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Japanese Title: フェアリーテイル
Studio: A1 Pictures x Satelight
Licensor: Crunchyroll
Director: Shinji Ishihara
Based On: Hiro Mashima's manga of the same name
I will warn you right now that I always have difficulty with shounen series. Even the ones I like, like D.Gray-Man, I tend to fall off the wagon pretty quickly. So I will in no way promise that I will definitely continue Fairy Tail to its end-- but I really enjoyed it and plan to continue it.
With that out of the way, let's go into detail: I have two complaints of any significance, and both are to be expected of a show like this. First is that the animation quality is only decent; this is pretty typical for any shounen show of any length, which Fairy Tail is likely to be if it proves popular. I had some specific complaints, mostly that some of the special effects could have gone a bit further; towards the end of the episode Natsu shows off his fire-eating skills, but it looks a bit choppy...Natsu is eating, and then very suddenly he's done. That could have been clippiness due to the streaming (my parents' DSL is terrible), but I don't believe it was.
The other complaint is also dismissible, and that is that Aya Hirano sounds exactly like Aya Hirano. There are roles where she sounds pretty different-- her slightly younger-sounding but lackadaisical voice for Konata in Lucky Star, her decidedly more subtle turn in Nijuu Mensou no Musume, but this is very standard Aya. You will recognize her as Haruhi in particular. If this bothers you, you might find it hard to like Lucy. I didn't have much trouble with it, though it did briefly pull me out of the action.
Other than that, you've got what is so far a pretty solid adaptation of the manga. The voice acting is strong, animation decent, and the opening and ending themes are fun too (Shugo Chara! fans will probably particularely enjoy the ending). So what remains to be seen is how closely the anime adheres to its original, whether filler appears, etc. With 17 manga volumes to date, I'm hoping it'll be a while before we find out that last bit...
Animation: ♥♥½
Characters: ♥♥♥½
OP/ED Themes: ♥♥♥
Overall: ♥♥♥
If, Then, But
If you like these shows, you might like Fairy Tail.
- One Piece (but fewer pirates and more magic)
- InuYasha (but more European-style)
- Slayers (but with less Lina)
Length: Ongoing; unknown
Features:
- English subtitles
- Simulcast-- watch here (for paying Anime Members only-- but you can gt a free membership by entering our contest!)
Vital Stats:
Title: Fairy TailJapanese Title: フェアリーテイル
Studio: A1 Pictures x Satelight
Licensor: Crunchyroll
Director: Shinji Ishihara
Based On: Hiro Mashima's manga of the same name
The Story
The Review
Fairy Tail! One of the most anticipated series this fall, and in no small part because it's-- dun dun dunnnn --a big-name lengthy shounen show, with the potential to be on-par with One Piece, if not quite at the Bleach/Naruto level-- we'll see. Many series are vying for the title, like D.Gray-Man and Soul Eater, but none has quite gotten there yet...I will warn you right now that I always have difficulty with shounen series. Even the ones I like, like D.Gray-Man, I tend to fall off the wagon pretty quickly. So I will in no way promise that I will definitely continue Fairy Tail to its end-- but I really enjoyed it and plan to continue it.
With that out of the way, let's go into detail: I have two complaints of any significance, and both are to be expected of a show like this. First is that the animation quality is only decent; this is pretty typical for any shounen show of any length, which Fairy Tail is likely to be if it proves popular. I had some specific complaints, mostly that some of the special effects could have gone a bit further; towards the end of the episode Natsu shows off his fire-eating skills, but it looks a bit choppy...Natsu is eating, and then very suddenly he's done. That could have been clippiness due to the streaming (my parents' DSL is terrible), but I don't believe it was.
The other complaint is also dismissible, and that is that Aya Hirano sounds exactly like Aya Hirano. There are roles where she sounds pretty different-- her slightly younger-sounding but lackadaisical voice for Konata in Lucky Star, her decidedly more subtle turn in Nijuu Mensou no Musume, but this is very standard Aya. You will recognize her as Haruhi in particular. If this bothers you, you might find it hard to like Lucy. I didn't have much trouble with it, though it did briefly pull me out of the action.
Other than that, you've got what is so far a pretty solid adaptation of the manga. The voice acting is strong, animation decent, and the opening and ending themes are fun too (Shugo Chara! fans will probably particularely enjoy the ending). So what remains to be seen is how closely the anime adheres to its original, whether filler appears, etc. With 17 manga volumes to date, I'm hoping it'll be a while before we find out that last bit...
Ratings (of 5):
Story: ♥♥♥Animation: ♥♥½
Characters: ♥♥♥½
OP/ED Themes: ♥♥♥
Overall: ♥♥♥
If, Then, But
If you like these shows, you might like Fairy Tail.- One Piece (but fewer pirates and more magic)
- InuYasha (but more European-style)
- Slayers (but with less Lina)
Release Info:
Released: October 12th, 2009Length: Ongoing; unknown
Features:
- English subtitles
- Simulcast-- watch here (for paying Anime Members only-- but you can gt a free membership by entering our contest!)
