***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Fairy Gone. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
During the War of Unification, all sides gave their best fighters the ability to summon powerful fairies. With the conflict now ten years removed, the world has been ruled under one banner, and fairy-based technologies are strictly controlled.
To maintain peace and order, the government relies on the skills and expertise of the Dorothea – a collection of elite former Fairy Soldiers.
The agents of Dorothea hunt down potentially dangerous mystical artifacts, as well as apprehend rogue Fairy Soldiers who have turned to lives of crime and violence; many of whom used to be close comrades.
Although the fighting may be over, there are still many who believe the war is not. At any moment, open hostilities can once again plunge the world back into the fires of despair.
Series Positives
I’m not sure where or how to start.
In the most poignant way I can express it, Fairy Gone was terrible. I mean, my god, this show was a drag, and, at times, painfully dull. In my head while writing this review, I had to keep telling myself:
“Put your thoughts down now and put them down fast.”
As you are reading this post, know that this series has already long faded into obscurity within my memory. Unfortunately, for me, assuming the “To Be Continued” seen at the end of episode twelve is true, I am going to need to recall this story upon the release of season two. Here’s me hoping I’m dealing with an overinflated ego since I won’t remember anything about this show in a week’s worth of time, let alone a few months.
And I say “a few months” because it would appear Fairy Gone 2nd Season will be airing during the up and coming (as of this review going live) 2019 fall season.
Now, call me optimistically foolish if you wish, but I do sincerely hope a second Fairy Gone chapter achieves something akin to entertaining; heaven knows the first didn’t. That said, looking back on season one, perhaps I’m giving this series far too much credit. For you see, there really was no element from this installment for a continuation to build on top of.
If Fairy Gone wasn’t being a confusing, over-bloated mess of a narrative, it, instead, settled for being the anime adaptation of the word “bland.”
However, to give credit where credit is due, at least Fairy Gone had a decent soundtrack. And by “decent,” I mean, well I’ll be, this show sounded pretty damn good. The problem, though, music is no replacement for a story, and that only becomes more obvious when said music is significantly more epic than the action it is accompanying.
Also, to drive the point home even deeper, Fairy Gone had the misfortune of running at the same time as Attack on Titan Season 3 – Part 2. Disregarding the fact I happened to watch Attack on Titan immediately prior to Fairy Gone, the co-airing of these two series just illuminates how far this show was from being anything special.
Trust me, Fairy Gone did plenty on its own to be forgettable, but when put to the comparison, this is simply a case of pouring salt into a self-inflicted wound.
Series Negatives
If I didn’t know where to start before, you better believe I am utterly lost now.
I understand if you think I’ve been overly harsh on Fairy Gone. After all, that Series Positives section didn’t have a whole lot of positivity to it.
Although it is true, I didn’t like this show – as in, not in the slightest – I didn’t despise it. Fairy Gone didn’t make me angry or turn me annoyed. Granted, I was neither of those things probably because I didn’t have a damn clue what was going on ever. For you see, there is a huge difference between having lore and building lore.
The former requires the latter, and that was Fairy Gone’s critical mistake. This was nothing but an endless info dump of establishment. Grab a pen and paper, because you’re going to need to remember countries, former countries, leaders, titles, governmental departments, resistance movements, fantasy creatures, legendary weapons, soldier classifications, and even a narrative specific calendar.
Before I get ahead of myself, of course, a story can have all those things. They take time to establish, sure. But once done, you find yourself with a living, breathing universe. Some of the strongest fandoms exist because their franchises are rich in detail and specifics.
Just to name a few:
- Dragon Ball
- Detective Conan
- Fairy Tail
- Naruto
- One Piece (a series I haven’t seen, so if I am off the mark, tell me in the comments)
But can you see the commonality between those series? Each of them is, at minimum, 200-plus episodes long, and some are still going. On top of that, every example given is – or was – an adaptation of an equally extensive source story.
Can an anime be less than 200 episodes and still claim to have lore? Absolutely, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood had sixty-four episodes, and I would say its world was pretty well fleshed out. And what of original concepts not based off a manga, light novel, video game, or etc.? Are they excluded from being able to have lore? That would be a ridiculous claim given we live in a world where Neon Genesis Evangelion exists – a series with both a twenty-six episode anime, as well as several films.
Now, compare all those to Fairy Gone. Here we have an original anime with only a single twelve-episode season to its name thus far. Yeah, a continuation may be on its way, but holy hell, does that mean there will be even more stuff this series is going to try to jam down our throats?
I don’t know who any of the Fairy Gone characters were, and that is why I haven’t mentioned any of them. I haven’t a clue what the purpose of this story was, which is why the Series Synopsis section was so barebones. I am unable to tell you the significance of where the season ended, and for that reason, I can’t wonder where a continuation can possibly go.
That said, I will be right here to find out regardless. And if you want to see me really test fate:
Things can’t sink any lower, can they?
Final Thoughts
What did I watch again?
I’m only slightly being sarcastic because I’m actually not one-hundred-percent sure what it is I saw.
There were images on a screen. Characters talked and did stuff. There were several miserable attempts at CGI animation. There was a ton of information thrown at me, but in a very long-drawn-history-lecture sort of way; thus, it was in one ear and out the other immediately.
And yet for some reason, I might end up buying the series’ soundtrack.
If there is a part two, it will be starting from nothing.
Fairy Gone is a show you can easily skip.
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I’m LofZOdyssey, and I will see you next time.
