Very nice chapter!! Loved the union , the team work. And fucking Jellal!!! Omg! Look so awesome protecting his honey. Wendy and Carla!! Gosh, If someone ever comes to me and says that she is useless and she hasn't had any character development I will slap them this chapter in the face and then throw them the rest of the previous evidence. My babies at the guild, uhh I miss them so much, so cute 😍 ...and who the Frick is that magnificent new character?? Everyone thinks that she is Erza's mother but idk, she looks too youth for it. I miss watching FT anime and keeping up with the Fandom, I'm trying my best to do a good semester at school.
OFC IS ERZA’S MUM GONNA BE THE GREATEST KICK ASS THE WORLD HAS EVER WITNESSED WHY SO SURPRISED
ALSO, TO FURTHER PROVE HER BAD ASSERY (theory), DID YOU SEE THE SCAR ON HER SIDE I BET SHE PREFORMED A CESAREAN SECTION ON HERSELF WITH THAT A+++ MANICURE OF HERS I MEAN SERIOUSLY THAT WOMAN ROCKS AND WE ONLY SAW HER STAND THERE LOOKING SMOKIN’ LIKE SHIT SON WE ARE NOT PREPARED FUCK YOU ZEREF RIP EVERYONE ELSE SORRY JELLAL UR MOTHER IN LAW IS GONNA DESTROY YOU
CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT THIS PANEL BECAUSE TBH I LOVE IT
(under a cut because this got sO MUCH LONGER THAN I WAS EXPECTING WOW)
So first we have Gray fighting Doriate, who resurfaced all of his past trauma. In particular, Gray overpowering his fear and attacking Doriate. His past has such a strong hold on him, and all of his trauma was resurfacing at once. He was only able to snap out of it and defeat the enemy in front of him when Ultear, whose sacrifice is the only reason he’s alive, managed to calm him down.
In the one directly to the left, Gray is confronting a literal demon from his past. The monster that killed his family and took away his master, who was likely a mother figure to him, was alive and animated in front of him. He was nowhere near Ur’s strength, and she couldn’t take him down. What could he and Lyon do? Nothing.
Now the second row, I feel personally, is more about the people pictured than the events.
Juvia. Juvia is the only person Gray has been able to open up to fully. He trusts her and he is glad to have someone that he can trust so much (he has literally stated this in canon). Their relationship has grown so much from the beginning of the series, from enemies to such close friends (possibly even mutual romantic feelings, but that is not canon, so it’s only a speculation).
His father. Gray’s fight with his father was SO IMPORTANT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS CHARACTER. Gray’s father clearly had a large influence on him as a person from before he died, as shown during their fight when Gray has a flashback of his father from when he was young. Then, DURING their fight, Silver tries to help Gray overcome the demons that are still plaguing him by saying that he’s “Deliora”. By killing him, Silver wholeheartedly believes that Gray will be a stronger person than when he came into the fight, and he is, both mentally and physically (Demon Slayer Magic), when the fight is finished. Other than Juvia, Silver is the only character that Gray has shown weakness to, which says a lot about how Gray values them.
Natsu. Natsu is Gray’s rival, but he’s also his best friend. Their bond is just like that of brothers. Natsu told Gray (not in the gentlest way of course) to treasure his own life, to not throw it away for no reason. Natsu made Gray aware that there are people who would miss him if he threw his life away.
Ultear. As I said earlier, Gray wouldn’t be alive if not for Ultear’s sacrifice. In the GMG he would have died, sacrificing himself for a friend. He will always remember that she sacrificed herself, because her mother did the same thing for him.
Gray’s character development from the beginning has been huge, probably one of the (definitely not the most) largest developments, and all of this contributed to his development.
