Hey all, Dani here.
It was a long and eventful weekend…and I did not get as much sleep as I would have needed to function at optimal levels, so hopefully when this post goes live I’m still sleeping. That would be nice. Anyway, welcome to Monday, which means that it must be time for another round of Manga Monday posts, because yes, once again I have two reviews for you today. First is a volume that I read months ago, and then later today I’ll be talking through a more recent read. Overall it should be a pretty good time, so let’s just go ahead and jump into the first review.
Book Details
Format: Paperback
Pages: 208
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
ISBN: 0345505573 (ISBN13: 9780345505576)
Summary
“S” IS FOR SCREWUP
S-Class quests are so dangerous that one false move means certain death! Now Fairy Tail’s loose cannon Natsu, rookie Lucy, and nearly powerless Happy have embarked on a stolen S-Class quest, setting out for the Demon Island. Can anyone stop them before they get themselves killed?
My Thoughts
Rating: 5 stars
Okay so yes, the events of the first few volumes did follow a couple different quests for the core group, but I feel like this volume is where we start seeing them in more dangerous situations and longer quest arcs, so that’s pretty darn great.
Haha, so I just looked up when I last reviewed a volume of Fairy Tail, and my review for Volume 3 was posted on this blog in January 2019…so wow, it’s been a while since I’ve talked about this group of awesome, powerful, determined, caring, but often destructive, group of people.
So even just this vague talking about the characters and the story is making me think that I should start at the beginning and watch the show again…although technically I do also need to finish the series as a whole. Damian and I still have to watch the final season.
This is the longest series I’ve picked up to date, with a total of 63 volumes to complete this round of the story. There is a spin-off continuation series called 100 Years Quest, but I can say without a doubt that you should read or watch this series first because otherwise you’ll possibly be confused and you’ll almost certainly encounter spoilers. Oooh…actually, is this the longest series I’ve picked up, because technically there were 63 books in the Animorphs series when I was a kid. I can’t count Babysitter’s Club or Boxcar children or Goosebumps, because I know I didn’t read all of those. Hmm…
Anyway, I think you could say that this quest is the one that really starts to bring our core group of characters together. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy are already a pretty good team, but through this particular arc we get a bit more with Gray and Erza, and those five really are the main ones we follow. This series really does end up with a huge cast of characters.
So Natsu, Lucy, and Happy are not certified as S class wizards but decide that they want a challenge and they think they can handle it, so Happy sneaks up to the S class quest board upstairs in the guild hall and grabs this quest. Natsu and Happy doing this and then getting Lucy to go along with this crazy plan just shows how little they plan, instead trying to rely on sheer luck and determination.
Thankfully even in these early volumes, we trust that Natsu isn’t going to give up, and he will fight with everything in him to help others, so as they set off on this super dangerous quest, you have a feeling that though there will likely be some bumps and stumbles along the way, they’ll figure out a way to succeed in the end. That’s something I enjoy about stories like this. Yes, sometimes they get ridiculous and outlandish and somewhat predictable, but they also give you hope and make your heart soar and make you dream of having such a solid group of friends and allies to support you.
Where to Get a Copy
You can grab your own copy of this book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local independent bookstore through IndieBound.
You can also check with your local library.
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