This current arc is magnifying an aspect of the Kingdom Invasion arc that I did not like.
From the point where Ban talked to the Goddess to the "rescue" of King Bartras, everything felt weird and off, but, more obviously, everything came to the Sins
much to easily. They steamrolled through the opposition and, similar to the Commandments, the threat of the Holy Knights, specifically the GHK, were slowly degraded to the point where tension was soon loss for a good stretch leading up to the climax.
The same issue persist here. The Commandments no longer feel threatening. And because they no longer feel threatening, I barely feel any tension at this point in the series, just like before. This is compounded by the fact that the plot has apparently dictated that Commandments not share any information about threats who would, in any other case, warrant the sharing of information to your comrades. Fraudrin, and too a lesser extent Mera, Glox and Dolor, should have shared any and all information pertaining to Escanor, a being whose power level easily transcends your current strongest member, but, for reasons I can only assume to be Plot Induced Stupidity, won't. That is lazy writing, in my opinion, just to keep Escanor relevant as the Sins trump card. Let me list how things could have played out to keep Escanor's identity a secret amongst the Commandments:
Mera: Her entire body was charred by Escanor, but you know what else should have been charred? Her vocal cords. Have it where she'd been attempting to tell everyone about what transpired, but could because of her voice is destroyed (potentially including a joke where everyone looks at Monspiet and he mentions he can only understand Derriere), she can't. Make it so Glox had already used up all of his Healing Drops, and she'd have to wait a bit longer to tell them the threat. She'd still attempt to steal Mel's soul, but have it where, in her internal dialogue, she'd be desperate to tell the group about Escanor and wants to use Mel's soul to recover enough strength to regenerate her vocal cords. Then that's when Ban comes in.
*EDIT*: I'll rescind this criticism as I just re-read the chapter where Estarossa did reveal that Mera spoke about Escanor.
Fraudrin: Easy fix. Expand on the fact that Escanor never showed up during the day, nor on most missions, so he never got a chance to really gauge his strength, despite knowing the others Sins for over 20 years. Blame it on Merlin keeping him underwraps.
Glox and Dolor: I'm waiting to see if there is going to be a reason for them not telling. Despite their hatred, I'm assuming the both of them still want to take down the Demon King and are waiting for the right moment to do so, so not speaking about Escanor is something they chose to do to further their own goals. If not, well, there is no excuse for them to not have spoken up after Estarossa killed Mel.
Speaking of Mel, I felt that his revival was poorly executed and had no real weight. He was only dead for 11 chapters, counting the chapter where his fate during death was immediately shown, which further dulled the blow of his death. And yes, while I never expected Mel to be dead forever or it to last long, I expected his return to have some semblance of impact. This was Fairy Tail's level of impact, a series where a character's "death" is built up and made to be a big deal, but they are immediately shown to be fine within the next 1-3 chapters. I let it slide in Nakaba's other series, Kongou Banchou, but not here. At least in that series, it was a pretty epic build up, despite it the main character being dead for an even shorter amount of time. Mel returned with a whimper, and not a bang. Saving Elizabeth is not a Big Hero Moment, in my opinion.
His return also worries me as that will potentially be more screen time stolen from the other Sins. Merlin's appearance and victory could very well have happened right after Escanor left. This would have been the perfect moment to show the fruits of the other Sins training and allow them to finally show that they are now a potential match for the Commandments. Show that, even without their Captain, they are capable of functioning and protecting Britannia.
I already spoke about my issues with Merlin in the main chapter thread, so I'll just copy and paste my thoughts here as well.
Really didn't like the blase manner in which it was revealed her escape from the Commandment. "BTW guys, I've Commandment resistance just so you know." That seemed kind of lazy. Could have been handled a lot better.
Either introduce her forgetfulness earlier so it's a believable character trait, which could even explain Gowther being her assistant, he helping her remember things she needs to do with invasion, or hint at her working towards something while her soul was trapped. Show her vacating Aldan for brief moments and she's unresponsive to anyone, only to have her come back and answer whatever they wanted from her. Something that didn't just seem convenient.
Judging from the responses, it appears that mileage obviously varies and some folks don't have issues with it, but it's clunky writing in my opinion. It didn't feel like a natural reveal.
I also have an issue with her power level, but I'm willing to wait on an explanation. I'm willing to buy that Infinity is just a cheater move and she could increase her power easily using it, though it opens up a bunch of different questions regarding her power level from here on out, but I don't want it to be related to her remembering who she truly is.
Anyway, yeah, these are my current criticisms of this arc. I'm really hoping for a bomb ass Climax, otherwise, I'm just sticking with it to see King and Gowther stomp before the next arc starts.
