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Fairy Tail Question

MANGA READERS ONLY!!!! *Potential Spoilers but I'll be vague in case*: Does anyone else feel like the recent Avatar Arc was a disappointment?

So another Arc has concluded and I have to say after the fantastic Tartarus Arc the Avatar Arc with or without comparison was a massive disappointment.

This may seem too opinionated and critical but this arc established potentially excellent plot threads only to lead to simple, underwhelming resolutions that barely contributed to the plot. It felt more like a 'behold how powerful Natsu has become' arc and Gajeel and especially Juvia were horribly misused.

Avatar was defeated too swiftly and Ikatsunagi was a ridiculously melodramatic moment that was resolved within a single chapter to yet again show Natsu's power.

Sorry to sound negative but there's very little that redeems this arc in my mind, the best chapter was 'Memoirs' and it wasn't even connected to it. I certainly hope the next arc is an improvement.

Well, sorry about that ridiculous rant. So, what do you guys think? Did you like the arc, anything you thought was actually good about it? I'm happy to hear what you have to say.

All the best everybody:)
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Well the Avatar Group were only one group of cultists so its expected that they would be taken down in one arc since they're one group unlike four in the Baram Alliance.
NeoNightclaw19 posted over a year ago
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So were Tartarus, but they were much more powerful and genuinely felt like a threat. But that's the least of the problems with this arc to me, I just feel Mashima relied on melodrama only to deliver something underwhelming. Thanks for answering. :)
AAndrews1204 posted over a year ago
 AAndrews1204 posted over a year ago
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Fairy Tail Answers

jooe15 said:
So far I agree. And I do think "Memoirs" was the best chapter so far, but even still that one chapter could have been split Memoirs was extremely rushed. I mean, as soon as Natsu and Zeref met there was a question as to what their relation what, thats a long time pondering a question. To resolve it in one single chapter I deeply disapprove of. And even then, they only revealed it to the reader.
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posted over a year ago 
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This entire arc was rushed, that's a great way you've put it. Things like 'Evil Gray', 'The attack on Lamia Scale' and 'Juvia's rain returning' where the biggest problems with this arc. A lot of people thought Juvia may battle Gray again and that would have been, to me at least, compelling to see and have given them both more development. But the 'Undercover' resolution was poor and I just find it stagnant of Mashima that Gray and Juvia seem no different in this arc after 416. It all felt like it was made just to get Team Natsu into a big moment to show off their powers, especially Natsu. I do like him (he's in my top 5) and I understand he is END but still, one punch? Mashima needs to improve with the next arc because this one was full of cliches, wasted plots, the same repetitive focus on team Natsu at the cost of other characters and no emotional value like it promised early on. I'm probably saying this because Juvia is my favourite character, but she was horribly mistreated by Mashima in this arc and is long overdue her deserved moments. The poor girl spent 6 months all alone in the rain but I don't think even Mashima realises how terrible that was. The reason, because he used her as a plot device to ensure Natsu went after Gajeel. Worst, she got sick from the rain?! Are you kidding me?! That's like Gray getting frostbite or Natsu burns from their powers. Sorry about the rant. XD Thanks for taking the time to answer, I appreciate it. Have a good one :)
AAndrews1204 posted over a year ago
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*went after Gray
AAndrews1204 posted over a year ago
MelodyLaurel said:
Has the Avatar arc concluded already?

This arc started off fine, but I felt like it was kind of rushed towards the end. Extremely rushed. It's like, "don't worry, Jesus Natsu is here to save the day" and bam, the baddies are defeated. Everyone other than Natsu, Lucy, and Gray were painfully underused.
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posted over a year ago 
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First of all, thank you so much for answering, I appreciate it and am happy to hear other people's opinions. You have a point there, I'm not sure either if it is over yet but even so I'm not expecting too much. I agree it started off positively with an excellent set up but as of Gray revealing he was simply undercover the arc rapidly declined for me. I do like Natsu but he is OP right now and I struggle to root for such characters. Every situation of the arc he resolved. I agree, Lucy, Natsu and Gray were given screen time but Erza, Juvia and Gajeel were unforgivably misused. Gajeel appeared twice, Juvia was treated like a plot device and Erza appeared only for a battle scene and had barely any development. Shame, let's hope the succeeding arc improves things. Thanks again for answering.
AAndrews1204 posted over a year ago
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Always glad to get a chance to discuss FT with other fans! :) I suppose this arc was more of a "bridging events between Tartarus and what comes next", since jumping into a huge new arc right after a timeskip that scattered all the members of the guild god knows where would probably be too overwhelming. About Natsu, yes it is annoying how ridiculously OP he is but it's shounen after all and I've come to begrudgingly accept that. I'm just hoping the next arc is more eventful and actually contributes something to the manga's endgame. I don't care how far away it is, the complete garbage that Naruto and Bleach turned into is a cautionary tale for every mangaka out there that it's never too late to start shaping up your ending.
MelodyLaurel posted over a year ago
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It's okay to be appreciative of the bonds they share, whether it be romantic or otherwise. I myself am quite a huge Jellal/Erza shipper (blame Mashima for making it so obvious), it's all good xD It's been nice talking to you about this.
MelodyLaurel posted over a year ago
Nojida said:
Was the Avatar arc extremely rushed? Yes. Has Natsu and the gang become ridiculously OP? Yes. Did I enjoy it? YES.

I do agree that the Avatar arc didn't contribute much to the plot, but honestly, which one's better? A hundred chapters trying to defeat one single villain, or getting over with it and moving on to the important stuff? I personally enjoyed watching Natsu knock everyone out, even though his level of power seemed a little too ridiculous. I mean, really? Defeating a god with one single blow? Won't complain further, though. After all, the genre is shounen, and that's what we have to expect from it.

Regarding its contribution to the plot- don't be disappointed yet! It just started, you never know what Mr Hiro has planned for us! Maybe it was meant to be rushed, because there's something even more awesome ahead. At least, that's what I hope.

And, of course, as for the chapter Memoirs... Just UGH! Teenage Zeref! Roman/Greek themed stuff! Curses from gods! He treasured life! Baby Natsu! Epic battle ahead!!
*ahem*
...Yeah, it was good.
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posted over a year ago 
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Many thanks for answering and taking the time to, I appreciate it. You make a very valid point regarding the overall intention of this arc, to reintroduce characters and its purpose to probably serve as preparation for an arc of a grander scale. I truly wish I couldn't be disappointed but in retrospect of this arc, I'm struggling to find anything redeeming about Mashima's handling of this arc. But you are right, maybe Mashima has something special planned for us readers next. Whatever it is I hope the characters that were misused in this arc have more luck, especially Juvia. But then again that may be me speaking out of bias for my favourite character. Thanks again for answering.
AAndrews1204 posted over a year ago
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Yep, agree with Nojida. I think that avatar arc is just a small arc while Natsu and Lucy are in search for Gray. Don't forget the plot now, it's about Natsu trying to get the guild back together again. I just can't wait for the manga to move on to many other important stuff. About END, about Zeref, about Acnologia. They're more important than this arc. Sooo i don't mind Avatar arc end that way.
Red_Fairy_Panda posted over a year ago
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