Line #19 Recap/FairyTailFightingFestivalArc


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fighting_festival_arc.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: No it's not [[ComicBook/CivilWar2006 that Civil War.]]]]
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5	Chapters: 103-130, Episodes: 41-48
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7	!! Short Summary
8	Laxus makes his move for the position of guild master of Fairy Tail, unleashing a plot that forces its members to fight one another in order to defeat him.
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10	!! Main Summary
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12	----
13	''Fighting Festival Arc'' has the following tropes:
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15	%%* AffablyEvil: Freed.
16	%%* BigBad: Laxus.
17	* BreakTheHaughty: The Thunder Legion gets their egos seriously destroyed after their defeat in their war. Laxus gets a double-whammy of it from not only being defeated, but realizing that he really wasn't much of a SocialDarwinist as he thought he was.
18	* CatBoy: Makarov dresses up as one while celebrating the Fairy Tale parade.
19	* CivilWar: Albeit the whole guild against Laxus's group. They're only forced to fight against one another due to Freed's runes.
20	* CreepyDoll: Bickslow has an army of them powered by souls.
21	* CurbStompBattle: Mirajane vs. Freed. Needless to say he finds out exactly ''why'' she was called the "Demon" and a former S-Class mage.
22	* DeathGlare: Evergreen and Bickslow both have ''literal'' ones. Evergreen's turns enemies into stone while Bickslow's can instantly kill them.
23	* DoubleAgent: Gajeel, though at first it's thought he was on Ivan's side. But at the end, turns out he's [[TheMole spying on him for Makarov]].
24	* EasilyForgiven: Quite jarringly, Laxus and the Thunder Legion are forgiven ''one day'' after trying to kill all the guild members, though Laxus still receives banishment for it with the Thunder Legion only spared presumably because he took the heat for them. Probably had to do with the fact that no one died anyways and Laxus couldn't kill anyone despite possessing a spell that would attack anyone he saw as an enemy.
25	* EnemyMine: Natsu and Gajeel against Laxus.
26	* TheExile: Laxus' ultimate punishment is being exiled by his guild.
27	* {{Fanservice}}: The Miss Fairy Tail contest at the beginning of the arc.
28	* FauxAffablyEvil: Laxus, Bickslow, and Evergreen are playful with their enemies while crushing them.
29	* HeelFaceTurn: Gajeel joins Fairy Tail in this arc, though he grudgingly admits he only joined at the behest of his fellow ex-Phantom Lord member, Juvia, and Makarov.
30	* HeroicSacrifice: When trapped in a rune of Freed's that meant to pit them against each other, Juvia sacrifices herself to help Cana escape. She gets better at the end.
31	* HolyHandGrenade: Laxus attempts Fairy Law at the climax of the arc, but it fails as in his heart he doesn't have it in him to kill anyone.
32	* HostageForMacGuffin: Laxus turns the female Fairy Tail members to stone and only agrees to change them back if Makarov surrenders his position of Guild Master to him. When they get rescued, he switches to using ''the whole town'' as a hostage.
33	* IHaveYourWife: After Erza beats her, Evergreen attempts to invoke this by threatening to kill the other girls unless Erza bows to her and begs for mercy. [[SubvertedTrope Erza immediately calls her bluff]].
34	* KillSat: After Erza forces Evergreen to change the girls back to normal. Laxus switches to this tactic by making a spell that will fry the whole town unless his demands are met.
35	* LoveMakesYouCrazy[=/=] LoveMakesYouEvil: Alzack immediately turns on his own friends when Bisca's life is on the line.
36	* ManlyTears: Makarov, Freed, and even ''Laxus'' have emotional moments in the arc.
37	* TheMole: Gajeel is really working as a spy for Makarov against Ivan while posing as Ivan's spy on Fairy Tale.
38	* MoodWhiplash: First we have the light-hearted, fanservicey Miss Fairy Tail contest. Then Evergreen steps in...
39	* ShoutOut:
40	** During the fight with Lucy, Bickslow switches body of his spirits to toys who resemble characters from ''Manga/MonsterSoul'', a previous manga of Mashima.
41	** Young Laxus is dressed in the same outfit as [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Billy Batson]].
42	* SmugSnake: The Thunder Legion is full of overconfident Darwinists.
43	* TheSocialDarwinist: The Thunder Legion think that only the strong can survive. None are more surprised than Laxus himself when he realizes that deep down he's not much of one after all.
44	* TakenForGranite: One of Evergreen's powers, which can turn anyone who looks into her eyes without her glasses to stone.
45	* TokenGoodTeammate: Freed to the Raijinshuu, especially after his fight with Mirajane. He breaks down in tears after he's defeated, admitting he didn't want to go along with Laxus's plan.
46	* TomatoSurprise: Laxus's magic is Dragon Slayer related (albeit artificial).
47	* TraitorShot:
48	** Gajeel has one when Raven Tail guild leader Ivan Dreyar contacts him through a shikigami, and thanks Gajeel for spying on Fairy Tail guild for him.
49	** Gajeel gives Makarov a letter detailing the location of his son Ivan, revealing him to be a DoubleAgent.
50	* UsedToBeASweetKid: Laxus is shown to have idolized his grandfather back when he was a child.
51	* WellIntentionedExtremist: According to the Thunder Legion, they started this civil war to make their guild stronger and redeem their good name. However, they were okay with brutal fights to the death between its own guild members in doing so.
52	* WorfHadTheFlu: Coincidentally, when the guild needs him the most, Makarov unexpectedly has a health problem and requires serious treatment while Laxus is destroying his guild.
53	* WorthyOpponent: Freed views all of his combatants this way.

Context Recap / FairyTailFightingFestivalArc