Template:TMITM/November2012

 

This is a month of battles, folks! Let confrontations rage on, and let the issue begin!

I - Chapter 306: Gray vs. Rufus
At long last, one of the confrontations we were prompted to eagerly wait for is now meeting its start. On the stands, Mavis reveals the incoming battle has no certain results, and that it was Gray who insisted to engage Sabertooth's "minstrel", the one capable of pinpointing everyone's location, in spite of odds being against the Ice-Make Mage.

Why did she let him?

...

Because, sometimes, emotions can overcome calculations. Gray, show the First the power of your emotions!

...

If you haven't realized yet, I was being sarcastic.

Hell's dammit, will that stupid brat ever stop spitting Nakama Crap? I'm so hoping she's fading away soon, 'cause I can no longer stand her.

Anyhow, on to real deal...

Gray tries to attack Rufus with his Lance spell, but Rufus dodges, doing the same when the opponent uses an enhanced version of his Hammer move, Ice Impact, which summons an even larger and way more elaborated hammer. Yeah, that's right. As he does so, the Sabertooth Mage mentions how he's memorizing the techniques, before proceeding to finally explain what his Magic revolves around: he can memorize other people's spells and then combine them to create new ones; an ability he shows off by merging the memories of Gray's Ice-Make with those of Orga's Thunder God Slayer Magic black Lightning Magic to create the brand new Sword of Frozen Black Lightning, summoning forth a storm of black lightning which generates ice on contact.

Man, this whole thing is freakin' awesome.

Despite the sheer awesomeness of the move and everyone's (Gray included) disbelief and shock, the Fairy Tail Mage takes the blow with some merely theatrical effects, emerging almost unscathed. Rufus again casts a spell, generating several whirlwinds with his Shrine of Turbulent Fang. Gray blocks the incoming currents with a renewed, larger Shield, but his opponent yet again displays one of Memory-Make ' abilities, this being to "forget" spells he sees and memorize to render them useless even when others are using them... something which makes Gray's ice defense disappear, and leaves the opponent at the mercy of the wind.

Again, that was freakin' awesome.

As everyone's in shock over Rufus' powers, the Sabertooth Mage notes how the whole fight is his requiem for Gray, and states the opponent should remember that he cannot beat him. In response, the Fairy Tail Mage strips, removing his vest (anything new?) as he claims that he's never lost to the same opponent twice. He then assumes his Ice-Make stance again, and Rufus, who was calmly readying to memorize any move his foe might have used, is left in shock as Gray adds the word "Unlimited" to his technique.

And then chaos ensues.

Gray starts creating extremely elaborated weapons at blinding speed, generating tens of them and connecting them to a spiraling ice formation around him... so fast that Rufus' memorization can't actually keep up, as noted by him and by the audience.

So far I've only said it about Memory-Make... but hell, this is freakin' awesome. Gray, that Second Origin thing really did benefit you. This whole thing is plain epic. His battle ice creations are no longer merely sketchy... they're work of arts now. And, most importantly, he creates everything he needs by himself. Not like some outdated characters who made the fortune of hardware shops and can hardly be considered Mages.

The complete armory is then sent towards Rufus with the One Sided Chaotic Dance move... Freezing him.

...

Seriously, couldn't something more epic come from an epic formation like that? I mean, what happened to ice cutting edges? I don't remember you ever having problems cutting people with ice, Gray!

GRAY



Y U NO CUT?

Rufus isn't trapped for long, making short work of the ice surrounding him with his already known Karma of the Burning Land, which he also uses to attack Gray.

See? Had you cut him, this wouldn't have happened. Y U NO CUT HIM? ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)

However, the minstrel's fire is shown to be useless against someone used to fight against Fire Dragon Slayer Magic, and Gray, employing the flames themselves as a smokescreen, finishes Rufus off with his enhanced Ice Bringer... which seems to strike better than his former attack, even if it keeps freezing.

Guess that can do it.

Rufus feels the blow (even though I'm not sure he was cut... WERE U CUT?) and is left unconscious and injured as Gray, the winner, puts his hat on. Victory goes to the Fairy Tail Mage! Ice-Make overcame Memory-Make! A bare-chested fellow wearing a Renaissance-style hat looks frickin' gay!

________________________________________________________

Alright, this was a very good chapter. Despite the fight being a bit short, we really got to see some awesome techniques, and Gray seemingly won without Plot Armor. That should make for a GREAT chapter, right?

It should. There's one thing which bugs me, though...

What was of Rufus' memories? Wasn't he able to create afterimages of himself to render his real body unassailable? From what he said during the Hidden event, striking him was impossible due to his physical presence being only a memory... SO? Why was this ability forgotten (ah! did you understand the pun?) as if nothing happened? Maybe I'm the one overdoing things and didn't understand well what the skill was about... But it might have made an appearance as a simple decoy, if anything!

RUFUS



Y U NO

AFTERIMAGE?

Sheesh.

Anyhow, as I said, the whole thing was worth reading, and it was likely the best chapter we had in a while. We got a double page panel showing Gray cutting down (metaphorically) Rufus with Ice Bringer, and the cover showed the Games' scores plus the less interesting Fairy Tail group looking around in that place they fell into like idiots last month. Good art, and, I must give it to Mashima, the drawing of Ice-Make Unlimited: One Sided Chaotic Dance was superb.

II - Chapter 307: Garou Knights
Rufus is still defeated and Gray is still looking gay as of Fairy Tail ' s (series) 307th chapter, so yeah, Fairy Tail (guild)'s having the edge over the other teams. Fiore's former top guild (and likely the one to come) celebrates, others are shocked to see Rufus defeated. Most of his comrades comment on his defeat, and, as Sting sits in an alley with a sad look, we're shown a flashback...

Crocus Garden, chapter 300. Sting has struck Jiemma down, Sabertooth's Master is heavily injured. Minerva steps in, noting how her father's reign of terror has met its end, seeing as he was defeated by Sting, one of his subordinates, who thus became an eligible candidate for the man's position.

Jiemma has no more say in the matter, further defeated by the rules he himself created.

Minerva then notes how Sting lost to Natsu only due to him lacking "th power of feelings", something he was deprived of by Jiemma's strict ways, and states that with such power he could overwhelm the Fire Dragon Slayer.

Oh shit, now even villains are pulling out Nakama Crap.

Having said so, Minerva reassures Sting that Lector is still alive, having been brought elsewhere by her own Magic.

...

Hell, that's no surprise. It's what we all thought.

Sting starts thanking Minerva prufusely, asking her to bring Lector back... just as the woman orders him to stop sniveling.

Everyone, the White Dragon Slayer included, is shocked, with their shock growing as Jiemma's daughter explains her plan: she won't be giving Lector back to Sting unless Sabertooth wins the Grand Magic Games, and, much like her father wanted, is again acknowledged as the strongest guild. A slip on Sting's side, and he won't be seeing Lector again.

Oh, man. That's cruel, for real!

Minerva, you're one evil crazy bitch!

Anyhow, Sting resolves to win at all costs for the sake of his friend.

In the meantime...

Natsu & Co are still trapped inside that something palace. They bitch around a bit, with Pantherliy expressing his desire to draw maps on the entirety of his body (... is this some sort of fetish or what?), Lucy blushing when told by Happy that Natsu insisted to come and save her himself (that ought to make your day, Ota... If you read the manga, that is) and Mirajane noting how Yukino resembles Lisanna.

...

What is that supposed to be? An invitation to Fairy Tail? Or rather to the Strauss family (yeah, it's Strauss, it can't be helped Rai)? Is she trying to pull out another Natsu pairing, or would rather like a double for her sister to avoid getting clawed by transforming brothers on a killing spree again?

No sure way to know.

Anyhow, the cheerful group comes across a narrow tunnel, and eventually risks tripping on someone lying injured on the ground...

Arcadios.

His armor's gone (don't worry, he's clothed...)... but his nose's still there.

'''SQUARE NOSE RULEZ!!! SCREW YA BITCHES!!!'''

The downed, once proud "white knight" urges the group to make a run for it... and we rapidly realize the reason, with Fairy Tail being assaulted and then faced with five opponents... The Garou Knights, the best executioners in Fiore, tasked with getting rid of the "thieves".

Now, let's have a look at our new acquaintances...


 * A large, muscle-armed, pot-bellied fellow dressed up as a punk, with a bottle perennially held between his teeth, a flat nose and hair which could rival Cloud Strife's. Has the tendency to punch people while producing acid to make up for his shyness.
 * Sanpei's ugly brother. Thrown into a river by his parents at birth for continuously mistaking a flag for a fishing cane, he's developed oversized eyelashes, feet with only a pair of toes each, and the ability to "fish" things in the air while spamming his "Tai" catchphrase. Short but effective.
 * Once again another neglected sibling, this time a woman, and this time the sister of Perona from One Piece. Angry at her parents for buying teddy bears only to her younger sibling, the gal started growing plants, eventually finding out opium's particular "qualities". Life's been a bed of roses for her ever since.
 * The illegitimate daughter born to a lesbian relationship between Ultear and Minerva (they might actually make hentai 'bout that...), clad in an Eastern-looking garment, sporting a hairstyle which takes more time to be styled than those of all the other girls in the series together, and so fond of origami to become one herself.
 * The group's seeming leader, an armored fellow who seems to have been dressed up by Bickslow. Angry at the Fairy Tail Mage for giving him an already used attire, he forsake his copies of Bickslow's dolls, instead choosing to carry around two huge weapons with weird, weird shapes.



Well... Quite a bunch we have there!

As always, someone had to criticize appearances and look down on this newly-introduced group.

Rai, you're one evil crazy bitch!

A pretty good chapter, especially considering how much the original title let me down. I thought, don't know, the Fairy Tail members would fight a group of wolves... This was way better.

Nice art, a double page portraying the five "wolves", and a cover which,together with the Games' current scores, shows us Princess Annoying looking like her dog's been killed while her soldiers party.

I see you're still alive, uh. No suicide yet.

Princess Annoying, you're one evil crazy bitch!

Anyhow, that scene with the five new antagonists... I feel like I've... seen it before...

Naaaaah.

III - Chapter 308: Fairy Tail vs. the Executioners


Chapter 308 was nothin' special, so I'll review it real, real fast.


 * Fairy Tail stands before the Garou Knights. Natsu makes fun of their appearances.
 * The two executioner girls, Cosmos (the one using plants, revealed to be obsessed with beauty) and Kamika (the result of the lesbian union using paper) start attacking the group. The first has some pretty cool vegetables at her disposal (including a really, really large one) while the second summons forth pieces of paper which have different effects, and which she refers to as "gods". If only religion was that simple...
 * Natsu, Lily and Sitri Mira fuck Cosmos' largest plant, creating a huge blast which scatters the combatants throughout the place. The lineup's as follows:
 * Natsu vs Scythe Guy (yeah, they're scythes)
 * Wendy vs Cosmos
 * Lily vs Acid Guy
 * Thighs in a spy leotard Mira vs Kamika
 * Lucy, Yukino, Arcadios, Happy and Carla vs Uosuke (the Fish Guy)

So, yeah, that's all there was to it. Stay tuned for the real thing.

IV - Chapter 309: The Burning Earth
This chapter's more interesting than the former. It starts off with Natsu confronting the Scythe Guy, who uses his signature weapons to try and slice the Dragon Slayer ' s throat, failing to do so and thus reducing the surrounding structures to rubble. A funny scene ensues before the brief battle, with Natsu stating he's got nothing to repent of, and Makarov, elsewhere, shivering as he remembers all the damage Natsu tends to cause while on jobs.

Some brief shots of the other ongoing fights are shown. Acid Guy assaults Lily with his signature substance, while Kamika and Cosmos threaten their respective opponents with poisonous attacks.

Here comes the interesting part.

Sanpei's big bro Uosuke names his Terrain Effect Magic thrugh the use of Lava Range, a technique which splits the ground and summons forth a lake of boiling lava.

While my high school studies assure me that such thing could never happen, hell, this was cool.

Lucy and Yukino are left hanging from some large slabs of rocks while the Exceeds are crushed down by Uosuke's Gravity Range. Guess Mashima wanted to combine his seeming fondness for Earth Magic and gravity-related Magic into one... and I must say the result is pretty nice, and not banal.

Likely because, hell, the user of such art isn't your usual neighbour...

Anyhow, Arcadios, despite his injuries, stands on his feet again, not willing to let the Kingdom's "hope" die... and steps into the lava, running towards the two damsels in distress and helping them both up the rock. He asks the two distraught girls to find the princess and then decide whether Eclipse is right or not... before completely sinking into the lava.

...

Hell, I wasn't expecting that. I mean... cool.

Who wuld have thought the squared Pinocchio could endure such a "hot stroll". Seriously, that was pretty awesome.

So, is this the end for Arcadios, the white knight of Carla's vision, the character switching between his good and bad sides as easily as others changes clothes, known for his uncanny ability to touch his chin with his tongue when he has a banana stuffed in his left ear (lol SM writer nonsense wtf?! ROFLMAO!)?

Hell, it's obvious it isn't, guys. This is Fairy Tail (either the series or the guild... Dunno which one Plot Armor should be imputed to).

An unconscious Arcadios resurfaces shortly after, his body protected by the wooden frame of Horologium. As an amazed Lucy asks what the mustached clock's doing swimming around in a lava pool, Loke makes his appearance too, having come of his own will, and gives back the two Celestial Spirit Mages their keys. The trio then prepares to face off against Uosuke, who tais (yeah, made it into a verb. Problem with that?) with a rather worried look on his face.

Elsewhere, Natsu grabs and shatters one of Scythe Guy's weapons. Yeah, it's as simple as that. What 'bout pulling out some Magic, big boss?

This, as I said, was a nice chapter. Uosuke's Magic actually looked interesting, so I'm hoping the other members of the Garou Knights get to distinguish themselves as well. Looking forward to the Lucy's group vs. Uosuke confrontation... hell, I'm really hoping to see Capricorn in action. Been some chapters since he's last had some screentime. No double pages, but some of the shots focused 'round lava and the related events were pretty cool. The cover showed Lucy doing what she does best...

A clue. That ain't writing.

Well, this is it for November. See ya next month, people!