A fan blog dedicated to Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow from Fairy Tail. Together they make up Laxus' personal guards, the Raijinshuu! They may be a team devoted to Laxus, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve some love and appreaciation too! Celebrating Raijinshuu Day: October 8th It's recommended to view this blog on a computer to see the full theme and get access to additonal Raijin content.
Yo yo yo, you are a very cool blog for all our raijin needs and I appreciate you!
I just wanted to know if there were any cute chibi designs for the team and particularly laxus. I want to make a cute plushie just to have : 3 theres literally such limited merch that ima just make it
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that! 💖
And I get the feeling. I've also resorted to making my own merch for the team since I know they'll never get anything official at this point, and the only official merch they do have is a postcard or two and some playing cards.
As for chibi designs, the only chibi designs I can think of that feature the whole team are some Twitter Icons Mashima drew years ago;
Source: FT Twitter Icons 2014 | Wayback Machine
And I hate to say, but that's kind of it for matching chibis. I know there has been other Laxus chibi designs for pop-up merch drops and stuff, but none for the Raijinshuu all together.
I know this probably isn't exactly what you were looking for, but hopefully it helps!
This chapter was alright. It has it's issues, but since the Raijinshuu didn't show up I don't really have as much to say about it that's worth posting or reviewing like I did last week.😅
What is worth talking about though is the recent Mashima Space over on Twitter. Apparently Mashima revealed that Re:Fantasia is supposed to take place between GMGs and Tartaros... which, honestly? I'm not really a fan.
I feel like it would've been better to place it at the end of the original series/before the 100YQ. It feels weird going back to a time pre-Tartaros, especially with the characterization and timeline inconsistancies (like Mest being in the guild,) but maybe that's just me. It also feels strange when you consider it from the perspective of those who were stuck on Tenrou. For them, this would take place less than a year after the original BoFT. And while it techincally works, I think the guilt Laxus feels would be a lot more impactful if it's been actual YEARS from his POV since the guild got to celebrate a proper Harvest Festival /Fantasia. (Not counting the 7 year gap, obv.)
Mashima doesn't seem too worried about it since it's just a short festival serialization/mini-crossover with EZ. He also said he feels confident in the final chapter of Re:Fantasia. He's apparently doing something a bit different than usual, but it should still feel like classic Fairy Tail.
I'm going to keep an open mind each week as the chapters release, but I won't get my hopes up. For now, I'm just going to treat this like I do other FT spin-offs as semi-canon. That will probably change, but we'll see how it goes.
Going forward, I'm not going to post too much about Re:Fantasia here unless it does involve the Raijinshuu enough to talk about. Any other thoughts or critiques I have about it I might post over on my personal blog for those interested. Though, I'll still share my final take here when the last chapter wraps up.
Sources:
Re:FANTASIA Ch. 2 Official Release | KMANGA
Mashima's 8/4/26 Twitter Space | Translated Highlights
It's officially July 29th in Japan... which means it's finally time!
Re:FANTASIA HAS ARRIVED!
It is FREE right now on KManga (WSM's Official App!) So if you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend reading from the offical source.
The first chapter is titled: Words Aren't Enough.
My Non-Spoiler Review:
I quite enjoyed the first chapter. It sets the tone for the story nicely and it's fun getting to see everyone prepare for the Harvest Festival and Miss Fairy Tail Contest again. It's very nostalgic in a way, as well as a nice change of pace compared to the latter half of the OG series and what's currently happening in the 100YQ.
The Raijinshuu are included so far, which does make me quite happy. The extent of what role they will actually play in this story has yet to be seen. This is supposedly only going to be nine chapters long, and with such a short serialization, I won't hold my hopes too high for the Raijinshuu to play any major role in the story aside from supporting Laxus. Which I can live with honestly, as long as they stay involved in some way.
⚠️ SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT! ⚠️
Now, for my FULL thoughts on this chapter, spoilers and all:
I was slighly disappointed that Bickslow, Evergreen, and Freed don't seem as torn up as Laxus does regarding their actions in the Battle of Fairy Tail. But, at the same time, it makes sense. Obviously they still feel guilty, but Laxus is on a whole other level with the Thunder Palace and all. And, I can see the Raijinshuu putting their feeling aside to try and help Laxus feel better about the whole thing.
Which, is kind of shown in this chapter. They reach out to Laxus to enjoy the festival with them and that he should forget about what happened before. And when Natsu runs up making a joke about another fighting competiton, they all freak out knowing it's a sensitive spot for Laxus.
I also love the Raijinshuu's reactions in these panels. They can be so goofy sometimes, and I love it when it's done right.
But, based on how serious and concerned they look as Laxus walks off, it does give me hope that they might get to play some extent of an important role in the story. Especially when it comes to helping Laxus find closure, and maybe find closure for themselves too.
Now, the craziest reveal is that the villain of this story is ERASER from Edens Zero.
Personally, I love when Mashima includes characters from his other series, especially for a short story like this, but knowing the interenet... I just hope he doesn't get too much hate for 'reusing' characters again.
I have read EZ, but I honestly don't remember much about it. And I 100% forgot who this guy was, but luckiy other fans were able to recognize him fairly quickly. Not that I think the EZ counterpart will play a role on who his character is for this story. But, we'll see.
His magic is already crazy intimidating and it makes me excited to see how things will play out for Laxus and the others! (And keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn't end up erasing the Raijinshuu. I doubt it... but it's not impossible.)
Other then our new villain and the Raijinshuu's appearance so far, I don't have much thoughts regarding the first half of the chapter. Overall, I'm still super excited about it, and I can't wait to see what Mashima has in store!
With Re:Fantasia coming out at the end of July, I wanted to go ahead and share my own theory on what it will be about... and some of my personal hopes for this serializaion. I’d also love to hear what you guys think!
(This will be a combination of my thoughts from previous posts and discussions I've had on other platforms. I wanted to make it more cohesive and put it in one place that way I can revisit after the story is released to see how close or far off I really was lol. I’m actually really excited for this, so this post will be a bit long!)
First off, I believe this story will be around 10-15 chapters long. It could be more or less, depending on the story Mashima wants to tell, but I think it will be long enough for a single-volume printed release once completed. Or, at least, that's what I'm hoping for.
It’s already kinda been revealed, but this story is 100% going to be REvising the Harvest Festival/Fantasia Parade after all this time. (Hence the name Re:FANTASIA.) After the original BoFT, the guild never really got to celebrate Fantasia again. The seven year gap, Tartaros, Fairy Tail’s disbandment, Alvarez…. it has been YEARS since an official Fantaisa Parade has taken place. (Depending on when this story will take place, it's been about three years since the last Harvest Festival for those who where trapped on Tenrou, and almost TEN years for everyone else in the guild.)
Now that things have calmed down for Fairy Tail… they will finally get a chance to celebrate again.
Going off that, I think the story is going to center around Laxus’ (and hopefully the Raijinshuu’s) guilt about what they did years ago. How they tried to overthrow Fairy Tail… and everyone they hurt in the process. Not to mention how they ruined the last Harvest Festival Fairy Tail would have for years, as mentioned before. Laxus, Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow will probably still feel so guilty about it... they might not feel as though they deserve to participate.
Something will happen before the festival (whatever trouble Mashima has cooking up for the story) and it’ll be Laxus who steps up to defend the guild he once tried to destroy, highlighting his character growth now compared to the jerk he was back then. Kind of playing of the Re:FANTASIA name again, it might be like a re-do for Laxus. (And, again, I’m really REALLY hoping the Raijinshuu will play a bigger role in this story since they would naturally feel just as guilty as Laxus, back then and even now. This would be their chance to truly make up for what they did. It’s the perfect opportunity to let their story go full circle. To show how much they’ve grown since their introduction years ago. A way to show, not just Laxus’ growth as a character, but the Raijinshuu’s as well.)
I think the story will end with Laxus and the Raijinshuu finally getting to enjoy and participate in the Fantasia Parade. They finally find closure in their past mistakes and are able to move on.
I’m also hoping this will have some kind of foreshadowing or small hints towards Laxus being the next guild master. Maybe towards the end Makarov recognizes how much Laxus has changed over the years and he truly starts to consider him worthy enough to take up such a title. I think that would be the most fitting outcome for Laxus' character arc. Finally getting the title of guild master, but at a time where he has truly earned it instead of taking it by force.
(And I could totally see the Raijinshuu being like his advisors, so he wouldn't be running the guild alone. Though, by advisors, I mainly mean Freed. He would definitely be the most helpful, especially when it comes to writing apology letters or calculating guild expenses for the ineveitable property damage and repair bills lol.)
I know this will be a story mostly centered around Laxus, but I have seen people say it’ll focus on unexpected characters, plural, so I am seriously hoping it means the Raijinshuu too. My main wish is that Mashima treats the Raijinshuu as actual characters for this. That they also get some time to shine. And, I've mentioned this before, but I seriously hope that they don’t get the same terrible mis-characterization that they’ve been getting in the 100YQ.
There is more to their characters than just being blindly devoted to Laxus. And they deserve more than being treated as single-panel gags. Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow are Laxus' closest friends, an unbreakable team, and loyal members of Fairy Tail. That's why I hope they at least get treated as such. (Which somehow feels as if I’m asking a lot…)
I am super grateful Mashima is focusing on Laxus and that we are getting more Fairy Tail content at all, even 20 years later... but I will still criticize him as a writer if he somehow sidelines or even completely forgets about the Raijinshuu in a story like this.
Outside of the Raijinshuu, I’d also love to see maybe Ivan get involved or at least mentioned. We never saw him again after the Grand Magic Games and he has only been mentioned briefly in the 100YQ.
So much more could’ve been done with the Ivan / Raven Tail plot line, but it was mostly pushed aside. It would be interesting to see a little more be revealed from that if possible, or even just a bit more about the Dreyars in general, but I wouldn’t really be upset if that doesn't end up getting touched on for this. (I’m obviously much more invested on the Raijinshuu getting the attention they deserve than Ivan.) But that's just my thoughts on it.
But what do you guys think? How to you think the story will unfold? Anything you’re hoping to see included or touched on? Let me know!
It's Freed! I admittedly thought I wasn't gonna be able to draw him (in a manner I liked), especially since finding a reference pose was a tiny bit hard. I'm pleased with the result though!
The same goes for his blinkie-ified screenshots
(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑
I think I may just end up making PicMix's of every character I like-
(Also, thank you for the reblogs, if anyone from before sees this🙇🏻♀️)
[ Raijinshuu Archive / Official Art ]
A Raijinshuu doodle on the bottom on Mashima's grocery memo!
Source: Hiro Mashima's Twitter/X [06/22/17]
Fun Fact: This doodle is 9 years old today! Which... wow. Typing that out really drives home how long ago 2017 was... 😶
It's Evergreen! I wanted to draw the rest of the Thunder Legion but I figured I'll make individual themed posts of them. I find it a little more fun this way.
There's some blinkie gif-ified screenshots under the cut. ( and some doodles) ദ്ദി(˵•̀ ᴗ -˵)
I think the first ever fan art of a character I made that I was semi-satisfied with was Bickslow.. Evergreen has officially won the title of proper satisfaction- miraculously! (I never thought Id ever find the fulfillment I was looking for </3) 🪻🌿
I just wish these guys had more source material/info. My headcannon-ing game is akin to extra diluted apple juice..
It's Bickslow! I had the tiniest bit of a hard time making the blink-ified screenshots but once I got through the start I ended up pretty pleased!
As for the drawing..Every now and then I randomly remember how he has stellar balance and strength. I don't know why but I kinda imagine him being able to contort into odd poses for fun. So that's what I ended up with ( ; •̀ᴗ•́ )✧
(I'm oddly satisfied, it's nothing extraordinary but I idk ¯\(º_o)/¯)
I think I'll make more cute transparent png doodles of them in the future! Like stickers ˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗
No, Bickslow isn't in this chapter. Gif is relevant tho. Just something interesting I noticed in the latest 100YQ chapter that wanted to use as an excuse to ramble about Bickslow’s magic~!
For the record, I have not been reading the 100YQ. I do, however, skim the chapters when I learn Laxus or the Raijinshuu are involved in any way. Which is why I ended up skimming this latest chapter. I heard that Laxus was in it and wanted to see what he was up to... And lo and behold...
He somehow ends up getting his soul taken.
Which, wow... that's not at all what I was expecting. But, I actually find it really interesting!
(For reasons not related to the 100YQ.)
First off, I’m sure Laxus will be fine. If I had to guess, this is gonna tie back to the dragon soul Laxus consumed a while ago. I think, while this guy has Laxus' soul, the soul of that old dragon is gonna be controlling Laxus' body in the next fight to get it back. But, that’s just my theory.
The main thing I wanted to ramble about is, when I first saw this panel, I couldn’t help but think how freakin’ cool it would be if Bickslow was somehow there to help Laxus. Souls are his specialty after all. (Totally a missed opportunity if you ask me.) Hell, pitting Bickslow against any antagonist who can either steal souls or has no soul would be a real cool concept tbh.
I know it won’t happen in the 100YQ, especially since there are already way too many characters in play right now for the Raijinshuu to suddenly show up, but it’s fun to imagine.
Also, this might just be me, but I love that we get to actually see a soul depicted here. It's like getting a glimpse at what Bickslow sees when he looks at people's souls. It honestly just makes me wish his magic was explored even more. I'm still salty we've only seen him use his eye magic less than a handful of times, and it's only worked... like what? ONCE? And that was on Tenrou when Elfman let him take control.
I'm not including when he used it against Evergreen in the 100YQ. I absolutely hate that fight AND that interpretation of Bickslow's magic. Never before has his magic actually turned someone into a doll.... it's weird and doesn’t make any sense imo. Obviously he can control souls, and he can probably take souls OUT of people and put them into dolls, but NOT turn people physically INTO dolls... What he did to Evergreen was just a plot convenience to make sure every member of the Raijinshuu was KO’d quickly and in one go. Not only to give Gray the "easy" W, but also to make him seem clever and less guilty than hurting them directly...? I guess??
What I think should’ve happened was Bickslow taking control of Evergreen’s soul momentarily before instantly releasing it as he was turned to stone. But then Evergreen would've been left standing and probably release her magic too... and what's Gray gonna do then? Just beat the shit out of them like he did Freed? (¬`‸´¬)
Aside from that, imagine if Bickslow ever got to use his power against someone in battle, without them being immune to it in someway? That’d be so cool! Obviously, it’s super OP, but if written correctly I think it would make the story more interesting (rather than be just an instant win that authors try to avoid.)
