The Series:

Fairy Tail is a popular action-adventure-comedy series which follows a group of wizards who are all a part of the renowned Fairy Tail guild. These wizards work on various missions for the non-magic folk of the world. Additionally, these talented wizards work together to face enemy guilds (the type who use their magic without a positive approach), and prepare new skills as they train to become S class wizards (the top ranking of guild members across the world). From saving the day to being hilarious, these wizards are a familial bunch that represent the world's best in magic guilds.

A huge reason for the show's success is it's wonderful cast of characters. It's the joy of the lovable and entertaining group that the show retains such a strong sense of humor and an impressive storytelling quality.  The series is infinitely more enjoyable through the use of wonderful goofballs who are a part of the magical guild. Characters include a descendant connected to dragons named Natsu, the incredibly powerful Erza, who is one of the strong warriors of the bunch and always someone looking to help keep the guild running smoothly, Gray, who happens to be a hands-on fighter who regularly misplaces his shirt, Lucy, who can call upon magical spirits to help at any time, and the talking and flying cat by name of Happy (who is besties with Natsu).

From a production standpoint, the animation on Fairy Tail is easily one of the aspects that is most impressive. The series looks finely polished and designed with strong detail and art of consistently high quality. The character designs are impressive and the background art does manage to remain lush and creative whenever need be. Whether the show is focused on an important dramatic moment, comedic sketch, or action-packed sequence, the artwork does consistently work (and remarkably well).

One of the most popular ongoing anime series of the moment, Fairy Tail is a series which has already had a second extension on life after a four season run and is currently in its fifth year.  Based upon the similarly popular manga series from artist Hiro Mashima, which began to be published in 2006 in Japan, the manga was adapted into this similarly successful anime with a premiere arriving in October 2009. The anime series production became such a huge success in Japan and was licensed and released by Funimation to great response in North America, where the series now arrives on Part 17 of the ongoing saga.  Part 17 contains episodes 188-199. This set contains more adventures set within the Grand Magic Games saga storyline, which comes to an end, while setting up and concluding a brand new arc.

The Set:

The Grand Magic Games saga comes to a close. The set begins with a couple of episodes which focus on the last part of the saga as things wind down. The magic games might be over but the excitement of the set continues with a brand new arc which begins and concludes on Part 17. Fairy Tail fans might be sad to see the end of the Grand Magic Games but the next batch of episodes brings the series a new and exciting storyline.

Fairy Tail usually has a big action-oriented arc which lasts a couple of sets before concluding but Part 17 contains an entire arc in one go. This is a fun (albeit short) arc which fans will enjoy and which makes for a nice follow-up to the significantly longer Grand Magic Games arc. Though it is short it manages to be an entertaining and successful arc.

The Fairy Tail guild must save the world when the Eclipse Gate opens. The mystical gateway opens up and brings forth fire-breathing dragons from the age of the dragons into the human world. It's up to the Fairy Tail guild dragon slayers to work together and try and defeat these dragons from annihilating the human race and bringing an end to the world.

This saga involves time travel. The time travel element adds some extra fun into the Fairy Tail storytelling mix and helps to make this another fun set of episodes. The dragons come from the past age where dragons ruled over the earth and as such the dragons must be defeated or sent to their proper time.

Some of the main characters of Fairy Tail also receive visits from future versions of themselves as the stakes are raised over the opening of the Eclipse gate. This aspect of the set leads to a lot of the excitement as things become more complicated by the time travel element. Fans of time travel stories will especially enjoy this set of episodes.

Fairy Tail continues to be one of the best long-running anime series. The series is generally consistent in quality with great storytelling. This is one of the best anime series around at successfully combining fantasy, action, adventure, and comedy. The show is gloriously entertaining. This is an anime which continues to impress even after so many episodes.

The Blu-ray:

Video:

Fairy Tail Part 17 arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p High Definition presentation. As with other sets (beginning with Part 11), the show receives native high-def encoding. However, this set is possibly the best looking one to date. The color and clarity impress and the animation seems to be even sharper and more detailed than ever before. The production quality is excellent and this is a great presentation. This season of Fairy Tail offers superb picture-quality.

Please Note: This release is a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack.

Audio:

Funimation's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English dub audio is still a impressive selection that I have a personal preference towards during my listening experience. The series is provided with both English dub and Japanese dub lossless audio options which is a nice feature. The work of the English dub team remains absolutely stellar during this batch of episodes. Fairy Tail now has one of the best English dubs in Funimation history.

Please note that the original Japanese audio is 2.0 Dolby TrueHD stereo and it will not be as dynamic as the English dub option.

Extras:

This release includes two audio commentaries on two episodes with some of the English dub cast, textless opening/ending songs, a U.S. trailer, and trailers promoting other Funimation releases. The set also contains a short dubbed featurette entitled Guild Pride: Mermaid Heel, which provides an overview of the Mermaid Heel guild which competed in the Grand Magic Games.

The release also contains the standard inclusion of reversible cover art and a beautiful slip (o-card).

 Final Thoughts:

Audiences new to Fairy Tail should begin at the beginning but for established fans of the anime this collection offers both the concluding episodes focused on the Grand Magic Games and an exciting follow-up to the Grand Magic Games. The follow-up involves time travel and is a fun batch of episodes.  Fairy Tail remains one of the best anime series around in its 5th season and this set provides even more great action, comedy, and adventure. Funimation's Blu-ray release features terrific PQ/AQ and the release is well worth a purchase for fans.

Highly Recommended.

Neil Lumbard is a lifelong fan of cinema. He aspires to make movies and has written two screenplays on spec. He loves writing, and currently does in Texas.