Okay. First opinion. Do NOT just watch first episodes and judge. At least watch the first lets say....10 episodes before you start liking it. The first few episodes are introduction episodes -which means Hiro Mashima is trying to tell you what "Fiore" is like and who the people are.
As soon as I started watching the first episode, I knew Fairy Tail was going to be one of my favorites. I’m new to the Fairy Tail story, but it seems to be the typical: heroes’ power up during battle, and focuses on camaraderie of the group. The combat is all about flashy fight scenes using large magical spells and/or physical attacks, these cause a lot of collateral damage. And finally top off the show with sarcastic and slapstick comedy. All of these seem pretty standard, but the combination in Fairy Tail is well done. If you’re looking for 24 minutes of spirit lifting combat and strait forward comedy then Fairy Tail is for you.
Plot:
Generally weak main character joins a Guild of mages, all of which seem to be insane in some way. This guild (Fairy Tail) is known for their power and destructive tendencies. The main characters choose missions from a bounty board that give monetary rewards. However, initial monetary gain is often overlooked and the group is all about doing the right thing. Like most of this type of anime, combat is normally one on one with the good characters winning after powering up through some past memory or emotional boost. Overall the general story is moving toward battles between good and evil Mage Guilds
Art:
Personally I really don’t care about the quality of art. The style is similar to One Piece and Rave Master, they even brought Plue over. Initially the quality was not great, but it didn’t hurt my overall enjoyment of the story. Also the quality improves as the series progresses.
Characters:
Initial introductions of secondary characters were done poorly, all you get is a name and what type of general Shounen character they fall under. Some of their combat abilities are hinted at; however, much is left to the imagination. Due to this series being meant for long term, character development has been slow at best. Once you get into the characters they are well done and some of the relations between different characters are enjoyable.
Comedy:
This is a very important factor to me. Most of the comedy in Fairy Tail is strait forward and the characters will let you know when a joke was made. However, there is also a lot of subtle comedy that often goes overlooked. Anything that makes me laugh is a ‘thumbs up’ in my book. Pretty much anything that Happy does makes me laugh.
Sound:
The sound is well done; I like the music including the OP and ED songs. Also the music complements the characters during battle scenes with uplifting beats.
First Impressions:
I love this anime; I never read the manga and probably will never do so. Fairy tail is a mix between Slayers, Rave Master and some One Piece. Being a Slayers fan I couldn’t believe the similarities when watching the first episode. I was hooked from the start and will watch Fairy Tail as soon as each episode is released.
Overall:
Fairy Tail is enjoyable and is definitely one of the better recent releases. Personally I give Fairy Tail a 10, but I know not all people have the same tastes. For the standard person I give Fairy Tail a solid 8. I’m looking forward to seeing were Fairy Tail heads and I hope it will continue.
