<b>Review of Fairy Girls #1 by Demelza</b>
I’m a big fan of<em> Fairy Tail </em>and the characters of the Fairy Tail guild, but I’ve always been curious to see some of the gang removed from their usual workings. Enter <em>Fairy Girls:</em> a series based around the female members of the Fairy Tail guild, which should give more attention to some characters that we perhaps don’t see enough of.
I’d like to point out that if you haven’t read any of <em>Fairy Tail</em> before or watched any of the anime, definitely do not start with<em> Fairy Girls</em>. Go back and read<em> Fairy Tail</em> first, up to chapter 340-341, or otherwise you’ll be lost - not to mention that some of the characters included in <em>Fairy Girls</em> are spoilers for certain stories in the main series.
The first volume of<em> Fairy Girls</em> takes place just after the end of the Grand Magic Games arc in the main<em> Fairy Tail </em>story. Four of the main female characters, Lucy, Wendy, Juvia and Erza, have stepped away from the other guild members for a break (and to throw a girls' night out for Juvia, who was ignored by Grey). During their relaxation time they uncover a plot involving the king being kidnapped by a dark guild and quickly realise that the fate of the country, if not magic itself, rests on their shoulders.
<em>Fairy Girls</em> is being handled by BOKU, who is a newcomer to the world of manga. Compared to the original work of Hiro Mashima, BOKU’s inexperience sadly does show. The characters are well written and feel the same as those we know and love in Fairy Tail itself, but that’s as far as it goes. While the character designs roughly match those of Hiro Mashima, they’re also all just a little bit off-model. I especially take issue with the look of Juvia’s hair which is far too pointy compared to Hiro Mashima's smooth design. Wendy’s design also has problems as she’s almost always drawn gazing upwards for some reason, which makes her head look quite out of shape. That said, I think this could just be a quirk of BOKU drawing the characters’ eyes too high up on their faces and giving the impression that they’re always looking upwards.
There are other problems with the artwork as well. Throughout Volume 1 the action scenes aren’t detailed enough to understand what’s going on, a fatal flaw for a spin-off of a series like <em>Fairy Tail.</em> Lucy and the rest of the girls are generally off-model from page to page, and BOKU doesn’t seem to understand how the female figure works. Instead of the breast lines stopping at the shoulder, they are often drawn up to a character's neck. This both makes their cleavage appear too high and too wide, and overall just looks unnatural. There is a lot of fan service in <em>Fairy Girls</em>, such as random disappearing of clothes, which only further highlights BOKU’s issues with drawing female anatomy. The excessive amount of fan service also brings the story down a bit, but considering some of the stuff that Hiro Mashima draws himself, I can mostly let it pass as being a <em>Fairy Tail</em> thing - and something that was almost certain to happen when just the women of the guild are together...
Complaints regarding the art aside, the story is one that I found quite entertaining and is self-contained within the single volume. This makes a spin-off like <em>Fairy Girls</em> easier to sell to fans. It definitely wasn’t as interesting as what Mashima writes but I think BOKU was taking the ideas in the right direction and will improve as we go forward. Erza was slightly overused as an easy win in some situations but the other girls put up a decent fight as well, so I can’t complain too much. BOKU is also much better at the comedy side of things than the action, with Erza and Juvia especially making me laugh quite a lot, and I’m keen to read more going forward just to see what situations they put the girls into. I’m hopeful that BOKU will include some of the other girls in future volumes because while I’m enjoying more time with Lucy, Erza and Wendy, they’re also characters that we see a lot of in the original <em>Fairy Tail</em>, too.
Overall<em> Fairy Girls</em> was a fun read. If you’re fan of Lucy, Erza, Wendy, or Juvia then it’s worth your time, as long as you can overlook BOKU’s art issues and aren’t looking for the best shonen action. I think there is a lot of room for improvement and perhaps only the loyalest of fans will stick it out, but it’s definitely not something to be dismissed. If BOKU brings in some of the cast that we don’t get to see as often then this will be a series worth keeping an eye on. Just maybe hold off on reading it until the next volume comes out if you’re unsure about giving it a go.
<b>Final score: 4 out of 10</b>
I’m a big fan of<em> Fairy Tail </em>and the characters of the Fairy Tail guild, but I’ve always been curious to see some of the gang removed from their usual workings. Enter <em>Fairy Girls:</em> a series based around the female members of the Fairy Tail guild, which should give more attention to some characters that we perhaps don’t see enough of.
I’d like to point out that if you haven’t read any of <em>Fairy Tail</em> before or watched any of the anime, definitely do not start with<em> Fairy Girls</em>. Go back and read<em> Fairy Tail</em> first, up to chapter 340-341, or otherwise you’ll be lost - not to mention that some of the characters included in <em>Fairy Girls</em> are spoilers for certain stories in the main series.
The first volume of<em> Fairy Girls</em> takes place just after the end of the Grand Magic Games arc in the main<em> Fairy Tail </em>story. Four of the main female characters, Lucy, Wendy, Juvia and Erza, have stepped away from the other guild members for a break (and to throw a girls' night out for Juvia, who was ignored by Grey). During their relaxation time they uncover a plot involving the king being kidnapped by a dark guild and quickly realise that the fate of the country, if not magic itself, rests on their shoulders.
<em>Fairy Girls</em> is being handled by BOKU, who is a newcomer to the world of manga. Compared to the original work of Hiro Mashima, BOKU’s inexperience sadly does show. The characters are well written and feel the same as those we know and love in Fairy Tail itself, but that’s as far as it goes. While the character designs roughly match those of Hiro Mashima, they’re also all just a little bit off-model. I especially take issue with the look of Juvia’s hair which is far too pointy compared to Hiro Mashima's smooth design. Wendy’s design also has problems as she’s almost always drawn gazing upwards for some reason, which makes her head look quite out of shape. That said, I think this could just be a quirk of BOKU drawing the characters’ eyes too high up on their faces and giving the impression that they’re always looking upwards.
There are other problems with the artwork as well. Throughout Volume 1 the action scenes aren’t detailed enough to understand what’s going on, a fatal flaw for a spin-off of a series like <em>Fairy Tail.</em> Lucy and the rest of the girls are generally off-model from page to page, and BOKU doesn’t seem to understand how the female figure works. Instead of the breast lines stopping at the shoulder, they are often drawn up to a character's neck. This both makes their cleavage appear too high and too wide, and overall just looks unnatural. There is a lot of fan service in <em>Fairy Girls</em>, such as random disappearing of clothes, which only further highlights BOKU’s issues with drawing female anatomy. The excessive amount of fan service also brings the story down a bit, but considering some of the stuff that Hiro Mashima draws himself, I can mostly let it pass as being a <em>Fairy Tail</em> thing - and something that was almost certain to happen when just the women of the guild are together...
Complaints regarding the art aside, the story is one that I found quite entertaining and is self-contained within the single volume. This makes a spin-off like <em>Fairy Girls</em> easier to sell to fans. It definitely wasn’t as interesting as what Mashima writes but I think BOKU was taking the ideas in the right direction and will improve as we go forward. Erza was slightly overused as an easy win in some situations but the other girls put up a decent fight as well, so I can’t complain too much. BOKU is also much better at the comedy side of things than the action, with Erza and Juvia especially making me laugh quite a lot, and I’m keen to read more going forward just to see what situations they put the girls into. I’m hopeful that BOKU will include some of the other girls in future volumes because while I’m enjoying more time with Lucy, Erza and Wendy, they’re also characters that we see a lot of in the original <em>Fairy Tail</em>, too.
Overall<em> Fairy Girls</em> was a fun read. If you’re fan of Lucy, Erza, Wendy, or Juvia then it’s worth your time, as long as you can overlook BOKU’s art issues and aren’t looking for the best shonen action. I think there is a lot of room for improvement and perhaps only the loyalest of fans will stick it out, but it’s definitely not something to be dismissed. If BOKU brings in some of the cast that we don’t get to see as often then this will be a series worth keeping an eye on. Just maybe hold off on reading it until the next volume comes out if you’re unsure about giving it a go.
<b>Final score: 4 out of 10</b>