Anime Review: Fairy Tail Part 16 (Lights, Camera, Action!)

Fairy Tail Part 16 (UK Rating: 12)

It was from this first group that a human emerged that slaughtered countless dragons; his power was unmatched and he soon became renowned the world over. He didn't care what side the dragons were on, either, he annihilated them indiscriminately, killing even those who granted him his power. His name was Acnologia. Yes, the Black Dragon King was once a Dragon Slayer and it's revealed that the transformation into a dragon is the fate of all Dragon Slayers. During this historic exposition, the shady Arcadios arrives and it turns out he's not half as villainous as originally believed. Arcadios explains his reasoning behind trying to kidnap a celestial wizard, and his shadowy Eclipse plan is actually all in the cause of good. He plans to use the 12 keys of the Zodiac to travel back in time and kill the age old antagonist of the series, Zeref, before he gained his immortality. The plan is cancelled, however, when a rival part of the government also shows up and steals Lucy away - side note, is there any arc of Fairy Tail where Lucy isn't kidnapped? The only way to get her back is to win the games.

The games, then,  continue and the Fairy Tail team fights to get back its friend and debates the possibility of this time travelling plan to finally overcome a shadow that has long hung over the team. There are some really great moments and great battles in this latest instalment, including major showdowns between Grey and Rufus, between a group of new prison executioners against the usual suspects of Fairy Tail and, most importantly, a heck of a battle between the ladies, which culminates in Erza and Kagura crossing swords. Crossing drawn swords.

Fairy Tail Part 16 contains the same bonus features that fans will be familiar with already, the usual episode commentaries with the English cast - the English cast continues to deliver mediocre performances - along with the usual clean opening and closing, a particularly good one, too, in the form of Masayume Chasing by Boa as the ending theme. There's an extra bonus feature, too - a feature that takes a look at the new top guild in Fiore Sabertooth and its members; giving a bit of exposition and history to characters like the third generation Dragon Slayers, Rogue and Sting. It's mostly just a recap of what has already been seen in the past episodes but it's a nice little addition.

7/10

Very Good - Bronze Award

The story of the Grand Magic Games in Fairy Tail Part 16 continues to be an enjoyable one. Long time fans can look forward to plenty of the series' signature action, comedy, and battles, along with some major revelations found in these episodes that are bound to have huge repercussions later in the series. There is even the beginning of the long hinted and long shipped relationship between Natsu and Lucy. The big finale to this massive arc is incoming, and Cubed3 will be covering it soon!