u/Background_Park_5396

I’ve been re-reading the Alvarez Arc recently, and there’s something that has always bothered me about how Hiro Mashima handled two of the most powerful and beloved characters in the guild: Laxus and Mirajane.

I never quite understood the decision to pit them against opponents like Wall (for Laxus) and Juliet/Heine (for Mirajane). It feels very underwhelming that these "S-Class" powerhouses were sidelined into these specific matchups. To make matters worse, Wall was explicitly stated by Mashima himself to be one of the weakest members of the Spriggan 12, which makes it even harder to understand why he was Laxus's main opponent.

It feels even more strange when you look at the rest of the cast. Supporting characters like Sting and Sherria got major spotlights against the top-tier Spriggan members (Larcade and Dimaria), while our heavy hitters were stuck with side-fights. This is especially frustrating for Laxus, who came off the Tartaros Arc where he defeated Tempest but was left sidelined for the rest of the story. I really expected him to take on one of the "Top 4" Spriggans in Alvarez.

No offense to fans of those specific fights, but I personally believe the story would have been much better if Mashima had swapped some of these matchups. Even Erza taking on three separate Spriggans felt excessive; it would have been great if she had ceded one of those slots to Lucy for a major individual win (maybe against Neinhart?).

It feels like a missed opportunity to give the strongest members of the guild a challenge that truly pushed their limits against the heavy hitters of the Empire.

What do you guys think? Do you feel satisfied with how Laxus and Mira were utilized, or do you also wish they had faced stronger opponents?

Hi everyone! I thought it would be important to archive all of Mirajane's artwork from Mashima's Twitter, so I went through the last 14 years of his posts to find them. I'm sharing some of my absolute favorites here so you can all appreciate these iconic illustrations. Which one is your personal favorite?

I was looking at the timeline and realized that in 5 days it's been exactly 10 years since we first saw Mirajane's Alegria form in the Alvarez arc. It's honestly crazy that she's one of the few top-tier characters who hasn't shown anything game-changing in 100 Years Quest.

Alegria was a huge deal back then, but the power creep has definitely passed that point. I feel like she’s due for a massive power-up.

I remember how interesting it was when Ueda drew everyone noticing those books of Faris's demons—Juvia even mentioned them. Could it be that Elfman has been gathering them for her this whole time? While absorbing all those books might be an obvious path, it doesn't really get me that hyped. I think she needs something more mysterious, like a supreme form of Goetia that exists independently of any known creator. And what about the wildest theory: imagine if there was some crazy explanation for her actually absorbing Larcade at some point.

Do you think she can still reach the same level as Erza and Laxus again, or has the gap become too wide? She’s currently fighting and still seems so confident which really makes me want to believe she has something major hidden up her sleeve. What are your thoughts on her potential next step?