vexing when even the actions that she takes this week, really don’t inspire much confidence in her abilities as a leader.

Again, Erza does something similar to what Makarov did earlier, and keeps both the information and the rescue mission around it all completely secret from most of the guild. Look, I get that its smart to just have a hand full of people involved, but I do believe that everyone in the guild has a right to know, and be told of what’s going on. After having endured that crap before with the last guild master, you’d think Erza would respect her guild mates a little bit more. It is what is though, and while I would’ve liked Erza to talk to everyone and give them all tasks (i.e rebuild the guild and prepare for our arrival), this path, once again, seems in line with her character in much the same way that Makarov’s actions were.

The untold hilarious origin story of Mest Grayder is told this week!

Now, before we get into what exactly is going on with Makarov, its worth talking about the deliverer of all the big information this episode, Mest. We haven’t seen Mest in a long time, and honestly the last time I saw the guy was in that Fairy Tail movie (Dragon Cry). Mest, in general, has been a pretty solid and likable character throughout the show and franchise’s run. This week, however, we really got to know just how much the guy has given up for his guild and duty.

There’s some funny comedy with Mest messing with his own memories and infiltrating Fairy Tail as his alter ego, but all in all, he’s been basically on a long undercover mission for most of the fnrahic’se story. He’s done a lot, and as we see in the episode, Mest really is one of the most dedicated members of Fairy Tail. He’s done a lot for the guild, and I’m honestly excited to see him take his place besides Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Wendy and the rest.

Alvarez, looks pretty different from any other place we’ve seen in this show.

Getting back to the main topic, Fairy Tail is actually dealing with something rather gigantic, this time around. Its a clever idea, and one that I really really like. It was probably exceedingly tempting, I’m sure, for Mashima-sensei to jump straight into Zeref and Acnologia, but the whole idea of the rival country and continent of Alvarez is just awesome in itself. I love that the opponent here is another country, one that’s a result of 730 guilds coming together and uniting. The fact that Fairy Tail is just ONE guild. whereas Alvarez is SEVEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY times bigger, is just insane. It really is a different kind of situation to the one we’ve seen from the show thus far.

And Granted, the continent of Ishgar where Fairy Tail is located, has its own 500 or so guilds. The problem, of course, is that the guilds aren’t exactly united under one banner, and well, even if they were, they’re still at a severe disadvantage numbers wise. Plus the fact that The old council with its Etherios cannon and its Faces weapon, was actually deterring this other, bigger sovereign power, is just a nice twist on things.

Yeah, Ishgar kinda really screwed itself, didn’t it?

Its something else, when everything that’s happened up to this point in the story, has more or less just been people on Ishgar basically making a mess of things and putting themselves in a situation where they can get iced by a much bigger threat. And Alvarez has good reason to attack and conquer Ishgar too, since the Lumen Historie, the thing that houses Mavis at the bottom of Fairy Tail’s guild hall, is actually a thing that that country eagerly wants.

Its definitely an interesting choice to not really reveal what Lumen Historie is yet. What we do know is that its something that both Gildarts and Laxus have more or less freaked out upon learning about, with Gildarts basically leaving the guild master position entirely. So the fact that entire continents are fighting over this thing, definitely adds to the mystery here.

Team A – Makarov Rescue Operation.

And, with all of that revealed, Mest, Erza, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Wendy, Happy and Carla decide to form a “small” team and mount a rescue operation to save Makarov (who actually went to negotiate with Alvarez and give Ishgar some time to recover and reestablish a council ruling body). Again, I’m not a huge fan of this “secrecy” business, but what I did like, is how Gajeel reacted to it all.

I’m not entirely sure how he could hear what was going on, but my guess is that he can now hear things through the ground with his improved Dragon Slayer abilities. It stands to reason that Gajeel has gotten stronger, so him having a few new tricks is certainly welcome. What I love about the guy, however, is in what he does in response to being left out of the Makarov party. Rather than be annoyed, the guy does something truly awesome and revives Fairy Tail’s Team B, with the goal of embarking on a separate mission. The mission in question? Find and bring back “The Thunder dude”, AKA Laxus.

Team B – Bring back Thunder dude – Mission XD

Which, honestly was such a cool and awesome way to end the episode. So we have Natsu and his group going over to Alvarez to save Makrov, meanwhile Gajeel is going to go with his group and get Laxus back. Each storyline sounds utterly fantastic, and with each group is the potential for some really nice character dynamics and moments. Plus, its another step at reviving Fairy Tail, and bringing back its strength to the max.

And with that said, we’re off to the next big story arc. Its worth saying that the thing I love the most about this episode is that it suggests that there’s a lot more story left in this show, then I perhaps originally thought. My basic assumption was that we’d just be getting into the Zeref stuff and the show would end. Thankfully, the show  is expanding its scope and building even more on its rather colorful world. We now have countries, continents and politics to add to the rather interesting mix of lore, magic and well good versus evil.

Feels like old times! In the best way possible.

I’m excited to learn more about Ishgar and Alvarez. I’m eagerly awaiting more info on Zeref, Mavis and Lumen Historie, and of course, I can’t wait to see what Natsu and the rest do in their next adventure. It just feels good man, it feels good to be genuinely excited for Fairy Tail’s next episode again. A part of me really wishes I could just binge watch it all right now, but I suppose there’s something really awesome about experiencing a good story on a weekly basis. Its is, after all, how I’ve experienced this franchise since it began. Here’s hoping the show continues to deliver quality episodes like the one this week, because we certainly don’t have enough good shows like Fairy Tail airing right now.