Nice new opening. The ending is so-so.
Gildartz is such a beast. I can see why Natsu sees him as a role model and all that. Erza was being ruthless... like she was at the start of the series. She kinda mellowed down as she joined a team. Mirajane's sole presence scared the crap of Elfman and Evergreen. Awesome.
Loved the flashback of Natsu as a kid trying to defeat Gildartz.
Heck... I just wish we had more present Natsu Lisanna scenes... we get them everytime a flashback happens, so why not the present? To make up for lost time.
It's also the first time a character has had an ending twice.
Lots of new characters in the opening...hoping they aren't all Fairy Tail wizards they never bothered to introduce before. Of course if they aren't, then this test is going to go all Chuunin exam on us.
But then the Natsu/Lucy shippers would riot!
The Natsu getting afraid scene just didn't work for me. Maybe it would have if he hadn't already in the past faced multiple highly powerful and dangerous villains and defeated them (some after first getting a real good beating by them), but as it is, there was little reason for this to happen in front of an ally he has had bouts with many times since childhood. Giving up never even visited his mind when facing Jellal, Brain/Zero, the scumbag king of Edolas or many others. It's not even a question of having nothing on the line, because this time it's the much coveted S-class title. I'm sure a similar outcome could have been reached in a more plausible way, but perhaps such delicate writing is still beyond Hiro Mashima's skills.
Considering for example Ultear is in the OP, there's no fear all are Mest esque surprises.
Natsu backing down worked for me. Even though Gildartz has always fought him in Natsu's childhood, he's always either been going easy on him and/or been in training mode. Natsu has never been blasted with sheer raw power before, and all he shut down upon the realisation that there is no hope in hell that he can beat Gildartz as he is right now. The Phantom Lord would have been the only other person I'd say who could be stronger than Gildartz, but Makrov took care of him. Perhaps Ultear as well.
Yeah. I dig the OP, and even more so since it contains Mira fairly prominently this time round.Mirajane's sole presence scared the crap of Elfman and Evergreen. Awesome.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Just noticed a plothole, why didn't Natsu use his sense of smell to find Erza just how he did it to find Zero? It was the exact same situation, even if Erza's spot had already been picked there shouldn't be any reason for him to choose the path randomly.
Really enjoyed this episode, good battle between Natsu and Gildarts![]()
The scene with Natsu realizing his powerlesness worked for me. He realised that Gildartz is far too powerful for him to even hurt.
Man Gildartz is fucking badass, he went all SuperSaiyan on Natsu
I know Cana is most likely going to win this whole thing because of her 'losing streak backstory', but it's still total BS if she wins and gets the same rank as Gildartz and Erza (and Mirajane i think?)
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"Always be yourself... unless you suck."
What BS? Fairy Tail is, like they have said many times (except for Laxus) one happy dango daikazoku. The only official use for the whole S rank is to limit certain lethal missions out of the hands of people who would likely die trying. It certainly doesn't mean that once you are S rank, you are automatically as powerful as the other S rankers. In fact it doesn't even mean you are stronger than all the non-S rank members. It only means you qualify for a few more missions.
It's no fricking military they are living in where the rank means everything.
Yes, you qualify for a few more, super difficult and deadly missions.
So she's no where near as strong as Gildarts or Erza, but they make her S-Rank anyway, and she goes on an S-Rank mission and immediately dies...
But no, it's important she wins because she'd be sad if she lost...
I just want Cana to get back into her winter-costume. That was classy shit.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Uh... Isn't this exam just beginning and you guys are already making her S-rank? I know I've been guilty of expecting the worst from Mashima in the past, but come on...
If it comes down to power comparison... I really doubt Erza and Mirajane together could even scratch Gildartz... so I don't see a problem with mages like Cana getting that level. Its only something needed to get better missions. Heck... remember that an S-Class mission was beating Lyon?
Yeah, I'm just going to let this play out before I get too tied up about Cana's qualification as an S-wizard. This first stage was all about battle prowess and luck, but Natsu came out being taught when to call it quits.
Gildartz came back from his latest mission without completing it - and from what he revealed, calling it quits was how he did it.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
For the record, i'm pretty sure Dragon Force Natsu is already S class.
Strength wise I've no doubt Natsu should already qualify. However, they would still need to create a subgroup of Natsu-S-class missions that only require honest fighting to solve the case. Because he's too stupid and hotheaded for anything more complicated.
Here Natsu demonstrates with his hands what being S-class means:
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