Play this whilst reading this blog:"You don't die for your friends, you live for them" that's the eventual message from this animated show about a group of friends so loyal that they'll constantly throw themselves in front of the face of imminent death, to save the people they care about. It took a while to get there but by episode 17, I was down for the kind of epic and fun that Fairy Tail brings to the table. I love this show, it got to a point where there was nothing I woud rather do than watch Fairy Tail. Game? Nah. Read? Nah. Movie? Nah Go out? Nah Eat? Nah
I wanted my life to be about watching Fairy Tail. And why not? When something brings you such pleasure, when it makes ordinary life feel so boring and bothersome, escapism is what you need. Fairy Tail is an anime about a Guild of wizards. The setup is that there are various wizard guilds, some good, some dark. It could be called JRPG: The sitcom.
At first I liked the show as it was the closest feeling I had felt since watching the original Pokemon series in the 90s. And it is an unabashedly fun and lighthearted show most of the time. But is has the ability to turn on a dime into something more meaningful and epic. To rachet up the emotions and wrap you up in its fantasy world.
Fairytail is about a group of strangers in a guild who come to a point where their ties are stronger than family and even when you fuck up and treat them like shit, the characters will still give you another chance even when they've beaten you down and punched you in the stomach for being an ass.
It's really heart felt when the shows' themes are about friendship, loyalty and sacrifice. About doing anything to protect the ones you love. About camaraderie and goofiness and fun at its core. And it's much deeper than you would initially think, with complex backstories to many of its characters. I've finished 70 episodes of this delightful series so far, the rest aren't released in English in the UK, I believe in the USA and Austrailia there is more released. There are over 170 episodes of Fairy Tail so far with more being made.
Check it out and don't miss out on the fun. Especially when it's Natsus time to get all fired up. 
Which is better: this or FMA?
They are very different series. On the face of it FMA Brotherhood but that seems to be in a league of its own even compared to critically acclaimed series like Code Geass and Steins Gate which I'm about halfway through. Brotherhood is tonally much more serious and consistent and there is no fat to cut, nearly every episode references the main story arc till it reaches those amazing final 12 or so episodes which wrap everything up perfectly.
Fairy Tail is mostly about fun and hijinks, making you smile and then occasionally getting epic and heartfelt. It will always leave you smiling at the end. It's started to get a tad repetitive but it's taken 70 episodes to get to that point and they still put out the unexpected just when it feels like it's getting stale.
Best thing about Fairy Tail is that it's family friendly too. Can't wait to watch this with my nephews. We tried them with Star Wars the other day, that lasted all of 20 minutes. The English dub is great too.
Here's the first episode:
This will get Edgecrusher into the series:
I probably should watch more episodes of Fairy Tale, but I can't remember where I stopped. Hmm, I might read the manga instead.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_tail_episodes#Season_1_.282009-2010.29
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8r-r2F4ce0
BTW....Faery Tale is one of my favorite Sega Genesis games.