One of the few actual mages of Fairy Tail (instead of Magic Knights like nearly everyone else), Levy McGarden is low-key both one of the best women and most popular characters in Fairy Tail.

RELATED: Fairy Tail: 10 Facts You Didn't Know About Happy

Introduced at the very beginning of the series, she’s known for her incredible knowledge of the magic world, as well as her Solid Script magic, a type of Letter Magic which makes her one of the most diverse sorcerers in the group. (Also, she’s got the closest thing to a legitimate relationship in the series between her and Gajeel.) Here we’re going in-depth, covering everything from her origins with Fairy Tail to some of her adventures with the rest of the guild.

10 MEANT TO BE A BACKGROUND CHARACTER

Levy McGarden background

Levy is in that weird space of nowhere near enough focus to be a primary character, but way too much to be a nobody. Originally, this wasn’t Hiro Mashima’s intention. During an interview in Fairy Tail vol. 27, it was pointed out that Levy was only ever supposed to be a back up character. What changed his mind? Probably, as it was pointed out in vol. 32’s afterword, the fact that Levy’s popularity defied his expectations by far. Soon she wound up involved in major plot lines and even got her own love interest.

9 OFTEN LEFT WITH THE PAPERWORK

Fairy Tail for the most part consists of a group of knuckleheads who are more busy busting heads or getting into fights with one another to actually care much about the finer details. This means things like that tend to fall in Levy’s lap. The most obvious instance of this was after Fairy Tail had reformed after being disbanded by the leader of the guild, Makarov. For the group to operate legally, someone had to do the paperwork to register them...and of course it’s left to the woman who’s spells involve writing.

8 MEMBER OF SHADOW GEAR

This would normally be considered common knowledge, but honestly it wouldn’t be surprising if only hardcore fans even knew what Shadow Gear was. When she was first introduced, she was part of a three-man group that included Jet and Droy, one of Fairy Tail’s oldest quest groups. However, mid-way through the series the idea of three-man groups sort of fell apart, as missions required all major cast members on deck to defeat the arc villain.

7 SWALLOWED BY A GIANT FISH

During the Grand Magic Games, Levy comes up with an idea to briefly relax at Ryuzetsu Land, a major resort. While there, she, along with Happy and Carla, volunteer to help feed the fish.

RELATED: Fairy Tail: 10 Things Only True Fans Know About Mavis Vermillion

It doesn’t go so well, as Happy winds up feeding the fish too much and summoning some giant, less friendly fish to the area. One particularly large fish winds up swallowing them all whole. By the end of this adventure, Natsu winds up destroying the entire park. Sometimes you can’t take your friends nice places.

6 ATTENDED FAIRY ACADEMY

Another little cute side story involved an alternate universe version of all the Fairy Tail members instead being placed inside of a high school setting in the modern era. In that world, Levy is still friends with Jet and Droy, getting into the usual shenanigans seen in a slice of lice series, like getting chucked around by Aquarius for not trying hard enough in swimming class. In the end, this side story sees Juvia and Gajeel begin going to Fairy Academy after Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Aquarius shut down a related Academy who keeps challenging the Fairies. Some things simply don’t change, no matter the era.

5 CAN CAST MAGIC WITH HER FEET

Easily the weirdest “upgrade” anyone got coming out of the time skip from Fairy Tail being split and their reuniting one year later for the last arc. Levy’s magical powers were based around Solid Script magic, a version of Letter Magic that allowed her to generate things written with her fingers. But by the time we get to the last year of the series, Levy’s gone from only being able to write letters with her arms to being capable of doing so with her feet. Even tying her up is useless.

4 INVOLVED IN A LOVE SQUARE

Gajeel Levy

...Or whatever it’s called when three different guys are crushing on ya. Unsurprisingly, Levy is the only lady in Shadow Gear, and she was also hit on by both Jet and Droy. The two of them seem to still carry a torch for her, but this never really goes far.

RELATED: Fairy Tail: 10 Facts Only True Fans Know About Juvia Lockser

On the flipside, the rather questionable romance of Levy and Gajeel started with Gajeel wanting to make up for beating her (and Shadow Gear) up during his time in Phantom Lord, and bloomed into something real by the Tartaros arc, with him confessing before he “died” that all he wanted to do was be with her. This while Lucy constantly gets curved whenever she tries to use her sex appeal. What can we say? Nerdy girls stay winning.

3 HER ROOM IS A LIBRARY

There’s a side story chapter of the manga (which became an anime episode) called “Welcome to Fairy Hills”. The story actually focuses on Lucy, but in the episode she visits Fairy Hills, where the majority of the women in Fairy Tail live. This episode shows us a glimpse at the rooms of several of the women in Fairy Tail, and when we get to Levy’s room it’s literally a library packed with books. Even more impressive? Levy’s read all of them.

2 CAN READ FASTER THAN ANYONE ELSE

Of course, it helps when you’re cheating. Levy owns a pair of magic reading glasses known as the “Gale Force Reading Glasses”. Not only are they fashionable, but they appear to be a pretty powerful set of magic glasses, as they allow Levy to read and process information at a rapid rate exceeding anything she could do normally. They can increase her reading speed anywhere from two to 120 times, helping when she has to decode a language or break down an enemy’s powerful barrier magic.

1 THE HEART OF FAIRY TAIL

Of course, Fairy Tail is near and dear to the heart of many members in the group. However, while Levy isn’t focused on like Natsu or Lucy or even Erza, her devotion to the guild isn’t in question. She managed to get over what Gajeel did to Shadow Gear once he joined the group and proved he was loyal. She helped reform the guild after it was disbanded. And when they were divided on Tenrou Island, she was the one who called them together in the hopes they could stand and fight Grimoire Heart.

NEXT: Fairy Tail: 10 Things You Never Knew About Laxus