Previously on Fairy Tail:

Natsu & Happy got into an argument over food, prompting Lucy to take a trip down memory lane with Mirajane. Where she learned of Happy’s birth as well as a certain silver haired girl. Spoilers Ahead.

After returning from their latest job, Natsu (Todd Haberkorn) & his team return to the guild hall only to find it in shambles. They rejoin the rest of the guild in the basement only to find out that the culprits were Phantom Lord. Initially shrugging off the attack, things soon escalate to all out war when Levy (Kristi Kang) & her team are attacked in the night and are “crucified” to the big tree in South Gate park.

Team Shadow Gear after the attack

This is the first episode of the next major arc in Fairy Tail, the “Phantom Lord” arc. As it’s name suggests we are introduced to the titular “Phantom Lord” guild. There is some comedy (such as the team crashing at Lucy’s place without warning and looking through her stuff or Erza commenting on how she ,Natsu, & Gray used to take baths together) but this episode is mostly serious and dramatic.

Phantom Lord has almost the same amount of penchant for destruction as Fairy Tail, basically making them rivals. The difference between the two however is that Phantom has many more members. Phantom’s master is Jose (pronounced zho-zay) Porla (Ed Blaylock), like Makarov (R Bruce Elliot) he is also a member of the 10 wizard saints, basically the 10 strongest wizards in all of Fiore (we also learn from Erza that Siegrain is also a member).

Similar to Fairy Tail’s S Class, Phantom Lord also has an elite group called the “Element 4”. Four S-Class caliber wizards who each have control over a different element, they also have a Dragon Slayer in their guild; Gajeel Redfox (David Wald) also known as the “Iron Dragon Slayer”. Like Natsu he also possesses Dragon Slayer magic but his is control over Iron instead of Fire. He was the one who destroyed the Fairy Tail Guild hall, and attacked team Shadow Gear.

Phantom Lord’s strongest wizards

Speaking of Shadow Gear, we learn here how Levy & Lucy (Cherami Leigh) became such good friends. Levy initially expressed interest in reading Lucy’s novel when she finished writing it and Lucy promised her she would be the first, while this explains why Levy & Lucy are so close it also speaks about the guild as a whole. Everyone is pissed when the trio is attacked, especially Master Makarov & Natsu; which prompted Fairy Tail to attack Phantom Lord on their home turf.

While Fairy Tail puts up a good fight against Phantom’s many members, Jose predicted the attack and uses it as a distraction to go after the guilds real target…Lucy! Staying behind to take care of Levy & the guys Lucy is captured by 2 members of the Element 4, Juvia of the Great Sea (Brina Palencia) & Sol of the Earth (Barry Yandel). What is Phantom’s ultimate goal & why do they need Lucy?

“The Phantom Lord” is a pretty good introduction into the next arc of the anime. The conflict is set up well and the antagonists are an even match for Fairy Tail. We meet a bunch of new characters and we also get a bit of development for some. The magic continues next week as Fairy Tail continues their fight with Phantom Lord.

4/5