Honestly the idea that anyone in the fandom hated Erza and thought she was a mary sue is news to me cuz i've only ever heard praise for this amazing woman.
@@deathxanamon7211 that's just to compensate for her being able to do everything in combat, even when it makes no sense. She can swing a sword because she can, being decent at hand to hand combat because she can, even the author Mashima, couldn't think of a reason for why she is so good at what she does, to the fact that she can lose all her senses in a fight and still beat her opponent for the reason being she's erza. She doesn't have the proper fight training to be pulling those feats off. I'm no sexist don't get me wrong if they said this about someone like Goku who even has far better combat training, I would still cringe.
Honestly, one of the best things about Erza is how she is able to embrace her femininity, whilst still being incredibly badass and capable. In many other forms of media you’ll often find characters who will either skew from one side to the other, and they can be incredibly annoying to watch/read
Charisma is her dump stat (reminder that beauty is not charisma.) She gets bashful easily when complimented, brute-forces her way through every social encounter ("what's the situation??" *headbutts* "what's the situation??" *headbutts*), can't act her way out of a paper bag or carry a tune in a bucket etc. I love her
Give Hiro Mashima some credit. The guy may have some problems with his storytelling, but he managed to do what so many other shonen manga writers couldn’t. Make a genuinely badass female lead character who can stand on equal ground with the rest of the main characters.
I mean it's not hard to do when you just make her invincible for no reason lmao of course she's not gonna be left behing when you know she CANT lose anyway because mashima won't allow her to
One thing I love about Erza is that she never gets left behind. A lot of the strong female characters in shonen usually get surpassed quickly by the main guys of the show but Erza always stays one of the strongest members of Fairy Tail and I love that Natsu and Gray don't just surpass her and leave her behind.
And the rare time the boys get a powerup to be stronger than her, it is either temporary... or then there is a timeskip and now we are back to Erza being stronger, yet again, because she likely trained in this timeskip.
that's just isn't true, most shounen has strong female characters that stay strong throughout the series, funny thing is you can go to any shounen community and you will find people praising their series being the only shounen manga where there are strong female characters, when most shounen are like that.
And the fact that characters like Natsu, who likes to fight strong characters and forms quick rivalries with them, considers Erza an equally important rival and he's constantly talking about how he wants to fight her
@@naboume466 Name 10 right now because you can't there is no shonen out there that has a consistent female character among the popular ones that has a "female character" be strong all throughout the series.
No but fr what Thomas said in the beginning about Fairy Tail falling to the ground without the girls is SO true. I can imagine an arc where all the girls leave to a mission and come back to find the guild is fucking destroyed
There are approximately 5 brain cells in Fairy Tail. 3 of which, belong to the girls (Levy/Lucy, Mira and Erza). Another is with Makarov and the last is with Laxus but is being used to brood.
At the time Fairytail was one of few shonen fantasy anime that had an empressive female cast. As a wee little middle schooler im actually glad I had someone like Erza to admire!! Also Lucy, also Cana, also Levy, also Mira!
I'm a straight man and I am right there with you on feeling uncomfortable with the weird sexual torture of Erza and finding out that it was worse in the manga is not helping
I get ya. I was 15/16 when I first came across that scene in the manga, and I was both confused and uncomfortable. They toned it down significantly in the anime, but I still felt off put.
One of the two reasons i stopped watching fairy tail one because it became repetitive and two because it had gotten way too much weird sexual moments and 'fan service' that i thought where unnecessary for the story etc and as a girl i didn't want to see all those boobs and butts and more
Erza as a female character is masterpiece that shounen mangakas find hard to create. She embodies femininity with strength and fortutide like a queen and a knight in one body, while also retaining childlike qualities like her awkwardness and innocence. She’s also one of the kindest characters ever. Seriously, imagine your biological mother, father and the boy you love(Jellal) all trying to kill you once in their lifetime and still retain a heart to forgive and look past all their darkness. She’s just a lovable character.
Erza problem is the same that all characters from Fairy tail have: doens't matter how strong they are and how much they fight, it's always Natsu that saves the day in the end.
Me and my friends finished the Phantom Lord arc and the whole thing with Lauxus and yeah despite apparently being one of the strongest guilds all the members aside from Natsu, Gray, Erza (and Gajeel) suck ass.
@@the5thdoctor During the Tower of Heaven arc, Jellal was the main villain and had a deep connection with Erza, but Natsu was the one that defeated him. That was supposed to be Erza moment of glory. During rhe oracion six arc, Wendy was the focus of the arc, but Natsu was the one that defeated the villain. The main issue with fairy tail is that natsu ruins ithed characterz moments kf glory, since no one other than him is supposed to be the hero of the arc.
I mean that's a Shonen dynamic in general, iE One Piece arcs focused on other strawhats, but Luffy always defeats main villain. Black Clover is kinda better in that regard but Asta or Yuno get the finishing blow.
@@anna_medeia @annabenzerrouk5816 I don't think it's necessarily the fact that the protagonist beats the main villain of the arc, but the fact that Natsu tends to take away from others' character development by making things about himself. In One Piece, for example, Luffy is the one that beats the main bad guys, but he never takes away the importance of other characters' stories. In Arlong Park, he beats Arlong, but Nami and Arlong's impact on her is the main focus and Luffy's main motive to help. In Ennies Lobby, he wins against Lucci, but it doesn't overshadow Robin's past or "I want to live" moment. One more thing about One Piece is that it's never just Luffy standing up for his friends. It's not Luffy going to beat up Arlong, but Straw Hats marching together into a park to give Nami her freedom. It's not Luffy challenging the world to save Robin, it's Straw Hats standing before her and CP9, lighting that flag saying that all of them will die for her. In Fairy Tail, it's not Natsu beating the main villain, it's him becoming the center of the story. Yes, he wanted to help Erza in the Tower of Haven, but instead of showing how important Erza is to everyone, Mashima highlights Natsu's personal values. It's more about Natsu's personal view of friendship than Erza's past trauma and inability to open up. What I am trying to say is that while it's logical for Natsu to beat Jellal, he shouldn't be the star of that fight and that other members should have been there as well.
I feel the knight is such a fitting name for Ezra’s ability not because it involves swords and armor but also it represents her character. Erza is a knight in the sense of she seeks power for the sake of protecting those she cares about.
I've always thought of Erza as overpowered, much like Natsu, Laxus, and others. I've never thought it was a bad thing though. It's just one of the many things I like about her and Fairy Tail as a whole. Being overpowered ≠ Mary Sue at all to me. It's just cool. The meteor feat is awesome, but it pales in comparison to her stopping a fully powered Natsu and Grey with her bare hands. That scene will live rent free in my head forever. That being said, as a straight male, yeah. The fan service and overly sexual scenes are something the show/manga could definitely do without. I know my demographic is "supposed" to like it, but it seriously shatters my suspension of disbelief most of the time and definitely detracts from the show as a whole.
Yeah it's just people not knowing what a Mary Sue is (like Thomas elaborated), like yeah she's kinda overpowered but she can still struggle in fights, her power isn't the whole point of her character (she actually has a really nice personality) nor is she liked by everyone for no compelling reason.
That erza shouldnt have been able to block gray and natsu her arms shoulda been blown off While it wasnt a full power end her arms shoulda been frostbitten and burn to a crisp
I never understood how fan service bothers people but not her being able to go up against the strongest forces of the show and defy all logic. Fan service as long as it isn’t done in tense or serious moments is perfectly fine. The show has a lighthearted tone for the most part so I don’t see the issue. Now with scenes like the Kyouka torture that I can see being annoying. Although I personally liked when Erza was being put down a peg or two. But the framing could have been better.
Same, the scene where she stops the both of them is burned into my mind. It was perfect narratively, and the fight with Irene brought so much to her character arc.
Aside from actual broken, overpowered characters, the way Erza is written is probably my favorite. Someone who is as strong as they are cool, a great concept for battle, a great head on their shoulders, a kind, caring individual, and someone who, despite a laundry list of skills, feats, and achievements, rarely lets theirs confidence get the better of them. She actually underestimates herself majority of the time. Like when she takes on the 100 monster challenge. She isn’t sure she can win, she just knows that she has to, and that is so badass about her and the rest of Fairy Tail.
Erza's sue moments are usually attributed to moments where shes physically incapable of winning yet does so anyway. The points I reLly find egregious are when she beats the demon woman with zero ability to perceive the world arround her and when she destroys a meteor with every other bone in her body broken besides her arm.
Erza is definitely my favorite Fairytale character also I appreciate that she really wasn't given much plot armor except maybe for her absurd magic abilities that lets her do a lot
Really was a huge fan of Erza the moment I met her. Early Erza was great because Mashima could control himself. You could tell as the series went on, Hiro got a bit…pent up. To the point just about every female character was getting Lucy’d. And if you understand what I meant when I used Lucy as a verb, congratulations! You, too, are in too deep! Anyway, I’m just glad that Tartarus Interrogation-like Scenes were few and far between. No, I am not biased.
I was nearly in tears so many times throughout this video, it’s been around a year or two that I have watched Fairy Tale and I feel so much emotions watching this. I love Erza so much, she was and will forever be my favourite character ever ❤
I think it's also not acknowledged as much but even though her innate magic is equip, she uses magical armor sets and has MASTERED the magic within each, which is honestly such a big thing considering this whole anime has people basically never branch out into different magical styles Yeah a lot just give attributes, but there is extra abilities in a fair few
@@tempest_2222but the universe doesn't bend to her, she isn't even the main character. She has her moments in the arcs but like it's Natsu's show from beginning to end. Also Erza gets defeated plenty of times. Like she isn't invincible or unstoppable. And she never really bends the rules of the magic system.
@@xenrusxenomorph2268 you missed my point. erza has flaws but her flaws are what make her perfect. being flawless makes a character boring and insufferable. erza’s flaws make her more human
Sometimes you forget that Natsu was suppose to be the main character because of how often Erza would confidently and effectively steal the show. But she was competent and always knew just how to deal with the situation. And unlike Natsu's tendency to pull powerups out of nowhere, when Erza did it there was an explanation behind it. (not the best explanation, but it was still there).
Natsu pulling out power ups out of nowhere? I’d like you to name them for me because I don’t recall him ever getting power ups out of nowhere except maybe dragon force in toh
@@berzerk9380 Literally when he fought Zancrow. He was getting his ass kicked the entire fight to the point that Zancrow started going easy on him. The only reason he won was is because he "dropped his magical power to zero in order to absorb a power that conflicted with his own magic" (paraphrasing what the guild master said. Apparently _nobody_ had done such a feat, especially in the middle of a battle without having practiced it before hand and Natsu just figured out how to drop his magic to zero while he was being ragdolled. (what made it worse is that Zancrow never showed up again in the series even though he could have easily been a great and reoccurring rival to Natsu. Which only helped to further cement the fact that Zancrow's only point for existing was to make Natsu look good by jobbing to him despite being more powerful.) The filler arc with the evil spirits was also a bit on the nose with how Natsu seemed to rise up at the last moment in each of his fights despite the fact that everyone kept saying how dangerous the spirits were at the time. But that's a filler fight so I'll let it pass. The fight with the dragonslayers of light and darkness was also something of an asspull but not directly. Ultimately Natsu was just stronger than the two put together... but the fact that they hyped the two up so much, so much that it was almost nauseating, to then have Natsu absolutely own them made the outcome of the fight less a grand moment of achievement for Natsu, but a sad disappointment of the power and relevance of his opponents.
@@andrewowens4421 I’ll let you have the zancrow one. That could be seen as one. Now when it comes to the filler arc. I honestly couldn’t care less about it. I didn’t watch the anime, I read the manga. Natsu beating both of them was a combination of him being more skilled and more powerful then them. That wasn’t even remotely an asspull. And natsu dominating them after they gassed themselves up so much was the point of the conflict between sabertooth and fairy tail.
@@andrewowens4421 and I don’t see the point of zancrow’s existence as him being there to make natsu look powerful. Because that definitely wasn’t the case at all. He lost because Nastu was being smart. I see it as him being there introduce the concept of god slayer magic. Which is without a doubt an integral part of the final arc.
Yes, Lucy is a good example of a female protagonist who has been developing from chapter 1 to the sequel to the manga (still not finished). I agree with what you mentioned that lucy is a prime female character
I’ve started watching Fairy Tail with my friends and I haven’t seen anything that has Ezra being a Mary Sue, even with my limited knowledge of the series I thought she was loved by pretty much everyone.
Erza is a badasss Nadeshiko : the strength in Erza Scarlet is the fact that she wholeheartedly embraces her womanhood and femininity. Japan has a traditional virtue and vision of womanhood which is called Nadeshiko. The Nadeshiko is graceful, caring, womanly, loving, brave, honest, helpful, resourceful. And this is everything Erza embodies, even though she kind of embodies slightly more than just that. Her strength doesn't come from her running away from her womanhood but stems from her desire for protection over he loved ones. That's the reason why Japanese media has such beautiful, interesting, and great female characters because they feel real and human, not political statements.
Erza’s powers are honestly reasonable considered the insane power levels in Fairy Tail. Pretty much every villain is a god who destroy the world with ease.
Another badass Erza moment is when she faces the 100 monsters in the Grand Magic Games, proving that, yes, Fairy Tail is the strongest guild and it is back. Everyone is crying and I am crying.
Erza being called a Mary Sue is in response to her defeating Kyouka with 0 senses and one shotting a dragon with every single bone in her body broken. Arguing against that is nothing short of delusion, sorry. No male character does such ridiculous feats. And I actually adored Erza until she became dull power.
@@chillmode4lifeHate's a very strong word, but the fanservice is very much what drove me away after a bit, plus I got more invested in many other series.
As someone who loves Ezra’s character thanks for making this video. I’ll never forget when Jellal got arrested and she started crying when she went off alone. I just love Erza and her character
Let's be real. MOST of Fairy Tail's cast is amazing and deserved better than what they got. Erza isn't even the most egregious example IMO. If you ask me, that dishonor goes to Mirajane.
Mary sue means they never lose or never gets hurt. In Erza case, she’s always put in danger cause she is the strongest. She makes sacrifices that no one else in the guild will do. She takes her time in battle to focus on enemies weaknesses and timing. She estimates in battle so well.
Honestly I'm just a general Fairy Tail lover. Erza has always been one of my favorite characters. I will say that if you don't follow fairy tale lore closely, a lot of the characters feel like Sues, especially Natsu. Natsu however is still my boy, but on the other hand it does largely annoy me when some other characters I really like don't get their chance to shine because of him. I understand why people have a problem with him ending the Tower of heaven arc, but personally I really liked it because it felt like Natsu, which symbolizes the heart and ideals of the Fairy Tail guild, was reeling Erza back, and helping her to realize that closing up her heart to the guild wasn't an option. Fairy Tail shares one heart. I understand that to those who might not be as invested that Natsu might seem like a sue, and the seemingly ridiculous a**pulls don't help, but it makes a lot more sense to those who actually know how E.N.D. works. Though personally I feel that it is just because of the fact that, like I said earlier, Natsu is the embodiment of Fairy Tail. That's why Natsu is so centrally focused. It's not because he has the most built up and emotional story or because he has the most important role or plot to overcome. It's because Natsu himself is Fairy Tail personified.
i haven't even watched the video yet but i agree 100%!! i remember getting into anime for the first time and she immediately became one of my first female character crushes, not only because i thought she was beautiful and loved her design, but also because she was one of the few well-written female characters in anime at the time, and she actually felt real and likeable. i always saw sm hype for lucy and how she was the best female character, and she's great, but i always felt like erza had more depth and lore than lucy despite being a deuteragonist and not the primary main character. her arc and backstory always really hit whenever i rewatch it and her want to always protect her friends always resonated with me i love her smm
erza being sexualised just feels wrong to me because of her past, i only like when shes confident in herself relating to her sexuality but when shes harassed or oogled by male characters it pisses me off!!!!! basically feel this way to all the girls because they’re all such good characters but theres always perverts… amazing video :3
im just glad Kyouka is a girl because if it was man torturing her it would of been even WORSE to watch, its already cringe and just gross and uncomfortable but it coukd have been more horrific
Erza Scarlet is probably one of the best female role models you could ever have, and a wife anyone would be lucky to have. Not just strong and not just beautiful but also has a VERY cute side as well as a VERY dominant side. Not to mention what kind of mother she would be with her extremely supportive, caring, domineering personality she has.
later in the anime erza cries with both eyes & it’s always driven me a little crazy. you can’t use her prosthetic eye to help the plot with magic resistance then forget about it immediately afterwards when she’s crying 😭
I'm actually surprised that Erza is thought of as an overpowered Mary Sue. It's been a while since I watched this show but I remember her mostly as a consistent victim of the Worf Effect.
Me and my brother kinda go back and fourth on erza a lot(fairy tail in general, i love the series, he doesnt, but this is about Erza) i love Erzas character, she has some of the best moments, one of my favorite arcs, shes also just kinda a dork being real, but in the best way, the way she loves theater in the filler, loves strawberries and overall when shes not fighting just being fun to watch makes me love her more, and her VA does a beyond perfect job as her! my brother says shes an annoying narcissist, like when she got pissed at everyone for going on an S class mission for in his words, no real good reason, at least if i remember correctly, bit either way, i think hes wrong, and that Erza is amazing, how can i not love her so much? Long live the fairy Queen!
A little correction about Irene and Erza, it is true that Irene intended to enchant herself to the body of Erza when she was just in her belly BUT Irene didn't really leave her because she failed but because she realized it was wrong and she left Erza in the village before she loses her sense of reason, and this the reason why Irene chose to kill herself because she realized she can't kill her own daughter because deep inside she loves her.
I love Fairy Tail. It's one of my favorite anime. I also adore Erza. She's my second favorite character, coming right after Lucy. Thus, it is incredibly irritating to deal with criticisms of her character that hold almost no weight or truth. It's not that Erza is completely void of problems with how she's written. However, a lot of the criticism feels like it stems from her being a female character, thus the critiques seem much more unfair. I could rave on and on about how so many of my favorite fictional characters face unfair criticism based, maybe not solely, but majorly on the fact that they are girls, but I don't want this comment to turn into a 15-page long college essay. Amy Rose from Sonic the Hedgehog, Edelgard from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Korra from The Legend of Korra. Again, these characters are not void of criticism. However, the way many people will talk about them will make them seem like their terribly written characters as a whole. Less than flattering moments will be used as a base for an argument, while completely ignoring other aspects of their character. Character motivations and arcs will be ignored for the sake of making a character seem much worse than they are. Flaws and failures will be viewed as reasons for why a character is bad as opposed to acknowledging that they are still growing and learning. These issues plague female characters much more than male characters. Honestly, with how much criticism female characters face as a whole, it can make a person wonder if it's even possible to write a well-written female character at all. No matter what personality or traits a female character has, someone will take issue with it. If a female character is nice, then they're boring. If a female character is confident, then she's a bitch. If a female character is strong, then they're overpowered. If a female character is intelligent, then they're cold-hearted. If a female character is energetic, then she's annoying. Women just can't seem to win, can they? I genuinely try to be a person who is open-minded about other people's opinions. I fully understand that certain characters will resonate much more with certain people and not so much with others, and that's fine. However, that open-mindedness can only go so far when the critiques seem incredibly unfair. No one likes seeing harsh, biased views of a character they love. Especially when this prejudice is spread widely throughout a fandom. Because what are you supposed to do? You know the critiques are unfair, but fighting back against them, no matter how well put together and truthful your argument is, people will just call you stupid or biased. Speaking from my own experience, it's not an enjoyable time. It's not fair to female characters, it's not fair to writers, and it's not fair to women as a whole.
This was very well put together, and while this comment is a few days late and you may not even see it, I fully understand what you mean. I have a few characters I like, especially the female ones, and I admit I like a lot of male characters too, and I see people criticizing them or downright disliking them, but I hear more complaints, or ten times the amount, for the female characters I like. The biggest one? Sakura from Naruto I know and accept the valid arguments and critiques of her character, and I get why people disliked her in Naruto, but to me, it made her growth so much more compelling as she aged and got better, and now people can't seem to let that go! People don't have to like her, but they refuse to see any of her good qualities. How can I admit and agree when a character I like did sucky things and acknowledge them, but you can't acknowledge any of their good traits? I get called biased, simp, stan, etc. all the time, and when people start insulting me, just take it as a win. They can't come up with a proper defense at that point; that is how you know you won. I once read something and made a comment about a character in it who they admitted they didn't like, and in the chapter they were overly critical and harsh on said character, even though they let similar things they were critiquing go when it was about a character they did like. It was obviously biased, but instead they called ME biased. All I said was, Why include a character you dislike if you aren't going to be fair to them? All they are here for now is to be a punching bag of insults. I liked that story, and it was well written; that was my only complaint. These things seem to go hard on female characters, and I think it might stem from the fact that a lot of people may, for some reason, feel threatened by the character. I have seen people who like shipping hate a female because she is 'getting in the way' of the ship. or they self-insert on a fictional character and, in doing so, can't accept any female being close to that character. This whole problem also affects male characters who aren't conventionally attractive. If a character isn't attractive, they are also very harshly criticized. ten times that of a character who is good-looking and has done worse. I once saw someone say the villains in MHA should be let go guilt-free and just give therapy because they are hurt babies, but then insist Endeavor needs to go to jail forever, even though the villains have done worse crimes than him. Same with Mineta; he is an average comedy relief character, nothing new as most shows have one of those, and while it can be annoying and they tend to not have much character going beyond being an over-the-top sleazeball, there are so many shows where a character like that is beloved. The thing is, a lot of people don't bring up the fact that many of the characters similar to Mineta are good-looking, so the flaw of being a massive, over-the-top flirt who loves women tends to be overlooked, but if they aren't attractive, They are an awful character with zero good flaws! creep! I admit, Mineta doesn't have much depth, but even if he did, I doubt many would like him more. Like Sakura, it is in fashion to make fun of and hate them. Even if they gain depth later on or grow, it won't change the vast majority from hating them just because it is in trend to do so. I feel like trying to have a discussion like this is like talking to brick walls. Females get the brunt of it, and the characters, male or female, who the majority of the fandom doesn't find attractive will often face harsher critique over every little thing they do than their popular and attractive counterparts.
Okay but the fact that Grey is the one that can make Erza realize that what is good is to help people and not respect the law, i think it can be realated to how Erza and Grey are the first main character to arrived to te guild, they have the longent freidnship in all of the main characters
Erza was like one of the best characters from Fairy Tail but after Season 3 shit just went downhill. The fan service became more abundant and as a female viewer that turned me off from fairy tail. Wendy was like a little ass kid and they still threw fan service her way which scares me. The power ups and how the characters were able to do certain bullshit is crazy as well. Also that weird torture and sexual scene is just a no go for me. Fairy tail just wasn't the same for me anymore.
When was wendy sexualized ?? The fanservice in the final season isnt even that bad it’s practically the same as it was before Most of characters dont pull shit out of their ass there is generally explanation’s theres very few exceptions to this rule
@@ReidnReactn Eh I stopped watching fairy tail a long time ago but if you Google Wendy's name you'll definitely see some scenes where she was put in a fan service situation. Also I still think when Erza had all of her bones broken in her body it made absolutely 0 zero sense on how she was able to shoot herself up to break a meteorite. Just my personal opinion lol take it with a grain of salt.
well for natsu being a sue, the last season and his fight with zeref come to mind, what was that.. he literally one punched the guy, the biggest baddest demon creating dark wizard of all time, and he gets punched and goes out. NO
Tbh, Erza is also my fav gal in FT. I loved her the moment she first appeared and I'm so hyped to see 100YQ being adapted into anime form just to see her again. :3 Also, while the JP VA's for FT, were all amazing as well. I just feel like the EN VA's for it, can bring just as much emotion and passion as they do, if not more imho.
I agree that Erza isn't a mary-sue, but I also have to disagree with you on the idea that Natsu is a Gary-Stu, he just has a lot of lucky and/or unjustified victories. And even then he has had to struggle for those victories even when he received unjustified deus ex machina power-ups (Like in his fight against Zero during the Oracion Seis Arc). His previous fight with Cobra is the perfect example of this, he could barely get a hit in on Cobra due to him exploiting his heightened senses and predicting his every move. Granted he still won that fight due to him accidentally exploiting Cobra's weakness (being sound), but he still would've gotten bodied in that specific moment. There's also plenty of fights where Natsu gets his ass kicked (His fights with Fukuro, His first fight with with Laxus as well as his 2nd one where he only won because Gajeel helped him out, He fought with Ultear in the Tenrou Island arc and was taken out with one attack, I could go on). He doesn't have too many flaws that actually come into play and is much like most shonen protagonists in the sense that he's a dumb meathead, but he's a dumb meathead that goes through hell and back for his friends. Natsu has plenty of "Gary-Stu" moments, but it doesn't make him 100% a gary-stu, because he's destructive, unruly, reckless, and as you mentioned a "Dumbass". If we apply this same logic to Erza though, she too has her mary-sue moments, especially in the later seasons where she hardly goes through any real development. She destroyed a goddamn meteor with insanely low magic power, a broken arm, and two broken legs. You mention this in the video and how if Natsu was doing it we would be praising it to high heaven... I mean sure.... if he didn't have literally 3 out of his 4 limbs broken. Why is it hype for Erza to have moments where she illogically pulls off feats of incredible strength but not Natsu? How did she see when she fought Kyoka and had her senses taken away with excruciating pain following her? Happy explained it as "She's Erza!" That's literally a Mary-Sue moment right there. This doesn't MAKE HER a Mary-Sue, she just has mary-sue moments. Erza is clearly not perfect and goes through a LOT of struggle that affects her greatly. Why is it that Natsu is a Gary Stu but Erza has several moments where she gets illogically earned victories through fighting harder and she's not? Seems like a bit of a double standard if you ask me.
I think with Bloom's Mary Sueness that maybe if instead of the CGI films secret of the lost kingdom and magical adventure should have been the 4th and 5th seasons with a little interquel in between magical adventure and the season four we ended up getting showing Bloom slowly losing her fiery edge and learning to channel that anger of hers. At least then we could see things fall into place a lot better. Plotpoints not being dropped and the winx showing off enchantix more
100% facts in the video. Ezra is a badass and is not a sue. Why can’t we just have strong female characters without calling them a sue automatically? Also lowkey wanna comment about Natsu being a sue…..kind of agree because how much attention he gets from other characters arcs feels a little odd to me when I first watch the show. I do still love Natsu but feel like he doesn’t deserve some moments in the arcs.
Oh, Thomas I hope you do Cana next. I've been rewatching Fairy Tail and I've concluded the magic guild has very strong women. During the S-class trials, I didn't argue with master Makarov with most of his choices. In the face of a dark guild's assaults, Cana took leadership roles in second command to Erza while she was fighting. I agree that the show should've explain how Erza got her armors and which dimension it goes for her to quickly requip. It would be nice to see her forge them and test them out with Natsu and Gray. With Cana, girly has great potential and uses card magic. However, my qualm is Mashima uses her for comedic relief just like another powerhouse Juvia. Juvia is another power woman deserving S-class but diluted for jokes. Back to Cana, if someone had told her to widen her arsenal of card magic, I think we would've had a decent match with Erza. Not just as powerful, but somewhat of a decent match. That's how much I believe in Cana. She's amazing.
with the erza being tortured by kyoka, what i draw it down too is her magic provides her armour; clothing of sorts? She can't requip so by stripping her of more than her armour and making her bare her skin was to psychologically torture her further. Like it wouldnt have made sense for her to strip natsu because natsu doesnt care about nudity xD I still agree that some of the angles and scenes of anime are questionable as hell xD
The most important thing about Ezra’s arch is her growth. She is not a Mary Sue because she is not simply “born awesome”. She grows and improves along the journey, becoming the powerhouse she is meant to be. 🔥
Honestly people need to look up the definition of Mary Sue: Mary Sue is the term used to describe a fictional female character who has no flaws, is good at everything, always wins, and is loved by all, with Gary Stu being the male equivalent.
I know im late to the party but I figured I would throw my two cents into the ring. I dont think anyone who actually watches fairy tail would consider erza a mary sue. She's literally one of the best written female characters in action Shonen (which when you think about it is kinda sad) the only women I can think of that receives more love is mereoleona vermillion from black clover
While she is a great character in some aspects, she definitely has some mary sue moments, and it does not help that a certain line from Happy that pretty much defined one of the reasons she won one of her biggest fights, that being 'because she's Erza', which by the way, this may be hard for some who believe that say she's doesn't have mary sue moments, especially as she was fighting without her senses, except for the sense of pain which was enhanced to hurt her more. As she never had been in such a situation and still managed to win, that is part of what would make a mary sue moment. Of course, Fairy Tail is filled with such mary sue moments, though most of them are in the last few arcs, due to the whole 'power of friendship' trope. It's inevitable.
I mean so does Nastu. Literally he can just pull attacks and power ups out of his but. Like him being able to eat different magic even when he shouldn't be able to
@@xenrusxenomorph2268 Yep, that's why I said Fairy Tail was filled with such moments. Erza just happens to most often be the face of them when people think how events occurred in the series. All the main characters, and some secondary characters, have had those moments. At least with Natsu eating an element or elements he wasn't supposed to be able to, it came with consequences, albeit brief consequences
I really like Erza she represents so many woman out there where you don’t need a man or someone else to fight you can fight as well but more importantly she is really strong and the tower of heaven arc shows about her past her trauma her suffering just the pain she’s been through I was crying and still do when I re visit that arc she is also funny there are some heart filled moments ❤️❤️❤️ in all Erza is my favourite out of the bunch
Erza is an amazing character, she is introduced in a very cool fashion, she is strong but she is not the strongest, most of her strongest battles are won through determination. she also evolves as a character over time. Erza definitely deserves more credit. I don't understand how anyone can see her as a Mary sue . One her greatest strengths isn't her tremendous magic power or even her physical power, its belief that teamwork and determination make up for ones personal weaknesses. One of the best parts about her character is she believes herself to be weak because of her tragic background and she uses armor as a crutch to protect herself symbolically to protect her heart. She has a lot to work through and gaining strength was a way to protect those precious to her because she was not able to do so before. I think it was a very reasonable response to trauma even if it wasn't the healthiest. And she does work through a lot of it over the course of the series making her dynamic an relatable once the audience gets to see her as how she sees herself.
Man I remembered when I started Fairy Tail, I came in because I thought Lucy was attractive, when she was introduced, she didn't hook me immediately, but then once we got to the Tower of Heaven was when I instantly fell in love with Erza Scarlet and instantly ditched Lucy (and my opinions on Lucy kind of shifted negatively given how she's portrayed in the later arcs, which I'm hearing is fixed in 100 Year Quest), but the more Erza that I got to see, the more I fell in love with her, cause she's someone who you can take seriously, but at the same time, she's also such a massive loveable dork, Erza ended up being my abosutely #1 waifu in anime in general (along with Diane from The Seven Deadly Sins). I'm so happy to watch and listen to this video.
The only reason I can think of as to why people would call Erza a Mary Sue is the fact that the show after a while leans into the whole "power of friendship conquers all" trope a little too hard. That being said, I do believe Erza is a well written character and not Mary Sue.
One of the key things of a Mary Sue, I feel, is that she's the central character. I don't think that's the only thing stopping Erza from being a Mary Sue, but I do feel it's a big thing. I also love that they usually find ways to get Erza out of the way of fighting the Big Bad of the arc without solely making her a victim or prisoner. Not always, but enough that she's not just a side character.
You've gone and done it. You've convinced me to finally give Fairy Tail a chance after years of actively avoiding it because of its depictions of women. And like, yea, it's still kinda weird in that regard but it's a solid show and now I'm hooked!! Also Erza is my favourite character, I love her sm.
If anything I'd argue that Gray is actually the biggest Mary Sue in Fairy Tail (especially considering the fact that Gray has actually never lost a single 1v1 fight in the entire series)
Yes the failure to do anything with the setup of natsu versus gildarts actually pissed me off so much. The rest of the cast was strong enough for me to continue watching but I was really disappointed that natsu basically never got any kind of development.
OK its been like years since i finished watching the anime and im getting exitment chill watching this review. Fine then it's been bugging me for a while so I'm writing my own god dam story. Sadly can't draw it as a manga but will try to make it a light novel.
If I may confess, Natsu is my least favorite fire fairy out of the cast, even Juvia is above him despite my issues with her crush towards Gray, and supposedly losing in a magic tournament that mainly had water which is her elemental specialty.
@@グングニル-u6m I know, I'm just salty because I actually really love Juvia's character and I wanted her to be the mvp 😅, but I know that some fans really hate her.
In case you were unaware, but I'm pretty certain Erza has a dedicated smith who make and modifies her armor. The symbol on her main armor is their symbol. We never actually meet them, I think, but yeah. Edit: I just checked, and never mind, it's apparently just a brand.
We do not speak ill of anyone in fairy tail in this house hold cause all of them are amazing characters who lets be honest constantly in a fight for their lives and their guild, i genuinely did not know ppl didn't like erza but then again some people doh like natsu lucy wendy gray etc. But we stand fairy tail and its memebers like come on we know its BE GAY DO CRIME!
Honestly I find it hard to believe that someone who puts this much effort in defending Erza not being a Mary sue would have that much of an issue with probably the best negative moment in Erza's story. The torture of Kyoka is brilliant, it takes the reader completely by surprise and reopens a wound that neither Erza nor the reader thought it would be brought back. Her need to wear an armor, her mixed feeling about her skin exposure it intertwines perfectly with the Etherias inhumanity and the way they treat humanity as livestock. The fact that Tartaros is not connected to the events in the tower of heaven only make it better, there's no need to gives a boring retcon exposition about Tartaros and Jellal instead they are connected by subtext and themes. The weird octopus was overdoing it i agree with that, but Kyoka ends up being a permanent scar on Erza's heart, a grim reminder that not even after everyrthing she has acomplish is she going to completely heal from that. It creates this sort of thematic kryptonite, this weak spot on her mind, getting restrained becomes a permanent insecurity. Is both relatable and disturbing, helping humanize the character even after doing such absurd feats like breaking a fucking meteor with all her limbs broken. Mashima its at his best when writing contradictory characters, like Erza, Zeref or Mavis.
Fairy tail is so underrated the final season was definitely a disappointment but there are many goated arcs in the show with insane character development
I found Erza's treatment in Tartaros.... actually good writing. Because as a trauma magnet myself, it's REAL that you get revictimised and revictimised. I think there was definitely an inappropriate use of the male gaze and was a little too fetishy (also relatable because haha fetishise your trauma right) and that part could and should have been done very differently- use horror screen language, not ecchi. But I don't think that the inclusion of that torture etc. was entirely bad writing, just bad execution.
I was surprised to hear you say tartaros is treated as the best arc. I personally found it my least favorite arc and almost didnt even get through it, I just didnt like how it felt overly edgy (not that I mind edgy when its natural but here it just felt forced) and I wasnt a fan of how it treated certain characters (*cough* *cough* Lucy even tho her summoning 3 spirits at once moment was cool)
I could only watch some of this since I'm not caught up, but since I see FT as the anome version of Scooby-Doo and Erza the equivalent of Velma, I only want the best for her.
One think I do disagree with is Nakagami armor coming out of nowhere and her character designs. As for character designs I cannot lie, I'm a straight male so maybe that's a factor but Nakagami is at least top 3. Maybe my favorite armor and the sea empress isn't bad at all. Apart from that Nakagami coming out of nowhere isn't a problem. Her whole power is gaining new armors. If throughout the story, she started gaining new armors or explaining how she got it then that would be a problem but since she doesn't, the same applies for this armor. It wasn't used in 10 years but that's all we know about it. Erza was holding back 2nd origin the entire fight so the strongest known woman on the continent getting the power up makes Nakagami justifiable. Pulling a new move after getting a powerup = pulling new armor after getting a powerup. She has it in her arsenal, just not enough power until now.
Freaking adore Erza, she’s the GOAT. The various designs of her armors, her personality and how Ride or die she is for her guild (which tbf that’s basically a theme for the guild but semantics) Yeah she’s awesome- also side note but does anyone else not like the shipping the show has with Jellal? Like yes he later on became good but it’s still weird.
I love erza, favorite fairy tail character for me..... but i do agree that she is kinda of a mary sue. But then again, a lot of characters in fairy tail like to use plot armor/magic of friendship as their basic equipment. In short i agree in some things i disagree in others.
Honestly, the weird sexual torture Kyouka did to Erza in the Tartaros arc, I never thought it was to appeal to men. I thought it was done to just show how despicable and horrible Kyouka was. But also conversely to show that no matter what's done to Erza, she is unbreakable. Not that it wasn't gross.
I *love* Erza, and that's why I'm upset with some significant moments she has in the story, starting with her fight against the tree guy. And sure, she can defy death with pure friendship and determination once, but multiple times? It's just kinda predictable and cheap now. Not even mentioning the whole sexualization thing; I'll leave that to some other commenter
Honestly the idea that anyone in the fandom hated Erza and thought she was a mary sue is news to me cuz i've only ever heard praise for this amazing woman.
I heard that mostly from people who didn't like Fairy Tail and it's power of friendship in the first place.
I’m surprised that people are calling her a mary sue.
@@zoeanimations2186 she's a Mary sue for sure.
@@kesenaememere8520how? A mary Sue is someone that is perfect in every way, Erza is known to be silly, get angry easily and not the brightest person.
@@deathxanamon7211 that's just to compensate for her being able to do everything in combat, even when it makes no sense. She can swing a sword because she can, being decent at hand to hand combat because she can, even the author Mashima, couldn't think of a reason for why she is so good at what she does, to the fact that she can lose all her senses in a fight and still beat her opponent for the reason being she's erza. She doesn't have the proper fight training to be pulling those feats off. I'm no sexist don't get me wrong if they said this about someone like Goku who even has far better combat training, I would still cringe.
Honestly, one of the best things about Erza is how she is able to embrace her femininity, whilst still being incredibly badass and capable. In many other forms of media you’ll often find characters who will either skew from one side to the other, and they can be incredibly annoying to watch/read
Yes she is balanced
Erza isn't just lawful good. She's lawful good with intelligence and wisdom as dump stats. I love her.
Naw, her WIS is decent, her her INT is her downfall. I would say charisma too but intimidation is a charisma skill sooooo…..
@@teapotspooks8102 The DM let's her use her STR modifier for intimidation.
@@thunderflare59mine definitely does.
She's like a Fighter/Sorcerer multiclass
Charisma is her dump stat (reminder that beauty is not charisma.) She gets bashful easily when complimented, brute-forces her way through every social encounter ("what's the situation??" *headbutts* "what's the situation??" *headbutts*), can't act her way out of a paper bag or carry a tune in a bucket etc. I love her
Give Hiro Mashima some credit. The guy may have some problems with his storytelling, but he managed to do what so many other shonen manga writers couldn’t. Make a genuinely badass female lead character who can stand on equal ground with the rest of the main characters.
All of his ladies are awesome and in their own ways
I mean it's not hard to do when you just make her invincible for no reason lmao of course she's not gonna be left behing when you know she CANT lose anyway because mashima won't allow her to
@@tunderdiamant8651 She lost a few times before. Erza was not invincible.
@@phantomslay5612 when did she lose a fight and not win it After ?
@@tunderdiamant8651 against Jose
One thing I love about Erza is that she never gets left behind. A lot of the strong female characters in shonen usually get surpassed quickly by the main guys of the show but Erza always stays one of the strongest members of Fairy Tail and I love that Natsu and Gray don't just surpass her and leave her behind.
And the rare time the boys get a powerup to be stronger than her, it is either temporary... or then there is a timeskip and now we are back to Erza being stronger, yet again, because she likely trained in this timeskip.
that's just isn't true, most shounen has strong female characters that stay strong throughout the series, funny thing is you can go to any shounen community and you will find people praising their series being the only shounen manga where there are strong female characters, when most shounen are like that.
Natsu surpasses gray and erza it isn’t directly stated but its shown by natsu beating characters that would beat erza or gray
And the fact that characters like Natsu, who likes to fight strong characters and forms quick rivalries with them, considers Erza an equally important rival and he's constantly talking about how he wants to fight her
@@naboume466 Name 10 right now because you can't there is no shonen out there that has a consistent female character among the popular ones that has a "female character" be strong all throughout the series.
No but fr what Thomas said in the beginning about Fairy Tail falling to the ground without the girls is SO true.
I can imagine an arc where all the girls leave to a mission and come back to find the guild is fucking destroyed
There are approximately 5 brain cells in Fairy Tail.
3 of which, belong to the girls (Levy/Lucy, Mira and Erza). Another is with Makarov and the last is with Laxus but is being used to brood.
that last line fukin killed me and burried my corpse in the woods lmao@@christiandelcarmen1278
The funny thing is, it has NOTHING to do with girls vs boys. That's just how the guys are 🤣
At the time Fairytail was one of few shonen fantasy anime that had an empressive female cast. As a wee little middle schooler im actually glad I had someone like Erza to admire!! Also Lucy, also Cana, also Levy, also Mira!
There's more than people give credit for
I can name 10
I'm a straight man and I am right there with you on feeling uncomfortable with the weird sexual torture of Erza and finding out that it was worse in the manga is not helping
I get ya. I was 15/16 when I first came across that scene in the manga, and I was both confused and uncomfortable. They toned it down significantly in the anime, but I still felt off put.
One of the two reasons i stopped watching fairy tail one because it became repetitive and two because it had gotten way too much weird sexual moments and 'fan service' that i thought where unnecessary for the story etc and as a girl i didn't want to see all those boobs and butts and more
Literally was the reason I stopped reading & all my love for the series died.
@@arbitrary_raspberryhow tf did fairy tail feel repetitive and while the fanservice is annoying its not as annoying as everyone makes it out to be
yes it is
@@ReidnReactn
Erza as a female character is masterpiece that shounen mangakas find hard to create. She embodies femininity with strength and fortutide like a queen and a knight in one body, while also retaining childlike qualities like her awkwardness and innocence. She’s also one of the kindest characters ever. Seriously, imagine your biological mother, father and the boy you love(Jellal) all trying to kill you once in their lifetime and still retain a heart to forgive and look past all their darkness. She’s just a lovable character.
Erza problem is the same that all characters from Fairy tail have: doens't matter how strong they are and how much they fight, it's always Natsu that saves the day in the end.
Me and my friends finished the Phantom Lord arc and the whole thing with Lauxus and yeah despite apparently being one of the strongest guilds all the members aside from Natsu, Gray, Erza (and Gajeel) suck ass.
@@the5thdoctor During the Tower of Heaven arc, Jellal was the main villain and had a deep connection with Erza, but Natsu was the one that defeated him. That was supposed to be Erza moment of glory.
During rhe oracion six arc, Wendy was the focus of the arc, but Natsu was the one that defeated the villain.
The main issue with fairy tail is that natsu ruins ithed characterz moments kf glory, since no one other than him is supposed to be the hero of the arc.
I mean that's a Shonen dynamic in general, iE One Piece arcs focused on other strawhats, but Luffy always defeats main villain. Black Clover is kinda better in that regard but Asta or Yuno get the finishing blow.
@@anna_medeia @annabenzerrouk5816 I don't think it's necessarily the fact that the protagonist beats the main villain of the arc, but the fact that Natsu tends to take away from others' character development by making things about himself. In One Piece, for example, Luffy is the one that beats the main bad guys, but he never takes away the importance of other characters' stories. In Arlong Park, he beats Arlong, but Nami and Arlong's impact on her is the main focus and Luffy's main motive to help. In Ennies Lobby, he wins against Lucci, but it doesn't overshadow Robin's past or "I want to live" moment. One more thing about One Piece is that it's never just Luffy standing up for his friends. It's not Luffy going to beat up Arlong, but Straw Hats marching together into a park to give Nami her freedom. It's not Luffy challenging the world to save Robin, it's Straw Hats standing before her and CP9, lighting that flag saying that all of them will die for her.
In Fairy Tail, it's not Natsu beating the main villain, it's him becoming the center of the story. Yes, he wanted to help Erza in the Tower of Haven, but instead of showing how important Erza is to everyone, Mashima highlights Natsu's personal values. It's more about Natsu's personal view of friendship than Erza's past trauma and inability to open up. What I am trying to say is that while it's logical for Natsu to beat Jellal, he shouldn't be the star of that fight and that other members should have been there as well.
That's definitely a good point.@@GlupiTsundere
I feel the knight is such a fitting name for Ezra’s ability not because it involves swords and armor but also it represents her character. Erza is a knight in the sense of she seeks power for the sake of protecting those she cares about.
I've always thought of Erza as overpowered, much like Natsu, Laxus, and others. I've never thought it was a bad thing though. It's just one of the many things I like about her and Fairy Tail as a whole. Being overpowered ≠ Mary Sue at all to me. It's just cool. The meteor feat is awesome, but it pales in comparison to her stopping a fully powered Natsu and Grey with her bare hands. That scene will live rent free in my head forever.
That being said, as a straight male, yeah. The fan service and overly sexual scenes are something the show/manga could definitely do without. I know my demographic is "supposed" to like it, but it seriously shatters my suspension of disbelief most of the time and definitely detracts from the show as a whole.
Yeah it's just people not knowing what a Mary Sue is (like Thomas elaborated), like yeah she's kinda overpowered but she can still struggle in fights, her power isn't the whole point of her character (she actually has a really nice personality) nor is she liked by everyone for no compelling reason.
Well to me that feat, I don't like.
That erza shouldnt have been able to block gray and natsu her arms shoulda been blown off
While it wasnt a full power end her arms shoulda been frostbitten and burn to a crisp
I never understood how fan service bothers people but not her being able to go up against the strongest forces of the show and defy all logic. Fan service as long as it isn’t done in tense or serious moments is perfectly fine. The show has a lighthearted tone for the most part so I don’t see the issue. Now with scenes like the Kyouka torture that I can see being annoying. Although I personally liked when Erza was being put down a peg or two. But the framing could have been better.
Same, the scene where she stops the both of them is burned into my mind. It was perfect narratively, and the fight with Irene brought so much to her character arc.
Aside from actual broken, overpowered characters, the way Erza is written is probably my favorite. Someone who is as strong as they are cool, a great concept for battle, a great head on their shoulders, a kind, caring individual, and someone who, despite a laundry list of skills, feats, and achievements, rarely lets theirs confidence get the better of them. She actually underestimates herself majority of the time. Like when she takes on the 100 monster challenge. She isn’t sure she can win, she just knows that she has to, and that is so badass about her and the rest of Fairy Tail.
Erza's sue moments are usually attributed to moments where shes physically incapable of winning yet does so anyway.
The points I reLly find egregious are when she beats the demon woman with zero ability to perceive the world arround her and when she destroys a meteor with every other bone in her body broken besides her arm.
Yeah, those moments disappointed me😅
Erza is definitely my favorite Fairytale character also I appreciate that she really wasn't given much plot armor except maybe for her absurd magic abilities that lets her do a lot
Erza is the just the best. Men can beg and cowar at the feet of this woman!
What type of sick thought is this
@@ReidnReactn gurlie, I said what I said.
@@samuelhuff3427 bro weird
@@samuelhuff3427Blud thinks he's living in an anime 😂
Really was a huge fan of Erza the moment I met her. Early Erza was great because Mashima could control himself. You could tell as the series went on, Hiro got a bit…pent up. To the point just about every female character was getting Lucy’d. And if you understand what I meant when I used Lucy as a verb, congratulations! You, too, are in too deep! Anyway, I’m just glad that Tartarus Interrogation-like Scenes were few and far between. No, I am not biased.
I was nearly in tears so many times throughout this video, it’s been around a year or two that I have watched Fairy Tale and I feel so much emotions watching this. I love Erza so much, she was and will forever be my favourite character ever ❤
I think it's also not acknowledged as much but even though her innate magic is equip, she uses magical armor sets and has MASTERED the magic within each, which is honestly such a big thing considering this whole anime has people basically never branch out into different magical styles
Yeah a lot just give attributes, but there is extra abilities in a fair few
Not sure how Erza is perfect, she is awkward af. She is not perfect, she has many flaws. Where did people see she was perfect?
erza is perfect with her flaws
@@tempest_2222but the universe doesn't bend to her, she isn't even the main character. She has her moments in the arcs but like it's Natsu's show from beginning to end. Also Erza gets defeated plenty of times. Like she isn't invincible or unstoppable. And she never really bends the rules of the magic system.
@@xenrusxenomorph2268 you missed my point. erza has flaws but her flaws are what make her perfect. being flawless makes a character boring and insufferable. erza’s flaws make her more human
@@tempest_2222 Yeah I apologize I actually did miss the point. I thought something compeltely different with your words. My bad
Sometimes you forget that Natsu was suppose to be the main character because of how often Erza would confidently and effectively steal the show. But she was competent and always knew just how to deal with the situation. And unlike Natsu's tendency to pull powerups out of nowhere, when Erza did it there was an explanation behind it. (not the best explanation, but it was still there).
She used power of friendship to beat akuma so she can pull things out of her ass
Natsu pulling out power ups out of nowhere? I’d like you to name them for me because I don’t recall him ever getting power ups out of nowhere except maybe dragon force in toh
@@berzerk9380
Literally when he fought Zancrow. He was getting his ass kicked the entire fight to the point that Zancrow started going easy on him. The only reason he won was is because he "dropped his magical power to zero in order to absorb a power that conflicted with his own magic" (paraphrasing what the guild master said. Apparently _nobody_ had done such a feat, especially in the middle of a battle without having practiced it before hand and Natsu just figured out how to drop his magic to zero while he was being ragdolled.
(what made it worse is that Zancrow never showed up again in the series even though he could have easily been a great and reoccurring rival to Natsu. Which only helped to further cement the fact that Zancrow's only point for existing was to make Natsu look good by jobbing to him despite being more powerful.)
The filler arc with the evil spirits was also a bit on the nose with how Natsu seemed to rise up at the last moment in each of his fights despite the fact that everyone kept saying how dangerous the spirits were at the time. But that's a filler fight so I'll let it pass.
The fight with the dragonslayers of light and darkness was also something of an asspull but not directly. Ultimately Natsu was just stronger than the two put together... but the fact that they hyped the two up so much, so much that it was almost nauseating, to then have Natsu absolutely own them made the outcome of the fight less a grand moment of achievement for Natsu, but a sad disappointment of the power and relevance of his opponents.
@@andrewowens4421 I’ll let you have the zancrow one. That could be seen as one.
Now when it comes to the filler arc. I honestly couldn’t care less about it. I didn’t watch the anime, I read the manga.
Natsu beating both of them was a combination of him being more skilled and more powerful then them. That wasn’t even remotely an asspull. And natsu dominating them after they gassed themselves up so much was the point of the conflict between sabertooth and fairy tail.
@@andrewowens4421 and I don’t see the point of zancrow’s existence as him being there to make natsu look powerful. Because that definitely wasn’t the case at all. He lost because Nastu was being smart. I see it as him being there introduce the concept of god slayer magic. Which is without a doubt an integral part of the final arc.
Yes, Lucy is a good example of a female protagonist who has been developing from chapter 1 to the sequel to the manga (still not finished). I agree with what you mentioned that lucy is a prime female character
I’ve started watching Fairy Tail with my friends and I haven’t seen anything that has Ezra being a Mary Sue, even with my limited knowledge of the series I thought she was loved by pretty much everyone.
Erza is a badasss Nadeshiko : the strength in Erza Scarlet is the fact that she wholeheartedly embraces her womanhood and femininity. Japan has a traditional virtue and vision of womanhood which is called Nadeshiko. The Nadeshiko is graceful, caring, womanly, loving, brave, honest, helpful, resourceful. And this is everything Erza embodies, even though she kind of embodies slightly more than just that. Her strength doesn't come from her running away from her womanhood but stems from her desire for protection over he loved ones. That's the reason why Japanese media has such beautiful, interesting, and great female characters because they feel real and human, not political statements.
Erza’s powers are honestly reasonable considered the insane power levels in Fairy Tail. Pretty much every villain is a god who destroy the world with ease.
Another badass Erza moment is when she faces the 100 monsters in the Grand Magic Games, proving that, yes, Fairy Tail is the strongest guild and it is back. Everyone is crying and I am crying.
Erza's birthday is either July 8th or April 7th depending on whether you want to go with her wiki or gamerant.
Erza being called a Mary Sue is in response to her defeating Kyouka with 0 senses and one shotting a dragon with every single bone in her body broken. Arguing against that is nothing short of delusion, sorry. No male character does such ridiculous feats. And I actually adored Erza until she became dull power.
I absolutely love the ladies in Fairy Tail and I agree that they deserve better from the writing or the audience! New subscriber!
I'm not a big fan of Fairy Tail (anymore) but Erza's always got a special place in my heart.
What made you hate the series?
@@chillmode4lifeHate's a very strong word, but the fanservice is very much what drove me away after a bit, plus I got more invested in many other series.
As someone who loves Ezra’s character thanks for making this video. I’ll never forget when Jellal got arrested and she started crying when she went off alone. I just love Erza and her character
Let's be real. MOST of Fairy Tail's cast is amazing and deserved better than what they got. Erza isn't even the most egregious example IMO.
If you ask me, that dishonor goes to Mirajane.
Mary sue means they never lose or never gets hurt. In Erza case, she’s always put in danger cause she is the strongest. She makes sacrifices that no one else in the guild will do. She takes her time in battle to focus on enemies weaknesses and timing. She estimates in battle so well.
Honestly I'm just a general Fairy Tail lover. Erza has always been one of my favorite characters. I will say that if you don't follow fairy tale lore closely, a lot of the characters feel like Sues, especially Natsu. Natsu however is still my boy, but on the other hand it does largely annoy me when some other characters I really like don't get their chance to shine because of him. I understand why people have a problem with him ending the Tower of heaven arc, but personally I really liked it because it felt like Natsu, which symbolizes the heart and ideals of the Fairy Tail guild, was reeling Erza back, and helping her to realize that closing up her heart to the guild wasn't an option. Fairy Tail shares one heart. I understand that to those who might not be as invested that Natsu might seem like a sue, and the seemingly ridiculous a**pulls don't help, but it makes a lot more sense to those who actually know how E.N.D. works. Though personally I feel that it is just because of the fact that, like I said earlier, Natsu is the embodiment of Fairy Tail. That's why Natsu is so centrally focused. It's not because he has the most built up and emotional story or because he has the most important role or plot to overcome. It's because Natsu himself is Fairy Tail personified.
i haven't even watched the video yet but i agree 100%!! i remember getting into anime for the first time and she immediately became one of my first female character crushes, not only because i thought she was beautiful and loved her design, but also because she was one of the few well-written female characters in anime at the time, and she actually felt real and likeable.
i always saw sm hype for lucy and how she was the best female character, and she's great, but i always felt like erza had more depth and lore than lucy despite being a deuteragonist and not the primary main character.
her arc and backstory always really hit whenever i rewatch it and her want to always protect her friends always resonated with me i love her smm
erza being sexualised just feels wrong to me because of her past, i only like when shes confident in herself relating to her sexuality but when shes harassed or oogled by male characters it pisses me off!!!!! basically feel this way to all the girls because they’re all such good characters but theres always perverts…
amazing video :3
im just glad Kyouka is a girl because if it was man torturing her it would of been even WORSE to watch, its already cringe and just gross and uncomfortable but it coukd have been more horrific
i love this. it explains why i love Erza, and now im sending this to like 4 people
How would anyone think she's a Mary Sue? She gets kicked around all the time. She eventually wins but has to work for it.
Erza Scarlet is probably one of the best female role models you could ever have, and a wife anyone would be lucky to have.
Not just strong and not just beautiful but also has a VERY cute side as well as a VERY dominant side. Not to mention what kind of mother she would be with her extremely supportive, caring, domineering personality she has.
Also Erza's Initial design makes her forehead look huge...
Wait, Erza, I didn't mean it, Erza please...
NOOOOO!!!!
later in the anime erza cries with both eyes & it’s always driven me a little crazy. you can’t use her prosthetic eye to help the plot with magic resistance then forget about it immediately afterwards when she’s crying 😭
I'm actually surprised that Erza is thought of as an overpowered Mary Sue. It's been a while since I watched this show but I remember her mostly as a consistent victim of the Worf Effect.
She is no way a Mary Sue. She is strong and had flaws which she tried her best to hide from others.
Me and my brother kinda go back and fourth on erza a lot(fairy tail in general, i love the series, he doesnt, but this is about Erza) i love Erzas character, she has some of the best moments, one of my favorite arcs, shes also just kinda a dork being real, but in the best way, the way she loves theater in the filler, loves strawberries and overall when shes not fighting just being fun to watch makes me love her more, and her VA does a beyond perfect job as her! my brother says shes an annoying narcissist, like when she got pissed at everyone for going on an S class mission for in his words, no real good reason, at least if i remember correctly, bit either way, i think hes wrong, and that Erza is amazing, how can i not love her so much? Long live the fairy Queen!
A little correction about Irene and Erza, it is true that Irene intended to enchant herself to the body of Erza when she was just in her belly BUT Irene didn't really leave her because she failed but because she realized it was wrong and she left Erza in the village before she loses her sense of reason, and this the reason why Irene chose to kill herself because she realized she can't kill her own daughter because deep inside she loves her.
The southern watertribe's only known hopebending master :D
I love Fairy Tail. It's one of my favorite anime. I also adore Erza. She's my second favorite character, coming right after Lucy. Thus, it is incredibly irritating to deal with criticisms of her character that hold almost no weight or truth. It's not that Erza is completely void of problems with how she's written. However, a lot of the criticism feels like it stems from her being a female character, thus the critiques seem much more unfair.
I could rave on and on about how so many of my favorite fictional characters face unfair criticism based, maybe not solely, but majorly on the fact that they are girls, but I don't want this comment to turn into a 15-page long college essay. Amy Rose from Sonic the Hedgehog, Edelgard from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Korra from The Legend of Korra. Again, these characters are not void of criticism. However, the way many people will talk about them will make them seem like their terribly written characters as a whole. Less than flattering moments will be used as a base for an argument, while completely ignoring other aspects of their character. Character motivations and arcs will be ignored for the sake of making a character seem much worse than they are. Flaws and failures will be viewed as reasons for why a character is bad as opposed to acknowledging that they are still growing and learning. These issues plague female characters much more than male characters.
Honestly, with how much criticism female characters face as a whole, it can make a person wonder if it's even possible to write a well-written female character at all. No matter what personality or traits a female character has, someone will take issue with it. If a female character is nice, then they're boring. If a female character is confident, then she's a bitch. If a female character is strong, then they're overpowered. If a female character is intelligent, then they're cold-hearted. If a female character is energetic, then she's annoying. Women just can't seem to win, can they?
I genuinely try to be a person who is open-minded about other people's opinions. I fully understand that certain characters will resonate much more with certain people and not so much with others, and that's fine. However, that open-mindedness can only go so far when the critiques seem incredibly unfair. No one likes seeing harsh, biased views of a character they love. Especially when this prejudice is spread widely throughout a fandom. Because what are you supposed to do? You know the critiques are unfair, but fighting back against them, no matter how well put together and truthful your argument is, people will just call you stupid or biased. Speaking from my own experience, it's not an enjoyable time. It's not fair to female characters, it's not fair to writers, and it's not fair to women as a whole.
This was very well put together, and while this comment is a few days late and you may not even see it, I fully understand what you mean. I have a few characters I like, especially the female ones, and I admit I like a lot of male characters too, and I see people criticizing them or downright disliking them, but I hear more complaints, or ten times the amount, for the female characters I like.
The biggest one? Sakura from Naruto I know and accept the valid arguments and critiques of her character, and I get why people disliked her in Naruto, but to me, it made her growth so much more compelling as she aged and got better, and now people can't seem to let that go! People don't have to like her, but they refuse to see any of her good qualities. How can I admit and agree when a character I like did sucky things and acknowledge them, but you can't acknowledge any of their good traits? I get called biased, simp, stan, etc. all the time, and when people start insulting me, just take it as a win. They can't come up with a proper defense at that point; that is how you know you won.
I once read something and made a comment about a character in it who they admitted they didn't like, and in the chapter they were overly critical and harsh on said character, even though they let similar things they were critiquing go when it was about a character they did like. It was obviously biased, but instead they called ME biased. All I said was, Why include a character you dislike if you aren't going to be fair to them? All they are here for now is to be a punching bag of insults.
I liked that story, and it was well written; that was my only complaint. These things seem to go hard on female characters, and I think it might stem from the fact that a lot of people may, for some reason, feel threatened by the character. I have seen people who like shipping hate a female because she is 'getting in the way' of the ship. or they self-insert on a fictional character and, in doing so, can't accept any female being close to that character.
This whole problem also affects male characters who aren't conventionally attractive. If a character isn't attractive, they are also very harshly criticized. ten times that of a character who is good-looking and has done worse. I once saw someone say the villains in MHA should be let go guilt-free and just give therapy because they are hurt babies, but then insist Endeavor needs to go to jail forever, even though the villains have done worse crimes than him. Same with Mineta; he is an average comedy relief character, nothing new as most shows have one of those, and while it can be annoying and they tend to not have much character going beyond being an over-the-top sleazeball, there are so many shows where a character like that is beloved. The thing is, a lot of people don't bring up the fact that many of the characters similar to Mineta are good-looking, so the flaw of being a massive, over-the-top flirt who loves women tends to be overlooked, but if they aren't attractive, They are an awful character with zero good flaws! creep! I admit, Mineta doesn't have much depth, but even if he did, I doubt many would like him more.
Like Sakura, it is in fashion to make fun of and hate them. Even if they gain depth later on or grow, it won't change the vast majority from hating them just because it is in trend to do so.
I feel like trying to have a discussion like this is like talking to brick walls. Females get the brunt of it, and the characters, male or female, who the majority of the fandom doesn't find attractive will often face harsher critique over every little thing they do than their popular and attractive counterparts.
Okay but the fact that Grey is the one that can make Erza realize that what is good is to help people and not respect the law, i think it can be realated to how Erza and Grey are the first main character to arrived to te guild, they have the longent freidnship in all of the main characters
Erza was like one of the best characters from Fairy Tail but after Season 3 shit just went downhill. The fan service became more abundant and as a female viewer that turned me off from fairy tail. Wendy was like a little ass kid and they still threw fan service her way which scares me. The power ups and how the characters were able to do certain bullshit is crazy as well. Also that weird torture and sexual scene is just a no go for me. Fairy tail just wasn't the same for me anymore.
When Wendy was sexualized?
When was wendy sexualized ??
The fanservice in the final season isnt even that bad it’s practically the same as it was before
Most of characters dont pull shit out of their ass there is generally explanation’s theres very few exceptions to this rule
@@ReidnReactn Eh I stopped watching fairy tail a long time ago but if you Google Wendy's name you'll definitely see some scenes where she was put in a fan service situation. Also I still think when Erza had all of her bones broken in her body it made absolutely 0 zero sense on how she was able to shoot herself up to break a meteorite. Just my personal opinion lol take it with a grain of salt.
@@velve5037 i googled her name any sexual thing i saw was not in fairy tail it was fan art and yeah thats just plot armor its not gonna make sense
well for natsu being a sue, the last season and his fight with zeref come to mind, what was that.. he literally one punched the guy, the biggest baddest demon creating dark wizard of all time, and he gets punched and goes out. NO
Tbh, Erza is also my fav gal in FT. I loved her the moment she first appeared and I'm so hyped to see 100YQ being adapted into anime form just to see her again. :3 Also, while the JP VA's for FT, were all amazing as well. I just feel like the EN VA's for it, can bring just as much emotion and passion as they do, if not more imho.
I love Erza so much. She's my favorite character in Fairy Tail hands down. She is kind, badass, and sexy at the same time.
I agree that Erza isn't a mary-sue, but I also have to disagree with you on the idea that Natsu is a Gary-Stu, he just has a lot of lucky and/or unjustified victories. And even then he has had to struggle for those victories even when he received unjustified deus ex machina power-ups (Like in his fight against Zero during the Oracion Seis Arc). His previous fight with Cobra is the perfect example of this, he could barely get a hit in on Cobra due to him exploiting his heightened senses and predicting his every move. Granted he still won that fight due to him accidentally exploiting Cobra's weakness (being sound), but he still would've gotten bodied in that specific moment. There's also plenty of fights where Natsu gets his ass kicked (His fights with Fukuro, His first fight with with Laxus as well as his 2nd one where he only won because Gajeel helped him out, He fought with Ultear in the Tenrou Island arc and was taken out with one attack, I could go on). He doesn't have too many flaws that actually come into play and is much like most shonen protagonists in the sense that he's a dumb meathead, but he's a dumb meathead that goes through hell and back for his friends.
Natsu has plenty of "Gary-Stu" moments, but it doesn't make him 100% a gary-stu, because he's destructive, unruly, reckless, and as you mentioned a "Dumbass". If we apply this same logic to Erza though, she too has her mary-sue moments, especially in the later seasons where she hardly goes through any real development. She destroyed a goddamn meteor with insanely low magic power, a broken arm, and two broken legs. You mention this in the video and how if Natsu was doing it we would be praising it to high heaven... I mean sure.... if he didn't have literally 3 out of his 4 limbs broken. Why is it hype for Erza to have moments where she illogically pulls off feats of incredible strength but not Natsu? How did she see when she fought Kyoka and had her senses taken away with excruciating pain following her? Happy explained it as "She's Erza!" That's literally a Mary-Sue moment right there. This doesn't MAKE HER a Mary-Sue, she just has mary-sue moments. Erza is clearly not perfect and goes through a LOT of struggle that affects her greatly.
Why is it that Natsu is a Gary Stu but Erza has several moments where she gets illogically earned victories through fighting harder and she's not? Seems like a bit of a double standard if you ask me.
Wow I’m not into the fairy tail fandom never knew people disliked her character Ezra and Lucy always been my favorites
I think with Bloom's Mary Sueness that maybe if instead of the CGI films secret of the lost kingdom and magical adventure should have been the 4th and 5th seasons with a little interquel in between magical adventure and the season four we ended up getting showing Bloom slowly losing her fiery edge and learning to channel that anger of hers. At least then we could see things fall into place a lot better. Plotpoints not being dropped and the winx showing off enchantix more
100% facts in the video. Ezra is a badass and is not a sue. Why can’t we just have strong female characters without calling them a sue automatically?
Also lowkey wanna comment about Natsu being a sue…..kind of agree because how much attention he gets from other characters arcs feels a little odd to me when I first watch the show. I do still love Natsu but feel like he doesn’t deserve some moments in the arcs.
Just some of the feats.
Oh, Thomas I hope you do Cana next. I've been rewatching Fairy Tail and I've concluded the magic guild has very strong women. During the S-class trials, I didn't argue with master Makarov with most of his choices. In the face of a dark guild's assaults, Cana took leadership roles in second command to Erza while she was fighting.
I agree that the show should've explain how Erza got her armors and which dimension it goes for her to quickly requip. It would be nice to see her forge them and test them out with Natsu and Gray.
With Cana, girly has great potential and uses card magic. However, my qualm is Mashima uses her for comedic relief just like another powerhouse Juvia. Juvia is another power woman deserving S-class but diluted for jokes. Back to Cana, if someone had told her to widen her arsenal of card magic, I think we would've had a decent match with Erza. Not just as powerful, but somewhat of a decent match. That's how much I believe in Cana. She's amazing.
with the erza being tortured by kyoka, what i draw it down too is her magic provides her armour; clothing of sorts? She can't requip so by stripping her of more than her armour and making her bare her skin was to psychologically torture her further. Like it wouldnt have made sense for her to strip natsu because natsu doesnt care about nudity xD
I still agree that some of the angles and scenes of anime are questionable as hell xD
The most important thing about Ezra’s arch is her growth. She is not a Mary Sue because she is not simply “born awesome”. She grows and improves along the journey, becoming the powerhouse she is meant to be. 🔥
Honestly people need to look up the definition of Mary Sue:
Mary Sue is the term used to describe a fictional female character who has no flaws, is good at everything, always wins, and is loved by all, with Gary Stu being the male equivalent.
I know im late to the party but I figured I would throw my two cents into the ring. I dont think anyone who actually watches fairy tail would consider erza a mary sue. She's literally one of the best written female characters in action Shonen (which when you think about it is kinda sad) the only women I can think of that receives more love is mereoleona vermillion from black clover
I tought i was one of the few people to like this anime, i don't see many people talk about Fairytail. Erza was my fave and my fave crush Gelal😅
“Ill keep standing til i have you in the dirt” That line gagged me. She ate with that.
While she is a great character in some aspects, she definitely has some mary sue moments, and it does not help that a certain line from Happy that pretty much defined one of the reasons she won one of her biggest fights, that being 'because she's Erza', which by the way, this may be hard for some who believe that say she's doesn't have mary sue moments, especially as she was fighting without her senses, except for the sense of pain which was enhanced to hurt her more. As she never had been in such a situation and still managed to win, that is part of what would make a mary sue moment. Of course, Fairy Tail is filled with such mary sue moments, though most of them are in the last few arcs, due to the whole 'power of friendship' trope. It's inevitable.
I mean so does Nastu. Literally he can just pull attacks and power ups out of his but. Like him being able to eat different magic even when he shouldn't be able to
@@xenrusxenomorph2268 Yep, that's why I said Fairy Tail was filled with such moments. Erza just happens to most often be the face of them when people think how events occurred in the series. All the main characters, and some secondary characters, have had those moments. At least with Natsu eating an element or elements he wasn't supposed to be able to, it came with consequences, albeit brief consequences
I really like Erza she represents so many woman out there where you don’t need a man or someone else to fight you can fight as well but more importantly she is really strong and the tower of heaven arc shows about her past her trauma her suffering just the pain she’s been through I was crying and still do when I re visit that arc she is also funny there are some heart filled moments ❤️❤️❤️ in all Erza is my favourite out of the bunch
If women don't need men that much, why is it that they never really do anything to join the military?
Erza is an amazing character, she is introduced in a very cool fashion, she is strong but she is not the strongest, most of her strongest battles are won through determination. she also evolves as a character over time. Erza definitely deserves more credit. I don't understand how anyone can see her as a Mary sue . One her greatest strengths isn't her tremendous magic power or even her physical power, its belief that teamwork and determination make up for ones personal weaknesses. One of the best parts about her character is she believes herself to be weak because of her tragic background and she uses armor as a crutch to protect herself symbolically to protect her heart. She has a lot to work through and gaining strength was a way to protect those precious to her because she was not able to do so before. I think it was a very reasonable response to trauma even if it wasn't the healthiest. And she does work through a lot of it over the course of the series making her dynamic an relatable once the audience gets to see her as how she sees herself.
I just realized that Lucy has the same English voice actor as Komaru Naegi from Danganronpa Ultra Despair Girls.
the pirates are Erza stans.period
I love Erza so much. she is my favourite character
Man I remembered when I started Fairy Tail, I came in because I thought Lucy was attractive, when she was introduced, she didn't hook me immediately, but then once we got to the Tower of Heaven was when I instantly fell in love with Erza Scarlet and instantly ditched Lucy (and my opinions on Lucy kind of shifted negatively given how she's portrayed in the later arcs, which I'm hearing is fixed in 100 Year Quest), but the more Erza that I got to see, the more I fell in love with her, cause she's someone who you can take seriously, but at the same time, she's also such a massive loveable dork, Erza ended up being my abosutely #1 waifu in anime in general (along with Diane from The Seven Deadly Sins). I'm so happy to watch and listen to this video.
The only reason I can think of as to why people would call Erza a Mary Sue is the fact that the show after a while leans into the whole "power of friendship conquers all" trope a little too hard. That being said, I do believe Erza is a well written character and not Mary Sue.
One of the key things of a Mary Sue, I feel, is that she's the central character. I don't think that's the only thing stopping Erza from being a Mary Sue, but I do feel it's a big thing. I also love that they usually find ways to get Erza out of the way of fighting the Big Bad of the arc without solely making her a victim or prisoner. Not always, but enough that she's not just a side character.
I think erza is one of the best of representing how a strong female or in a lot of cases character that can have a personality
You've gone and done it. You've convinced me to finally give Fairy Tail a chance after years of actively avoiding it because of its depictions of women. And like, yea, it's still kinda weird in that regard but it's a solid show and now I'm hooked!! Also Erza is my favourite character, I love her sm.
If anything I'd argue that Gray is actually the biggest Mary Sue in Fairy Tail (especially considering the fact that Gray has actually never lost a single 1v1 fight in the entire series)
Yes the failure to do anything with the setup of natsu versus gildarts actually pissed me off so much. The rest of the cast was strong enough for me to continue watching but I was really disappointed that natsu basically never got any kind of development.
OK its been like years since i finished watching the anime and im getting exitment chill watching this review. Fine then it's been bugging me for a while so I'm writing my own god dam story. Sadly can't draw it as a manga but will try to make it a light novel.
If I may confess, Natsu is my least favorite fire fairy out of the cast, even Juvia is above him despite my issues with her crush towards Gray, and supposedly losing in a magic tournament that mainly had water which is her elemental specialty.
I honestly loved Natsu
And Juvia lost because Minerva used her teleportation magic. Minerva teleported her outside of the water ball.
@@グングニル-u6m I know, I'm just salty because I actually really love Juvia's character and I wanted her to be the mvp 😅, but I know that some fans really hate her.
@@TheOneThatLurksMinerva is still too strong for her the only female participants in GMG that could beat her are erza and kagura maybe even mira
@@JL-dp2pn I am well aware.. Just let me huff my copium please, I know statistically it makes sense.
In case you were unaware, but I'm pretty certain Erza has a dedicated smith who make and modifies her armor. The symbol on her main armor is their symbol. We never actually meet them, I think, but yeah.
Edit: I just checked, and never mind, it's apparently just a brand.
We do not speak ill of anyone in fairy tail in this house hold cause all of them are amazing characters who lets be honest constantly in a fight for their lives and their guild, i genuinely did not know ppl didn't like erza but then again some people doh like natsu lucy wendy gray etc. But we stand fairy tail and its memebers like come on we know its BE GAY DO CRIME!
Oh God erza scarlet is the hole package beautiful and badass 😎
Honestly I find it hard to believe that someone who puts this much effort in defending Erza not being a Mary sue would have that much of an issue with probably the best negative moment in Erza's story. The torture of Kyoka is brilliant, it takes the reader completely by surprise and reopens a wound that neither Erza nor the reader thought it would be brought back. Her need to wear an armor, her mixed feeling about her skin exposure it intertwines perfectly with the Etherias inhumanity and the way they treat humanity as livestock. The fact that Tartaros is not connected to the events in the tower of heaven only make it better, there's no need to gives a boring retcon exposition about Tartaros and Jellal instead they are connected by subtext and themes. The weird octopus was overdoing it i agree with that, but Kyoka ends up being a permanent scar on Erza's heart, a grim reminder that not even after everyrthing she has acomplish is she going to completely heal from that. It creates this sort of thematic kryptonite, this weak spot on her mind, getting restrained becomes a permanent insecurity. Is both relatable and disturbing, helping humanize the character even after doing such absurd feats like breaking a fucking meteor with all her limbs broken. Mashima its at his best when writing contradictory characters, like Erza, Zeref or Mavis.
Fairy tail is so underrated the final season was definitely a disappointment but there are many goated arcs in the show with insane character development
I found Erza's treatment in Tartaros.... actually good writing. Because as a trauma magnet myself, it's REAL that you get revictimised and revictimised.
I think there was definitely an inappropriate use of the male gaze and was a little too fetishy (also relatable because haha fetishise your trauma right) and that part could and should have been done very differently- use horror screen language, not ecchi.
But I don't think that the inclusion of that torture etc. was entirely bad writing, just bad execution.
When it ended, I decided to get a tattoo of the guild mark. I went blue on my left shoulder - had to do Ezra’s-- she’s the GOAT
I was surprised to hear you say tartaros is treated as the best arc. I personally found it my least favorite arc and almost didnt even get through it, I just didnt like how it felt overly edgy (not that I mind edgy when its natural but here it just felt forced) and I wasnt a fan of how it treated certain characters (*cough* *cough* Lucy even tho her summoning 3 spirits at once moment was cool)
it was an exhilarating arc, but my personal favorite is TOH
The worst fights were in the tartaros arc and the last season cause wtf
I hope I'm not the only one who gets the "Authoress" reference
I could only watch some of this since I'm not caught up, but since I see FT as the anome version of Scooby-Doo and Erza the equivalent of Velma, I only want the best for her.
One think I do disagree with is Nakagami armor coming out of nowhere and her character designs. As for character designs I cannot lie, I'm a straight male so maybe that's a factor but Nakagami is at least top 3. Maybe my favorite armor and the sea empress isn't bad at all. Apart from that Nakagami coming out of nowhere isn't a problem. Her whole power is gaining new armors. If throughout the story, she started gaining new armors or explaining how she got it then that would be a problem but since she doesn't, the same applies for this armor. It wasn't used in 10 years but that's all we know about it. Erza was holding back 2nd origin the entire fight so the strongest known woman on the continent getting the power up makes Nakagami justifiable. Pulling a new move after getting a powerup = pulling new armor after getting a powerup. She has it in her arsenal, just not enough power until now.
I want a "male gaze with a z not a y except the bi" shirt
Flame empress is one of my favorites
Freaking adore Erza, she’s the GOAT. The various designs of her armors, her personality and how Ride or die she is for her guild (which tbf that’s basically a theme for the guild but semantics)
Yeah she’s awesome- also side note but does anyone else not like the shipping the show has with Jellal? Like yes he later on became good but it’s still weird.
The anime fandom loves overpower men like estarossa or saturu gojo but Erza is Mary sue ?
I do find it interesting Natsu did stop everyone from self sacrificing: Gray, Lucy, and Erza.
I don't think he had a self sacrificing moment.
I love erza, favorite fairy tail character for me..... but i do agree that she is kinda of a mary sue. But then again, a lot of characters in fairy tail like to use plot armor/magic of friendship as their basic equipment. In short i agree in some things i disagree in others.
Honestly, the weird sexual torture Kyouka did to Erza in the Tartaros arc, I never thought it was to appeal to men. I thought it was done to just show how despicable and horrible Kyouka was. But also conversely to show that no matter what's done to Erza, she is unbreakable.
Not that it wasn't gross.
As a child I loved Fairy Tail, now as a teen I cringe. Erza will always be my bea but the sexualization makes me wanna trow my laptop from the roof
Erza is my favorite character in the show
"And today, I'm going to yell at you about why. For 7000 words."
Thank youuu 🙏
I *love* Erza, and that's why I'm upset with some significant moments she has in the story, starting with her fight against the tree guy. And sure, she can defy death with pure friendship and determination once, but multiple times? It's just kinda predictable and cheap now. Not even mentioning the whole sexualization thing; I'll leave that to some other commenter