Fairy Tail's "Grand Magic Games" arc is a magnification of the show's weak and strong points. Support characters get moments to shine while every leading character enjoys decisive battles highlighting their power and the Guild's dominance. Unfortunately, while the excitement is high, there are also multitudes of new people introduced who quickly fall into the background, as well as lackluster fights and conclusions that hold the arc back from perfection.
With a broad cast mainly concentrating on Natsu, Lucy, Grey and Erza, it is refreshing to see strong showings from Elfman, Wendy and especially Laxus. Laxus thrives during the tournament as he clashes with tremendous forces that would enable him to show his true strengths. When his fight against Alexai turned into a five-on-one scramble, Laxus flexed his integrity and power in one of the arc's most memorable battles.
The Weak Dreyer and His Lackluster Misfits
An inevitable showdown between Laxus and his father's Guild, Raven Tail, brought heavy expectations that led to tremendous payoffs or ramifications. Laxus' strength had been shown numerous times and always impressed the surrounding cast. Therefore, he deserved a distinctly unforgettable bout to cement his role.
Raven Tail had been present in the story for over a hundred chapters as an unseen, unique Dark Guild that wasn't part of the Balam Alliance. As a proper, unallied Dark Guild, Ravan Tail could flesh out Fairy Tail's world by including multiple independently-motivated antagonists. Unfortunately, while Raven Tail acted as a solid thorn in Fairy Tail's side throughout the first portion of the Games, their designs were forgettable and their roles were mostly lackluster.
While most members looked and acted like complete pushovers, Flare Corona stood out, eventually following the common heel-to-face turn trope Fairy Tail loves to lean on. Ivan Dreyer was the greatest disappointment, as he failed to represent his lineage. Laxus and Makarov were impressively renowned wizards who continued to impact that world, while Ivan was a one-note simpleton quickly dispatched by his son.
Previous Dark Guild masters left powerful impressions and required drastic measures to overcome. With graceful ease, Laxus dismantled Raven Tail, rendering Ivan a whiny waste of time. By not living up to the Dreyer family, Ivan felt like a wasted opportunity. His Guild also felt like a fizzled storyline, as the payoff for their build-up was lackluster.
Fairy Tail's S-Class Wizards Are Built Different
While Ivan and Raven Tail fell short, Laxus shone gloriously during this fight. In a ridiculous display of power, Laxus reestablished Fairy Tail as a top-notch fighting force. Rendering an entire guild powerless and pitiful is a rare feat.
Thinking he got the drop on Laxus, Ivan and Raven Tail launched an assault to force Laxus into revealing guild secrets. Raven Tail was designed explicitly as an anti-Fairy Tail group, showing this to be semi-true as they stole victories from Lucy and Gray earlier in the Games. Nonetheless, each member fell swiftly to Laxus's unlimited speed and strength.
While he may have seemed like an occasional numskull, Laxus's intelligence shone, as he wasted no time eliminating Obra, who could lock his magic abilities. He then disposed of Nullpudding, Flare and Kurohebi in concise order. Then, hardly breaking a sweat, Laxus shocked his father before disposing of him with one lightning-empowered punch.
This fight displayed the ridiculous power of S-Class wizards hailing from Fairy Tail. Erza's epic victory over 100 monsters was a glorious display of power, but destroying a whole guild single-handedly displayed awareness and control that rivaled the strongest wizards in the world. Laxus not only helped put Fairy Tail back on the map, but he also made them admirable again.
Raven Tail's build-up gave the impression they would helm an arc as a proper antagonistic guild for Fairy Tail, pushing Ivan Dreyer to the levels of Hades and Zero. Instead, Laxus's fight tied up a strange story thread that got lost in the mix of a much larger tale, with his display of wizardly skills and battle intelligence being the only good high point. Lackluster elements of Raven Tail disappeared in the wind when opposed by the light of Laxus's glory.