Fairy Tail

Fairy Tail (2009) 

I love Fairy Tail, and so far, I have not missed a single episode. Sure, when I have been watching it, I have read a few reviews saying that it is not very funny. They also said that it is just a silly narrative with a bunch of cheesy fan service, a blatant rip-off of various anime series like One Piece, and some of the worst fillers to see the light of day. I could relate to the opinion on the fillers in some cases, and some of the filler arcs are morbid. On the other hand, what I love about the concept was made up for even in the worst episodes. I like the individual characters, which are rather cookie-cutter. After a hundred episodes or so, you know exactly what any given character is going to do at any given moment. However, I still enjoy it. A lot of the jokes are predictable, and some are repetitive. Usually, that is bad; however, if it can be delivered well, even if it is being told for the hundredth time, it can still bring a smile to your face. It does not have an especially profound narrative at first glance, although I enjoy it, and in the long run, it shows that first impressions can be deceiving. Some of the subject matter is definitely taken from other concepts, although why get upset when it works? There is fan service; many times almost to the point of being unnecessary and it almost seems as if the anime's creators wanted to please everyone, even though it does not bother me personally. In summary, I have not actually disputed any of the criticisms I outlined in the introduction, even though, at the same time, I want to say that I do not care about them. I find that Fairy Tail is a likable, pretty fairy tale with very nice fights, and it makes me smile more than once per episode; I look forward to every episode, especially when a big story unfolds. I have my favorite characters and ones I could do without. However, I do not mind anyone explicitly, and even Lucy is much more bearable for me than Sakura from Naruto or Orihime from Bleach. So I still enjoy it and do not care about other people's opinions... 9/10. (10.01.2016)