So a couple of people have asked if I’ve read the newest chapter of “Fairy Tail”, where in Azuma makes an official return. And yes I have, and I was immediately excited and happy as hell. But then I remembered that this is “Fairy Tail” and Mashima has a habit of using old characters as fodder to show off how much the main characters have grown (Remember Natsu’s rematch with Blue Note?). And this is Erza, the flag girl for Deus Ex Machina victories, so I’m not getting my hopes up for Azuma getting to do anything awesome. Still, it IS cool to see Azuma back in action after all this time.
Here’s hoping Azuma pulls an Itachi/Madara and manages to break away from the ‘Historia of Corpses’ and sticks around for a while longer. Maybe even helping Erza because he doesn’t see honor in ganging up on her like this.
But if not there’s always fanfiction!
All right, time to clear the air, and I promise this isn't gonna be a long rant but just an explanation of my point of view on Jellal's character, as well as my opinion on what makes a good romance. Keep in mind that my views are completely subjective and you're free to love the guy as much as you want. At the end of the day, this is just one guy's opinion on the internet. Not that big a deal.
The big problem I have with Jellal is his total lack of self worth.
Jellal's is a brooding and whiny mess of a character who only exists whenever the plot needs him or he has to cheer up Erza. Outside of this, the guy has no presence.
Yes, he's dedicated his life to eradicating all the dark guilds in the world and beating Zeref as penance for his past sins; which is awesome and a great direction for his character to go after all the horrible things he's gone through in his youth. However, after doing this for seven years (during which Erza was stuck on Tenrou island) he finally meets up with her again after all this time and having his memory come back, and what's the first thing he does when Erza brings up what he did to Simon…
In this instance, any character development that he's had since this tragedy has been made worthless. He's not seeking redemption, he's not looking to better himself, he's just here to wallow in self-pity and only seeks to help because it’s what the plot deems necessary, not because he really wants to help.
Throughout the “Oracion Seis Arc”, Erza was hammering into Jellal's head that killing oneself helps no one and that he needs to own his guilt and live. However, in offering her his life in order for her to get some sort of closure for Simon's death, it shows that that lesson never took root in him. After seven years of traveling the world with Ultear and Meridy doing nothing but destroying dark guilds, you would think during their downtime that he would find something to keep living for outside of Erza (especially since during that seven year time skip the world thought she and Fairy Tail’ s strongest members had died). But no, at the drop of a hat he's willing to throw his life away if it will make Erza feel better.
A key point in a strong relationship is for each party involved to have a life outside of the relationship. If their entire existence revolves around one another it becomes dull and uninteresting. Characters should have life goals outside of earning the affections of another character. Even if the series isn’t meant to explore those outside elements in a character's life as much as it is the romantic elements, it's important to introduce conflicts or aspect of the character's personality which exist outside of their romance. However, after all this time, do we have even one inkling of what Jellal plans to do when everything is all said and done?
Once Zerif and the Dark Guilds have been defeated and he has time to just relax (if he isn't dead already) what other goals does he have for himself? Does he plan to turn himself back into the Council and remain in jail for the rest of his life? Does he plan to fix his reputation so that the Council will grant him leniency and he can live a normal life? Does he plan to turn a hobby of his into a job? What are his hobbies? Does he want to retire? Does he want to start a legit guild? We have no idea of what this guy wants to do with his life when he's not fighting for a cause. And if he has no aspirations that don't hinge on whether he can be with Erza or not, then he's not a human being, he's a pleasure object for Erza and nothing more.
Erza was facing the same dilemma when she fought Kagura and took the blame for Simon's death. You want to know what her response was instead of offering her life to Kagura?
I guess this concept was too complicated for Jellal’s brain to figure out after 7 years.
People call this guy romantic and his whole relationship with Erza as fresh and new; full of drama and tension, but it just bores me because the guy is as dull and uncomfortable as a wet blanket. You want to know some characters who've done horrible things in the past and have tragic back storys involving a loved one dying, yet still feel that they have self-worth and try to do something meaningful with the rest of their lives that don't involve pursuing a woman…
Sorry Jellal fans, but I'd rather spend time with characters like Kenshin and Vash any day.
Oh and for the record, I hate Erza too, but that's a story for another time.
Keep on living people,
peace.
Besides, if this is a call out, although I have good reasons for disliking Jerza, I wouldn't be so adamant about it if most of the Jerza fans who come holler at me weren't complete jackasses about their OTP.
In short,