When you walk into a book store, eyeing for a possible good read to purchase off the shelves, there are things to consider before you settle on something you think is worth your money. Some immediately look for their favorite author’s name or fall in love at first sight of an artsy front cover. Others go with a title catchy enough to win a few bucks left from the week’s allowance. Most of us do all three steps, though it only varies on where we look first. As for me, I check the title first and then flip over to the back page to let the synopsis be the deciding point. But I think most people look at the title firsthand before going to the other details.
My English teacher once taught me that a good title is a title of a successful book. Something to cause someone to notice your book that he not only looks at it, but looks at it again. When I heard Redh say he was into some animé entitled Fairy Tale, it slipped my mind almost as fast as it had come. We’ve been seeing fairy tales since we were little babies, right? And why would Redh watch sappy stuff? A few minutes after he lost me though, he went on to elaborate that the title is oddly spelled. It sounds pretty much the same as tale but spelled as tail, as in the behind of an animal. That caught my attention and started the late-night animé marathons.
ANIME INFO
Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy
Story: The story follows the adventures of Lucy Heartfilia, a young mage who ran away from home to be part of the most prestigious mage guild in all of Magnolia. Along the way, she meets Fairy Tail wizards who later on become her friends as they do mage missions together, helping people and fighting the evil minions of different villains. You might need to be patient with the first few episodes though because that’s where the writers throw all the crap. We can understand in other shonen animes, like Naruto and Bleach, where a decent dose of humor is inserted in some parts to give it a soft touch of fun. Fairy Tail happens to have humor extravagance. And I’m not even talking about the fillers yet. If you pass those stodgy episodes though, the action commences when, one by one, new characters with awesome magic powers are revealed. But it’s not like Harry Potter who uses a wand to cast a spell. Most of the characters use their bare hands or parts of their bodies to cast spells. Cool, right? Who says only ninjas can do that?
Characters:
Natsu Dragneel. The main male protagonist of the series. Nicknamed Salamander, he uses an ancient style of magic known as the “Dragon Slayer,” where he uses the element of fire. Not only can he spew balls of fire from his mouth, he can also emit fire from any part of his body. The magnitude of damage he inflicts depends on his mood, so it’s when he gets very pissed off that his true power comes out. Like most male protagonists, Natsu has a carefree and sunny spirit. He’s always engaged in constant bickering with his fellow Fairy Tail mage named Gray, an ice mage.
Happy. Natsu found Happy when he was out in the woods and saw a huge egg drop from one of the trees. He took it home and cared for it until it hatched and became a talking, flying blue cat. Happy is a very intelligent cat though. During missions, he would help in knocking Natsu to his senses especially when he gets all fired up that he ends up doing stupid things. Happy is very cute when he says his punch line, “Aye, sir!”
Lucy Heartfilia. The main female protagonist of the series. Having met Natsu, she became the newest recruit of Fairy Tail, and together, with Natsu’s sidekick, Happy, they embark on missions. Lucy is a celestial mage who uses her celestial keys to open the spirit gates and summon powerful stellar spirits. Like most summoners, her weakness is she can’t use magic without her keys.
Gray Fullbuster. He casts different forms of ice magic using both his hands. As an ice mage, Gray has this strange habit of taking his clothes off at inappropriate times since he’s most comfortable without them. His guild mates often need to remind him because he doesn’t seem to realize it. Gray and Natsu has a brotherly relationship that although they squabble most of the time, they know when to team up for the sake of their missions.
Erza Scarlet. My favorite character. Erza is an S-class mage and is the strongest female mage of Fairy Tail. She can equip herself with different armors and weapons from her vast arsenal at will. If you’ve played RPGs (Role Playing Games), you’ll know what I mean. I love her armors that range from sexy to flashy. Erza is feared by her guild mates though due to her stern personality.
Review Rating: 7/10
Overall, it’s a fun animé about family and friendship. Action packed and hilarious. If you like magic, you’ll definitely like Fairy Tail. More snapshots below:
Warrior Chronicles 