Into Albareth
Creative Staff:
Story/Art: Hiro Mashima
Translation: William Flanagan
Editing: AndWorld Design
Editing: Haruko Hashimoto
Kodansha Comics edition cover design by Phil Balsman
What They Say:
After Fairy Tail’s revival, Natsu and his friends learn the reason behind the guild’s disbandment and Makarov’s disappearance. In order to protect this beloved family of his, Makarov had set out on a journey to the Albareth Empire, where mighty magical forces rule and where he vanished without a trace. Now, Erza must call together a group of special wizards for a secret mission to rescue Makarov! However, their path is blocked by the Twelve Shields guarding its emperor: A terrifying unit of super-powered wizards called Spriggan 12…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Fairy Tail’s power creep has been less and less gradual, leaving me wondering whether anyone could ever really challenge these characters in a fight. Well, put those fears to rest, me, because Mashima has an innovative enough mind for these powers and the artistic ability available to make these next level powers seem much more terrifying than what has come before.
Simple things like making the angle of a panel being their now-tiny car compared to a giant sand monster chasing them conveys this difference in power. Not even with all this energy moving the car forward can it outrun the sand thing. But more complicated things like making an entire island grow out of the sea by several stories and then moving it to a mere pebble above the water showcases the difference in power just as well. There’s more out there than what they’ve faced before, and it’s even stronger than anything they’ve seen before.
That thing is Zeref’s Spriggan 12, 12 of the most powerful wizards on the planet, two of which are the sand and grow / small people. More specifically, it’s the Albareth emperor’s Spriggan 12. On Albareth, he’s known as Spriggan and on Ishgal, he’s Zeref. And seemingly his only goal is to get the great weapon from Fairy Tail, Fairy Heart, otherwise known as Lumen Histoire.
In Summary:
A great battle is right at the feet of Fairy Tail because they happen to be mixed in with something that isn’t so great for the continuation, or revival, of their guild. It’s sure to bring out the best in Fairy Tail, including their newly showcased powers after a year gone in training, as well as the shonen action fights this manga is known for.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: February 23, 2016
MSRP: $10.99
