Disclaimer: This review is based on opinion and observation of the lead writer. Please respect her opinion and beware that there may be spoilers hhead!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Finally I finished watching the Grand Magic Games arc of Fairy Tail. I know it’s been out for a long time on DVD but due to not having the funds and FYE tending to sell out of the parts I need to watch, I had a hard time. Heck, even some of the conventions don’t have anime DVD stands anymore unless you go to the really big conventions like MegaCon and AFO that is where you can get the DVD selections but we haven’t been back to Mega since 2012 and looking into press for them again this year and you already know our story towards AFO. Anyways, let’s get to the review!

Synopsis: After being gone for seven years over on Tenro Island, Natsu and the rest of the crew in Fairy Tail have found out that they are the last place guild due to how they keep on losing the Grand Magic Games while Natsu and his buddies along with Makarov being gone. The top guild title belongs to Saber Tooth and they have won every Grand Magic Games. Even though Makarov was a little hesitant, they do enter the games in order to get the first place title back!

The games have been tough and Fairy Tail has a lot of competition and even reunite with with guilds they have met before like Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale. They even meet new ones like Mermaid Heel and Cuatro Cerberus. Did Fairy Tail get to the top again and what is this evil force that may take place during the games?

My Thoughts: Holy moly! This was the best arc and longest one I have ever seen! Yes, the last filler arc kind of took forever to finish but this one was the better arc due to it continuing the story after Tenro Island. I do like the voice acting because it it felt like the voice actors were in one room doing a huge conversation with each other with every episode. There was one DVD in one of the sets at the beginning of the arc where you see Cheramie Leigh recording the episode that Lucy goes up against Carona which was awesome! I think it was mentioned that Tyler Walker almost brought in someone to cover her mouth where Lucy had her mouth covered as well but Cheramie did it on her own which was amazing! I know there are times in recording sessions where ahe actors have actual food in their mouth to convey eating or swollen cheeks (lol, Vic Mignogna from the original FMA days) with powdered donuts.) They need to show more of these recording sessions because it not only gives you an idea of what happens in the booth but it shows what is expected if you want to go into voice acting. Well, that’s how I see it anyways.

Speaking of voice acting, there was an awesome fact with one of the voice actors I did not know after seeing the commentary and that is the voice of Chippoti Lola, the main announcer for the Grand Magic Games, is done by Larry Brantley. For anyone who watched PBS in the 90’s which I admit I did after school and remembered the show WishBone, he did the voice of the dog in that, WishBone! I did not know that until I watched old episodes on YouTube and I felt like when Tara Strong told me she was Timmy Turner. (You can read that in my book!) Because if you listen to him as WishBone and then as Chippoti, the pitch is kind of higher as WishB one due to him being younger back then and now he has gotten deeper but you can hear it! Larry Brantley, you must come to a convention in Orlando! That is why you get… ::takes out pawprint stamp and stamps:: the Voice Acting PawPrint of Approval from Nerdy Shique Universe!

Favorite Moments: Besides the voice acting, I do have a few fave moments in this arc! Not only it is just one arc, which I forgot that there was a second part to the arc and that dealt with dragons of the past returning all thanks to a threat. Don’t want to spoil too much for anyone who is new to Fairy Tail but I may be having it as a fave moment:

1. The Maze Challenge: First is the very first challenge of the games where all the guilds competing had to go through a huge maze in the sky in order to thin out the competition in the games.
2. Lucy’s Fight Against Corona: Next is the fight Lucy had against one of the other guild members! She had a pretty good win at first when she used her Celestial Spirits like Scorpio and even used Cancer to cut Corona’s hair which did piss her off. Even when she tried to use her big spell, it was blocked before it was even casted.
3. 3. Erza vs. Minerva: Next moment is how Erza fought Minerva from Saber Tooth in the final round of the games. This was a very awesome fight because at first you were seeing Kagura go up against Erza and all thanks to Minerva appearing and taking out Kagura, Erza did take on Minerva. I can see why Minerva was a challenge to beat even for the past games. Too bad she was gone for the rest of it.
4. Natsu Uses His Uncle to Go Against Future Rogue: Finally, Natsu versus Future Rogue with his own dragon! Yes, the main threat had to do with Rogue coming back from the future due to Frosh dying and he went to the dark side. He ends up calling on the dragons of the past to Fiore through the Eclipse Gate and Natsu got to meet Atlas a dragon that was nothing but fire! Not only that, he knew Igniel due to the same magic Natsu used and now was referred to as uncle. The fight was dragon on dragon and slayer on slayer and man it was awesome to see and hear! I bet Todd Habercorn had fun recording and the writers had fun writing these episodes!
Music: I had to comment on the music because it took a change from what we heard during the first few seasons of the show. I think there is a second volume of the soundtrack already because I can tell that that the music came from that by the looks of it. The music still kept up with the River Dance sound mixed with metal and even some of the fighting tracks diud have more of a Celtic sound to it. I give major props to the composers for the anime yet again! One song that I did mention in my Top Ten Songs for this month and I will mention again is the song “Strike Back” by Back On! You can just read the reason why in that post but will also mention again. I was glad that Back On not only had a new song but it was made for this series! I heard of them back during Air Gear and even surprised David Walde when I brought that complete series for him to sign, of course Back On is still a favorite no matter what!

Rating: 5 PawPrints Out of 5! I gave this arc a five out of five because not only it was long and also compelling but it did continue the story just right! You get to see a lot of awesome fights including Erza vs. Minerva, even Natsu and Gajeel vs. Rogue and Sting for one of the competition battles. Plus the music was even fitting and did show a mature sound to it! I am hoping the next big arc is as good as this one because I heard that some really awesome stuff does happen all thanks to Gondras reading the manga. I can’t wait to see the rest of the story and how that gets animated. I also still give Funimation props in how they dub this series! They have been doing this for many years and they are still going at it and I know the volumes are up to 20 or 21 in the anime from what I have found in FYE. I am hoping to keep collecting the anime as time does go on. I have to see PsychoPass 2 since that is a new one and hoping NetFlix has it like the first.

Well, that is it for this review! I am hoping to get Part 18 and more soon because how much Funimation has been working on this. If I didn’t give the series a chance all thanks to Todd, which that story is in my book, then you wouldn’t be seeing my reviews. What is next though? A cosmetic controversy dealing with retrun policies as promised! Stay tuned!