Fairy Tail's story mainly focuses on the adventures of the Fairy Tail Guild and its members, hence the name, and many of the series' strongest and best characters belong to that guild, such as Natsu and Lucy, the swordswoman Erza Scarlet, and others. But there are plenty of compelling Fairy Tail characters in other guilds, or independent characters.
Fairy Tail is just one of many guilds on the continent of Ishgar, and rival guilds such as the Sabertooth guild, Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale and others have powerful and likable members in them, too. Yet other likable Fairy Tail characters actually don't belong to a guild at all, in fact. In no particular order, who are ten of the most likable characters outside of the Fairy Tail Guild?
10 Igneel Is Natsu's Beloved Dragon Father
Igneel is a fire dragon, and he helped raise Natsu Dragneel all by himself, to the point where Natsu thought that this dragon was his actual father. Igneel went missing, and what Natsu didn't know is that Igneel was hidden inside of him, waiting to return.
Igneel made his promised return late in the Tartaros story arc, when he helped Natsu fight the mighty dragon Acnologia. The entire time, Igneel was a brave and loyal dragon, and indeed Igneel felt more human than half of the human cast in the story.
9 Jura Neekis Is A Wise Monk
At first, Jura Neekis was hostile to the Fairy Tail Guild, but he later became an ally of theirs, lending them his immense earth-based magical power. Jura is also one of the Ten Wizard Saints, and he helped reform the Magic Council after its destruction.
Jura is a wise, smart and confident person who can easily impress viewers with not just his magic, but his strength of spirit as well. He has unshakable faith in himself, tough like a rock, and he is humble about his own power. He's not the type to boast excessively, unlike some other mighty anime characters.
8 Jellal Fernandez Vowed To Atone For His Crimes
When he first appeared in the Tower of Heaven story arc, Jellal Fernandez was a villain, and he had a history with Erza. Jellal even deceived the Magic Council with his "Siegrain" disguise and nearly destroyed the world. But he was defeated, and he had time to reflect on all this.
Jellal deeply regretted what he had done, and he returned to becoming the noble hero he had once been in his boyhood. Jellal has a compelling and heartfelt relationship with Erza, even if they can't be together for very long, and he formed the Crime Sorciere guild to take down dark guilds. That definitely earned him some points in viewers' eyes.
7 Yukino Agria Is Lucy's Celestial Friend
Yukino Agria belongs to the Sabertooth Guild, and for a time, this made her Lucy Heartfilia's enemy. In the long run, though, Yukino is a vital ally of Lucy's, since she is a kind girl who doesn't subscribe to Jiemma Orland's cruel philosophy of strength and aggression. She is also a Celestial wizard, just like Lucy.
Yukino was gracious enough to perform a Unison Raid with Lucy when the time was right, and she assisted the Fairy Tail Guild on many other occasions too, even if it was at Sabertooth's expense. Yukino quickly proved herself a noble and gentle hero in the eyes of Fairy Tail and viewers alike.
6 Sting Eucliffe Values Honor & Friendship
Like Yukino, Sting Eucliffe was once Fairy Tail's enemy, since he belongs to the vicious Sabertooth Guild. At first, Sting and his partner Rogue Cheney were typical Sabertooth thugs, but they soon turned on their cruel master Jiemma, especially after the latter seemingly killed Sting's cat partner, Lector.
Sting was outraged, and he stood up to his guild master in defense of his cat. Sting and Rogue also fought and narrowly lost to Natsu and Gajeel, then became allies to them and the Fairy Tail Guild later on. Sting is still a bit rough, but he is a loyal wizard who values his friends greatly, which makes him fairly likable.
5 Brandish Mu Is Too Cool To Not Like
Although Brandish Mu isn't as sympathetic as characters like Yukino or even Sting, she is still a compelling scene-stealer with remarkable magic. Brandish belonged to the Spriggan 12 organization, but she wasn't exactly dedicated to Zeref Dragneel's cause.
Brandish simply acted on her own accord, and she eventually formed a cease-fire with Fairy Tail. She is also likable for her easygoing personality and remarkable size-altering powers, and she became an even greater friend to Fairy Tail in the Hundred-Years Quest manga series.
4 Lyon Vastia Is Cool Like Ice
Lyon Vastia is another likable Fairy Tail character who started off as a villain before becoming a hero, thanks to having a change of heart. Lyon once trained in ice magic alongside Gray Fullbuster, and he is nearly as powerful as Gray is. He eventually joined the Lamia Scale Guild, and took part in the Grand Magic Games.
Lyon nurses an amusing crush on Juvia Lockser, forming a love triangle between them and Gray, and Lyon has a confident and cool personality that makes him fairly easy to like, though he can get carried away at times.
3 Millianna Is A Charming Cat Girl
An energetic cat girl is one of the most distinct anime tropes, and Fairy Tail's resident cat girl is Millianna, who shares a tragic backstory with Jellal and Erza. At first, Millianna was a minor villain who worked for Jellal, but that soon changed. She was never a bad person; she was just misguided and was being used.
Millianna later joined the Mermaid Heel Guild, and she has become an ally of Fairy Tail, complete with a friendship to Erza Scarlet in particular. Millianna is outgoing and fun-loving, but she is also a loyal and dutiful melee wizard. All this makes her quite compelling.
2 Eve Tearm Is A Smart & Polite Boy
Eve Tearm is part of a squad with Ren and Hibiki in the Blue Pegasus Guild, and among them, he is the easiest to like. Eve is a charming and polite boy who is quite smart, to the point where he is considering switching to a more intellect-based fighting style.
Eve is a fairly innocent and highly respectable kid, though he does fancy himself a womanizer, just like the other members of his squad. That might get tiresome after a point, but it doesn't do much to diminish Eve's overall charm.
1 Sherria Blendy Is Wendy's Good Friend
Sherria Blendy is the cousin of Sherry Blendy, and she belongs to the Lamia Scale Guild, along with Lyon. Sherria fought Wendy Marvell in the Grand Magic Games tournament, and both girls were highly respectful and friendly to each other.
Sherria is Wendy's good friend, and they had fun together in the Lamia Scale Guild during the year where Fairy Tail was inactive. They even performed as pop idols together at one point, and fought side by side against Dimaria Yesta of the Spriggan 12. She's a good kid, and it's easy to like her.