[MechR]

Originally Posted by Tempest35

Thanks to the latest manga chapter, I've now seen Erza completely pissed off.

Scary sight.

There was that time against Aria in Phantom Lord. Don't think she's topped that face yet, partly due to Mashima's style adjusting.

Originally Posted by Kaijo

When Natsu confronts the end boss of the arc, you already know he's going to win, right? Does that ruin the fight for you, or the ending?

Sort of... There was a time when other people got to fight the end boss (e.g. Galuna Island, Phantom Lord). Now it's always Natsu landing the final blow, if not soloing. His joke fights and henchman fights end up more interesting, if less dramatic.

Would you rather have seen Erza lose to Azuma, and thus doom Fairy Tail?

I really thought that happened for about a week. After the initial shock passed and I got used to the idea, I thought it was brilliant. There were already strong hints that FT would lose the arc (for once), and having Erza lose a 'fair' fight when everything was on the line (for once) would've been on par with Ace dying. FT would survive, grieve, and have a rematch arc down the line. It would've been a nice change of pace for the series.

Then she got back up and won in the most cliche manner possible. I mean, it was a cool scene, but the bait-and-switch really pissed me off after spending a week in an alternate timeline where Mashima had balls/brains. Then he followed up by removing Urtear as a villain, and I knew my dreams for the arc were dead.

...Okay, he got points back for Acnologia, but
1) Acnologia didn't seem scary enough to make everyone leave the Master behind, even temporarily. For that to look plausible and not OOC, it should've blown away the giant tree as its opening move.
2) The timeskip was sudden and rushed.
3) Much of the timeskip's once-in-a-series potential has been wasted. (Secondary guild members being worth a damn; Raven Tail being worth a damn or doing anything; Tartaros doing anything; Zeref doing anything; etc.)
4) Post-timeskip powerlevels have been a mess. What was the point of making them weaker than everyone, then instantly turning the tables again with Second Origin out of nowhere? (It even broke Arc of Time's established limits. Based on the anime's versions of events, it could've made sense if they had flashed back to the enhancement surgeries performed on young Urtear, and to the freaky spell Urtear used on young Gerard, which even looked kind of like the Second Origin spell, but none of this was done, so it's just me rationalizing Mashima's asspull for him.)

But I digress.

Would you rather have seen her lose to Midnight and be killed?

I liked her Midnight fight. Her eye power needs to be more consistent though. It didn't identify Sieglein or the Nirvit as illusions. Are they just different kinds of illusions? It's not explained.

Would you rather see her lose to Minerva now?

I expect she'll win somehow, because everyone else has their hands full already, but I have no idea how to make it satisfying and plausible. Is she going to one-shot two promising antagonists in a row? That's low even for Mashima. OTOH, she can't really do an extended fight on that crushed leg.

Honest questions here. How would you have done it differently?

I appreciate your honest question, and reply with honest answers (although you weren't asking me) I may sound bitter, but I'm still a huge fan of the series. No joke.