Fairy Tail, Vol. 8

Fairy Tail [フェアリーテイル] #8

by Hiro Mashima

ULTIMATE DUEL

Gajeel is a dragon slayer who can shoot huge iron pillars from his body with crushing precision, while dragon slayer Natsu fights with devastating flame attacks. Their fierce battle began when Gajeel's wizard guild, Phantom Lord, assaulted rival guild Fairy Tail - but can either headquarters withstand two such destructive forces?

Includes special extras after the story!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Shonen, Magic, Comics, Adventure, Fiction

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 17, 2008

About the author

Hiro Mashima (Jap: 真島ヒロ) is a Japanese manga artist.

He gained success with his first serial Rave, published in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 1999 to 2005. His best-selling work, Fairy Tail, published in the same magazine from 2006 to 2017, became one of the best-selling manga series with over 72 million copies in print. Mashima began the currently ongoing Edens Zero in 2018.

Fairy Tail won the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen manga in 2009, and Mashima was given the Harvey Awards International Spotlight award in 2017 and the Fauve Special Award at the 2018 Angoulême International Comics Festival.

Reviews

[Roya · Rating 5 out of 5]

[اولا که نوروز مبارک😻]

این فوق‌العاده محشر بود و کِیف کردم. رو دستِ رفاقت جادوگرای فری تیل نداریم😼
مُرید ارزا ساما هستم و تمام جادوگرا رو جلوی پاش ﷼﷼ می‌کنم😼☝️

[Roxana Chirilă · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You have a... power... that still... sleeps inside of you... Trust yourself... Pierce the veil... and call it forth... The time is now! Go, Natsu! You can do it!!!! You can surpass even my power!!!!!" Erza told Natsu, while she was half-dead from her wounds and Natsu had just been defeated by the opponent she saved him from.

So Natsu got up and fought like a beast. And, incidentally, Erza got up and fought like a beast, too. Then the master of the guild, who'd been lying on a bed far away, on the brink of death, also got up and fought like a beast.

...Man, I wish I could power up just because somebody told me to. I can imagine it: a late day at work, dragging myself through a project that seems never-ending. And then, somebody jumping in on Skype:

"You have a power that still sleeps inside you! Trust yourself! Pierce the veil! Call it forth, the time is now!!!"

And then, wham! I instantly translate 20 pages and realize I speak Japanese perfectly. POWER UP, ROXANA! https://youtu.be/qur-BpsdxAs?t=1m35s

Unfortunately, I doubt this will ever happen in real life, but it became a pattern in this Fairy Tale volume. What, does it look like the main characters are in trouble? They will KICK ASS! What, are they exhausted?! RISE UP AND KICK ASS! Are they half-dead because of their wounds?! KICK EVEN MORE ASS! Are they in super-big trouble and nearly defeated? KICK ASS GODDAMMIT, YOU WILL WIN THIS!

Not much else happened, except some discussions about how they need to go and kick ass. Hiro Mashima still doesn't have a plot for this thing. It's fun, I suppose, if you're into this sort of thing - it's way better than random American comics I've read. But I have no idea how this series got so big. It must be the anime - I think it's better paced.

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

[4.5 Stars] Cliff hanger! Again, I love it.

[Ricardo Medina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's getting better and better every volumen!

[Molly™☺ · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a sucker for grand scale fight scenes paired with raw emotion, this volume will definitely tickle your fancy. It's the first real big moment which highlights everything that Fairy Tail does right. It's cheesy, it's corny, but damn is it a good time.

[Taha · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Sanemsrgz · Rating 4 out of 5]

•J’ai adoré ce volume comme les précédents. Je trouve que c’est une série de manga très originale qui vaut le coup d’être lu.

•Keşke bütün sayıları türkçeye çabucak çevrilse dediğim bir manga serisi.
Yazarın yarattığı dünya ve karakterler çok orijinal ve özgün. Okuduğum mangalar arasında en kaliteli seri. Sanırsam ilk yedi mangası türkçeye çevrilmiş.
Okumanızı mutlaka tavsiye ederim.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 8th volume and the battle of Phantom vs Fairy Tail continues! I wasn't always such a fan of all the characters. Gajeel can just drop dead, horrible personality. But the battles were awesome. There was a lot at stake and I just loved seeing everyone try to help out Fairy Tail, kick butt, and make sure everything was fine. While some of the battles were a bit like, well, you know there is going to be 60 volumes so you know that Fairy Tail will win, but there were enough moments that had me gasping, would everything truly be all right? The last part where the Fairy Tail master appears, soooo cool! Go!
This was epic and I will be reading vol.9 ASAP to see how this ends!
Oh, and I just love how everyone is there for Lucy. Even Erza, who at times is so strict/angry.

[Victor The Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fairy Tail, Vol. 8 (My Kindle Review)

Our guild has managed to overcome members of Phantom Lord but they are no match for their leader and despite some of them knocked down to the ground, their flames still burn strong and won’t die down. A (100%/Outstanding)

[Natalie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

November 2023
Kindle edition
KU manga

Fights, fights and more fights. An intense end for Juvia, another weird celestial spirit, Mystogan and a battle of the guild masters. After all that, Lucy is still going back to face her demons.

[Davina Herondale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I would’ve liked this book more if I hadn’t watched the anime but 🤷🏻‍♀️ it’s still good

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.6⭐️

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yep, it's a battle manga. All the main characters have a henchman to fight, then grandpa Makarov brings out the Deus ex Machina power that hasn't been mentioned until now and takes out the boss of Phantom, the end.

Coming back to this volume after accidentally skipping it, it's actually a little troubling how often Mashima relies on Lucy being tied up or otherwise helpless (or having her top torn off, sigh). Hint to wizard's guild teams and other adventurers: keep your summoner on the back line.

[Wing Kee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow another fighting book.

World: The art is great, that battle between iron and fire was spectacular. The world building is small and limited, this is a battle arc. There are some character moments that build the world but that's about it.

Story: Fight fight and fight. That's this arc. There are some nice little Shonen style emotions that have been done before for the genre but overall it was enjoyable. The battle that's about it. There are very little emotions here that are satisfying but it's still there, highlight being the Lucy monologue.

Characters: Solid character moments but few and far between. The Lucy emotions and moments were nice. The Juvia was simple but also nice.

It was a battle book.

Onward to the next book!

[Vikas · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, this volume continues the fights from the last issue and again ends on a cliffhanger. Nice art and will continue so let's go and keep on reading.

I have always loved comics, and I can, and I have. I love comics to bits; may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more. You should also read what you love, and I hope you will always love it. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on international and classic comics, Mangas, Mahwas, and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I just want to Keep on Reading.

[Ritika Chhabra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow Just A Girl High On Books for more reviews.

"You have a power that still sleeps inside you! Trust yourself! Pierce the veil! Call it forth, the time is now!"

It's surprising how Hiro Mashima made such a huge arc that comprised of almost three volumes. And yet, that is exactly what happened. The eighth volume in the Fairy Tail series started at the exact moment where the seventh volume ended. In fact, it showed us of the few final fights—Grey and the Element 4 Wizard, Juvia, Natsu and the Element 4 Wizard, , Natsu and Gajeel (finally) and lastly, Makarov and Jose. We don't see much of that last fight but man, I can imagine how amazing that would have been!

I agree, I didn't quite like the huge number of battles in this one either, but it felt good to see the fairies win. What's more, it felt particularly good when in the end, we find out about Lucy's past. More of it, that is. And it feels amazing to see that she isn't interested in returning back home but instead wants to continue with the guild. Lucy is, quite literally, my favourite character in the entire guild and it felt good to see more of her than her boobs. It helped a lot and I hope to see a similar (or even much better story arc) for the others as well.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 A fun wrap up to the Phantom Lord Arc. Starts with a cute little battle between Gray and Juvia. The highlight is the big blowout fight between the Fire Dragon Slayer Natsu and the Iron Dragon Slayer Dragneel. We also get a little more Erza action. This was a fun story arc I enjoyed it.

Erza, Gajeel, Natsu, and Jose on the cover this time. With a goofy Sagittarius and Cana in the corner.

Read 10/13/21

[Scott Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The battle scenes between the two dragons were awesome, Iron and Fire going after each other with as much as they could muster. Then the end of the guild war and the aftermath. This is one of the best so far.

[Abbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice continuation of the story Lucy seems to be a pinnacle character in the guild wars and seeing the way the characters are coming together and Natsu’d powers are starting to build in the most gorgeous illustrations

[momo cinti · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Omg! Lo ame de principio a fin.
He estado shippeando a Natsu y Lucy desde el primer volumen, y por fin en este aparecen indicios. Estoy saltando de alegría.

[KC · Rating 3 out of 5]

One extra star for Gajeel only :P.

[paulina ✴︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

natsu ♡

[Sylvie · Rating 3 out of 5]

On est presque sur la fin de l’arc de Lucy ! Bientôt le fin mot de l’histoire sur la famille Heartfilia

[Wiktoria (^˵◕ω◕˵^) · Rating 3 out of 5]

{3.5}

[Cassie Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

absolutely knew i liked toxic men when gajeel was my crush from ages 13-16 😂😂

[Kanna Ogihara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness!!!!! I love and respect you so much, Erza!! Your strength of heart and physical is amazing. I want to be a great person like you. Then, I also like a relationship between Gray and Julbia. I hope Jubia’s favor reached Gray someday.

[DonutKnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes team!

[✿⁠ Calacolito ✿⁠ · Rating 5 out of 5]

j'adore toute les aventures qui se suivent .
je vous le recommande

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume was just what I needed to hang on. For the past couple of volumes I felt that the story was pretty "meh," but was trudging through it because I have been recommended the series multiple times. This book made all that trudging worth it. This volume highlighted some new antagonists and brought great elements to the existing characters. I appreciated the deeper storyline that revolved around the guild and the sense of friendship these guys have.

Overall I look forward to sticking with this series!

[Paul Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nice thing about this volume is that not only is it more or less the end of an arc so I can discuss the storyline as a whole, but it’s also clearly divided into several different fights, which allows me to separate my review into digestible pieces. Say what you will about shonen action series, they can make for some pretty easy reviews. Unless of course one wants to actually sound intelligent during the discussion of said manga. Which is what I hope to do, so please, let me know in the comments how well I succeed in that aspect.

First off, the finale to Gray and Juvia’s fight. The first time I read this part of the story, this was the moment that I decided I was a fan of Fairy Tail. I had never seen anything quite like this fight. It was action, comedy, and romantic drama all rolled into one. Initially I just really enjoyed the humor of the fight, and the younger, less wise me got a chuckle out of the accidental grope. Now that I am a total of five years older, and have read through the series multiple times by this point, I can appreciate this moment for what it really is.

It’s a character moment for someone that at the time I didn’t realize would be important later on down the line. In a matter of just a couple of pages Mashima set up Juvia’s backstory, he manages to invest the readers in his plight, and then he solves the problem in a way that it’s little wonder Juvia would later become so obsessed with Gray. Reading through the fight this time allowed me to appreciate exactly how much Gray changed her life, just by clearing the skies for her. Though, how exactly that happened is a bit unclear, and never explained, but Mashima writes for emotional impact, not logical impact, so I for one can let it pass.

The fight between Erza and Aria, and later Erza and Jose, are both pretty much unremarkable. The first is to show how powerful Erza really is, and the second is to show how powerful Jose is. And in conjunction the two are able to pull that off pretty well. But the fights themselves aren’t the best in the series, and it’s a shame that Erza, who normally is treated so well by Mashima, didn’t get a bigger role this volume.

Makarov and Jose’s fight is interesting in that we get our first glimpse at what two master wizards can really do. But their true powers are kept more or less mysterious so as to allow Mashima not to show his hand where the ultimate power levels are concerned for his series. And while having clear boundaries are needed for fights in shonen series to really make the climax of an arc satisfying, I once again refer back to Mashima’s writing style focusing a great deal on style rather than substance. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s just not as filling as some series can get.

Jose has always bugged me. On the one hand there’s elegance in simplicity, but on the other hand Jose goes past simple elegance into just plain simple. Jealousy and greed work perfectly fine as motivations, but I’m supposed to believe that Jose didn’t consider what would happen to him after this war? Did her really think the country wouldn’t intervene? Did he think he could fight against an entire country? How is someone so clearly evil the head of an official guild? It feels like Phantom Lord should have been one of the dark guilds that come into the series later on, but Mashima didn’t want to reveal those yet. Or at least he didn’t want to bring them back so soon after Eisenwald.

Still, we don’t know enough about Jose to really draw any real conclusions about what exactly he was thinking about the deeper issues of the war he instigated. Did he really think he could get away with it? We don’t know, nor can we know because that information is never delved into. On a surface level it works just fine, but one of Mashima’s biggest weaknesses is the fact that he rarely goes deeper than the surface level. All it would have taken was maybe one page or less of someone in the guild asking Jose if he really thinks the country will let them get away with this. Maybe show that he’s too far gone to consider that, or at least something.

Mashima’s villains in general feel very disposable, and in this arc especially we could have benefited from a few more scenes of Phantom Lord interacting with each other.

But, it’s time for the final battle between Natsu and Gajeel. What really struck me about this battle is that not only is this the first time we get to see two dragonslayers fight, this is the first time that we get to compare two different elements of the same type of magic. Most of the time Natsu’s ability to eat fire has been a major advantage, almost entirely because of the convenience of most of his opponents having some kind of fire ability. This time, however, Natsu’s ability is negated by the fact that, when you get down to it, fire really isn’t all that common. Sure it can easily be made, but think of it like this, in the real world how often would you actually come across fire in a life or death battle?

Seeing Natsu at a disadvantage in this way was a first for this series, and it really helps to drama of the fight to see Natsu so clearly outclassed. Though the way that he finally overpowers Gajeel is a bit contrived, but I don’t really come to Fairy Tail fights for anything more than a well rendered fight scene. It’s satisfying overall, but could be a lot more satisfying. But, for what it is, it’s quite good.