Let’s go hunting.
What They Say:
“Seven Dragons”
Seven dragons have invaded Crocus from the ancient past and are tearing up the city. It seems the only thing that can defeat a dragon is a Dragon Slayer, but there are only six in town (including Natsu, Rogue, Sting, etc.), so Doranbolt goes on a mission to enlist the aid of a certain nefarious Slayer…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Setup is often frustrating because if it goes on too long, it will always feel frustrating. It may not be immediately evident—the setup may be masked behind exciting action sequences that work really well on their own. In Fairy Tail’s case, the setup is meant to be filler. And it’s frustrating as hell. I can’t stand sitting through minutes of seemingly nothing.
Seeing Ogra and Rufus team up was really cool because they finally learn that teamwork, an ongoing theme of Fairy Tail, is what a true guild needs. It parallels (unintentionally) with Free, where Rin and his school has learned the same thing. I mean, they just want to swim together with people who also want to!
Seeing Makarov grow giant and punch a dragon was really cool. We haven’t seen Makarov do this since Tenroujima, which seems so long ago now because of the gap between series. But we’re reminded just why he’s one of the Ten Wizard Saints and master of Fairy Tail. He’s strong, perhaps stronger than any of the others. He just never gets his chance to shine. Not this time either, unfortunately, as Dragon Slayer magic is the only thing that can defeat a dragon.
Seeing Lyon, Jura, and Kagura team up to fight a dragon was really cool. This is just a team full of powerful mages fighting together for the sake of their home. It does raise an important question though: What the hell is Babasama’s power? Is it literally just spinning people? How is she a guild master? Does she just have that much charisma? Oh well.
This all leads to the big moment though. The setup is seeing all of these obviously powerful mages fail to even scratch a dragon. The big moment is seeing Natsu hurt it with one punch. Dragon Slayer magic can hurt dragons. Of course it can. And there are seven dragons and six dragon slayers: Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, Laxus, Rogue, and Sting. Add in Cobra, the man that Doranbolt brings at the behest of Jellal. The entire situation here is a little bit farfetched. I mean, why is a high ranking government official trusting a known criminal? But the moment still stands. Natsu still punches the dragon and Cobra gets his entrance. It’s beautiful.
In Summary:
I thought this episode would be another wash and we’d have to wait until next week to see Cobra’s introduction. I am so glad we didn’t have to wait a week and I am so glad that Natsu punched the dragon. I’m repeating myself, but this is why I watch Fairy Tail. These moments are incredibly uplifting and you can’t help but absolutely love them if you’re this far into the show.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Equipment: Radeon 7850, 24” Dell UltraSharp U2410 set at 1920 x 1200, Creative GigaWorks T20 Series II
