Chapters: 200-253, Episodes: 96-122
Short Summary
The S-Class Exams are coming up and a few of the candidates are selected in the hopes of bumping up their class, where they're allowed to pick partners to help them. The whole proceedings takes place on Sirius Island, a spot only exclusive to Fairy Tail members. However the island suddenly comes under siege by the head dark guild, Grimoire Heart.Main Summary
The Sirius Island arc provides examples of:
- The Atoner: Ultear after her Heel–Face Turn.
- Battle in the Rain: Juvia vs Meredy as well as Gray vs Ultear.
- Broken Pedestal: Hades (original name: Precht) for Makarov.
- Big Bad: After scheming in the shadows for many years and lying behind his pawns, Hades finally takes center stage as the main antagonist of this arc, leading his forces from Grimoire Heart to attack Sirius Island and instigate a guild war with Fairy Tail, his former guild.
- Big Damn Heroes: Gildarts, Freed, and Bickslow coming to the aid their respective groups. Laxus appearing during the fight with Hades.
- Bittersweet Ending: Hades is dead, Grimoire Heart has been dealt a serious blow and is on the retreat, Cana reunites with her father Gildarts and Ultear atones for the misunderstanding of what happened between her and Ur. But Acnologia arrives and seemingly causes everyone on Sirius Island to perish. To make matters worse, Fairy Tail has been dethroned as the strongest guild in Fiore.
- Book Ends: Lucy and Cana begin and finish the arc taking a bath together.
- The Bus Came Back: Laxus returns.
- Call-Back: During an explanation of Doranbolt's magic, charm magic is mentioned for the first time since chapter 1.
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Makarov vs. Hades who beats him easily. Also Erza vs Juvia and Lisanna in their trial.
- Acnologia does this to the entire guild, S-Class and Master included, during the last part of the arc.
- Death Seeker: Zeref.
- Designated Girl Fight: Juvia vs Meredy
- Fallen Hero / Face–Heel Turn: Hades who was the second Fairy Tail guild master.
- Graceful Loser: Azuma.
- Grand Theft Me: Zoldeo to Caprico.
- Gravity Master: Bluenote
- Greater-Scope Villain: Acnologia; that is all.
- I Let You Win: Freed and Bickslow throw their fight against Lucy and Cana, largely out of atonement for what they did in the Fighting Festival Arc.
- Idiot Ball: Cana holds it for a bit as she so determined to pass the exam, she ignores the signal flare of the exam being postponed and the incoming danger. Even putting her partner, Lucy, who willingly teamed up with her to help her, to sleep so she can continue on her own (which almost got her killed when Kain stumbled across her). It isn't until she reaches Mavis's grave does she realize her stupidity.
- Karmic Death: Zancrow and Hades are both killed by Zeref, the guy they were hunting down.
- Killed Off for Real: Zoldeo, Zancrow and Hades.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Cana is revealed to be Gildarts' daughter.
- Make Way for the New Villains: Throughout this arc, Hades is touted as the villain the heroes must face shortly after Grimoire Heart invades Sirius Island. However, Zeref Dragneel eventually kills Hades at the end of the arc and comes to the forefront as the true Big Bad of the series.
- My God, What Have I Done?: This is said almost word-for-word by Cana upon realizing how badly she screwed up in trying to finish the S-Class Exam.
- No Body Left Behind: Zoldeo's fate after being expelled from Leo's body.
- Non-Protagonist Resolver: While Fairy Tail does thwart Grimoire Heart's invasion of Sirius Island, it is Zeref Dragneel who kills Hades with his magic.
- Nothing Is the Same Anymore: Zeref and Acnologia's arrival is the exact moment that changes the status quo forever, leading to Zeref deciding to wreak havoc on mankind, the S-Class participants' disappearing, and Fairy Tail being dethroned as the strongest guild in Fiore.
- Percussive Shutdown: There didn't seem to be any other way of taking out Hades' power source than simply smashing it.
- Poor Communication Kills: Portrayed in Ultear's flashback as she was kidnapped from her mother but thought she had been abandoned when she first escaped from her kidnappers and made it back home. Only to see that Ur had taken in apprentices and assumed she had been replaced.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: When Merudy tries to kill Gray for what he did to Ultear (or so it seems), Juvia snaps and proceeds to attack her.
- Sheathe Your Sword: What Gildarts was trying to teach Natsu. That sometimes using force can't solve everything and it's okay to back down if you must.
- Soul Jar: Hades was hiding his true power in a "heart" that was being kept in a container. Once Happy, Carla, and Pantherlily find and break it, they manage to weaken him and allow Team Natsu and Laxus to finish him off.
- Tag Team: Natsu, Happy, and Lucy against Kain Hikaru.
- Third Time's The Charm: Hades takes three major finishers during the final battle and the first two were a combination of him not being serious and his Soul Jar keeping him powered. By the third time he was vulnerable.
- This Means War!: After Grimoire Heart invades Sirius Island during the S-Class exams, Fairy Tail makes the decision to go to war with them.
- Tomato Surprise:
- 1) Caprico is a really being possessed by an evil spirit named Zoldeo who was a former servant of the Heartfilia family and Caprico a.k.a. Celestial Spirit Capricorn officially belongs to Lucy.
- 2) Zeref was never sealed away, he had secluded himself on Sirius Island as he didn't want to hurt anyone with his magic which he has no control over.
- Unholy Nuke: Grimoire Law.
- Unstoppable Rage: Merudy tries to threaten Gray in front of Juvia. This sends Juvia past her Rage Breaking Point and she goes into battle mode. Cue Curb-Stomp Battle with Meredy.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Ur left the young Ultear in the care of the local scientists' experiments. While Ur did so with the best of intentions, it also set Ultear on her Start of Darkness and we all know what that led to.
- Wham Episode:
- First, Zeref is on the island.
- Acnologia seemingly nukes the island with all of the S-Class participants on it
- When Trees Attack: Azuma
- World Tree: The Sirius Tree which makes it so that the members of Fairy Tail cannot die while on the island, while at the same time enhancing their magic power.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: The Fairy Tail members manage to defeat Grimoire Heart and all seems well. Then Acnologia shows up.
