(just for the record, this is a slight alteration of my anime review)

Ah, gotta love the masses and their love for mediocrity. Fairy Tail (FT) is from the pilot chapter/episode an average shonen series and yet it is loved by many for being just that. I guess rehashing notions from Naruto or One Piece can make a success out of anything. Because just like those shonens, FT has superpowers, adventure and a big cast of colourful and eccentric characters that occasionally get focused upon and fleshed out. Nothing we haven’t seen before but, hey, if it worked before why wouldn’t it work again?

It is hard to analyze or criticize anything in this show without feeling like I am just stating the obvious or just describing a different shonen. For to be honest, there is approximately zero innovation in this work and it just walks upon the path others paved before it. It can work alright but it will never stand out on its own; it will forever be just a rehash of already established formulas that have been attributed to others at least a decade earlier. Oh well, I might as well make some further analysis just for the heck of it.

- The art is ok for its genre but the setting lacks characterization. It doesn’t seem to stand out from the lot like others do, which again makes it hard to be remembered in the long run. There is no theme in the FT world and it passes by as a generic fantasy realm. The character figures are again nothing memorable; most are almost counterparts of people from other shonens, so again it has a problem being remembered for anything.
- Another thing that annoyed me is how they placed as cameo Plue, a creature from the same mangaka’s earlier work titled Rave Master. Now what did that manage to accomplish other than annoying the average fan? Rave Master was a completely generic, aimless, boring, and incomplete series and you can easily see they are reusing the same character archetypes from there. Is that their way of telling us even clearer that they are rehashing other works INCLUDING their own? That sounds really tasteless to me. I hear he was placed there to please the fans of Rave Master but I don’t believe that. Who still likes that boredrome?

The story is completely generic stuff and easily the weakest part of the show. It plays out like some MMO game, where you join a guild and take seemingly irrelevant to one another missions, while at the same time leaving a few openings for character colorization and world-building. It all plays out quite childishly and there isn’t even an objective for anyone in this show; they just take missions and hope to find something that interests them in the process. For example, we know Natsu is looking for a dragon but did he actually look for him? No, he is just fooling around in his guild and takes part in whatever mission comes along.

The scenario ends up driving the characters and not the other way around; and even that happens in a bad way since the heroes are not actively doing anything. They just fool around until a villain or a mission appear out of nowhere (no foreshadowing at all) and just decide to take part in the whole thing for money or to save some girl. That makes the protagonist and his gang completely boring since they have no goals in life to go for without some world threat standing in the way. Heck, they would probably be sleeping all day long if they had no obstacles.

Although many story elements lead to character immersion, that still makes the plot being predictable early on, with no interesting plot twists or memorable events. Some character’s past is revealed, some old enemies of him appear, some sinister plan of mass destruction takes place, and then the heroes storm in and win with the power of friendship. Thank you very much; I have seen it all before and in a more mature form.

The cast is eventually the meat of the show, since the plot is mostly about somebody’s past creating problems in the present. This way you feel like everything is revolving around them and that they are not irrelevant to the main problem of each arc. Some of them count as cool and developed to pay attention to but don’t try to find unoriginal characters because you will be disappointed. They are all following a rather typical demeanour but at least they do it right to the most part. There is variety in personalities and powers and most have a rather basic but sufficient backdrop to work with. And don’t expect for any drastic character development either, since most of whatever the character learn and seem to wizen them in one arc, it is immediately forgotten in the next. It always was about the power of friendship. To hell with strategy, planning ahead, or even paying attention to your injuries. Just storm in and win against all odds with the almighty POWER OF FRIENDSHIP! I MUST PROTECT MY FRIENDS! FRIENDSHIP MAGICALLY HEALS MY GRAVE WOUNDS! FRIENDSHIP BRINGS EVEN THE DEAD BACK TO LIFE!

So let me make clear that the series is aimed at younger teens; even younger than the target audience for Naruto or Bleach. There is a lot of silliness (more than the usual) and violence is really basic and mostly bloodless. Plus, no show which aims to be a bit serious would have a mascot in the form of a cheery blue flying cat named… Happy. So be warned that it is very hard to be excited when everything looks so easy going and silly; the boldest thing going around them is the fan service around the girls and even that is completely basic.

So is it a good show? No, but it’s a good time killer if your expectations are low and you are not older than 15 with prior experience to other famous shonen. I doubt it will leave any mark in anime history or be remembered as anything more than a rehash of other works. It does it right but at the same time it lacks the unique feeling every show that aims to be loved needs. It is indeed nothing but a fairy tale; shallow and for little kids who still tolerate the power of friendship is the most awesome thing ever. But it can be enjoyable just for that.