English Dub Movie Review: “Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry”

Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry arrives as the second film set in the Fairy Tail universe. Kingdom of Stell’s Minister of State, Zash Caine, is a black magic practitioner. Cain steals the Dragon Cry, a powerful staff from the Kingdom of Fiore. As such, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Ezra, Wendy, Carla, and Gray get enlisted in helping to return the Dragon Cry to Fiore.

Initially, the plan to retrieve the Dragon Cry appears to proceed charmingly. Lucy distracts Zash, and meanwhile, Natsu steals the Dragon Cry. Unfortunately, Natsu trips an alarm. As a result, Natsu and his Fairy Tail pals are captured. Escaping from his cell, Natsu frees his comrades and saves Lucy moments before she’s used for a blood sacrifice. During their escape, Natsu et. al meet Sonya who aids them in their escape and mentions a mysterious King Animus. Plus, she explains that while Zashwishes to use the Dragon Cry to destroy Fiore, Animus wants to save Stella. But there’s more to this story than meets the eye.

From the onset, Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry is pretty high energy. This benefits the story, as it’s strong and engaging from the start. It does feel as though Dragon Cry relies on past lore. Not so much that I’d recommend the uninitiated viewer avoid it, but definitely be aware of this and read up on the universe. There’s a pleasant chemistry between the Fairy Tail heroes. I enjoyed the way Dragon Cry clearly depicted each character in their abilities as well as personality. The Fairy Tail camp gets set up really well, with defined roles.

Additionally, there’s a pretty solid twist in the third act. This came as a pleasant surprise, and one I didn’t predict. The animation is quite beautiful for the most part. E; electric, almost 80s Technicolor tones permeate certain scenes making the scenery pop. However, the music is lacking, and almost non-existent. The beginning scene is a bit muddled with a few strange cuts. Yet where Dragon Cry really stumbles is its overreliance on fan service. Although the Shonen genre often includes fan service, there’s usually a bit of it. Moreover, there’s often a point. Here, fan service runs wild and it gets pretty creepy. Notably, a few scenes with Zash are uncomfortably rapey and could have easily been done without.

Though I enjoyed several aspects, “Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry” seems to try too hard to be edgy and infuse unnecessary fan service. The animation is pleasing though, and what little of the soundtrack exists is on point. If you’re a Fairy Tail fan you might enjoy this one, but even Dragon Cry isn’t too faithful to canon. Wendy gets far too little screen time, and Ezra is hyper-sexualized. Gajeel doesn’t get much time to shine. Ultimately, it’s a bit uneven, and a film I’d recommend only for die-hard Fairy Tail fans.