#gray analysis

Something I haven’t done in a while, I’m going to give my Gruvia-related thoughts about the most recent chapter, and addressing criticisms I’ve seen online.

Obviously I’m thrilled that after literal YEARS, Gray and Juvia finally reunited!! And I love that Juvia swooped in (again!) to save Gray! Look at her!! She looks so badass! And this was after she saved Meredy and won her fight (on her own!!) previously in this arc.

I want to address people who are annoyed that Juvia is present in another fight of Grays. But can we address why Juvia is involved? What has Gray’s main goal been throughout this entire series? That’s right, to become a stronger person, so he can protect Juvia, and then finally make things official with her. That’s it. That’s been his entire underlying thread throughout.

You don’t have to like that, but it doesn’t change the fact that getting stronger so he can be with Juvia is Gray’s main objective. And how can he fully accomplish and conclude that without Juvia being present? He can’t. So she’s there. And she deserves to be there, because, again, previously to this arc, she hadn’t been active in the story for YEARS.

Also, the 100 Years Quest seems like it’s headed to its conclusion, so it’s time story threads were wrapped up. Gray and Juvia’s certainly being one of them. My ideal conclusion for them, would be for Gray to realize that he doesn’t need to be stronger, that he and Juvia are strong enough together, and their combined strength and love for each other, is what keeps them safe, and makes their relationship such a good one.

Another thing I want to touch on is the fact that people constantly try to undermine opponents Juvia gets matched up against, despite Mashima literally telling us through these characters that they are just as strong or stronger than certain enemies. People always say Juvia lacks “feats.” But when she gets them, people refuse to accept them. 🤣🤣

Juvia’s previous opponent’s magic was compared to Hades. People refused to accept it, because they didn’t want to believe Juvia was strong enough to defeat him in that case. Anchor insinuates he’s stronger than Mercphobia. And again, people refuse to accept that too, because they know Gray and Juvia will defeat him one way or another, and they don’t want Juvia to have such a feat.

I have no patience for people who dismiss Mashima’s own words within the story. Nothing about either of those villains suggested they are unreliable/lying in what they say. It’s a nonsense that comes up because of bias against Juvia. Simple as that.

I also saw people salty because they didn’t want Gray and Juvia matching up against this water opponent. But Juvia never faced another water opponent before(outside of the naval battle). This is her only time doing so, and I’m so excited. It’s about time to see her truly fight in her element. Whether she will be allowed to do anything significant…

That’s another issue entirely. What I’ll say, is be prepared for her to not. It depends what Mashima wants to accomplish here. Is he going to try to harken back to the Invel fight? Like I said, I’d prefer Gruvia to fight together and win (especially since they both won individual fights recently), but what we may get is Gray ultimately being the one to defeat Anchor because he needs to prove to himself he’s strong enough for Juvia. And that’s not my ideal. Like I said, I’d rather that Gray realize he already is plenty strong enough because Juvia herself is also strong, and together they keep each other safe. But we’ll see.

Either way, if you have a problem with Juvia being present in a fight after literal years of her being inactive in the story, and are mad that another fight of Gray’s is related to Juvia in some way, you’re basically saying, you don’t care about the story, and what Mashima has been writing for Gray, and don’t care about seeing it resolved. You just don’t like Juvia, and don’t want her around. But considering Juvia won third place in the last popularity contest, it’s obvious those who feel that way are just a vocal minority.