Book Review: Fairy Tail Vol. 2 by Hiro Mashima

Fairy Tail Volume 2 by Hiro Mashima

The mystery of Everlue Mansion is wrapped up in the first half of this manga. The ending is sweet and satisfying, except for Lucy, who was expecting to get more out of the mission.

On returning to their guild hall, Fairy Tail, a big fight breaks out between Natsu and Gray. The fight expands into a bar room brawl involving most of the wizards at Fairy Tail. The fight is broken up by the arrival of Erza, a very powerful wizard. She uses Requip magic, that lets her switch weapons and armor instantly. She is highly feared by the other wizards (except the Master, of course). She asks Natsu and Gray to investigate something with her. Quaking in their boots, they agree, even though they are often at each other's throats. Lucy is persuaded to go along as a peacemaker. She is reluctant but excited.

The new job involves hunting down a dark guild, Eisenwald. Erza heard a rumor of some bad things they are planning to do and wants to stop them. The four are off on an adventure with Happy the talking (and flying) cat.

The plot is still the same as the anime series (which I've found on view.yahoo.com) with one or two small details or jokes that I either didn't remember or are new. The back of the book has some supplemental material explaining some of the jokes and cultural translations, as well as info about character names and the creative team behind the series. I am still watching the anime series and am debating if I should continue reading the manga. Will the stories diverge? Will I catch up? Is the supplemental material worth the time (the price is negligible since I'm getting my copies from the library)? I haven't figured out these answers yet, but will soon.