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Fairy Tail never quite made it as one of shonen’s “big three,” but it has still established itself as a popular and action-packed series in a similar vein as My Hero Academia, Naruto, and One Piece, featuring dozens of characters who wield incredible magic or curse power in battle. That, and the classic power of friendship, define the combat system of Fairy Tail.
It could be said, however, that some Fairy Tail characters were too powerful when they were introduced, meaning they had too little room to grow, or they were so powerful, only a contrived solution could bring them down in battle. A too-powerful hero can’t grow much and doesn’t create tension, and overpowered villains are practically begging for a deus ex machina because they’re too powerful to be taken down fairly. It’s time to nerf these characters.
10 Gildarts Clive Had No Ground Left To Cover
Gildarts Clive is arguably the most powerful wizard of the Fairy Tail guild, and he is also the father of Cana Alberona and a sparring partner for Natsu Dragneel. It’s easy to like Gildarts and cheer him on in battle, but from a design standpoint, his immense power is a double-edged sword.
Gildarts is one of several heroes who has no real progress left to make: no training, no new techniques or weapons, no anything. He began the series with everything he needed, so combat-wise, he was quite stale. It could be said, though, that fixing his relationship with Cana gave him extra motivation in combat. That’s something, at least.
9 Acnologia Was An All-Or-Nothing Boss Battle
This series features a number of powerful dragons, and the most powerful and villainous of them was Acnologia, who had once been a human in a previous era, similar to Irene Belserion’s situation. Acnologia made his big debut during the Tenrou Island arc, and even Fairy Tail’s best wizards working together were helpless.
Acnologia is only vulnerable to dragon slayer wizards such as Natsu and Laxus Dreyar, and even then, he is nigh-unkillable. He breezed his way through all opposition until the Power of Friendship conveniently took him down suddenly at the end, so clearly, he should have been better balanced as a final boss.
8 Brandish Mu Was A Plot Device, Rather Than A Fighter
Brandish is a mega-powerful wizard who belongs to the Spriggan 12, a villainous organization similar to the Akatsuki gang or the ten Espadas. Even among the Spriggan 12, Brandish has colossal magical power, meaning she won’t be beaten by anyone in single combat. She can casually shrink an entire island to the size of a dinner plate.
For the sake of balance, Brandish was written as an independent third party rather than a true villain, but this might not have been necessary if her power was better balanced. Her resizing magic is too much for anyone, friend or foe, to handle.
7 Kyoka Was Unbeatable Until Erza Used A Contrived Ability
To its credit, the Fairy Tail franchise does its best to organically explain how and why certain incredible events or powers work, but still, some victories are a real stretch because the opposition was too strong. This happened during Kyoka’s battle with the swordmaster Erza Scarlet, for example.
Kyoka was a major antagonist of the Tartaros story arc, and her curse abilities were absolutely overwhelming, including her ability to shut down Erza’s senses. So, Erza won with the sudden ability to perceive everything through the Power of Friendship, which may have raised some eyebrows. That sort of thing is unnecessary if the villain is actually balanced.
6 Dimaria Yesta Was Fairy Tail’s DIO
Dimaria Yesta was also a member of the Spriggan 12, along with Brandish, and she, too, could stand to be nerfed. She shares the ability of JoJo’s DIO to temporarily freeze time to attack her opponents with impunity, and this is a massively unfair advantage.
Jotaro defeated DIO by replicating his power, while Ultear lent sudden and rather convenient aid to Sherria Blendy and Wendy Marvell to negate Dimari’s abilities. If only Dimaria had been balanced, for a fairer fight that didn’t call for sudden aid like that.
5 God Serena Was Set Up To Be Invincible
The red-headed God Serena is the most powerful mage from all of Ishgar, hence his title, and he ranked first among the Ten Wizard Saints. However, he ended up fighting for the Alvarez Empire instead, and he brought his strength to bear on Ishgar’s defenders.
God Serena can use eight types of dragon slayer magic all at once, and he could have been totally invincible. He was defeated at the hands of another overpowered villain, Acnologia, but that would have been unnecessary if he were balanced properly.
4 Laxus Dreyar Only Needed To Improve His Attitude, Not His Abilities
The lightning dragon slayer, Laxus Dreyar, had his character arc defined mainly by his dynamic relationship to his grandfather Makarov and his fellow guildmates, not his progress as a fighter. Laxus was massively powerful when he first appeared, and he has had little need to train or practice his craft since then.
Rarely has Laxus been vulnerable in battle, unless he is fighting a blatantly unbalanced foe, such as Acnologia. He hardly had any need to invent or practice any new techniques, nor did he need to improvise clever and resourceful strategies in battle to gain the upper hand. He simply applies more and more strength until he wins.
3 Erza Scarlet Can Power Her Way Through Almost Anything
It’s true that from time to time, Erza Scarlet does need some help when fighting a powerful villain, and she has lost a few fights. But overall, Erza is the type who can stubbornly persist in a fight until she wins, grinding down her enemy with superior durability and power. That’s pretty straightforward.
Erza Scarlet rarely gets clever or resourceful in battle, simply because she doesn’t need to due to her overwhelming strength and her impressive variety of armored suits. If she were nerfed a bit, Erza could surprise and dazzle viewers with her clever and daring strategies, and not just rely on sheer endurance.
2 Jura Neekis Can Simply Crush Everyone With Earth Magic
Jura Neekis can control the earth with his magic, and he ranks among the Ten Wizard Saints with his overwhelming power. He even took part in the Grand Magic Games, and he fought the Spriggan 12 during the final story arc. It takes the likes of God Serena to take him down, which says a lot.
The Wizard Saints have every right to be powerful, but if they were nerfed a bit, like Jura, he would be forced to use more creative and cunning strategies in battle, and that would make his fights more compelling. It’s a similar situation to Erza and Laxus.
1 Minerva Orland Had Little To Prove
Minerva Orland belongs to the fearsome Sabertooth guild, and she fought a three-way battle against Erza Scarlet and Kagura Miazuchi. In each of her fights, Minerva proved herself immensely powerful, combining her Territory magic with top-tier martial arts.
Minerva comes from a guild where strength means everything, and she played that game well. Still, it would have been more interesting to nerf Minerva and see her struggle mightily to live up to the guild’s standards and prove herself worthy. This did happen in flashbacks during her youth, but it could have continued beyond that point, too. She needs more room to grow.
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