Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest

Episodes 1-2

I covered Episode 1 in the Preview Guide, so head over there to read about it!

If there's one thing that I like about Fairy Tail and Mashima's writing style, it's that he's pretty good at keeping things going at a pretty brisk pace. Sure, those things aren't always as exciting or fleshed out as they probably need to be, but given how easily these kinds of action-adventure stories can drag things out, I appreciate that Mashima is pretty good about breezing through his ideas. That quality is on full display this week, as Natsu and the gang's search for the first of the dragons finds them face to face with a few new enemies, and while a lot of it is largely set up, enough is going on to make for a pretty decent episode.

With the Water God Dragon as their first target, Team Natsu arrives in the town of Ermina. This city goes underwater whenever the high tide kicks in and is inhabited by fish who regularly disguise themselves as humans for tourists(which is neat but makes me wonder about the mortality rate of tourists who drown from refusing to drink the magic potion for breathing underwater that they keep out). However, the fish that live there worship the Water God Dragon and are preparing a sacrifice for him, which leads to them chasing Natsu and the gang around town before they run into the human sacrifice, who turns out to be a Dragon Slayer. Specifically, she refers to herself as a kind of Dragon Slayer who gains their powers from eating dragons called a Dragon Eater and belongs to an entire guild called Diabolos. Given how quickly Dragon Slayers went from being a rarity in the original series to a new one showing up in nearly every other arc, I can't say I'm too jazzed about more of them coming out of the woodwork since it cheapens things a little. With that said, I'd be lying if I said that Dragon Eaters didn't sound cool as a concept. Also, if Mashima insists on pumping out more Dragon Slayers, there are worse ways to do it. Between that and the tease of "fourth-generation" Dragon Slayers, who might be magic-powered robots, it is a little nice to see the world expanding a bit more, even if I wish it were in any other way.

While that whole conflict takes up the bulk of the episode, we also catch up with Jellal, who seems to be investigating Touka's identity. While we don't learn much else about that, she briefly slips up long enough to reveal she has a tail, meaning she's likely an Exceed in disguise. Considering that all the Exceeds still around are partnered up with a Dragon Slayer, and we've just met a few new ones, it does deepen the mystery of her identity and what she's after, which makes me interested in learning more about her. I still can't say how much Fairy Tail needed a sequel, but it seems to be progressing quickly. Hopefully, wherever it's going, it turns out to be a fun time.

Rating:

Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.