This might be why people are slowly forgetting about it.
Summary:
- Fairy Tail was liked for being a light-spirited fantasy adventure.
- The over-reliance on the power of friendship and constant lack of danger for the protagonists made many fans drop the series.
- A lot of people grew up, and their tastes changed, so they stopped following Fairy Tail.
Fairy Tail was quite popular in the late 00s and early 10s. It combined the battle shounen genre with a light-hearted, fanservice-filled fantasy adventure formula — which seemed to work for a while.
By now, however, it seems that no one cares about the series anymore. Many fans speculate that’s because the series didn’t age very well.
It was fun when we watched it back then
Fairy Tail was definitely a hit during its time. When it initially aired, it was very different from long-runners like Bleach and Naruto, which were way more serious. In Fairy Tail, the stakes are noticeably lower. Most of the time, the characters aren’t in real danger, which you realize pretty early in the series.
This isn’t a bad thing per se. Despite the low stakes, Fairy Tail emphasizes teamwork and friendship — something many otaku would definitely like. A sense of adventure is also captured in the anime very well, and these things were what made it popular originally.
Fairy Tail got way too repetitive
However, these things were also ultimately what made people tired of the series. While they weren’t new even in 2009, when the anime originally aired, they still were decently entertaining. Fairy Tail was very repetitive during its run, and viewers got bored by these tropes.
By the time the final season aired, not many people were watching the anime. Not only did its over-reliance on the power of friendship and plot armor get stale, but the general format of long runners seems to have died out around that time.
Yes, One Piece is still airing, but Fairy Tail hardly could compete with it in popularity — and things like Boruto or Black Clover are far less popular.
Too much time passed between the beginning and the finale
The huge break between seasons two and three of Fairy Tail didn’t do it any favors either. The time between the start of the first season of the anime and the last episode of the final season is ten years.
During that time, many people grew out of the series or out of anime in general. Tastes change, and it seems that Fairy Tail was very much a product of its time.
It can also be seen when we look at Edens Zero — Hiro Mashima’s other manga (and its anime adaptation). It is jokingly called “Fairy Tail in space” due to similar characters and structure, and it hardly got any traction.
The sequel to Fairy Tail, 100 Years Quest, also got announced, and this announcement also didn’t get much hype. The original anime was fun while it lasted, but perhaps it’s time to leave it in the past.