Friday, July 17, 2015

Fairy Tail Chapter 444 Review - Emperor Spriggan

Written by Shiggins

This arc is rising!

Every time I have a complaint about this arc, it gets rebutted with something that either fixes the mistake or makes me forget it entirely. That final reveal this week not only did both, but it has made this entire arc suddenly even better. It's such a terrifying reveal too! And I'm basically padding out this intro because of reasons! Let's get started.

Lucy should run as far away as she can...
Starting this week off is a rather convenient bunch of fishing ships that are helping the island folk after their island was shrunk by Brandish. Erza of course is worried about this development as she is more aware of how powerful Brandish is now. The kid from earlier is back from earlier and Heisenberg is also safe and sound.

Clearly, Mest is in pain not because of Marin but because he can sense Wendy is hurting.
Just as they start to discuss what to do next, the main group are teleported away by Mest and reappear in an underwater temple. Mest tells them that the spy wanted them all to come here and before they can enjoy the fact that there are no windows but the water isn't' flowing in because magic, the entire temple suddenly... sprouts a cannon and wings and glides through the water...

I... I don't know what the hell is going on either.
This is when the spy reveals herself to be Sorano, also known as Angel, and the temple is named Olympia. At this point in the chapter, you might be pouting over the fact we got Angel instead of Cobra (seriously, Erza even asks why not Cobra!) but thankfully, Angel is wearing a tight swimsuit to distract us... I mean, she's wearing it so as to provide a meaningful development to the atmosphere as they are located underwater at this time and I'll stop talking now because it's not working.

I wonder if we can thank the filler for her reappearances, or if Mashima-senpai planned to bring the Oracion Seis back all along.
The most interesting part about Angel here, (I know I'm meant to call her Sorano but... meh) is that she reminds Lucy she killed Karen, who you may remember was Leo's and Aries' former master. Angel then tells them that they're going to where Makarov is, as she reveals that thanks to her epic spy-powers, she's managed to find his location and confirms he is indeed alive.

By the way, he's using foreshadowing. Get it? IS IT SUBTLE ENOUGH FOR YOU?!
Now for the scene we all remembered best this week. We see Makarov has now grown a beard and is playing cards with someone else who is old. Makarov has of course discovered that Fairy Tail are back, and he's surprised at how lenient the Emperor is towards him since the Emperor is open to negotiations and being a kind host. Just as they have a bit more conversation, the crowd outside starts to cheer and Makarov finally sees who this Emperor is...

GAME OVER, MAN! GAME OVER!
Opinion: Let's recap the situation right now.

Fairy Tail have just gotten back together and split up into two groups to break into a foreign continent's empire to save their master who may or may not be unable to escape. Team A are currently stuck inside a water temple with a half-naked former villain, a battered lolicon and the main characters. Team B aren't even coming yet, instead focusing on overdone Gajevy jokes. The empire's emperor is Zeref and he has the Spriggan 12 that consist of the strongest mage God Serena, who may or may not be Yuriy, Brandish who took down all of Team A single-handedly without breaking a sweat, and several unknown mages. Also, since the last time we saw Zeref he was meeting Acnologia, it can be assumed that Acnologia has decided to temporarily ally himself with Zeref and might be one of the Spriggan 12. In summary: FUCK!

That's the exact same reaction you and I had.
So not only is Emperor Spriggan NOT a random old man like the king of Edolas was, but it's Zeref! Natsu's secret older brother, the strongest mage in the series so far, the legend, the myth, the man, the guy who created so many demons of Tartarus! Does this mean he's been an emperor for many years? Since he woke up in Tenrou Island perhaps? And none of the empire seem to know...

Dear Diary. Today I learned that if I pull a girl's swimsuit, I can look threatening to them. I will go and test this theory right away.
Making Angel the spy is an odd choice. The series itself even questions why they chose her instead of Cobra but on the bright side, her appearance seems to imply future conflict since she made a point to mention her murder of that bitch Karen. Could this be a hint that Leo will be hostile in the future? Will there come a time where he refuses to save her, despite Lucy's orders?

Makarov has begun negotiations with Zeref. Maybe he'll consider giving Lumen Histoire to Zeref if it means preventing a war. More importantly however, is that this means that Zeref wants Mavis and is literally starting a war to reach her. You could argue that this is because she has huge power that could come in handy for Zeref, but I find it very coincidental that she's what he's looking for. I'm not a fan of shipping or anything but... wow!

Manga Rating: 3.5/5


Character of the Week: Zeref for being the Emperor.

Predictions: Zeref and Makarov will begin their talk, and secrets will be revealed. Most importantly, we'll find out more about Lumen Histoire and maybe even why Mavis is stuck in there.

Best Part: Emperor Zeref.

Worst Part: Angel instead of Cobra?

They almost went one page of Juvia without mentioning her love for Gray.
Bonus:
I had so many choices but I decided to choose my favourite one of the lost.



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