User blog comment:Ash9876/Ashy's Reviews --- Irene's Story/@comment-21119641-20170128153039

Yeah, this mini-arc, Mother & Daughter mind you :V was one of the most explored of the Alvarez Empire Arc overall. As you yourself have put it, this was more than a "Well, you're an enemy of my homeland, I must fight you"...Irene really did try to antagonize Erza, despite not really hating her, from what I saw.

You know I prefer physical combat but eh, the fight was fine nonethless, it didn't end so soon and they moved around quite a bit! I like how Wendy acted as an important support in this, as I don't think Erza could've kept up much long without her, and as you said...I'm glad Hiro lived up to that scene from the beginning of the arc. I thought he would play the "I will protect you" in the Ajeel fight...and was disappointed when he didn't, but then he did it now which is quite good.

(Finishing the fight topic). You do know I was initially bugged by the fact Wendy could do things easily, but as you guys put it...Wendy is a prodigy and can learn things quite easily...PLUS, the enchantments she learnt from Irene weren't even perfectly executed. She couldn't even stand properly in Irene's body, Deus Zero is a skill thing...ofc it'd work, eh, Enchantment itself is more of a skill thing, so kudos to her! I liked that Irene wasn't just down after getting her body back...going so far to regain her Dragon Form (A thing she despises?) in order to end this. But then the next thing felt really unnecessary :( While Deus Sema was a sight to behold...it was just there to say "Oh hey, look how powerful Irene can be" and then Erza EASILY got rid of it...granted she used all her power but...for a Meteor which was said to be superior to Jellal's...eh.

You also know how I feel about the sword enchanted with Slaying magic, t'was more fine than I initially thought. Buuuut the end of the fight paid back for the meteor indeed! I love how Hiro depicted Irene in a realistic way...she endured years of torture...got transformed into a Dragon...lost her senses even with human appearance...SHE WENT CRAZY! As you said it, she had nothing left! The people who believed on her...one of the friendlist dragons she knew...the man she loved...her human self. Mentally-ill people...sociopaths too, can easily hold a façade...Irene showed herself to be quite calm in most situations...but deep we knew her mind was a mess. She didn't even know how, what to feel! Irene hated Erza? No, she was using the "Empire-Enemy" excuse and went in to antagonize her...because she didn't know how to feel towards her daughter. Even in the end, Irene didn't have a sudden change and began to love her...she has always done so. As you put it and I told you, these people have some kind of anchor which they use to remind themselves of their sanity, a catalyst to remind her...just like back then...and Irene's was Erza's smile! Which was a nice touch too...since I checked all the chapters and Erza didn't really smile at her until now.

This one was definitely one of the interesting parts of the plot...even if Irene was introduced this late in the story. Some may dislike it, but go for it...based on my arguments...it's a really good one. So kudos Hiro for not messing everything up! You could've done more, but meh, it is what it is.

And while this isn't your usual review Ash...and I'm sorry if this comment is too long...since I dunno' if you'll read it, I really liked to read your own opinion on it. You're not biased or anything and got good points as always! Looking forward to more.