She walked through Invel's blizzard that was freezing to Gray, manhandle Natsu to the point he couldn't get out of her grip, and easily caught Taurus Stardress Lucy's attack when trying to throw a fight lol. Her magic is all hax so like saying Brandish without hax is limiting her to no magic which everyone in the manga uses their magic to enhance their attacks.
She wasn't directly in Invel's range, the blizzard was all over the city as an aftermath. That doesn't prove anything, since nobody except those directly targeted by Invel froze.
It was literally stated she was throwing the fight so Lucy could win. That means she is obviously going to hold back. You can't blitz someone who is throwing a fight
She wasn't directly in Invel's range, the blizzard was all over the city as an aftermath. That doesn't prove anything, since nobody except those directly targeted by Invel froze.
She was right next to Invel...in the blizzard. Gray felt cold from it and Gray is nigh immune to the cold. It would be like making Natsu be able to feel heat.
Yea, cause Invel didn't use it on her duh. WTF?
After being thawed by Natsu, Lucy, Juvia, Happy etc were standing there as well. So.........it's nothing special that Brandish didn't get frozen.
Gray felt cold because the ability was USED on him by Invel.
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That's possible. We'll see when translations come out.
It just seems to be that doom's body itself is cursed or something
The blizzard was an AoE attack lol. Standing by Natsu who is creating a flame that melted his cold. It's special that Brandish who has zero heat nor cold related affinities was able to easily walk through a blizzard that made Gray freeze.
Bruh, you're stretching it. Brandish was legit in the epicenter of the blizzard.
The blizzard was an AoE attack lol. Standing by Natsu who is creating a flame that melted his cold. It's special that Brandish who has zero heat nor cold related affinities was able to easily walk through a blizzard that made Gray freeze.
Bruh, you're stretching it. Brandish was legit in the epicenter of the blizzard.
If that was the case, Lucy, Happy, Juvia etc would've got frozen again.
They got frozen because Invel used ability directly at them. Natsu needed like a minute to thaw out. If Invel's freeze is passive, they all would've got frozen again for a minute or more.
Not reaching to claim that Invel needs to target enemies to freeze them. It's not passive. It's the logical conclusion from what we saw.
It was literally stated she was throwing the fight so Lucy could win. That means she is obviously going to hold back. You can't blitz someone who is throwing a fight
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She was right next to Invel...in the blizzard. Gray felt cold from it and Gray is nigh immune to the cold. It would be like making Natsu be able to feel heat.
If that was the case, Lucy, Happy, Juvia etc would've got frozen again.
They got frozen because Invel used ability directly at them. Natsu needed like a minute to thaw out. If Invel's freeze is passive, they all would've got frozen again for a minute or more.
Not reaching to claim that Invel needs to target enemies to freeze them. It's not passive. It's the logical conclusion from what we saw.
How? Natsu is a walking furnace that just melted Invel's ice. Yeah, and then couldn't be flash froze afterwards. Natsu just thawed them out of Invel's passive cold so why would he let them freeze again?
He doesn't as he did it by just walking towards team Natsu. Also who cares if it's passive or not? The attack is an AoE move and Brandish was in the epicenter of it lol.
Juvia was by Natsu and then by Gray. Both who can resist cold temps.
How? Natsu is a walking furnace that just melted Invel's ice. Yeah, and then couldn't be flash froze afterwards. Natsu just thawed them out of Invel's passive cold so why would he let them freeze again?
He doesn't as he did it by just walking towards team Natsu. Also who cares if it's passive or not? The attack is an AoE move and Brandish was in the epicenter of it lol.
Gray doesn't add resistance by being near people lol, or they wouldn't have been frozen in the first place. As for Natsu, Brandish literally picked him up and walked away, Juvia remained unfrozen. Brandish didn't tank anything, either Invel can only freeze people via surprise attack(extremely likely) or the blizzard just didn't do nothing.
Gray doesn't add resistance by being near people lol, or they wouldn't have been frozen in the first place. As for Natsu, Brandish literally picked him up and walked away, Juvia remained unfrozen. Brandish didn't tank anything, either Invel can only freeze people via surprise attack(extremely likely) or the blizzard just didn't do nothing.
Gray nor Natsu were ready for Invel's attack and both can add resistance to the elements to others. Natsu was able to negate the heat from August's attack from Lucy, Mest and Happy. Brandish does as Gray literally said the Blizzard is freezing to him and we see Brandish in her bikini walk in the epicenter and walk out fine. Invel's attack is an AoE attack so it wouldn't matter if he was attacking Brandish or not as the attack would still hit her if she is in the AoE of it.
Gray nor Natsu were ready for Invel's attack and both can add resistance to the elements to others. Natsu was able to negate the heat from August's attack from Lucy, Mest and Happy. Brandish does as Gray literally said the Blizzard is freezing to him and we see Brandish in her bikini walk in the epicenter and walk out fine. Invel's attack is an AoE attack so it wouldn't matter if he was attacking Brandish or not as the attack would still hit her if she is in the AoE of it.
Except like I said, Natsu left the battlefield and Juvia was unfrozen. Brandish's bikini walk is a Juvia tier feat, in fact Juvia's even able to battle Gray, an ice wizard, during the blizzard. So really Brandish's bikini walk is a sub-Juvia tier feat, more of a Happy tier feat if we're both being honest.
Brandish wasn't lying when she said that Ajeel "calmed down" after becoming king. Not only allowing fodder like Max to visit him but teaching him techniques? Lol now I really hope we see the other spriggans but I feel that won't happen until the final battle, if Selene will be designated as the final villain or Elfeseria pulls one over everyone.
Gray is still there tho lol. Invel wanted Gray to kill Juvia to unlock darkness and let's be honest consistency from Mashima in Alvarez is not something that is surprising. Levy was able to tank MCBs despite MCBs f-ing up Laxus and killing fodder mages instantly. The fact Brandish didn't feel anything to the blizzard despite Gray feeling it makes it an above Gray tier feat lol. Happy also is one of the best tanks in the series lol.
Sure, but Gray doesn't unfreeze people, it's not an ability he has, it's not an ability he was even suggested to have used in that chapter, and it's certainly not something he was using while fighting her. We see the blizzard continue to rage during their fight, Juvia not being frozen while fighting Gray in it is a significantly more impressive feat than Brandish walking around in a bikini. Brandish has no real durability feats, her best feat is tanking Neinharts whirlwind, which at the end of the day is just another Lucy tier feat. Maybe she can do better, but as of right now she hasn't displayed anything that suggests she's a better tank than even the likes of Juvia.
Just some of my thoughts and opinions regarding the group seeing as their involvement in the series has concluded.
Spotlight. Camera. Action!
Such majestic swag and flamboyance. Amidst this arc of disappointment, Serena certainly stood out as hands down the most entertaining individual from this group. His completely random and over the top theatrics were hilarious, and legit made me lol.
He made me laugh. Which already surpass what any other character could achieve in Alvarez. Serena was a good throwback to the reason why I started getting into FT, because of the comedy which is seen only sporadically in recent times. He also dared to be himself, without fear of being judged by his contemporaries.
He could be ridiculous when he wants to be, but it when comes to crunch time to lay down the gauntlet, you could buy him once he turns serious.
I can't speak for anyone else, but if I'm reading manga, it is to be entertained. And boy, oh boy, did Serena not disappoint.
He could definitely have left a more lasting impression on the audience if Mashima had given him a fight with actual battle flow. We never knew the potential of Serena's abilities, as it was mostly off panel when he carved a path of destruction through Bosco and wrecked the other gods of Ishgar, then got swiftly killed by Acno. The historias were watered-down version of themselves, so it is hardly fair to use his fight with Gildarts to assess his strength.
It was said his defection to Alvarez was to enable him to seek out and defeat Acno. But it was not given a true sense of purpose behind his motivation. Is out of fame or a test of might? Surely either of these boils down to a matter of ego? Then it wouldn't make sense for him to not react when Ajeel mocked him. Or is it more than what meets the eye? Otherwise Irene has a much concrete reason for going after Acno to atone for her decision tbh.
How does Serena also got his hands on eight different ds magic lacrimas, given that each of them are exceedingly rare and expensive? Why is he favoured by the dragon gods? Does his ancestry has a connection to his talent to bond more easily with ds magic lacrimas? And of course, why does his appearance resembles so much like Yuri? All these queries could be answered if he received a backstory. But I guess not.
Character development done right.
Dimaria started off as an arrogant and sharp-tongued bully who not only has a high opinion of herself, but seemingly looked down on everyone else. She enjoyed stripping female enemies just to tease, and was not above laughing when her comrades were defeated.
She then got defeated, and learnt humility when she was the only Spriggan to be captured, and required Larcade, another comrade, to save her when he really doesn't have a reason to do so. Such laser-guided karma certainly made her eat humble pie and changed her attitude.
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She apologized to Brandish for everything mean she said previously. He defeat and imprisonment taught her not only humility, but also ruthlessness. The next time she fought, was after seeing Brandish had a change of heart, and she swiftly cut her down with no teasing about. During her torture session with Lucy, it was revealed her defeat had another impact on her. A not so positive one.
Dimaria displayed a new deranged and psychotic side of her, as she wished to take off Lucy's eyes, when before she was just happy enough to take off her enemies' clothes. But after her second defeat, and Lucy's little speech, she begins to question if she really is as good as what she thinks she is.
Easily the most charismatic out of the group. The poise, the class, and the way he carries himself. August was the general of the Spriggan, and he always acted the part. He lived up the to the hype of his strength. He is wise, understanding and sympathetic. His characterization had the most redeeming qualities.
He wields the magic he copies with greater finesse and expertise than the original users themselves do. And I can respect that strict code of conduct he imposed on himself. This scene right here is one of the greatest sense of impending doom in the saga.
Still he isn't without his obvious flaws though. August took his eye off the ball, and got too caught up in his self-directed melodrama till he engineered his own defeat. His suicide was a terrible way to go out. There were also no need to for him to evade Cana's attacks. Though he can't copy Cana's magic, he has more than enough in his arsenal to defend himself. Do you even August, Mashima?
His backstory was also rather short, compared to Brandish and Irene. I would prefer if Mashima had touch more on August's half-human hybrid. He was afterall an offspring from two cursed immortals, and conceived through FH. It is still ambiguous which is his default organic appearance. As we all know, he has a dark transformation. But he was initially dark as a child, and only turned to light when he was in the company of Zeref.
Like it said, August probably wavered between light (Mavis) and darkness (Zeref) based on his emotional state. His ultimate undoing was being borned to the wrong parents. Seriously if you had parents like his, I wouldn't blame you if you were to off yourself either.
I felt her background was noteworthy, and honestly, in a story where almost everything revolves around those two goddamn Dragneel bros, I can buy into her history. I did, however, disliked her association with Erza. But I have enough time to sorta accept that when she looks like a carbon copy of her. But older.
Her past also gave us an insight on the origins and event of the dragon king festival. Which ties in nicely to the plot. Yes, I know it makes zero sense how did Acno not recognise Irene. But it should be pretty clear by now that Mashima did not actually thought up of Irene's background until after their interaction. So I'm willing to look past that.
Irene's moral and story was probably the deepest and darkest Mashima has went so far. Which, from a literary standpoint, makes it a professional breakthrough for Mashima himself. And her suicide I thought was a fitting way for her to exit.
Among a group which intellect is not exactly their greatest strength, Invel was a fresh breath of air. This guy is cold and calculative. A proper bastard who knows how to exploit his enemies' weaknesses. Twice, did Mashima turned to him to him for a drastic change in mood towards the dark and dramatic.
Barring another deus ex machina, Invel would have been the first antagonist in the series to definitively kill a main member of FT when Juvia killed herself to save Gray after he used Ice Lock to make them right to the death.
He was truly manipulative. From the beginning since he froze Mavis' mind to force her to do his bidding, to discovering Gray was a devil slayer and tried recruiting him over to Alvarez's side so he could negate the threat of END, to making use of Juvia to empower him, and even until the end after his defeat he was still taunting Gray so he could fight Natsu. Again, his agenda succeeded. But this time instead od Wendy saving Juvia, Erza nakamizes both Gray and Natsu back to their senses.
While I was not surprise he is an ice mage, I thought it would be interesting if Invel had a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to his personality, or least abilities. The reason why I say that is because the concept and visual design of his attire has always been a duality motif.
His tie against the shirt. The interior of his trench coat is dark, as opposed to the border and background of the exterior. Dark patterns run diagonally across from one corner to the other. Even his dark shoes has contrasting light soles.
I don't believe Mashima drew all these without knowing. There should have been a superpowered evil side planned to him. But I guess Mashima just isn't creative enough to execute and go through with it. Otherwise, he should have displayed more of his different abilities.
Nonetheless, Invel is no-nonsense and when it comes to crunch time, does the guy bring it and means business.
As the token nakama of the arc, I felt she wasn't granted enough capacity to form a lasting impression on the readers. At times, her interaction and chemistry with the crew seems forced and inorganic. Otherwise, great potential and unique design. It helps that she has the most memorable introduction too.
Her personalitits stand out among the crew, as she is easily the most sympathetic member and isn't mindlessly antagonistic to FT. What's not to like about a lazy badass. Though she didn't pull it off as well as Aokiji or Starrk did She is much rather affable and indifferent to fighting just because she had to, as compared to for her personal motivations like mango gelato.
Obviously a confused soul though, Brandish has a conflicting loyalty between her empire and relationship. I like that we can't always predict what she would do. But then again, for all the hype surrounding her power, her actual feats were anti-climatic and leaves more to be asking for. Her backstory with Aquarius also ruined much of her intrigue and portrayal.
She also could have been more multi-faceted if she has a good dynamic with her subordinate in Marin. Another wasted opportunity there. Brandish's characterization reminds me a lot of Mashima's shortcoming as a writer. Excellent in setting up the premise, but ultimately flatters to deceive.
Wow, what can I say. This guy had almost every reader talking about him. From his identity to his abilities, back to his actual identity, Larcade was the most controversial Spriggan by far. Personally I felt his abilities were a sense of novelty. Pleasure was like a tool for Mashima to trigger the fans, and boy did he succeed.
Larcade had the deadly spells, but is also a good ol-fashioned tank with a dose of insane reflexes. Took a monumental team effort to take him down. And eventually he was reduced to being a failed prototype mock up of Natsu. Exited in such a heartless fashion I felt sorry for the guy. #Redemptionforhentaispriggan
I actually liked him when he was first introduced. The real Wahl, that is. Not the proxy. Mainly because of his aesthetic design. Everything about him looks cool. From a walking armoury of weapon, to the function of switching and modifying his personalities to boot. Boy has got some interesting abilities.
But at the end of the day, he seems to be pretty much a polar opposite of Invel. Visually impressive, but is not clinical or cunning enough to execute his plan. While titles such as the Adjudicator, the Alchemist and the Prince of Machias do sound intimidating, we were given zero insight on Wahl's Machias race, and his origins and motivation are completely unknown. Unfortunately all style, but no substance.
"Oh no! Will Ichigo Erza be able to defeat Grimmjow Ajeel with her powers before the Espada Spriggans murder all her nakama? Find out in the next chapter of Bleach Fairy Tail!
Sorry, but not sorry. Ajeel was your archetype of uncouth, antagonistic and cocky jerkass villain which serves as a stepping stone for the protagonist to overcome, before they get stronger and then go on to fry a bigger fish. Mashima did surprise me by having Erza faced him, rather than Natsu.
I felt Ajeel's strength is underrated by most and he can at least take solace in the fact that he largely dominated Erza, and seriously injured her. Otherwise, there is nothing interesting about him that I hope I can add.
What is the point of having him here? He was there solely to make up the numbers. Invisibility is hardly unique, and spatial manipulation has been seen before from Minerva and Marin. His weakness to scantily clad women, if used to serve as comedy stick, clearly did not hit home with the fans.
Like Kain from the seven kin, he was a clown who is easily forgettable and bound to fail from the get go. There was no clue to his reason and motivation for fighting. Aside from herp derp Alvarez.
Has a menacing appearance and fearsome introduction heralded by an unflinching walk as Sabertooth soldiers take off fleeing, with one of them coughing up blood on Yukino as he tells her to run for her life.
If ever there was an establishing character moment, that, right there, was it.
However, Bloodman is a character who unfortunately never came close to reaching those heights again once he revealed the true nature of his abilities. Him being an assimilation of recycled abilities is largely underwhelming. There was no originality or whatsoever to it. Bloodman could have shown some spells or techniques we have yet to witness from the nine demon gates. Or at the very least, wield their abilities with an innovative fashion. In this instance, too many cooks spoil the broth.
It would have been fitting for him to utilize and control the properties of blood. Not only does it ties in to his name, but also his establishing character moment. But nope. Mashima simply couldn't be arsed to do so. Why does he speak in a flowery elizabethan english is also a question which will likely never be answered.
A complete and utter joke of a character. I still remembered how much intrigue he holds from the mysterious silhouette when he was first mentioned.
To intentionally defying Zeref's orders to be summoned
Sitting lonesome and refusing to partake in the war. Cue another badass silhouette
Everything about him oozes enigma then.
And everything went deep south once it was revealed he is, but an effeminate man adorned with flowers who hide behind his creations, and rely upon them to do the fighting for him. And such cheap trick can be overpowered even without lifting a finger.
In an alternate reality, a Neinhart is kicking ass with his soul manipulation magic and nine lives.
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Interesting to note the common themes shared between August and Invel.
August's physical appearance wavers between two opposing colours, while Invel's entire clothing revolves between two tones. They both were the co-dragons to Zeref. August was the general due to his might, while Invel was the chief of staff. August and Invel were the only two Spriggans who brought up and addressed their views of dark and light, which extend beyond good and evil.
Invel has a firm belief that darkness is a strong source of power which is neither good nor evil, but rather a force of energy that resides in everyone's hearts. August believes dark is not evil, and light is not good, while indirectly citing himself as an example who teeters between light and darkness.
They both delivered balcony speeches atop an aerial standpoint. Invel gave a rousing one to the Alvarez's troops at the western front. While August was a declaration of doom from atop kardia cathedral.
August's main ability can loosely be defined as robbing others' abilities, and using it against them to beat them. Invel's ultimate technique was absorbed by Gray through sheer force, and molded into gauntlets that Gray uses to pound and beat him with.
Invel seems completely incapable of understanding why Juvia and Gray would rather commit suicide than die fighting one another while under the effects of his magic, calling it irrational. Though he openly let Zeref know he disagrees with his habit of letting breaches in protocol and outright disrespect slide, his loyalty to Zeref remained quite fanatic.
The one thing August cannot understand is the love between a parent and their children, as specifically, he never got to experience it himself. He knows full well the war is only going to bring about bloodshed and this goes against his nature, but his undying loyalty and dedication to his father proves to be superior.
Zeref did not disclose of his relationship with Natsu to anyone, and Invel figured out Natsu was Zeref's younger brother on his own by connecting the dots. August is unwilling to tell Zeref the truth regarding his birth, and Zeref never knew he was his child but only a loyal subordinate.
And on the theme of sacrifice, Invel manipulated the events leading up to Juvia's decision to kill herself to save Gray due to their relationship. After knowing this, it acted as a catalyst to empower Gray. Gray subsequently went to stop Natsu, who was going after Zeref.
August chose to kill himself and spare those enemies for the sake of one amongst them who is his mother. Mavis never got the chance to know of their relationship. She subsequently went after Zeref, who was being stopped by Natsu.
August. The stupid geezer was the most the disappointing Spriggan to me. I was expecting more from the King Of Magic but he turn to be copy cat and we still don't know whether he can even retain the magic he copies and he relied on lazer beams for most part of the fight against Gildarts. He was a pathetic attention seeker as well. Don't know why he was labeled as the wisest of the twelve by Brandish when he proved otherwise during his fight against Gildarts with his Why his majesty's son not loved.
His go to spell to destroy the Fiore was a desperate suicide spell and it only made Irene look better. He couldn't even put Irene in her place when she tried to rebel against him. Don't how he manage to become the general/leader of the Spriggan when he can't put his underlings in their place. He was a pathetic leader as well.
