Elfman is a true man's man of Fairy Tail, the manliest of the guild. He's one of the many side characters in the guild that you wish got a little more screen time as his personality was so unique in the series, and his relationship with Evergreen felt very wholesome, never being shoved right in your face.
His powers were also cool if a bit too similar to his sister, Mirajane. He was always like a low intelligence barbarian from a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Unfortunately, there were more than a few things about him that didn't make a whole lot of sense.
10 Forgiving Thunder God Tribe So Quickly
When you consider how arrogant Evergreen was when they battled during the Battle of Fairy Tail arc and the fact that Freed nearly killed him in the same arc, it's hard to understand how Elfman forgave them. The redemption of all of them aside from maybe Laxus felt like a hand wave. Sure, the series is all about bonds and friendship, but it should take more than saying sorry to make up for nearly killing a guild member. He even ends up growing close to Evergreen as the series went on.
9 Beating Mirajane
During the S-class promotion trials, both Elfman and Evergreen ended up paired up against Mirajane. While looks would say otherwise, Mira is one of the stronger members in the guild and someone who should have handled both of them. Instead, they manage to punch her out after saying that they were engaged. It's a humorous moment and does show a bit of strategy, but it's kind of disappointing a character like Mira was beaten in such a way.
8 Taking Manliness Too Far
The reason behind his need to be a true man is well-founded and makes complete sense. He blames himself for what happened to Lisanna, deciding he'd always protect those close to him, no longer being that shy little kid any longer.
The problem is he takes it too far, acting as if all women need his protection just because he's a man and they aren't. It forces him to straddle an almost chauvinistic line that doesn't really make sense, given his character.
7 Recklessness
Outside of perhaps Natsu, no character rushes in as blindly or dumbly as Elfman does. He runs in and doesn't even worry about asking questions later, only about punching his foe in the face. The dumb oaf archetype isn't a bad one, and it fits given how his character looks, but it goes against his need to protect. How can you expect to keep people safe if your too busy just flinging yourself around like a giant meat shield?
6 Glutton For Punishment
Many Fairy Tail members have an insane amount of durability, always managing to get up from attacks that they shouldn't. Elfman is no exception as he's more often than not a punching bag that very ever actually wins fights. Even in one of the battles he won, he simply outlasted his foe. His battle with Bacchus was pretty one-sided, the drunken S-class mage proving to be on another level from Elfman until he used Beast Soul: Lizardman, letting him become so fortified that Bacchus wore himself out.
5 Crushing Seilah
It was a fitting ending to the fight as Elfman needed to get some form of revenge on Seilah for what she did to him at the start of the arc. It was nice to see Mira using her head to defeat the demon as well.
It was just strange that one punch, even one crashing down from the ceiling, was enough to end the fight. Considering how powerful Seilah was, it feels like a little more should have been needed to take her out. Still was rather satisfying to see, giving Elfman the redemption he needed.
4 How Quickly He Got Over Being Guilty
The guilt he felt over destroying the guild was heavy, and something Fairy Tail didn't often explore as it's always been a lighter anime. Unfortunately, he got over it pretty quickly, crying tears of joy by the start of the Alvarez Arc and quickly reverting to how he was. It's an issue the series as a whole has had, hand waving bad actions and moving past them without letting them have any lasting effects. At least the quickness the guild had accepting him made sense as he wasn't in his right mind at the time.
3 Beast Soul: Belcusas
The amount of beast souls that Elfman has in his arsenal seems endless, letting him turn into at least five different animals. That was all fine until he turned into Belcusas, a heavily armored and physically powerful creature that Rustyrose wished into existence during their fight in the Grimoire Heart conflict. Unlike the other souls, this wasn't an animal of any kind, in fact, it wasn't even real, just a creation of Rusty's imagination. Thankfully this was an anime-only transformation.
2 Beast Soul Stronger Than Mira's Strongest Satan Soul
Physically speaking, Elfman is bigger and stronger than Mira could ever hope to be, so in theory, his completed beast soul should be stronger. The issue with that is that Mira has far more practice and skill with Take Over magic than Elfman would ever hope to. It took him more than a few arcs to even complete the form while Mira was already honing her Satan Souls. Needless to say, it's a little jarring to see him capable of one-shotting an opponent that Mira struggled with.
1 His Physique Post Training
He's always been a bigger dude, relying on his physical strength above anything else. His look pre-training perfectly showed that, unfortunately, he came out looking absolutely cartoony post-training. His anatomy looked like something out of One Piece, which in that setting works, but felt out of place in Fairy Tail. His upper body mass in comparison with his lower body made it difficult to believe he could even more around without toppling over, like a bodybuilder who never did leg day.