Ancienverse

19) Daphne Arc

I really feel like, as far as arcs go, this is pretty much a no-brainer. Daphne arc is the single worst filler arc idea in all of Fairy Tail.

While, of course, I understand that this was intended to be the original ending for the series before it got popular in the anime, that doesn’t excuse how bad it was. And for four episodes, that’s saying something.

Genuinely, the arc has little going for it outside of Gray and Juvia’s Unison Raid. The arc is riddled with a plot hole given later revelations and the whole contrived conflict between Natsu and Gray was terribad. I mean, Natsu didn’t complete a job? Really, Gray?

I have no qualms putting this in last place.

18) Edolas Arc

If Daphne is horror for the anime, Edolas was horror as far as canon went.

Edolas was a weird arc, no denying, that felt more like a field trip than an actual arc. It has almost no impact on the rest of the series (save for Nichiya and the later reveal of Porlyusica) and squanders to interesting potential it had. What could have been an arc with the main characters using magical weapons was tossed aside in favor of the usual.

But that’s not the biggest issue for me. No, the biggest is that it’s slow as hell. It takes half the arc before any action even starts kicking in. And while getting backstory on Happy and Carla was...nice...I question the necessity of it.

The only things saving the arc from being a literal cesspool for me was the fight with the Dorma Anim and the godly Erza vs. Erza. Those were good, at least.

17/16/15/14) Lullaby Arc/Daybreak Arc/Macao Arc/Loke Arc

Yes, a four-way tie. It’s just too hard to decide if any one of these is worse than the others.

Not that I think any of these arcs are bad. Not at all. They’re just...very short. And very early.

These were the three arcs that occurred right at the beginning, with Fairy Tail in its formative stages, so to speak. While they introduced all the concepts in a good way (Zeref, guilds, the dragons, the strongest team, etc.) it was still when the series was finding its legs, and so it’s not as captivating as others.

As for the Loke Arc. Well, for one I hesitate to call it an arc, but it just wasn’t all that interesting to me in its brevity and served more as setup for the road to come. That was all.

13) Eclipse Celestial Spirits Arc

Oh, boy...where to begin with this one?

To note, I don’t consider the arc bad on mere principal. I think it’s one of those arcs that had potential and a lot of potentially good ideas that veered into a very weird territory that I wasn’t particularly comfortable with.

In fact, some of the stuff such as Hisui being a Celestial Spirit Wizard and the final battle against the Beast were pretty decent stuff, if not spectacular. Plus, Ophiuchus and Yukino’s spirits got a role, which is more than we could ask of the rest of the series. It even helps to lend this weight to the next major arc of the series.

But the rest of it drops the ball. Admittedly, some things are hilarious, like Wendy and Aquarius, Gray’s Dance Battle and the infinitely enjoyable card battle between Cana and Scorpio. But some of the handling when it came to characters like Lucy and Elfman’s battle were so disappointing and almost regressive in nature, it was bad.

This is really an arc I have no problem skipping, though I can see how others might not, and may like it instead.

12) Oracion Seis Arc

When I first read the Oracion Seis arc, I thought it was pretty good, since it started involving more than Fairy Tail and had some pretty good fights. But hindsight’s a bitch.

I don’t think the arc is bad. It’s just uneven. There’s a lot of start and stop within the arc that makes it feel longer than it actually is. It makes me bored before my adrenaline can go up with it before making me bored again. That’s why it’s so low on my list. I simply don’t enjoy it as much as I do other arcs.

However, it’s higher than those below for introducing some of the best concepts in the series: Jura, the enemies themselves and Wendy. These three were great and helped keep the arc afloat.

Oh, and Jellal’s return which made for one of my favorite Natsu solo fights in the series.

11) Avatar Arc

Avatar gets a lot of flak. I, personally, don’t see why.

“Then why is it so low on your list?!”

The answer to that is the same as the arc below it: uneven pacing with interesting concepts. It’s very jerky in a sense because the arc gives off the impression it’ll be a collection quest for the Fairy Tail members before it becomes this big battle thing. Gray’s “evil or not” starts off interesting before devolving to standard fare.

But the battle at the end is awesome. Meant to be a battle that showcases how strong the main team is, it does its job in the best of ways, and I can’t be mad at it. It’s awesome seeing the Fairy Tail crew back together again and kicking ass for the first time since Hades.

10) Galuna Island Arc

Galuna is weird for me. I think it’s good, especially Gray’s backstory. At the same time it was still in that sea legs phase of the series.

What I feel makes Galuna shine is that it’s Gray, not Natsu, who gets the big fight of the arc, even if Natsu does most of the work. It worked to not only develop Gray, but also Lyon and his crew.

Overall, I guess I could say Galuna is average. It’s an arc I can sit down and go “I can watch this arc on its own”. That’s a compliment, far as I’m concerned. It’s a good time. It just doesn’t particularly excel at anything that other arcs didn’t do better. Average.

9) Phantom Lord Arc

Everyone loves Phantom Lord. It’s typically cited as the arc that was the first time the series was “good”. And while I can definitely agree that it’s good, it’s simply blown out of the water by later arcs.

I think part of it is how much the fights aren’t really...fights. They’re more character pieces. Gray vs. Juvia is used to introduce Juvia. Elfman vs. Sol brings Lisanna into the equation. Totomaru was bland, as was Aria. So, naturally, Natsu vs. Gajeel makes up the slack.

However, the arc excelled at the sense of doom. There wasn’t a moment you truly felt like Fairy Tail could cut themselves some slack, and it’s what made this arc good. Combine that with the final battle and it is a very solid arc that’s good. Later arcs just do it all better.

8) Key of the Starry Heavens Arc

What’s this? A filler? So high?

Yes, indeed. In fact, I view this particular filler arc as an example of how to do filler arcs. No joke. Not only does it exist in canon and flesh out an event offhandedly mentioned, but it also serves to give Lucy character development by showing her dealing with this loss of family that the manga brushed over.

I’d go so far as to say it’s an arc that I think Mashima wanted to write but was told to move on from in order to make the plot clip along.

Indeed, what makes this arc a good arc is how it tackles character development, even in a filler. From Doranbolt getting over his survivor’s guilt (kinda) to Lucy dealing with her father’s death to the Oracion Seis having the seeds planted for their eventual reform. It’s just good. And the final segment is highly emotional and engaging with a mystery and reveal that, while not surprising, makes the arc more than it had any right being.

The only thing that drags it down on this list, sadly, is that the front half can be a bit slow at times; more of an adventure before the threat becomes palpable.

7/6) Fighting Festival Arc/Fairy Tail ZERO

I really can’t choose between these two arcs at all.

Fighting Festival has the stronger action core to it, but ZERO has the indisputably better story.

But both excel at their cores. While they lack in those detriment areas, the ones they choose to focus on, they do well. Natsu and Gajeel vs. Laxus is one of the best fights in the anime. Mira going batshit on Fried is amazing. Meanwhile, the darker storyline of ZERO is great and shows the guild built from the ground up with a twist that, while obvious, is no less emotional.

They do well at what they choose, while leaving the other parts in the dust. I’d watch them both again and enjoy them. But that they eschew one part in favor of the other is what keeps them below the top 5 arcs on my list.

And, indeed, it’s time for my top 5 arcs, which I don’t really feel are all that surprising.

5) Alvarez Arc

The Alvarez arc, or the final arc, I guess, is probably one of the most widely loathed arcs of the series. My personal belief is that it stems from people wanting Fairy Tail to be something it isn’t or just not paying attention (as Mashima has never been a spoon-feeder when it comes to the things he does).

I hold a different opinion, which is the reason it sits at number 5.

After a recent re-read of the arc, I can easily say it’s one of the better arcs. It’s fast-moving except for when it needs to deal with some myth arc stuff, but the myth arc chapters are so huge that you don’t feel like the story is slow at all. In fact, this arc ends up answering just about every single lingering question in the series and wraps it up with a neat little bow. From Zeref and Natsu’s relationship to the origin of the Dragon Slayers.

The only thing really missing from it was Acnologia having a decently fleshed out motive, which I hope the anime has the chance to expand upon like they did with the Oracion Seis.

The fights are also among my favorite in the manga. Yes, even the Irene fight which with official translations and a bit of fridge logic is probably one of my favorite fights in the series.

In general, I suppose I feel that Alvarez best espouses what Fairy Tail is all about, since out of the 14 major fights, only two of them are fought by solo characters and the rest are done in teams or groups. For a series that preaches friendship, it really sells it.

I could probably ramble on in defense of the arc, but I feel like I shouldn’t. It’s just a good ride, and if the anime adapts it well, I could even see it moving up on my list.

4) Grand Magic Games Arc

The GMGs are where I fell in love with Fairy Tail. I know, halfway through seems kind of a weird place, but I’m serious.

I think a large part of it was that we got to have other guilds again and expanded the world beyond the Fairy Tail sphere of influence. But the other part is just that Mashima structured the arc that well.

From the crushing loss at the beginning to growing into the number one guild, it made me laugh and cry and cheer Fairy Tail on, knowing they had what it took. I got angry at Sabertooth and Raven Tail, I pumped a fist when Natsu laid a beatdown on Sting and Rogue because he was just that much better.

It’s a credit to Mashima that he was able to build up this feeling if you let him. You felt like you were riding a high with all the characters.

And then the dragon invasion came.

If this part was its own separate arc, I’d argue it would be number 2 as an arc because it was easily the most captivating moment of the arc in an arc full of captivating moments. It was intense, emotional and never let up until the moment the Eclipse Gate was destroyed. After the major sacrifice and Natsu’s speech that it’s about living today, all I could do was let a breath out. It was 60 chapters of build-up, but it was worth the weight.

I almost find it hard to put it at number 4 given how much I loved the arc, but I just think the top 3 were quite a bit tighter.

3) Tower of Heaven Arc

Now that we’re sort of in the home stretch on arcs, Tower of Heaven was the first time the series felt like it had some real stakes. Not only did it begin to dip into the larger mythos, but behind the scenes it changed the structure of the magical world with the Council, something that would come into play many arcs later.

While the arc is short, it’s just well-structured. It develops Gray. It massively develops Erza. It develops Lucy and Juvia’s relationship. It offers good fights, and has arguably one of the most intense in Natsu vs. Jellal.

And all of it is paced well. Objectively, I could argue it’s the best arc in the series, but for me, it’s just missing that extra something. Something that the final two on my list have: all of the Fairy Tail members working together.

2) Tenrou Island Arc

I adore Tenrou.

I adore it for a different reason than the other arcs. Maybe it’s because it starts off with action but of the lighter variety before shifting to a darker kind. Maybe it’s the myth arc affect.

In the end, I think it’s because Mashima had a clear vision for this arc and its consequences. And there are consequences, especially as it wraps up the plot for the first half of the series.

It’s hard for me to find the words to say why I think Tenrou is so good, but the easiest one: Team Natsu vs. Hades.

Barring the fact that just about every other fight in the arc is really good (particularly Natsu vs. Zancrow, Gray vs. Ultear and Erza vs. Azuma), this fight to this day holds the title of the best. It’s a consistent back and forth that required at least 6 people to take Hades down and even then. It’s easily one of the most intense and serves as the strong crux of the arc that it needed to be.

Yet even with that, what pushes Tenrou up to number 2 is the ending with Acnologia. It’s unexpected, gives major consequences to Fairy Tail as a whole and is quite honestly a shock when you first experience it because it’s the first enemy they can’t overcome.

The only reason this remains below the top arc is because individually, most of the characters don’t get development. Only Cana and Juvia really do, I feel.

So, with all that out of the way, the obvious #1 arc.

1) Tartaros Arc

Could it have been anything other than Tartaros?

To give a caveat, Sun Village is an arc I consider to be part and parcel of Tartaros since it’s more a prologue. It’s a little slow on its own to be honest, but that doesn’t affect my opinions on the main arc itself.

That said, Tartaros is easily the best arc in the series.

From the word go it never lets up on its pacing. The Council gets slaughtered, the battle against the demons, Jellal vs. the Oracion Seis, the guild getting blown up. It’s a constant ride on the pacing. Part of that can probably be attributed to how Mashima broke the arcs down into mini-arcs.

But more than that, the arc has major consequences and development.

While pacing keeps an arc going strong, it’s all those other things that strengthen it. Every character of the main group gets development in spades, and so much of it ties back into the myth arc with the absolutely stunning reveal of where Igneel and the dragons were, coupled with Igneel vs. Acnologia.

Indeed, all of the fights were intense and solid, even the Jiemma fight that provided closure to both Minerva’s character and Sabertooth as a whole. All of it really played into that pacing where you never felt the guild was out of danger until that final tear-inducing scene.

It’s an intense ride. An emotional ride. A ride I would gladly take again and again.

That’s why it’s more than worthy of being my number one pick.

So, I hope you enjoyed this list and if you have a different opinion, feel free to share!

That isn’t to say I always thought she was a bad character. Quite the contrary; early in the SM series, she was in the running for best character of the series. She had an engaging difference from her game counterpart in that she couldn’t touch Pokémon. This was pretty interesting in its own way, and provided an investment for her character arc.

It was after Shiron hatched that things very quickly fell apart.

It’s because of this that it baffles me when people tell me that she had one of the best-crafted character arcs in the series that we ever see, because I don’t see it, and it all comes down to one thing: Lillie lacks any character agency.

Compare her to both Lana and Kiawe, the far more superior written characters of the saga thus far. When it comes to their major strides (Z-Ring/Crystal for Lana, new Pokémon for Kiawe) each of them seeks it out and does their own work for it. They get help, but the decisions they make are entirely their own and are driven solely from themselves. They don’t even need a push to see it done or get it started.

By comparison, Lillie has none of that. At the beginning she can’t touch Pokemon, which is fine, but as more is revealed, the more her character is called into question. Namely, why, after four years, did Lillie not even think to find out the reason she lost her memories? It takes a random act of Nebby teleporting her to random places for it to finally kickstart her. It’s Ash going “hey, let’s get your memories back” that makes her even consider it.

For a character that’s so supposedly proactive and developed, this makes the development seem either handed to her at best or undeserved at worst.

This aspect of her character, lacking that agency that others have, really comes to a head in SM 49.

On the surface, here’s where I can see people liking Lillie. She makes a momentous stride in character development by being able to touch Pokémon again and seeming to gain this burst of courage. But all of that’s on the surface. If you just put those points on paper, yes, I agree, she sounds amazing. But when you look at the little details, a lot of it starts to sort of crumble apart.

It really starts in SM 48, when Lillie reverts being able to touch Pokémon completely. In and of itself, it’s clearly a move made to induce drama, but it’s what happens in SM 49 that not only erases any sort of progress she actually made on her own, and instead hands it to her.

Because she gets her memory back, and suddenly she can touch Pokemon again. That’s it. No hardship (and indeed, any hardship from before was erased, and thus can’t count). She can just suddenly touch Pokemon.

4 years of trauma ended because she got her memory back. 4 years of trauma ended because she recognizes a misunderstanding.

I feel that’s not quite how trauma works.

I’ve made the comparison elsewhere, but I liken the whole situation to that of Guy Cecil from Tales of the Abyss.

Like Lillie, Guy has an inability to touch something (women, in his case). Like Lillie, Guy didn’t have his memory of what triggered it. Like Lillie, Guy gets that memory back.

Unlike Lillie, Guy doesn’t get over it in 5 seconds after that memory is restored. Instead, he has to work through it.

Now yes, I know, “it’s a kid’s show”. But that’s no argument (and, indeed, the laziest one) for not allowing Lillie to work through her problems. They could have given her memories back and still had her work to overcome her issues. It could have even prevented the issue her character is facing now.

Bottom line for this: Lillie is a badly-written character because she doesn’t have any agency in her initial development. It’s handed to her.

This is fixed after that moment in SM 49 above. Instead, an entirely separate issue occurs: favoritism.

Since that episode, it’s become increasingly obvious that we, as the viewers, are meant to love and adore her. That everything she does is, in fact, worthy of praise.

Perhaps there’s a bit of hyperbole in there, but I think it’s apt.

To say this, I provide two key points of evidence: Lillie’s relationship with Lusamine, and her “development” since.

Since the former is a bit more complex than the latter, I’ll address the latter first. Namely, in this case that, like much of Sun and Moon, they only address the character when they feel they want to. That even after her big arc, Lillie gets an episode for herself...resolving an issue that never even existed.

Then we take more than 30 episodes before even bringing up that Lillie doesn’t have a goal. Any other character, even the equally-badly written Mallow, would never have taken this long to address it. Heck, we didn’t even know this bothered Lillie until, somehow, it becomes relevant!

Now, points to her for the battle against Tyranitar, but it still fuels this fact we need to love Lillie given we see her, an inexpert battler, take down (used loosely) a Tyranitar, and in a curb-stomp, no less. The Icium-Z is a given, but then she gets an Ice Stone, too? For no other reason than “Charjabug found it”.

It pushes the narrative that Lillie must be loved and deserves praises and gifts.

However, what reinforces this narrative is in how the story deals with Lusamine.

Obviously, in the games, Lusamine is abusive to Lillie, and so, seeing Lillie stand up against her mother offers catharsis.

In the anime, Lusamine...is a workaholic.

That’s really about it. Well-meaning, clearly a bit ditzy, and yes fails as a parent in some aspects but clearly loves her daughter even more than her own lifelong dream (given she protected her family). The narrative shows this. Yet, we’re also supposed to believe the narrative when Lillie constantly pushes her away, gets angry at her and, ultimately, never has any true reconciliation.

Hell, the major crux of her relationship with her mother is saying “Mother, I hate you!”, as though it’s justified.

But is it? Lillie hates her mother for three reasons: 1) She evolved Clefairy when Lillie didn’t want to. 2) She’s never around and is condescending, at worst, by calling her baby. 3) She allowed herself to be kidnapped by Ultra Beasts.

On the surface, you can see where the anime is trying to justify Lillie being in the right, but when the details come to light, it makes Lillie instead come off as a whiny brat.

1) Said Clefairy was Lusamine’s, and clearly okay with evolving. Where does Lillie have any point to really argue about it? 2) Most parents act that way towards their children around that age, but even ignoring that (and the separate can of worms that is the fact SM wants to treat its kids like kids but also adults), it’s Lusamine’s work that allows Lillie to live such a wonderful life. 3) She was only kidnapped to protect her family.

Yet, at the end of the day, we’re supposed to agree with Lillie, once more reinforcing that “love Lillie, she is right” mentality.

I realize I’ve gotten rather winded here, so I suppose I’ll wrap this up simply with a TL;DR.

Lillie is a poorly written character because for half of her “development” she lacks any agency in making it happen and only allows outside forces to control it. When she gets over that, however, the narrative tries to force us to agree with Lillie at every single turn, even if a clear look at the events point her out to really just be a brat who gets everything handed to her, but wants to complain anyway.

Dare to Be Silly,