Sunday, September 15, 2013

Fairy Tail and My Tendency to Avoid Long Series

As you know, my dear readers, I like catharsis in an anime.Somehow catharsis has come to mean a kind of purgation of feeling which is supposed to follow upon watching drama; yet, Aristotle originally meant to mean conciseness in a story, as my Greek professor in college, Dr. Joseph Garnjobst, avers.One of the surest ways for a series to lack catharsis is for it to stretch on and on.Series longer than 27 episodes usually lose focus and contain plenty of filler episodes, which cause me to become annoyed and ofttimes drop the series altogether.For example, without a friend of mine's rabid love of D. Gray Man, I probably would have been fed up with the overdramatization which occurs around episode 60 and left off there.In the case of the original Hunter x Hunter, I have less than ten episodes to go, but have somehow not found the opportunity to just sit down and finish off the show.



From stickfigureparadise of deviantart.com




But, there have been a few other long series which I have enjoyed: Rurouni Kenshin, Inuyasha, Death Note, Dragon Ball, and Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Ken'ichi (Kenichi to the English speaking world) come to mind.Of the big three, the manga drove me away from Naruto after five volumes, Bleach became so dull around episode 100 that I dropped it, and I remember opining to my brother that I would rather watch four episodes of Sailor Moon than one of One Piece.For those of you who are curious, this would require watching all the television episodes 12 1/3 times-but, I would be more than willing to do than than watch through One Piece once!



Yet, a new long series has enthralled me: Fairy Tail.I have ever been a devotee of fantasy literature, and Fairy Tail, which derives from the pen of the author of Rave Master-a manga I really should get down to reading one day, contains that balance of lighthearted comedy and dire situations which I find most appealing in a story.The characters, whether the quick tempered Erza, the motion sick prone Natsu, or Gray the exhibitionist, are all very likable.Of all these, Erza stands out as my favorite.This is doubtless partly due to her long red hair, beautiful figure, and the ease with which she smites hordes of enemies, but I also can identify with her compassionate nature and unwillingness to open herself up to others.



And so, I have found a new series with which to while away my leisure time.Hopefully, it will spawn some excellent editorials for you in the future.Any other fans of Fairy Tail out there?
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