P R O L O G U E
"I've been a recent fan of Fairy Tail because I just recently watched it. And one thing I noticed is the unbalanced and inequality between major and minor characters. It is already a typical and predictable scene for me to see Natsu beats the bad guy or Erza beating a strong character in one hit. Natsu is not an S Class Wizard but hey he's the main character, he gets a chance of more screen time, more cool powers, more victories and more love. But characters like Alzack, Bisca, Cana, Macao, Jet, Droy or Levy do not get those kinds of benefits. They're supporting characters after all and probably some of you already forgot about them or not even know they exist.
Characters who also have less screen time, barely show up in the series while newly introduced characters like Mystogan, Juvia, Gajeel or Lyon get more love, more supporters and more screen time than our other favorite underrated characters. Why? Because they have super cool powers? Exceptional abilities? Or perhaps a battle that occurred and victory was theirs?
I'll discuss in this blog how we shouldn't rate a character based on their power because there's something more than just power and there are other attributes to see in a character than just their power or skill."
C H A P T E R O N E
Levy McGarden
レビィ・マクガーデン
is a member of Fairy Tail and she is the leader of the team called Shadow Gear.
Appearance
*Based on FT fandom*
She is too small for a 17 year old girl but it doesn't really matter if it's anime. She has blue hair and always tied it in a bandana. Her preference in clothing is something that exposes her guild mark on her left scapula.
Personality
*Based on FT fandom*
Levy has a cheerful and upbeat personality. Which is what I like about her. You'll either see her smiling or crying in the anime. She is also very friendly and easy to get along with, even being able to befriend the new guild member Lucy. (Although to be honest I'd appreciate an episode where they emphasize how these two became friends other than their similar interests).
She is also very kind and unlike other Fairy Tail guild members, I do not see her to join the chaos of "brawling with the other members". We all know Fairy Tail for destroying things and buildings and fighting each other but as far as I've watched, I haven't seen her join the brawl or destroy buildings.
Magic
*Reference from FT fandom*
Her ability is something you know as Solid Script (固体文字ソリッドスクリプト).
With her mutual interest in books and writing with Lucy, it may be a hint already what her ability is about. Words from the Fairy Tail fandom describe her magic as; "Levy's Magic is also focused around writing and words: Solid Script, a form of Letter Magic, allows her to generate words in the air and make them solid, subsequently throwing them at the enemies with different effects. To create such words, Levy is shown performing gestures with one or both of her hands, depending on the spell."
Among members of the Fairy Tail guild, she is knowledgeable in languages and can translate several ancient scripts. Don't judge her by her height. Using it as advantage, she is perfect for infiltration and gather information.
Items that Levy has and uses are Gale-Force Reading Glasses (風詠みの眼鏡 Kazeyomi no Megane) and the Light Pen (光筆 Hikari Pen). The glasses help her read 18x faster than normal while the Light Pen is used to rewriting on runes.
TRIVIA
*Reference from FT fandom*
From the Volume 16 Limited Edition: Sorcerer Interview, the best quality of Fairy Tail according to Levy is that the guild has collected multiple varieties of books. She wishes to be the editor of an infamous magazine group in the future and has a good relationship with Lucy and the members of Shadow Gear. The most difficult mission she has ever taken, in her own words, was "infiltrating the home of an evil Mage as a child... I...I'm NOT a child anymore!"
According to Hiro Mashima, Levy was initially planned to be a mere background character.
In Hiro Mashima's unofficial "ranking of characters that defied his popularity expectations" Levy came in 3rd place.
Others. Levy looks beautiful even without her bandana. I think she needs more screen-time without the bandana.
The only girl with the love life where three men has a thing for her. A love square. Okay, I'm out.
C H A P T E R T W O
About time we got to the part where I talk about the hating and the part about the loving.
*Take note that most of the hate reference is from a post I saw on Quotev.
"I hate that she hangs around with that Shadow Gear team of hers"
Now I haven't finished watching FT yet because of school and part-time but I've watched enough to know how close this team is. Levy is always seen hanging around with them. When the phantom guild was attacking, Levy said she'd stay with Jet and Droy (although later they were attacked and "crucified"), then there's this Changeling episode where Levy helps those who became victim while Jet and Droy are cheering for her nearby, or when Raijin Tribe battles Shadow Gear for poses when Juvia was trying to get Gray to give her an intimate gaze using a potion she bought. These guys are basically inseparable and I don't see what the problem is. This is friendship!
"Levy is hanging with a bunch of weak and less important characters!"
Wait what?! Nobody should judge if a major character hangs out with a minor character or if a weak character tries to be with strong ones. They're friends and I do not base friendship off their rank, power, position or money. That's just absurd!
"I hate that she reads like every single day"
I don't get what's to hate about. It's what she loves to do, and it's where she's good at.
"She could've spent her time training instead!"
As far as I've known in typical anime characters, they always have a role that makes the show great and funny. They also have a role in the team that makes them important and what gives them a reason to be on the show. And Levy's role is to be the bookworm who helps them in times of need. Imagine Armin Arlert from Attack on Titan who isn't as good as battles like Mikasa or has titan powers like Eren (no spoilers for those who know!) and yet he's there for a purpose. The same with our adorable Levy McGarden here.
"I hate that she is too short for her own age and she is 17 for goodness’ sake!"
Guys come on, it's anime. Some 12-year-olds are taller than what they're supposed to. Some characters are just designed that way. One point for cuteness, one point for adorable-ness and 98 points for character design purposes. There's nothing to hate here.
"I hate that she's too weak to care for herself"
This is the part where I have to tell you to stop hating a character because they're weak. Yes, anime emphasizes on characters with powerful abilities getting more and more stronger as the show goes on while the side characters remained stagnant. It's just like saying ninjutsu is better than taijutsu. Take note that someone like Might Guy just fought Madara head-on. So no I don't think any jutsu is better than the other, it just depends on how it's used.
Back to topic; Levy's ability. If you think her ability is weak or not offensive, then you're wrong. Gray's Ice Creation is the "most powerful" among other techniques as said by Ur. Because they "create". What more is Levy's power who can create Iron, Fire and many more just by writing (mind you)! It's just the matter of emphasis. The show sadly gave little emphasis on Levy's powers. So we did not get to see it developed the way Natsu, Erza or Lucy's powers leveled up.
"Meh, she's still too weak to care for herself."
I don't know if she's won battles yet, I'm still going to watch but I've seen enough to know that Levy is not the type who loves to fight, thus decreasing her improvement on fighting. Yes, fighting isn't her thing but let's leave it to Natsu and the others. She wants to focus on reading and such, and she's like the ONLY character they rely on when it comes to translating runes and scripts just as Poluchka is the person they go to for healing.
"I hate how she forgives so easily"
I was spoiled by hundreds of fan arts of Gajeel x Levy already and it surprised me to see that Gajeel actually hurt Levy on their first encounter. Hurt, humiliated and shamed in public. And yet the first reaction Levy expressed after seeing Gajeel (when he and Juvia were introduced as new members of FT) was to hide from him. Droy and Jet were pumped for a fight and her instinct was to hide. That much hinted to me already: these two will end up together if Levy will forgive him despite that encounter.
"Why she has to be such a saint?!!!"
Guys come on. It's already part of anime. Characters wanting to be hated and provoke the good guys and yet in the end good guys smile and not hate anyone. Bad guys go all "why aren't you mad at me? Why won't you hate me?" and yeah Levy is the one of those people who forgives, which fits her personality well. If you hate characters like that, I don't know what's the hate for.
"I hate it when she cries"
Like I said before, she either smiles or cries in the show. And her crying isn't a sign of weakness. Even the mighty Erza cries, you know! Probably cried more than Levy did, but does that make Erza weak? No. Crying is about expressing one's self, whether it's tears of joy or tears of sorrow. If Erza has the right to cry, how come Levy isn't?!
Levy cries because she wants to express herself. And I don't think it's a bad thing to do that. Some people express themselves the wrong way and hurt people, I don't think Levy's "cry" would reach to the point to hurt anyone.
"I hate that she smiles all the time"
I don't get what's to hate! She's the one making everyone happy and cares for everyone all the time! Mirajane does it too, but Levy has her ways.
It's like having a Happy in the team, you know? But she's everybody's Happy.
"I hate she paired up with Gajeel, she always have to be rescued"
Gajeel x Levy is by far the best ship I've seen in Fairy Tail. Gray and Juvia are cute together but nothing tops this ship. Two very different people can be compatible with each other after all. They don't always have to have something in common or have mutual interest.
"She's Gajeel's damsel-in-distress. I pity Gajeel."
Whoa, whoa, don't say that! The times Gajeel saved Levy may not be equivalent to how many times Levy saved/helped Gajeel but to a couple it doesn't matter how many times who saved who. What matters is that they're both trying their best to protect each other.
I've read articles and blogs about the times Levy did something for Gajeel but I won't put it here because I can't discuss something I haven't watched.
Levy is a hardworking girl who cares for both her friends and guild. Gajeel included. She'd do everything and put everything she's got to help them. And I think that alone is enough for Gajeel to know she's not some girl abusing him for protection like Karen Lilica who uses her Spirits as a shield. Those are two different things.
C H A P T E R T H R E E
My thoughts about this discrimination between strong and weak characters.
Girls VS Boys
Who is weak, who is strong? It depends on the anime. If the anime is focused on strong male lead then obviously females will be weak or less emphasized for development. Like Dragon Ball series. You won't see female super saiyans (according to my previous research, the author couldn't draw female super saiyans) but anyway, if you've noticed since the focus here are people like Goku and Vegeta, you won't see strong females that could level to them in the series. Excluding some like Android 18 and Chichi (lol).
In Fairy Tail we have Erza. Strongest female character, eh? But despite that, male characters overpower her or are still dominant over her. Well, one reason is because if for example she fought with Laxus in the Battle of Fairy Tail Arc, then we wouldn't be able to see Gajeel and Natsu team up to beat Laxus' butt or if Erza fought with Jellal in the Tower of Heaven arc, then we wouldn't be able to see Natsu in action. Basically, it's just to give space for other leads to take the spotlight, because one of the things that keep a character in ranks is to beat the boss villain of the arc. Whoever beats it receives 1000 likes and about 1000 more supporters with x100 love.
Needs Love
If every viewer focuses on just the battles, then no one would give a crap about characters like Levy. But for the rest, me included, I don't focus on battle power and such. I look at the character development, humor, personality and other attributes. Yes, I love fight scenes too but I don't use that as a basis to love a character because I overlook the other characters that aren't given much spotlight.
I think the fandom calls them "Underrated Characters". Characters like Rico Brzenska from SNK, Machi from HxH, Launch from DB and many more. In Fairy Fail, dear Levy McGarden is one of them.
Gender-biased
There are anime that just uses girls to motivate the main male protagonist or be taken hostage and served as a prize. They don't fight and they're just there to scream for help. They're not useless, ya know? They're not all made as damsels in distress. Fairy Tail is one who highlighted female characters for strength, courage, and not always useless. And that's one of the things I like about Fairy Tail. Even girls gets to be strong and cool and not just male protags getting all the attention.
Equal
Levy fights like any other male members of the guild does, she gets hurt equally like the others are (even crucified without care if she's a girl). Levy gets treated the same way Fairy Tail treats Lucy. And Levy does the same for any other member. Levy fights and loses just as Lucy does. Levy supports Gajeel she's with just as Lucy does with Natsu.
So if it's all the same why is she hated or treated differently? Because Lucy won battles and she didn't?
Final Thoughts
One thing I know is that there will always be haters and there will always be fans. Not everyone will be pleased but either way I want to defend characters who are "discriminated" and judged just because of their ability and not viewed in anything else but their power.
Fighting scenes is part of anime and so are characters with wits and intelligence that would best the rest.
Levy McGarden doesn't have powerful weapons like Erza does or the ability to call on Spirits like Lucy or was raised by a dragon like Natsu or Wendy or as tough as Laxus or as mysterious as Mystogan. That's because each character is unique in their own way. We know them for their own personalities and their own ability.
And we know Levy McGarden as a small person with a cheery personality who was hurt and humiliated in the public but forgave the person who offended her and won his heart.
A person with a big heart and a person you can believe in as a friend who will not let Fairy Tail down and will unify them even.
Loving
Energetic
Valiant
Young
Maiden
Courageous
Gleeful
Adorable
Remembered
Dazzling
Excellent
Nice
Thank you for reading
I warned you it's long but hey you made it!
Disclaimer: We edited this image but we do not own any of the images used in this cover.
Let's go win that debate 😎