Fairy Tail Is My Guilty Pleasure
Fairy Tail is the third anime I ever watched right behind Naruto, my sweetheart, and Bleach.
Considering all the anime that I have watched now, I wouldn’t consider Fairy Tail amongst the best that I have watched objectively. But when it’s personal, this show is up there with my favorite Ecchi.
I’d like to start with the criticisms most people have about Fairy Tail: the power of friendship, and fanservice.
On the first, I agree. Knowing that every fight will be settled in a similar fashion with one of main characters, Natsu for example, receiving an out of nowhere powerup after monologuing about their friends and how they must win for them can be repetitive and boring. But it can also be a lot of fun.
The amount of hype generated after Natsu has been thrown around, only for him to stand up because he must. The suspense as he starts making his fire magic never gets old. If I’m honest, it only got better as the show progresses.
Next, fanservice. This is a difficult topic to discuss as it only has two opinions within the anime community; hate it or love it. The hatred for fan service is understandable, some of the outfits can be too revealing without much relevance, or some characters can seem out of place because of it.
Again, understandable, however! I like it. Fan service is fun, and it doesn’t take away from the enjoyment I get from the show. Were it some other show I would lean towards the other end of the spectrum here, but I believe most anime watchers tend to forget that they must consider what show they are watching before placing their own personal standards and beliefs into something. Were we watching Vinland Saga with Fairy Tail levels of fan service, I would have to agree. But we’re watching Fairy Tail, I say enjoy it.
Alright, now onto what I love about his show.
To begin, I love Natsu and Lucy. I’ve confused who was meant to be the main character and eventually just stopped caring because I like them both the same.
Lucy is a very likeable bundle of aspirations and joy. I always enjoyed her magic as well with some of her summons being cool and her uses being creative to make up for lack of power in comparison to others. What I like most about Lucy is that at a certain point she becomes the glue that keeps Fairy Tail together. Her love for the guild is never ending and because of her and her efforts of keeping track of everyone we’re able to see a great and heartfelt reunion.
Before moving on to Natsu, I’d like to talk about something Fairy Tail does very well in general: magic. We have no shortage of magic in anime and literature, but Fairy Tail has creativeness and fun jam packed into most characters and I give it props. Of course we have Lucy, but one of my other favorites is Gildart’s crush magic. Smashing everything into pieces is cool but watching him break Natsu into a bunch of miniatures was great.
Natsu. Some might disagree, but Natsu isn’t a very complex character. To me, Natsu is just a good guy who cares for his friends and a good fight. And that’s ok. His joyful personality paired with a never give up attitude have led to some of the most enjoyable victories I’ve ever witnessed in anime, and I loved every single one of them.
In truth, what I like the most about Fairy Tail is the fan service. But the fun is a close second. Vinland Saga and Attack on Titan are must watch pieces of media the delve into heavy topics and have masterful writing. I cannot recommend each show enough and would share those with others before sharing something like Fairy Tail; however, not every show needs to be literary art.
Fairy Tail, for all its faults, gives me serotonin levels that very few anime ever will. The cool fights, the creative magic, the likeable characters, Natsu yelling while the awesome comeback OST (Fairy Tail Main Theme) plays brings so much joy that I can’t help but want more of it even if I know the power of friendship will never lose.
I love Fairy Tail. I believe more anime watchers, new and old, should give the show a chance. It may take some time, but watching our boys go wild in the grand magic games is some satisfaction that will fuel anyone for weeks to come.
And so, as Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest is just weeks away, I can say with a happy heart that I will be watching it. I haven’t read the manga as I never picked it up after finishing the original. But I expect to enjoy the power of friendship, creative magic, and fan service just as much as I did over a decade ago.
