Fairy Tail Vol 2

[meganbmoore]

Dear Hiro Mashima: You just wanted to make sure I loved Lucy, didn’t you? First you have her turn into a fangirl when presented with a library. Then you have her reading during battle, and then leaving the battle because the book is verra verra important, and she can’t be interrupted. Then you reveal that she just happens to carry around a pair of glasses that can make a person read up to 32 times their normal speed (want!) and declaring people to be enemies of literature. We approve. Yes, yes we do.

Actually, the mangaka is being much smarter about Lucy than most shounen mangakas are. Instead of building her up to be a fighter and then sidelining her and making her be there to be protected, she’s introduced as being useful in a fight, but definitely a non-combatant, with her main usefulness being common sense and a solid head on her shoulders, and then backing it up. Not the best solution, but much less frustrating than the norm. Actually, I think she’s the only person in the book to display any common sense so far. Just like I wonder how Gourry in Slayers survived before he met Lina, I wonder how Natsu survived before he met Lucy. Probably, both just fought their way through anything that got in their way.

This volume, we also meet Ezra, who I am told is the heavy-hitter for the protagonists. We approve of this, too. Yes, yes we do. She reminds me of Izumi in Fullmetal Alchemist(including the odd tough love mothering tendencies) but without as much common sense. Everyone is terrified of her. In fact, she seems to be the only thing that can make Grey and Natsu behave themselves. BTW, I quite like Grey, despite his exhibitionist tendencies. I also approve of Ezra deciding Grey and Natsu were going to go on a mission with her. (A slash following, I heard it being born as soon as Lucy realized that the reason Natsu and Grey didn’t get along was because they have fire and ice powers.) It really is a good thing Lucy went along, though. The group needs a functioning brain.

I am also now curious about Loke’s apparently tragic romantic past with a celestial wizard, especially since it seems to be the only thing that’s going to save Lucy from constantly getting hit on. And is it just me, or is Natsu trying to build up Lucy’s reputation in the guild? That’s sweet, despite overlooking the fact that it’s probably not the kind of reputation she wants to have.

I think something important about the guilds was also revealed this volume, but I was distracted by the cute and the crack. 

Comments

[southerndave.livejournal.com]

"a pair of glasses that can make a person read up to 32 times their normal speed "

Now, if I had a pair of those, I could probably get through... hmmm... about one book per week...

[salimbol.livejournal.com]

Right, this is going onto the reading list as well! (I would tell you to stop reading and recommending things, except that I like so many of the things you've recced...)
And I would love a pair of glasses like that myself, sometimes (though there's much to be said about reading at a nice leisurely pace to let it all sink in).

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I think I should stop stumbling over things that sound good/fun.


I'm pretty sure Lucy only has the glasses in case of an emergency.

[valkyriesailor.livejournal.com]

Hey, I want those glasses too! Maybe I could at last read out our 'library' at home. But every time I want to begin with it, I get some other book from a friend, or some recs for this or that~. There is really no end of it.
Once a friend of mine told me a joke about this: He and his friend read all books there are on the world... Now there are two possibilities: he read the book you're asking about, or his friend - whom you don't know - did. XD
Reading your post made me remember an anime I read about last week. Have you heard about Toshokan Senso? Since I only heard about it, don't know yet if it's like Read or Die, or if it's some other style.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Hmm...nope, never heard of that. I have to admit, while I love the R.O.D. OVA, and enjoyed(but not as much) the animated series, I couldn't get into the manga. Which is very strange, because I'm almost always much more into manga that anime.

[valkyriesailor.livejournal.com]

That's interesting. I'm the same with manga. The greatest example was HyD. <3 After watching the anime, I read the manga~ and fell in love with the story all over again.
About Toshokan Senso: it's about an organization whose job is to save books from being destroyed by the state. After watching the first part it's like military vs. military~ the CG is a bit bad for the eyes, but the good part is, that they put quite some comical character animation into it. Story in short: girl is happy that some book got published, buys it and wants to read it quick, but some military guys want to take the book away~ some guy from the other organization comes to help~ and with that it's decided: the heroine will be a part of this organization as well!