The wizards of Fairy Tail are rumbling back to the big screen in their second full-length feature film! Natsu is known as the one and only fire-breathing Dragon Slayer, but this next adventure will take him to the next level. Luckily, he still has his trusty team by his side: Happy, a flying cat; Gray, an ice mage; Erza, a knight who switches armor and abilities mid-battle; and Lucy, a wizard who fights with a set of celestial spirits.

When these Fairy Tail members first joined forces, they formed a team no one could topple. But this next mission could be their last.

Enter the Dragon Cry, a magic staff rumored to possess the power to destroy the world. For years it’s been safely guarded in the Kingdom of Fiore until Zash, a traitor of Fiore, steals it and delivers it to Animus in the Kingdom of Stella. Now it’s up to the gang to infiltrate the Stella Kingdom and retrieve the staff. It seems like it should be an easy job, but what they uncover isn’t what they expected.

Warning, if you have not caught up on the last season of the anime or are not up to date on the manga, spoilers ahead.

Review

Fairy Tail Dragon Cry fits in right in between the final two arcs of Fairy Tail. The group is back again on another mission to retreve a stole staff called the Dragon Cry. The staff was formed from the magic adsorbed from the sorrow and rage of dragons who were killed in the grave yard we found during the grand magic games. Of course there is a bigger threat behind the theft of the staff and that outlines the plot of the film.

The format feels less like a movie and more like an extended episode of the anime. The formula is pretty simple. The team gets back together to go on a mission from the king and per usual Natsu screws something up. There are a few things that felt a little off versus where we left everything in the anime and last arc of the manga. First, Natsu and Lucy are getting very close. I mean this should have happen a long time ago but there is a weird tension that lingers. You are not sure if its Natsu who is unsure or Lucy. I am behind on the manga so this may be happening at this this point in the story (Between Avatar and Alvarez Arcs). The pace of the film is very quick, which leaves little room for world building or side banter. We start the film hitting the ground running and use flashbacks to learn how they got to their current situation.

The lack of any serious Gray and Natsu fights was also a glaring gap in the film that would have made us feel more at home. We also get to see a full human transformation of Carla. I don’t think we ever saw that in the anime, but I might be wrong. A ‘red’ happy was also another funny little side note to Fairy Tail Dragon Cry. It is clear from the group and the story that we are nearing the end of the series. The animation is everything you would expect from this studio and was well done as always. The shiny gloss look on everyones skin is a bit much.

The battle scenes are epic though. Now this is where we really hit spoiler territory. Natsu, in the midst of his fight with the Dragon half transforms into a dragon himself. Now this is something the poster for the film teased but what the Dragon says reinforces something only Zeref knew at the end of the previous arc. Natsu is the destroyer of all, not just dragons. He is E.N.D. Now the dragon is cut off before he can finish saying it but it was said.

Then there is the cut scene after the credits. Remember folks, never leave until after the credits. If you want to know what that cut scene is, well go get yourself a ticket and go see the film. Whether you look at this like an extended episode or a move, its Fairy Tail. It feels like and does justice to Fairy Tail all around. Its a welcome intermission before all hell breaks loose in the final arc of the series. If you have not heard already, it was announced back at the end of July that a final anime season was happening. It will be 2018 before we see it.

We give Fairy Tail Dragon Cry a 4.5/5. You can pickup tickets by visiting FunimationFilms.com. Subbed version is in theaters August 14th. English dubbed version will be in theaters August 16th and 19th.

And why not finish with a photo gallery from Fairy Tail Dragon Cry.