How can you save someone … when they don’t know they are in danger?
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Boku
Based on Story Created by: Hiro Mashima
Translation/Adaptation: William Flanagan
What They Say:
In the Kingdom of Fiore, wizards are commonplace, but the powerful women of Fairy Tail are each one of a kind! And after fighting their way to the top in the Grand Magic Games, Lucy, Erza, Wendy and Juvia deserve a vacation. The wizards slip out of the victory celebrations to do some sightseeing as a foursome, but where Fairy Tail goes, trouble’s never far behind, and soon they find themselves caught up in yet another chaotic bout of spellslinging … with the fate of Fiore in the balance!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After winning the Grand Magic Games, the members of Fairy Tail were of course having a wild time at the wrap up party, until Juvia attempted to approach Gray; when she tried her usual over the top tactic of trying to get closer to him, the ice wizard naturally ignored her, leaving the water mage seriously depressed. Not wanting to leave their fellow member in such a dejected mood, Lucy, Erza and Wendy take her out on a nighttime tour of Crocus, but are hopelessly at a loss on where to go for the best experience of the city. With no other choice, the group approach a local boy named Royal and ask if he can act as their tour guide. He is hesitant to take them up on the offer, until he realizes that they are from the guild which just won the Games, but he soon finds out that they are not the same as what he saw in the arena. After an evening of fun roaming the various tourist spots, the gang is soon confronted by a group of impersonators from the dark guild Dark Mirror, who have been extorting the citizens, saying they are Fairy Tail. They want to get rid of the competition and decided to start with some helpless girls … big mistake.
After a quick thrashing at the hands of the weaklings, the bodies of these pitiful wizards are soon lying amid the flaming rubble, much to the amazement of Royal. He had always thought that they were powerful, but never expected them to be able to easily destroy a city block so quickly. With his mind made up, the young boy now asks his new saviors if they would be willing to accept a job on his behalf. He sadly tells the girls that a few nights ago, someone viciously attacked his father, putting him in bed and unable to move. Confused as to why he would ask for outside help on what is clearly something the guards could handle, Royal further elaborates that his father is a Royal Bodyguard; with all of the extra visitors within the castle due to the Grand Magic Games, it should have been impossible for such a cowardly act, so that means it the only way possible is via an inside job. If that is that case, this also means that King Fiore could now be in trouble. If they won’t accept this mission on his behalf, then they can at least investigate Royal’s accusations for the safety of the kingdom. How can they refuse such a plea, after all, what kind of trouble can they get into?
In Summary:
When any loyal manga fan hears the title Fairy Tail, they would of course immediately think of Natsu or Gray raging across the page, punching anything that stands in their way and worrying about the consequences afterwards. But where are the female members of the gang? If it is Lucy or Wendy, the former is probably screaming for her life and the rookie mage is apologizing for not being able to help any better. As for Juvia, she is of course wondering where Gray is and how she can win his heart. But Erza, she is probably in the forefront of the battle, clearing the way while the two guys are competing to better each other. Most of the time, aside from Titania, they are used as comic relief, but this time in Fairy Girls, we get to see them experience all of the explosive action for themselves, with the triumphs and the accompanying laughs at their expense.
While we can appreciate the basis of the story created by Mashima-sensei, it is the influence of Boku-sensei which makes the biggest difference when compared to the original franchise. Although the narrative is on par with any other tale from the well respected mangaka, his frenetic illustrations are what attract his fans with the outrageously ambitious action scenes, the wildly exaggerated facial expressions and sinisterly delicious villains that we love to hate. However, when you compare this book to the standard, it falls flat with the introduction of subdued illustrations and a plot which is more silly than adventurous. Even with a familiar cast of characters to lead the way and a story inspired by Mashima, this book is short in the main draw for this series.
While Boku does have the same actors, this mangaka’s drawing style is more geared toward a shoujo book: wide eyed characters with almost nonexistent noses and usage of fine, delicate lines to illustrate the now almost featureless faces. The strongly defined expressions in Mashima’s books has been diluted and replaced by manipulating the dimensions of the mouth and pupil, a poor substitute for his dynamic visual appeal. Though action scenes are still there, what we usually see is the aftermath and what violence which is still present has been toned down and sometimes used for comedic effect by exchanging a menacing enemy for a cute one – the most obvious choice is a teddy bear. Finally, although we still have those evildoers who think they are doing the right thing, their end does not justify all of the excitement which was generated up until that fateful meeting; once again they are dispatched simply or in a silly manner, nothing in comparison to what Erza would have done in the original, as long as most of the brutality is not shown to the audience. While this is called a Fairy Tail story, the artwork makes us think otherwise.
Fairy Girls may have started off as a spin-off for the Fairy Tail franchise, but what we have now is a watered down version of the original. Most of the signature artistic flourishes which made those readers loyal to the brand have been softened for either comedic effect or to widen the book for a more general audience. Though this may have been done as an improvement for the genre, it is a disappointment for those who thought this would be a wonderful addition to the series. The story is of the same style, but the execution is lacking in the flair which would have made it a grand adventure.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Older Teens
Released By: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: November 10th, 2015
MSRP: $10.99
