Previously on Fairy Tail:

Lucy defeated Sherry but her celebration was cut short when Erza arrived on Galuna Island in order to retrieve Natsu & his team. After a talk with Gray Erza decides to join them while Natsu has begun a heated battle with Lyon inside the temple. Spoilers Ahead.

Gray (Newton Pittman), Lucy (Cherami Leigh), Happy (Tia Ballard), & Erza (Colleen Clinkenbeard) make their way towards the temple in order to stop Lyon, but before they arrive at their destination Gray tells his friends about his past. He tells them of his master Ur (Kira Vincent Davis) and his training under her along with Lyon (Lyon’s younger self being voiced by Leah Clark), while Natsu (Todd Haberkorn) continues to do battle with Lyon (Jerry Jewel) inside the temple.

Gray finally shines some more light on his past this episode and as with most shonen anime heroes it’s a tragic one. Gray was born in a country in the north, long story short Deliora destroyed his village and murdered his family prompting him to swear revenge. Here is where Lyon & Ur found him. Most of the episode showcases Gray’s past and his relationship with Ur & Lyon. Ur is shown as a kind mother figure, even if she has a bit of a temper, and really cares for her students. Lyon on the other hand is shown as a teacher’s pet who constantly goes on about being as strong as Ur. The three of the have a nice dynamic and it is nice to see Lyon & Gray when they were young. We also get an explanation into Gray’s stripping habit as he had to strip while training with Ur so his body could get used to the cold (although Lyon didn’t pick up the habit…weird).

Gray training with Ur

Obviously the whole dynamic drastically changes when Ur sacrifices herself to beat Deliora, this event triggers Lyon’s hatred of Gray. Ur used an ancient spell called Iced Shell in order to defeat Deliora, essentially her body becomes the shell technically killing her. Gray feels responsible for this since his attacking of Deliora before he was ready caused Ur’s sacrifice. It its a heart breaking and at same time heart warming as Ur “dies” but she smiles happy with the fact that she was able to expunge the “darkness” within Gray; which is why she took him on in the 1st place.

“Eternal Magic” gives us a nice little peak into Gray’s past as well as the resolve he needs to take out Lyon. Ur is a pretty good character and it was a shame to see her gone so early. Lyon’s own development is explored and it is nice to see how he became the “Cold Emperor”. The magic continues next week as Gray & Lyon begin Round 2.

3.5/5