There have been many repeating themes found in various anime. For example in shonen, there is usually an established power or power source. In these anime there is also usually variations of powers. One type I see time and time again are the use of the elements.
There are a LOT of characters that use elemental powers. One most notable would be from Avatar the Last Airbender as the whole show was centered around the four elements of earth, air, fire and water. This was the first show that I can remember that had such a cool way of showing powers in this way. I also enjoyed how each element matched certain personality traits. It was also very streamlined; if you were a water bender you were able to control water, ice, and snow. Katara was a great character as you were with her as she mastered her bending. Not only did she master her water bending she also learned some unconventaional water-bending skills as well like bloodbending. But every sub cateory of the person’s bending was well executed and added some cool details to the story.
The next anime that comes to mind would be Fairy Tail. Now in Fairy Tail you could find someone probably had it. Some obscure magic that I could remember would be Bisca’s gun magic, Cana’s card magic and even Lucy’s celestial spirit magic. Fairy Tail also had its fair share of elemental users like Natsu, Gray, and Wendy. The dragon slayers of the Fairy Tail guild had awesome elemental powers and it was displayed well. While I enjoyed watching the show (until it became a little to fanservice-y for me), there was one way they missed the mark with their elemental magic powers.
I just couldn’t reconcile Juvia and Gray having separate powers. Granted I know each of them have a “make” version of their powers, but it just doesn’t make sense to me, (all my own opinion) that water would be separated from ice. I’m sure there’s an episode somewhere that explains the nature of their magic which can probably affect how it is replenished.
It seems, unlike in Avatar, mages lose their overall magic power. But in Avatar the bending was directly tied to their stamina and their fighting prowess. In this way I can see how Gray and Juvia’s powers can be separate, but I just don’t like it. How can she use a move where she can create boiling water, but not be able to freeze the water? And if Gray can freeze Juvia’s water, why can’t he also melt it? Than were were just an example of what I saw in the show. But again the show is great and does a great job promoting elemental attacks.
I’ll be back to talk about fire next. Peace!
Image by: Photo by Sebastian Voortman from Pexels
