Fairy Tail, Vol. 11

Fairy Tail [フェアリーテイル] #11

by Hiro Mashima, William Flanagan (Translator)

WHEN CHECKMATE MEANS DEATH!
 
Erza’s childhood friend Jellal has started to play an elaborate board game—with Natsu and his team as enemy pieces to be eliminated. Meanwhile, Siegrain is trying to get the Magic Council to fire a weapon that will wipe out Jellal’s tower, killing everyone within it—including our heroes from Fairy Tail!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Shonen, Magic, Comics, Adventure, Young Adult

208 pages, Paperback

First published March 3, 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 3 out of 5]

بعد از مدت‌ها دارم ادامه‌ش میدم و مثل رد شدن از کنار اسباب‌بازی‌فروشی محبوب‌مه. دیگه نه با ذوق، با نوستالژی و خاطره.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another volume that shines because of characters that aren't the focus point of the arc. Standouts are Lucy and Juvia who provide the humour and Gray's flashbacks that add the heart. However, it does receive a bonus point for Erza's most iconic requip.

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ♥ Fairy Tail!!!!

[Roxana Chirilă · Rating 3 out of 5]

In volume 11, as in every single volume until now, Fairy Tail gives us superpowered fights and new oddball evil characters. One of the bad guys is such a hoot:



Also, Hiro Mashima doesn't even pretend to be realistic when it comes to fights and who wins them. Many manga series have good characters winning through the power of friendship, but Fairy Tail takes this VERY literally:



The random, wacky nature of this series is growing on me. EIther that, or I'm just too tired to overthink things.

[Vikas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fairy Tail gang is fighting, Jelal's team it's action and more action with surprising heroes. And, on the other hand, the council is in discussion on whether to take action or not.

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.

[Davina Herondale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t have the rest of the physical copies of the series, so this will be the last book you’ll see on my feed. Just know that I am still reading it on my ereader though

[Natalie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

November 2023
Kindle edition
KU manga

The first unison power up between Lucy and Juvia, the victory ending with a lecture from Aquarius. Natsu being a gag character on the sidelines and Erza about to display the powers of new armor. Building up to a bigger fight.

[Gabriella · Rating 4 out of 5]

…

I’m enjoying the continuation of Ezra’s backstory and the Tower of Heaven arc. Looking forward to finding out the outcome of it all and more on Jellal. Also, curious to know more about the guy from the council;—Sieg-sama—what his ‘plan’ and ‘ideal’ is that he is trying to push forward. Finally, loved the formation of Lucy and Juvia’s friendship, hopefully it stays that way as it has lots of potential.

[Amber ☾♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume is “okay”. Bit more of Ezra back story and some Juvia love, thiugh, both of which I’m here for.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.1⭐️

[Scott Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the arc continues, we see the development of the threat and the possible overreaction to what is going on. We also have some good battle scenes. Life and death to some is treated like a game to others.

[TheBookishHobbit · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was a lot of great fighting scenes going on in this volume, and the fact Natsu was somewhat defeated by an enemy and Gray had to save him was great as well. Readers were also introduced to more horrors of Erza's past as she now must go fight an old childhood friend and possibly, was her first crush.

[DonutKnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

How are Jellal and Siegrain connected???

[Victor The Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

As if Jellal wasn’t Ezra and her guild’s only problem, they also get tangled with the dangerous Assassin’s Guild, who specialize in more sinister quests. We do learn of how Erza found Fairy Tail and see her only more determined to save her guild. A (100%/Outstanding)

[Jessica (ThatDamFangirl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the character development with Juvia in this book!

[✮⋆˙Eimy✮⋆˙ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3★/5★

[Kanna Ogihara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was complicated. No!! Many ways of translations make me confused!!! Who is Jellal? Are Jellal and Gerard same? There are a lot of ways to call Jellal. Julia is also. Moreover, a construction of R-system is not clear for me. I need to read this volume in Japanese. I could understand the contents somehow but I couldn’t enjoy.

[Eef Hitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was super good

[Ritika Chhabra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow Just A Girl High On Books for more reviews.

Ah, some more fighting scenes, I see.

In the eleventh volume, we come across Hiro Mashima's weird world of wizards. I call it weird because there are some things that don't make sense. I mean, up until this moment, we have already found out that one way or the other, the Fairy Tail wizards are going to win. They can take bullets and survive. They can take cannons and survive. They can be at the verge of dying and still, the thought of their friends compels them to fight. I agree, the idea of friendship boosting one's confidence and strength isn't unheard of. But with Fairy Tail, Mashima seems to be doing it on every turn and on almost every page. It's a little boring, if you ask me.

So in the eleventh volume, the Council debates whether or not to throw Etherion on the R-system while the people inside the tower try to fight their way out. There is only one way to succeed—kill Jellal and his minions. Sadly, his minions are from a guild known for its assassinations. It will be hard to succeed. Now the question isn't whether they will succeed or not. The question is how will they do it. (The answer it with the help of their idea of friendship, spoiler!)

What I liked about it the most was the sudden bond between Lucy and Juvia. It was a nice touch to how they have been so far. Hopefully, Juvia will finally see Lucy as a friend and not a rival in love. (Ever wondered how Grey hasn't been crept out by all of this already?)

[Rihards Husko · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get that convenient ability matchups are almost inevitable in battle series where the powers are often weirder than your basic energy projection/elemental magic, but *come on*!

The guy who happens to come up against a water woman has hair that, bizarrely, can absorb any liquid and... that’s it? His actual magic is guitar-based (and just... completely OP if he weren’t, of course, a stupid pervert), so, other than his KISS-inspired look, what does the hair have to do with anything? Nothing, that’s what. Largely because these characters were just made up on the spot because Mashima-sensei changed his mind about the direction of certain characters’ stories (he says so himself). And it shows. Plus, for all the build-up for Natsu’s revenge against Box Dandy (I don’t remember his name), that sure got resolved in a silly way. And the cat girl got no spotlight whatsoever.

And yet in spite of all the bad writing, wholly unnecessary fanservice, and confusing continuity (maybe I’m just dumb and forgot, we’ll find out soon), Fairy Tail has heart. Sure, it’s more shallow than the shower before the kiddie pool, but it sure is earnest about friendship being magic, and I can’t hate that.

I just hope that Mashima-sensei comes up with some other ways to win other than, “BUT MUH FRIENDS!!” powerups. I’m also *very* curious to see how often Unison Raids come back in the series. I’m sure it’s a *lot*. /s I know I’ve read the whole series during its original run, but I genuinely don’t remember.

[Shae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this arc. You get to see multiple characters grow in different ways, and it's amazing!

[Aalayah Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shô, Millianna and Wally had all been lied too by Jallal into thinking Erza had blown up their ship to escape only to leave by herself
Simon knew, and also knew that Greys ice decoy was just that, he never intended to hurt anyone
Natsu gets a cat head stuck on his own. He plays along that he’s a cat to trick Millianna and in turn making Wally unable to hurt him. Doesn’t work.
Natsu and happy defeats Wally and Millianna
Trinity Raven: Vidaldus (heavy metal guy) Fukuro (owl guy with jet pack) and Ikaruga (cherry blossom fighter?)
Natsu and Simon encounter Fukuro. Simon is taken down quick but Natsu is ready for a fight. Like always
Lucy and Juvia are sent too looks for Natsu while Grey goes to find Shô who stuffed Erza in a card and then ran off to fight Jallal… or try
On their search they encounter Vidaldus, he’s got long hair magic that can deflect Juvia water abilities.
He manages to enslave Juvia to his music, (making her look really cool though)
It’s Lucy vs Juvia
Lucy calls Aquarius with Juvias body which causes there to be too much water, this allows Juvia and Lucy to use a combination attack and make Vidaldus lose his hair which in turn made him lose against them
Owl guy eats Natsu gaining his Fire ability (even gets natsu’s tuft of hair)
Flashback to Erza arriving at Fairytail, very scrapes and bruised, dressed in her slave rags
Grey comes across Happy and Simon, lecturing them and then fighting owl guy once learning he ate Natsu
Throwback: Grey keeps challenging Erza when she first arrives saying he’ll never accept her as a member of Fairytail. He finds her outside crying, where he ends up consoling her
Grey: “erza has to be in Fairytail!!! So that she doesn’t have to cry again!!!”
Swig rain has been making a plan with the Etherion blast for 8 years (I can’t remember why he looks like Jallal
Ikaruga ‘the Dove’ arrives in the path of Shô and card trapped Erza, Shô uses a card attack but she cuts them in half via the printed sides
Ikaruga could cut through the card to attack Erza, which she blocked. Erza manages to escape the card
Ikaruga cuts all of Erza heaven wheel swords, breaking her armour, just like her standard armour
Fire Empress Armour requiped, broken
Ezra’s strongest armour: Purgatory Armour. Broken.
Erza requips into just a cloth outfit, claiming that her hiding in a suit of armour doesn’t make her strong but it’s the connection to Fairytail, her friends, guild mates that makes her strong. No armour can be stronger than that.
She and Ikaruga are about to battle it out
Shô is still crying XD

[Danielle R · Rating 4 out of 5]

So continues the arc of the Tower of Heaven. While Siegrain and Jellal privately scheme for the revival of the Black Wizard Zeref, our heroes face off with some scary (and hilarious) foes. Juvia and Lucy fight a Kiss Rockstar Ripoff (Vidaldus). Natsu gets eaten by a jet-pack owl (Fukuro) and rescued by Gray. Erza faces off against a beautiful kimono-wearing swordswoman (Ikaruga).

The highlights are Gray's flashbacks to meeting Erza for the first time, when she arrives in Fairy Tail still wearing rags, when they fight and she beats him, when he finds her crying and starts to understand her. Erza has a fantastic friendship with both Gray and Natsu and I like seeing that starting to be fleshed out.

Erza is probably one of my favorite female characters anywhere because she's so complex and detailed. She's a powerful fighter who can admit her own fears, who cries, who dons all this armor to protect herself from everything that's hurt her. She travels with too much luggage, even though she has a magical closet that contains not only armor but pretty dresses and pajamas. She loves strawberry cake. She is the only person that Natsu and Gray are scared of yet they all trust each other enough for anything. She's the best! 4/5

[abdulraffij · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will be my full review for this entire series. I already read this comic from volume 1-30. Suppose there 50 volume more of this series but I prefer not to finish it as I don't really like the time-skip idea in this series.

To clarify, I love the idea of time-skip. But, in this series, I really hate it. It make Natsu and other main member weaker. Why make them weaker? I want to see MC progress throughout the series. Then, suddenly become weaker. Not to mention when MC want to win each battle, power of friendship keep coming back each battle.

Furthermore, there are a lot of un-explained things happened in this series. The dots are not connected rather than scattered throughout the series. It just there to fill the plot-hole. Rather than explaining, Mr Hiro keep continuing the series and keep adding new characters each volume.

So, after the time-skip, I determine to stop reading this series. I don't want to ruin my memories of this awesome series. For most part, this series actually had huge potential because of interesting and lovable character, but the plot is keep on damaging this series slowly.

[Kacie]

Thoughts on the volume:
• Everytime I think "wow this time the arc seems pretty well plotted" Hiro Mashima ends the volume with an afterword saying "yeah I felt bad for the characters so this is all very last minute and I planned nothing."
• I don't know how many more times I can say JUVIA SLAAAAY without getting tired of saying it. Her redesign is coming soon, though, so probably not for long.
• On that topic, Lucy and Juvia doing the FIRST FUCKING UNISON RAID of the series minutes after Lucy broke Juvia out of a (cunty outfit inducing) hypnosis? Every time someone calls Lucy the weakest member of Team Natsu, they are just lying to themselves HELLO.
• Gray was such a little shit as a child, like omg you little bitch.
• Natsu back to back getting hit with the Kitty face and then being eaten by an Owl... not his best volume I'll be honest.

Best chapter cover page: Back to back bangers in this one, like it OPENED with Natsu as John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever and I wasn't expecting much after that BUT THEN IT FINISHED WITH THE RAVE MASTER HOMAGE? I want nothing more than for Heart Kreuz to be a real fashion brand.

[Joseph R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tower of Heaven story arc continues as the Fairy Tail team arrives at the tower to take out the crazy evil Jellal. Unfortunately, Jellal has brought in a trio of magicians from a guild specializing in assassination. Maybe Natzu could take them out if he hadn't got a gigantic cat's head mask stuck on his head! Meanwhile, the Magic Council is discussing whether to use a weapon of mass destruction to take out the tower before Jellal has a chance to revive Zeref, an extremely evil wizard whose return is sure to be a world-wide catastrophe. Erza's backstory continues as we see her coming to Fairy Tail for the first time.

The action is exciting and the new villains are entertaining and a legitimate threat. The stakes are suitably ramped up and the story is interesting. I'm looking forward to watching the anime episodes (season one, episodes 36-38?) for this volume. It's fun to read before seeing.

Highly recommended.

[Lauren Schnoebelen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this novel we get to follow our favorites as they race against the clock to defeat the Trinity Rave and Jellal. I knew there was a reason for why I was really interested to see where the story line for Juvia would go! I can't wait to see where the interactions between her and Lucy in the future go!

Can we please talk about Gray and his commitment as a friend to Erza? My heart hurt from when he wanted to make sure she didn't cry again. I need more friends in my life that care about me like that. But don't get me wrong, the braveness that Erza showed in this volume is inspiring and I can't wait to see how she fights against Jellal and his idea of her being a sacrifice!

Side note..... I can not wait for the moment in this series where we truly find out the power that Natsu has buried within. This is the second or third major enemy that has acknowledged his untapped potential so far!

[Bettina Röckel · Rating 5 out of 5]

In diesem Teil geht der Kampf im Paradiesturm so richtig los. Dabei wechseln Charaktere überraschenderweise auch die Seiten was richtig cool war. Und auch der Rat in Era spielt einen wichtigen Teil in der Geschichte Wie immer gab es Comedy im Manga aber es wurde auch ein bisschen emotional. Und man lernt mit Trinity Raven einen Teil einer Meuchelmörder-Gilde kennen was auch echt cool war. Wie immer sind vor allem die halbseitigen und ganzseitigen Zeichnungen richtig toll. Und man bekommt auch tolle neue Magiearten zu sehen. Außerdem war es richtig toll wieder neue Dinge über bekannte Charaktere zu erfahren und auch Elsas erste Tage in Fairy Tail zu sehen und wie sie damals war. Auch hier zeigt Elsa eine weiche Seite die man so nur selten zu sehen bekommt und die richtig toll war. Und auch neue Freundschaften entwickeln sich. Im nächsten Band geht der Kampf im Paradiesturm weiter weshalb ich ganz schnell weiter lesen werde.

[Gustavo · Rating 3 out of 5]

¿Que puedo decir de este tomo? La verdad es que Mashima confiesa que a los Raven Three o comosellamen se los sacó de la galera y eso se nota a leguas. Por otro lado me gusta que el autor sea un caradura total y acepte sus pecados y no se tome nada demasiado en serio, sus personajes ridículos me encantan y me hacen reir (Como el buho con el jetpack en la espalda, ¿A quien se le ocurre que ese buho es un villano creíble?).

Odio que el autor tenga a Lucy solo para hacer chistes de tetas y a Juvia solo para hacer de enamorada sumisa de Grey, asi que me gustó bastante el equipo que hicieron en esta historia.

Gracias a esa capacidad de Mashima de no tomarse nada demasiado en serio y de sacar cosas de la galera, el manga termina siendo muy divertido, por momentos caótico y por momentos sin sentido, pero en general creo que es disfrutable si uno no se pone a pensar demasiado.

[Wing Kee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Battle arc with Erza.

World: I've said it so many times, the fights look great. The emotions are over the top and fun. The world building is also solid with a lot of emphasis on character building. Good stuff.

Story: A battle arc and there is a lot of battling. The characters have moments sprinkled on between the punches and it does make the stakes stronger and more emotionally charged. I liked the Lucy Juvia fight quite a bit.

Characters: The characters had some nice little moments that furthered who they are. The Juvia Lucy bond was well done. The stuff with Erza was also really solid. Good stuff.

Strong emotions tied into the punches.

Onward to the next book!