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There are some characters in FT whose stock has taken a nosedive. The world of magic is harsh, and fortunes turn in the blink of an eye. Some who didn't came close to living up to the hype, and others who didn't even have a proper chance to begin with.
Which of these have been the greatest disappointment in your opinion?
Jellal
If you are too young to remember, or only got into FT not long ago, there was a time when Jellal's fan base seriously rivals that of Laxus'. Seems hard to believe now, but there were good reasons why Jellal was the shits back then. Together with Ultear, Jellal was the first recurring character to appear in the manga even before Natsu or Lucy did. The closest thing to an archmage, Jellal was a true evil SOB then. He was skilled and powerful with his heavenly body magic, could trap and ensnare with his dangerous dark magic, cunning, a good actor who could play the victim card, but ruthless and decisive when it mattered.
Shortly after the guild wars with Phantom Lord was over, Jellal and his underlings captured Erza and brought her back to the ToH. A plan has already been set in motion many years back when Jellal, under the disguise of his thought projection, had infiltrated the magic council and earned a place as a wizard saint (it was a big thing then). He then managed to get most of the councilors on his side to manipulate them in firing the Etherion, and would've achieve his objective had a certain dragon slayer not attain his super saiyan mode in dragon force. In the midst of these, Jellal also became the first antagonist to kill a notable good guy.
When Jellal was reintroduced in the middle of the Oracion Seis arc, the rape face he worn previously was soon replaced with a sorrowful one. Little did we know, Jellal was neutered during his comatose state. The guy was still powerful, but the edge and mystique his character possessed has completely vanished. Apart from making use of the excuse of redemption to simp for Erza, the guy has since been reduced to a shadow of his former self.
Mira
Yes, it might be hard to believe too. But there was a time when Erza vs Mira was the second most popular discussion after Jellal vs Laxus.
When Mira first appeared, her affable nature stood out amongst a bunch of ragtag misfits. Then during the BoFT arc, Freed who has been playing most of the FT members like a fiddle with his abilities, suddenly found himself on the receiving end of the wrath of Mira when she awoke her powers for the first time in a long time. She unleashed the power of an entire river at Freed, and ended him with an attack of dark energy blast that many in the city saw. It was one of the most badass moment of the distant past. To say that was a pleasant surprise would be an understatement. In a time when Erza was starting to terrorize the readers with her BS, this quickly cemented Mira as the glimpse of hope that we could place our hopes on to end the scarlet cancer's reign of terror.
Little did we found out that did was nothing but a scheming ploy to crush the hopes and dreams of the readers in a slow, agonizing death. When Lisanna was revealed to be alive in the Edolas arc, many assumed that Mira would finally be able to forgo the guilt that was holding her back all these while and elevate herself to greater heights. And then, she got deceived and knocked out by Elfman and Ever in the very next arc. To compound misery, she then failed to beat Azuma who had yet to merge with the Tenrou tree, as Lisanna and the fans erupted in despair. Azuma, then merged with the tree, skyrocketed in power, and got defeated by none other than Erza, in ludicrous fashion.
Alas, what goes around comes around. She, who dished out a curbstomp to Freed, got curbstomped by Seilah. Mira was already having an incredibly difficult time fighting Seilah, who was doing nothing but using telekinesis to pelt her with books. She then decides to use Satan soul Sitri, and Seilah responded by going limit release and decks her with a blitz so strong that Mira is actually forced out of her transformation. She had to resort to using her brother to incapacitate her foe, which sparked the question if Elfman's offensive strength has surpassed that of his sister. Meanwhile, Seilah's dominatrix lover got her ass handed to her by her eternal rival Erza in yet another ludicrous manner.
The pill was made tougher to swallow in the 100YQ sequel when despite the numerical advantage, Mira could not defeat Lucy. Then, the majority of her fight with Diabolos was not shown before getting off-panel'd by Gray. Rather than getting our doubts cleared, Mira's performance has since raised even greater doubts than before.
Gods of Ishgar
After Makarov and Jose's fight at the climax of the Phantom Lord arc, many guesses have been made regarding the identity of the other Wizard Saints. We discovered two of them in Jellal's thought projection and the humble Jura. And this benchmark the saints to be at least as strong as the average FT S-class mage, who has extraordinary level of strength compared to most other guilds. Soon after the 7 year timeskip, we were thrust into the GMG arc where FT tried to reclaim their position as the strongest guild of Ishgar. We were treated to the revelation that Jura has grown significantly more powerful, as his feats easily outclassed his peers and together with Jellal and Laxus, were in a tier of their own.
Then, a bombshell was dropped. Jura remarked that he has attained the rank of the 5th-ranked Wizard Saint, and there was a massive gulf in class between he and the four saints ranked ahead of him. They were known as the Gods of Ishgar, and all the readers were treated to was their silhouette. This sparked the fan base into a frenzy then, as speculation was flying around. Theories were made regarding their appearances, identity, powers and relative strength compared to others. 'Surely they are stronger than Gildarts?', was the common belief then.
Well, some things are just meant to be. As long a time it took to introduce them, the same could not be said of the alarming speed they went down. It's like they were just . . . gone. Gone like the wind. Nothing left. Zilch. Nada. Hold on a sec, who are they again?
Spriggan 12
You know it. You saw it coming. Yes, this list cannot be completed without the almighty Spriggan 12.
The Shields of the Spriggan was comprised of the twelve strongest mages of the Alvarez empire who served as the bodyguards of Zeref. The stakes were at an all-time high with the fearsome country trying to expand the lands of Alakitasia. Which turns out be a facade for Zeref's hidden agenda of obtaining Fairy Heart to create a universe with an alternate timeline. It was Mashima's attempt to replicate the world war. Except that Alvarez turned out to not be the Nazis, but rather the French.
In a shounen setting, they were doomed to failure. They can be forgiven for losing the war. However, it was their performance and association with Mashima's lackadaisical writing in the final arc that gave them no chance. Most of them were arrogant, complacent, and certainly not the sharpest tool in the shed. In their defense, some of them did got bad match ups in their fights. However, the hallmark of a competent fighter is their resourcefulness to pull off a victory within reason despite poor match ups (e.g. Gray vs Ultear/Rufus/Silver). The Spriggans were overly reliant on their powers, and when the protagonists managed to find a way to work around their effects, their inability to adapt, mediocre durability and tendency to shit their pants meant they suffer a meltdown before getting destroyed.
In hindsight, 12 villains in one arc were too much for Mashima to juggle. It seems to be a numbers game at the end, and he decided to go with quantity over quality. The Spriggans could each have their own background so they are more relatable to the readers, strike a better balance between hax and physical competency rather than swinging too much to one end at the expense of the other. They could pose a genuine threat by winning the crucial fights. One of the best scenes in the Alvarez arc was when Sabertooth suffered a crushing defeat and were crucified and paraded. And when Invel froze Magnolia and Erza and co. overlooked the remains of a frozen wasteland. It shows the territorial capitulation to the readers.
Unfortunately, the Spriggan were nothing more than appetizers to Acnologia the main threat. Whatever happened to the three-way war that was hyped up?
Zeref
He comes as a package together with his team of bodyguards. Except in Zeref's case, the rot has been longer. Far longer.
One of the reasons why I could never take him seriously was his appearance. He doesn't look anything like a villain. Zeref doesn't inspire confidence, fear, strength or courage. He look like a pre-pubescent boy who has only just discovered the birds and the bees for the first time in his life. In comparison, Acno was a good throwback to the Conan the barbarian with his exotic features and primalistic swagger.
Not only does Zeref not look the part as one of the main antagonist, he does not act the part either. His behaviour is questionable, and many times when he speak, his words are not concise. Zeref is constantly flip-flopping around his intentions, and can't make up his mind what he truly wants. When he was introduced, he swiftly lost to Ultear on Tenrou island in an anti-climatic fashion. Much of his mystique disintegrated that day. He then awaken and decided to kill Hades and the rest on the airship, just because. His actions were often counter-intuitive and rarely given an explanation that we can relate to. It just felt like anything he does that is contradictory, which is everything, can be conveniently chalked up to the nature of his curse/magic. That's lazy writing. And when it keeps getting repeated, things got really tedious.
With Zeref, you soon dread seeing him and getting caught up in yet another one of his melodramatic emotional turmoil. I found myself thinking 'Ugh, not this crap again' when he spirals into his negative nancy syndrome. And for a longest recurring villain that ties in to so many of the key events that has unfolded in the series, that is simply not good enough. When I see Acno, I think 'Awesome, shit's about to go down'. The difference is heaven and earth. For all the incredible hype Zeref had, when everything was settled, he left a lot more to be desired.
Thoughts?
Which of these have been the greatest disappointment in your opinion?
Jellal
If you are too young to remember, or only got into FT not long ago, there was a time when Jellal's fan base seriously rivals that of Laxus'. Seems hard to believe now, but there were good reasons why Jellal was the shits back then. Together with Ultear, Jellal was the first recurring character to appear in the manga even before Natsu or Lucy did. The closest thing to an archmage, Jellal was a true evil SOB then. He was skilled and powerful with his heavenly body magic, could trap and ensnare with his dangerous dark magic, cunning, a good actor who could play the victim card, but ruthless and decisive when it mattered.
Shortly after the guild wars with Phantom Lord was over, Jellal and his underlings captured Erza and brought her back to the ToH. A plan has already been set in motion many years back when Jellal, under the disguise of his thought projection, had infiltrated the magic council and earned a place as a wizard saint (it was a big thing then). He then managed to get most of the councilors on his side to manipulate them in firing the Etherion, and would've achieve his objective had a certain dragon slayer not attain his super saiyan mode in dragon force. In the midst of these, Jellal also became the first antagonist to kill a notable good guy.
When Jellal was reintroduced in the middle of the Oracion Seis arc, the rape face he worn previously was soon replaced with a sorrowful one. Little did we know, Jellal was neutered during his comatose state. The guy was still powerful, but the edge and mystique his character possessed has completely vanished. Apart from making use of the excuse of redemption to simp for Erza, the guy has since been reduced to a shadow of his former self.
Mira
Yes, it might be hard to believe too. But there was a time when Erza vs Mira was the second most popular discussion after Jellal vs Laxus.
When Mira first appeared, her affable nature stood out amongst a bunch of ragtag misfits. Then during the BoFT arc, Freed who has been playing most of the FT members like a fiddle with his abilities, suddenly found himself on the receiving end of the wrath of Mira when she awoke her powers for the first time in a long time. She unleashed the power of an entire river at Freed, and ended him with an attack of dark energy blast that many in the city saw. It was one of the most badass moment of the distant past. To say that was a pleasant surprise would be an understatement. In a time when Erza was starting to terrorize the readers with her BS, this quickly cemented Mira as the glimpse of hope that we could place our hopes on to end the scarlet cancer's reign of terror.
Little did we found out that did was nothing but a scheming ploy to crush the hopes and dreams of the readers in a slow, agonizing death. When Lisanna was revealed to be alive in the Edolas arc, many assumed that Mira would finally be able to forgo the guilt that was holding her back all these while and elevate herself to greater heights. And then, she got deceived and knocked out by Elfman and Ever in the very next arc. To compound misery, she then failed to beat Azuma who had yet to merge with the Tenrou tree, as Lisanna and the fans erupted in despair. Azuma, then merged with the tree, skyrocketed in power, and got defeated by none other than Erza, in ludicrous fashion.
Alas, what goes around comes around. She, who dished out a curbstomp to Freed, got curbstomped by Seilah. Mira was already having an incredibly difficult time fighting Seilah, who was doing nothing but using telekinesis to pelt her with books. She then decides to use Satan soul Sitri, and Seilah responded by going limit release and decks her with a blitz so strong that Mira is actually forced out of her transformation. She had to resort to using her brother to incapacitate her foe, which sparked the question if Elfman's offensive strength has surpassed that of his sister. Meanwhile, Seilah's dominatrix lover got her ass handed to her by her eternal rival Erza in yet another ludicrous manner.
The pill was made tougher to swallow in the 100YQ sequel when despite the numerical advantage, Mira could not defeat Lucy. Then, the majority of her fight with Diabolos was not shown before getting off-panel'd by Gray. Rather than getting our doubts cleared, Mira's performance has since raised even greater doubts than before.
Gods of Ishgar
After Makarov and Jose's fight at the climax of the Phantom Lord arc, many guesses have been made regarding the identity of the other Wizard Saints. We discovered two of them in Jellal's thought projection and the humble Jura. And this benchmark the saints to be at least as strong as the average FT S-class mage, who has extraordinary level of strength compared to most other guilds. Soon after the 7 year timeskip, we were thrust into the GMG arc where FT tried to reclaim their position as the strongest guild of Ishgar. We were treated to the revelation that Jura has grown significantly more powerful, as his feats easily outclassed his peers and together with Jellal and Laxus, were in a tier of their own.
Then, a bombshell was dropped. Jura remarked that he has attained the rank of the 5th-ranked Wizard Saint, and there was a massive gulf in class between he and the four saints ranked ahead of him. They were known as the Gods of Ishgar, and all the readers were treated to was their silhouette. This sparked the fan base into a frenzy then, as speculation was flying around. Theories were made regarding their appearances, identity, powers and relative strength compared to others. 'Surely they are stronger than Gildarts?', was the common belief then.
Well, some things are just meant to be. As long a time it took to introduce them, the same could not be said of the alarming speed they went down. It's like they were just . . . gone. Gone like the wind. Nothing left. Zilch. Nada. Hold on a sec, who are they again?
Spriggan 12
You know it. You saw it coming. Yes, this list cannot be completed without the almighty Spriggan 12.
The Shields of the Spriggan was comprised of the twelve strongest mages of the Alvarez empire who served as the bodyguards of Zeref. The stakes were at an all-time high with the fearsome country trying to expand the lands of Alakitasia. Which turns out be a facade for Zeref's hidden agenda of obtaining Fairy Heart to create a universe with an alternate timeline. It was Mashima's attempt to replicate the world war. Except that Alvarez turned out to not be the Nazis, but rather the French.
In a shounen setting, they were doomed to failure. They can be forgiven for losing the war. However, it was their performance and association with Mashima's lackadaisical writing in the final arc that gave them no chance. Most of them were arrogant, complacent, and certainly not the sharpest tool in the shed. In their defense, some of them did got bad match ups in their fights. However, the hallmark of a competent fighter is their resourcefulness to pull off a victory within reason despite poor match ups (e.g. Gray vs Ultear/Rufus/Silver). The Spriggans were overly reliant on their powers, and when the protagonists managed to find a way to work around their effects, their inability to adapt, mediocre durability and tendency to shit their pants meant they suffer a meltdown before getting destroyed.
In hindsight, 12 villains in one arc were too much for Mashima to juggle. It seems to be a numbers game at the end, and he decided to go with quantity over quality. The Spriggans could each have their own background so they are more relatable to the readers, strike a better balance between hax and physical competency rather than swinging too much to one end at the expense of the other. They could pose a genuine threat by winning the crucial fights. One of the best scenes in the Alvarez arc was when Sabertooth suffered a crushing defeat and were crucified and paraded. And when Invel froze Magnolia and Erza and co. overlooked the remains of a frozen wasteland. It shows the territorial capitulation to the readers.
Unfortunately, the Spriggan were nothing more than appetizers to Acnologia the main threat. Whatever happened to the three-way war that was hyped up?
Zeref
He comes as a package together with his team of bodyguards. Except in Zeref's case, the rot has been longer. Far longer.
One of the reasons why I could never take him seriously was his appearance. He doesn't look anything like a villain. Zeref doesn't inspire confidence, fear, strength or courage. He look like a pre-pubescent boy who has only just discovered the birds and the bees for the first time in his life. In comparison, Acno was a good throwback to the Conan the barbarian with his exotic features and primalistic swagger.
Not only does Zeref not look the part as one of the main antagonist, he does not act the part either. His behaviour is questionable, and many times when he speak, his words are not concise. Zeref is constantly flip-flopping around his intentions, and can't make up his mind what he truly wants. When he was introduced, he swiftly lost to Ultear on Tenrou island in an anti-climatic fashion. Much of his mystique disintegrated that day. He then awaken and decided to kill Hades and the rest on the airship, just because. His actions were often counter-intuitive and rarely given an explanation that we can relate to. It just felt like anything he does that is contradictory, which is everything, can be conveniently chalked up to the nature of his curse/magic. That's lazy writing. And when it keeps getting repeated, things got really tedious.
With Zeref, you soon dread seeing him and getting caught up in yet another one of his melodramatic emotional turmoil. I found myself thinking 'Ugh, not this crap again' when he spirals into his negative nancy syndrome. And for a longest recurring villain that ties in to so many of the key events that has unfolded in the series, that is simply not good enough. When I see Acno, I think 'Awesome, shit's about to go down'. The difference is heaven and earth. For all the incredible hype Zeref had, when everything was settled, he left a lot more to be desired.
Thoughts?
