The new Fairy tail 100 year quest chapter is so important for not just gruvia stan’s but the Juvia stan’s as well.
We’ve all been discussing how we wished Mashima would put more into Juvia’s character. We know she’s incredibly talented as a wizard but we never get to see that because she’s the comedic relief. BUT! in this newest chapter, that has changed.
Juvia completely outsmarted a fucking sea prison dragon. This dragon is hundreds of years older than her and has a lot more experience, skill and ability than Juvia. He stored her magical power away, so that she could not use it against him; thereby taking her only form of power and protection— but no matter Juvia thought ten steps ahead.
She couldn’t use water magic on herself anymore but she could use it on HIS chains. She infused the chains with water, expanding them until they snapped and swapped her body with a water decoy of herself. NOT ONLY THAT! but she snuck past him, and trapped him in her water lock (water lock?? water nebula?? forgot what it’s called pls correct me if u want)
I DO NOT CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS! JUVIA IS A FUCKING GENIUS!!
why? because she successfully tricked this dragon god into thinking she was done for— making him let his guard down and as soon as he did she countered PERFECTLY!
This is exactly what many of us have wanted to see from the start of Fairy Tail. Obviously, Mashima gets to choose how his characters are to be, but fans have always expected him to write Juvia as a powerful wizard because of her S-class rank in element 4.
We’ve seen Juvia in fights before but nothing quite like this. Anchor knew that Juvia could perfectly match and counter his magic, and THAT’S why he sealed her magic. He saw her as a threat, someone who could beat him and he needed to get rid of her as soon as possible. He underestimated her by assuming she wouldn’t be able to escape his chains somehow, and she played into it— letting him think he got her and as soon as her decoy melted— she had him in her water lock.
This portrayal of Juvia completely changes who she is as a character. It proves that she’s not just a supporting character or comedic relief— she’s a power fairy tail wizard. and THAT’S exactly what many of us JUVIA stan’s have been waiting to see.
Overall, this chapter is really beautiful— as it not only shows Juvia’s growth as an individual character but also Gray’s unmistakable love for her.
As *finger quotes* Juvia *finger quotes* falls into Gray’s arms after being squeezed by the chains— Gray immediately begins to sob.
He holds her decoy in his arms and says the words “I couldn’t protect you.” This very quote is the thing Gray was aiming on learning how to do from the start of the quest. Heck maybe even the start of their friendship.
Gray has been surrounded by death his whole life and he has blamed himself for many of them. His family dying as a boy and most impactful— his mentor and guardian Ur sacrificing herself for him.
He has always wanted to become strong enough to protect the people he loves— his family, fairy tail.
But when it comes to Juvia, it’s a different. Juvia hold’s a special place in Gray’s heart— whether he likes to admit it or not.
From the moment Juvia slayed Keys (the wizard that was holding Silver’s soul and body hostage) thereby freeing Gray’s father— to the moment Gray promised to give her an answer after the games— to the moment they trained and lived together after fairy tail disbanded— to the moment she sacrificed herself for him and made a spell that pumped her blood into him, keeping him alive— to the moment they switched bodies and Gray had to use her magic—
Gray has always loved Juvia. He has always had a special place in his head and heart reserved for her.
From the start of the quest— Gray had been wanting to become a better man for Juvia, one that could love and protect her. So when he sees her die for the second time, his heart shatters and he’s utterly devastated. He also realizes he never got to tell he how he truly felt.
He begins to sob and the first thing that comes to mind is “I couldn’t protect you” which is the very thing Gray has been working towards.
Then, Juvia apologizes for deceiving Gray, as it was necessary to convince Anchor she was really done for. She notices that Gray is activity sobbing and she asks him “are you crying?” to which he deflects “no!! that’s just the water from earlier!!”
it’s so cute that he’s embarrassed for overreacting (it was a completely valid reaction king!!)
Lastly, Juvia is drowning and running out of air to breathe. Gray immediately swims to her, and he SWEARS to protect her!!
And then their lips meet, and Gray gives Juvia CPR.
But it’s not just CPR, their lips lock into a kiss— one where Gray is breathing life into the woman he loves and has sworn to protect.
He is sustaining her and keeping her alive.
God it’s just too good, I’m actually sobbing. It’s been eleven long years of waiting for not only some character development for Juvia but for the Gruvia ship as well.
————
I know Gray was HELLA relieved when he saw Juvia alive, as soon as he found out it was all a ruse.
Gray probably when Juvia faked her demise;
I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THESE
