Opinions (B+):

In an arc that’s given us high point after high point, this was a bit of a slow week for Fairy Tail’s Tartaros Arc. That doesn’t mean, of course, that it was particularly bad per say, just that it didn’t exceed expectations like it has been. There was bound to be that one episode that stood out as a bit lower in quality compared to the rest, but even that/this episode had its share of fine moments.

First and foremost, its nice to know that while Fairy Tail may have stopped Face, they’re hardly out of the woods yet. For how awesome Wendy and Carla were, lets be honest, they had quite a bit of luck on their side too. That Dragon Force power up came in the nick of time, and was just what the two girls needed to inch in a victory.

Fairy Tail’s magic might be safe, but there’s still some grueling battles to contend with. The first of those, and perhaps the one that I’ve mentioned I care the least about, was with Franmalth. Its hard to even call it a battle, as the whole thing has had this weird combination of comedy and sillyness that’s made it difficult to take seriously. Franmalth may be ridiculously overpowered in some ways (being able to absorb souls, people and magic) but the guy was one of those cartoony villains whose defeat would be more or less a punchline.

And a punchline it was, as Lucy ended up tricking him into thinking Natsu was a Celestial spirit, which in actually lead to the tables being turned. Before that, I’d say it was just weird… Seeing the funny looking Hades/Franmalth chimera shoot magic blasts like a cowboy gunslinger, and also elongate parts of himself into tentacle like things that grabbed Natsu, Lucy and Happy.

Natsu, for a change, actually had a fairly smart thing to say. I’m not entirely sure if the soul absorbtion was based on willpower, but I think each of three focusing on what they valued the most was pretty awesome to see. For Natsu it was seeing Igneel again, the classic shounen trope of the main protagonist looking to see his father again. For Lucy it was her comrades and the celestial spirits, and for Happy, it was Carla and Fish XD

What is worth noting, and slightly disappointing, is that neither Natsu nor Lucy hinted at each as particularly special. For all the teasing and suggesting this series has made about a potential romance between the two, they’re still very much just friends. It is kind of disappointing to see, as I wouldn’t have minded a quick flash of Natsu in Lucy’s head, or vice versa. With both Happy and even friggin Gray getting better at their own relationships, Its sad that the main duo of Fairy Tail is miles away from anything of note.

But, Lucy’s most important thing, her Celestial spirits, is what lead the trio to victory. The way to defeat Franmalth is pretty obvious too, just hurl inorganic matter at the guy and crush him to death. It was quite the sight to behold though, with Natsu lifting gigantic piece of rubble after gigantic piece of rubble and hurling at Franmalth. Given how much destruction Natsu causes on a frequent basis, I think he’s also got potential to work in the restoration construction and make some serious money XD

So Franmalth gets taken out, and the souls inside him are released. One of those souls, Master Hades’s, ends up giving a pretty solid warning. Face was hardly the end game for Tartaros, and he urges the trio to have Makarov release the light. What “the light” is? Its not exactly spelled out. My first instinct was thinking it was Fairy Law, but that seems a bit too obvious. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.

The big revelation though, is that Face was but one step in a much larger plot. As we check in with Erza, we see Kyouka make an escape now that Face’s activation has been thwarted. She lives “Neo-Minerva” to take on Erza, and yes, that name is extremely silly. Given that its Minerva though, its all pretty much in character. The Minerva bit is interesting, so we’ll see how this plays into the larger story.

What is interesting is that Kyouka decides that given the situation with Face, its about time to awaken END. END we know, the demon that Igneel didn’t kill, the guild master and strongest of Zeref’s Demons. Seems like he’ll be making an appearance soon enough.

The other big chunk of the episode followed up on Mirajane’s battle with Seliah. Calling Mira-chan badass is an understatement. In one fell swoop, she pretty much lays waste to Tartaros “respawning” lab, and also seems to dominate Seliah for a good chunk of the battle. Its only after Seliah releases her “limiter” and gets a combination of yellow glowing eyes, chocolate brown skin and a major power level increase. While Mira pretty much wins round two, and seemingly has taken out Tartaros’s respawning ability, round two looks to be pretty grim… For now.

And as the rather odd Lamy mentions to Lisanna as they both pull the double duty of fighting and serving as the peanut gallery, Tartaros has more cards up its sleeve.

The final moments have us visit a now blind Jellal with Oracion Seis in tow. It seems that the alliance between Oracion Seis and Jellal is still pretty flimsy. Most of Oracion Seis ranges from “wait and see” to “lets take down Jellal”, but its Cobra’s words that halt any hasty action. It seems like he can hear “countless” screams, so wherever Jellal is taking them at least has perked Cobra’s interest.

I’m sure that’s where we’ll pick up from next week. For all intents and purposes then, I think this episode served as a sort of transition episode from where we were with the whole Face situation, to whatever’s coming next. As a transition episode, it was pretty good. If nothing else, its shown that there’s a lot of meat left in this Tartaros arc.

Preview:

There’s a decent amount of spoiler in the Preview again XD Both visually and in what Lucy/Aya Hirano narrates. Avoid it if you didn’t see it!