A "Fairy" Nice Surprise! A "Fairy Tail" & 2 "Castle" Stories!

I love days like this! Days where I can just relax and let loose the "anime-niac" within me! This entire day has been very "anime-ted," in spite of the fact that I woke up after 7 a.m. I decided to give "Ah! My Buddha!" one more chance before returning it to Netflix. It's not my cup of tea. Then I was wondering what to do next and realized that I had not watched-had not even opened-Volume 4 of "Fairy Tail!" Across the Fiore kingdom, great wizards join guilds and make their pay by filling magical needs - but there's one guild with a reputation as the roughest, rowdiest, most dangerous of all: Fairy Tail! Forced to face her demons at the Tower of Heaven, Erza is in real danger of becoming a live sacrifice in Jellal's demented plan - which spells disaster for Fairy Tail's strongest team! As the Council prepares to wipe out the island with the Etherion beam, Erza's allies endure a heart wrenching battle to get her back! Big surprises await the comrades as they return for Magnolia's annual Harvest Festival. But the celebrations are cut short when Master Makarov's grandson hotwires a contest to determine who's the fiercest wizard in a supercharged scheme to take over the guild! I think I have forgotten the chain of events that preceded the episodes on this disc. I guess I'll have to go back and watch the first 3 volumes of "Fairy Tail!" Some of the characters had me thinking "Who are you and where did you come from?" There was one sad moment for me--the moment when Erza sacrificed herself to save the others. The anime won't be the same without her!!!!!! The question is: Is Erza really dead, or is something big about to happen? I'm not saying one way or the other, but I find it hard to believe that a central character like Erza would be killed off completely! At any rate, I hope that Funimation decides to release the rest of the series in America. In the meantime, I think I'll finish off today's marathon with a few more of Hayao Miyazaki's movies! After all, January is his birth month (and mine!) What better way to pay homage to such a brilliant director than to watch some of his best movies! (Even though I've already watched and blogged about them on several occasions!) I'm concluding today's anime marathon with "Castle In The Sky" and "Howl's Moving Castle!" HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, MR. MIYAZKI! MAY YOU CONTINUE TO REIGN OVER THE ANIME WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Fairy Tail' Is A Dream Come True....So Far!

I spent most of yesterday watching Funimation's "Fairy Tail."  I only own the first 2 discs of the series, but at least 2 more volumes have already been released or slated for release.  I first learned of this show via the Funimation Channel (which was recently removed from the Verizon FiOS channel lineup! Damn!), and it piqued my interest enough for me to add it to my Wish List!  Hubby Christopher Wanamaker found the DVD/Blu Ray combo sets at Katsucon 2012!  (Thanks, Boo!)
"Fairy Tail"  follows the adventures of the celestial wizard Lucy Heartfilia after she joins Fairy Tail: "a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless legends have been born; a guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future" and partners with Natsu Dragneel, who is searching for the dragon Igneel.  Natsu aka "Salamander," is a Fairy Tail wizard and easily recognizable by his pink hair.  Natsu is the main male protagonist of the series.
Though to date, I've only watched 24 out of 124 episodes, I already find it to be highly interesting and entertaining.  I will admit, however, that it does focus quite a bit on fighting.  I have no problem with that, as it develops the storyline.  I did find one slightly annoying character--Happy, Natsu's blue feline partner. However, Happy also provided some comic relief, so that provided a balance to the annoying side of his personality.  Another character worthy of notice was Erza Scarlet, a  19-year-old S-Class wizard, who is usually tasked with performing extremely dangerous missions, and considered by many to be the most powerful female member of the guildcommon sense.  Scarlet was a little bossy, but still not a character to be hated.
I know that at least one more DVD of the series has been released, and I plan to get it when I attend Otakon this summer.  In the meantime, I can keep myself occupied by watching "Witch Hunter Robin," another title that was purchased for me at Katsucon!!!!!!!!!!!!