Fairy Tail Anime Episode Discussion Thread [Episode 165 and Onward]

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

Hardly. Anyone who's watched the anime or read the manga to this point knows that Lucy is far from useless.

I agree with this, but it does seem sort of unfair that Lucy has to be a partner in the exam while her most powerful spirit is free-lancing for the competition.

[Lumir]

For some reason im really hype for this arc. It just feels like its going to be epic.

[haegar]

Originally Posted by Lumir

For some reason im really hype for this arc. It just feels like its going to be epic.

Ironically, despite me bitching about it in manga mightily, so am I. The level of badassery and fanservice about to come our way is simply otherworldy, and while I took issue with some manga aspects it might very well turn out awesome and epic in anime, just like you say. Ep79 was a very promising start imho. I havent watched all Edolas EPs yet, taking a small break of anime, is it just me or is Lucy, specially her facial lines lookin a tad more mature than she used to? Like a little less little stub nosed cuty and more adult woman? Suits her nicely... the Kana/Lucy scenes were poor gold btw... and that "stare" Elfman got and how it freaked him out ... so roflmao ... Ever looked so damn hot there at the bar hnnnnng

[ookamigirl]

S-class wizard exam! That's something new!
Charla & her prediction of the future... very interesting.
Natsu & Happy training hard. Everyone is in high spirits except Cana.

[Ryus]

Originally Posted by Lumir

For some reason im really hype for this arc. It just feels like its going to be epic.

That's cause it is an awesome arc and starts right off the bat that way. Not to mention that Edolas was a bit lame by FT standards and something great after something OK just makes it stand out that much more.

Having read Edolas as it was ending in the manga I can tell you, I was felling like giving up FT but then S-class trail hit and my FT zeal was back in moments. Now as S-class trail ends I can say that I'm not anywhere close to be defeated as a fan like I was with Edolas... but just a warning this arc isn't perfect either, though for the most part is very good at the very least.

To be honest I'm not even sure the manga S-class trail arc is over yet or not ... at the very least the manga is at the tie in between arcs but I think it must be about to end since they started the anime of it right away with no filler eps . The manga arc S-class trail is longer than Edolas by about 10-20 chapters based on where one states the tie in between arcs is and the actual core arc (I think "S-class Trail" might be FT longest arc) but Edolas as an anime had more filler than any previous arc by far, so it will be interesting to see if this arc gets insanely long due to fillers being on an Edolas level or if it will end up shorter than it if they don't edit it as much. Either way it should be a great ride.

I agree with haegar's comments about this arc having stunning fanservice (It started off with a bath scene and only gets better) and very badass (aka great fights and character moments)... I'd like to add it's VERY FUNNY TOO. and IMHO the funniest moment in FT history is in this arc... on another forum more meant for manga readers people where going mad about that moment.

Overall... this arc could be wrapped up as this arc having the greatest potential out of any arc... hands down, but failed to live up to it in a few places while overall still being a big success and it felt very FT. If you just sit down and just enjoy the ride not expecting anything more than what you get, you'll simply love this arc... I'm highly looking forward to the anime of it.

Originally Posted by ookamigirl

S-class wizard exam! That's something new!
Charla & her prediction of the future... very interesting.
Natsu & Happy training hard. Everyone is in high spirits except Cana.

The showing of the training was filler, but a great example of how the anime crew usually greatly builds on what the manga does (unlike some other manga to anime adaptions). I was lmao on that one.

[Bern-san]

I'm excited for the upcoming episodes, one of my favourite arcs in FT

Liked those scenes with Natsu and Happy, also that the characters from the extra guild cards (like Kinana) appear but with no relevance

By the way, the words Lucy says after knowing the chosen ones were different from the manga (wrong translation from the manga?):

Spoiler for manga/anime comparison:

In the manga what she "said" led to some speculation about her role in the arc (for example I remember people saying the hand in Charle's vision being Lucy's), so I'm surprised the difference in translations

and I loved the track used while Makarov announced the participants

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Bern-san

and I loved the track used while Makarov announced the participants

One of the two new pieces from this episode. Can't wait for more new content.

[Simonsy]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

I agree with this, but it does seem sort of unfair that Lucy has to be a partner in the exam while her most powerful spirit is free-lancing for the competition.

Lucy is actually a pretty decent partner compared to the other choices teh rest of them make

I mean look at teh teammates

Mest - Wendy (lucy is better than her)
Natsu - Happy (lucy is better than him)
Gray - Loki (lucy is better than him, she has like 7 other golden keys man)
Juvia - Lissana (Haven't got to see her since a child, so can't really judge, but animal change don't seem as powerful as her siblings changes)


Now teh rest did have pretty decent teammates

Fried - Bixlow (both good)
Elfman - Evergreen
Levi - Gajeel (he is great, hard to see her as being strong)

So really Lucy is a pretty good catch. she has improved greatly since joining. hell i would have figured she would have been up for s class before both levi and kana, possibly even elfman. can't commetn on mest obviously since we just saw him. THis would have been my 8 choices. Natsu, Gray, Evergreen, Fried, Bixlow, Juvia, Gajeel, then either elfman or lucy.

personally i think those are the top 8 people in the guild not already s-class ranked

[Randrak42]

It all depends on how you look at it and what they will have to do in the exams.

I would personally pick Wendy over Lucy. Lucy's gold spirits are manly combat oriented (except maybe Gemini) which is a big help since Cana isn't all that powerful offense wise (from what we've seen in the anime so far) but what do we know about Mest? For all we know Mest could be insanely strong in battle...in this case Wendy...a HEALER would be an incredible catch. A healer with some basic offensive abilities is always a must have if you are already good in combat.

Lucy's also missing Leo which is by far her strongest spirit which severely decreases her combat ability. Leo on the other hand is much stronger from when he was Loki since he can use his light magic. I believe Leo can easily beat any of the other golden keys Lucy has, except maybe Gemini and Aquarius who would be a bit harder to beat (Not counting Aries)

While Happy is zero in combat by himself, unlike Lucy, remember what Elfman said, if there is a race then Natsu has a huge advantage over most of the others. Not to mention Natsu is already very strong by himself. You gotta think about what the partners can do as a team instead of their individual abilities. Natsu and Happy have the best teamwork out of anyone.

Lissana...we haven't seen enough of her to know if she's stronger or weaker than Lucy. Sure animal transformations isn't comparable to monster and demon transformations but if she turns into a lion or tiger...tell me you wouldn't shit your pants

Elfman...people forget cause he's funny and stays in the background but he beat one of the four element lords...a guy that was in the same standing as Juvia. We don't see much of Elfman but he is a total beast. Even Evergreen beat him cause of her...assets (and eye power) if I remember correctly.

Before you say anything...yes I read the manga but I wrote this disregarding everything I know from the manga xD

[Krono]

Originally Posted by Ryus

The manga arc S-class trail is longer than Edolas by about 10-20 chapters based on where one states the tie in between arcs is and the actual core arc (I think "S-class Trail" might be FT longest arc) but Edolas as an anime had more filler than any previous arc by far, so it will be interesting to see if this arc gets insanely long due to fillers being on an Edolas level or if it will end up shorter than it if they don't edit it as much. Either way it should be a great ride.

The S-class arc is definitely the longest arc in FT.

[Ryus]

Originally Posted by Randrak42

It all depends on how you look at it and what they will have to do in the exams.

True...

Originally Posted by Randrak42

Before you say anything...yes I read the manga but I wrote this disregarding everything I know from the manga xD

Me too... and good job of giving them no clues either by only using knowledge based up until this point in the anime. I'll try to do the same

Originally Posted by Randrak42

I would personally pick Wendy over Lucy. Lucy's gold spirits are manly combat oriented (except maybe Gemini) which is a big help since Cana isn't all that powerful offense wise (from what we've seen in the anime so far) but what do we know about Mest? For all we know Mest could be insanely strong in battle...in this case Wendy...a HEALER would be an incredible catch. A healer with some basic offensive abilities is always a must have if you are already good in combat.

Picking Wendy over Lucy implies you yourself where strong enough to support yourself and could last long enough for her support magic to help you. Cana, based on Phantom Lord arc and Fighting Festival arc doesn't fit this criteria... for her Lucy is a better match. The same can't be said about Mest... whom is Mystogan's disciple after all. Maybe he can fully capitalize on her powers or maybe not.

Look at it this way... an Wendy X Redus tag team would be next to useless if going against even Pantherlily. However Natsu plus Wendy equals robot dragon smashing time. The question is the power one assumes Mest has.

Originally Posted by Randrak42

Lucy's also missing Leo which is by far her strongest spirit which severely decreases her combat ability. Leo on the other hand is much stronger from when he was Loki since he can use his light magic. I believe Leo can easily beat any of the other golden keys Lucy has, except maybe Gemini and Aquarius who would be a bit harder to beat (Not counting Aries)

I'd rate Gemini as her potentially strongest key, followed by Loki, and the Aquarius. After all if she was to copy Makarov she'd be unstoppable... for 5 minutes. However like the example above there power is dependent on whom they copy, if they copy Happy he'd be more useful in a race situation than fighting.

As to the rest of the keys they're all quite a bit weaker in terms of there implied power levels. Though all have potential useful specialties.

Originally Posted by Randrak42

While Happy is zero in combat by himself, unlike Lucy, remember what Elfman said, if there is a race then Natsu has a huge advantage over most of the others. Not to mention Natsu is already very strong by himself. You gotta think about what the partners can do as a team instead of their individual abilities. Natsu and Happy have the best teamwork out of anyone.

Agreed... and much of that depends on circumstance and which team fights whom. Can you see Natsu and Happy beating Erza being serious without DF? After all she will be a trouble maker here...

Originally Posted by Randrak42

Lissana...we haven't seen enough of her to know if she's stronger or weaker than Lucy. Sure animal transformations isn't comparable to monster and demon transformations but if she turns into a lion or tiger...tell me you wouldn't shit your pants

Or a shark since she paired with Juvia whom can summon water.

Originally Posted by Randrak42

Elfman...people forget cause he's funny and stays in the background but he beat one of the four element lords...a guy that was in the same standing as Juvia. We don't see much of Elfman but he is a total beast. Even Evergreen beat him cause of her...assets (and eye power) if I remember correctly.

Agreed... Elfman is at least as strong as Gray or Lucy. While he did lose to Evergreen it was more based on her powers be made to be hax to anyone but Erza. Technically she could beat Makarov if given the right circumstances but should easily lose to him in terms of power (like Aria vs Makarov)... same with Freed or Bixlow.

[Kid Ryan]

I think I might have to wait for the S-Class arc to finish airing first, before I can start watching any more episodes, waiting for one episode every week will be a pain in the ass...

[Guardian Enzo]

I guess I don't really understand the nature of Lucy's contract system, because I still don't understand how Loke can rent himself out to someone else and compete against Lucy in the exam. It makes no sense.

[Ryus]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

I guess I don't really understand the nature of Lucy's contract system, because I still don't understand how Loke can rent himself out to someone else and compete against Lucy in the exam. It makes no sense.

It doesn't mean he can't take on Cana while Gray takes on Lucy... it's a friendly competition after all, so he's not breaking the cardinal rule of bring about her death. Plus I don't see why they couldn't call it "training" or something to bend any possible rules against it. Further he's not draining her magic, like he did to his former owner. Minus unforeseen and unlikely circumstances he's breaking no known laws other a loose rule about staying put until called which he's proven to have been able to getaway with in the past.

The contract system is all about trust and friendship... if Lucy allows this there contract should actually get stronger (if possible) rather than weaker. Since after all how could Leo (Loki) trust her if she won't let him forefill an old promise to a friend and Nakama of hers (whom she herself was implied to be wishing the best of luck too just before). Plus at the time he did it, Lucy wasn't in the competition yet... Lucy herself is the one whom set up any possible "risks" thus likely sparing Loki of punishment if the worst happens. Minus Lucy's death, incarceration, or breaking some ground rule of there contrast they agreed to upon making the contract (doesn't exist in this case since there contract was for life and chosen by the Spirit King)... the contract will remain even with this little trail. Plus Loki only gets punished if he causes her death. Both of which seem unlikely given what can be expected based on what we've learned so far this arc.

Plus from what we know of Lucy's powers she's casts some spells but has very little defense, if Loki can get past her offensive abilities he can use a weak attack to drain her magic but leave her with no lasting damage. Plus Lucy could always summon Aries and really force Loki into an emotional pickle thus beating him without a fight or summon Gemini or Aquarius to tie him down without risk to herself and allowing Cana to take on Gray at the very least... Plus Lucy can summon two spirits at once potentially since she's done it before.

[Clarste]

They show the formation of the contracts in some detail quite early on (with Plue). Basically, they agree on days and times during which the spirit will be available for summoning. It's no stretch to imagine that they can also have clauses like "only X hours per week" or "not when I'm on a date". It's quite banal, really. Just negotiation of work hours. They aren't slaves, they're hired workers.

And in this case, Loke isn't "renting himself out" to someone else, he's attending as a mage of Fairy Tail. He's on vacation from his spirit job (which I suppose he's allowed to do?) and pursuing a personal duty in response to a promise he made from one guild member to another.

[Tempest35]

He didn't 'rent' himself out - he doesn't have a contract and Gray isn't a Stellar Spirit Mage. Loki is strong enough to manifest himself in the human realm as he wants. And this trial, it's an inter-Guild trial, there's no real risk in getting beaten here - just bruised limbs and pride. Since there's no danger, he's not needed so he can do what he wants.

[Ryus]

Originally Posted by Clarste

They show the formation of the contracts in some detail quite early on (with Plue). Basically, they agree on days and times during which the spirit will be available for summoning. It's no stretch to imagine that they can also have clauses like "only X hours per week" or "not when I'm on a date". It's quite banal, really. Just negotiation of work hours. They aren't slaves, they're hired workers.

And in this case, Loke isn't "renting himself out" to someone else, he's attending as a mage of Fairy Tail. He's on vacation from his spirit job (which I suppose he's allowed to do?) and pursuing a personal duty in response to a promise he made from one guild member to another.

We'll that's somewhat right... and please take this as you will since it's based on the manga q&a (not a manga spoiler but more of... Author notes about what previously transpired)

In the manga Q&A (of events that have already transpired, so no spoilers) it was also stated Aquarius can only be summoned on Wednesday and Cancer can only be summoned on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. However in the Tower of Paradise Lucy managed to summon both Cancer and Aquarius during the same day... which is impossible based on there original contracts. This discrepancy was later answered in the Q&A of Volume 16 that the contract is actually constantly changing. The stronger and trustworthy the bond between the Mage and the Celestial Spirit the summoner can increase the amount of days that a particular spirit can be summoned (I'm assuming via a renegotiation or a spirit just tells her they're taking a break like Aquarius has done so many times in the past).

Not sure if you'll take that as Anime cannon or not but simply put I wouldn't be surprised if Lucy later summons Plue (the only known Spirit with set and limited dates in the series and not stated in the Q&A) on a day of a week her original contract with him said she couldn't. There contracts are based on trust and as such could swing. I wonder how Taurus' contract will evolve as she starts to one day inevitably gets OLD. After all he swore to defend... her breasts.

EDIT: Done editing this... sorry for all the updates

[HayashiTakara]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

Great episode. For the reason alone that there was plenty of Lucy and Kana foot service. Start of the episode and the end, oh wow, the staff know how to overload the goodness.

Upcoming arc is my favourite in the manga, and i know that the anime will certainly deliver in all aspects. It's going to be an explosive couple of months.

Now we just have to see how much spoiler content the new OP will feature.


Hardly. Anyone who's watched the anime or read the manga to this point knows that Lucy is far from useless.

Her summons are garbage.

-A useless drill nose wobbly thing
-A pervert cow that always gets knocked out
-A mermaid thats a total bitch and hasn't done anything useful
-A barber... er... enough said
-A maid that drills holes and makes clothes
-Oh and Loki, possibly the only one that can actually fight

I won't get into the manga summons, but yeah how is she useful again?

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by HayashiTakara

Her summons are garbage.

-A useless drill nose wobbly thing
-A pervert cow that always gets knocked out
-A mermaid thats a total bitch and hasn't done anything useful
-A barber... er... enough said
-A maid that drills holes and makes clothes
-Oh and Loki, possibly the only one that can actually fight

I won't get into the manga summons, but yeah how is she useful again?

Are you ignoring Lucy's past fights and victories on purpose?

[HayashiTakara]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

Are you ignoring Lucy's past fights and victories on purpose?

It would be more meaningful if those enemies she didn't struggle where any of the other main cast would decimate within seconds.