Gray Fullbuster is an Underrated Icon | Fairy Tail

Intro:

Admittedly, out of all the Fire Fairies, Gray was my least favorite for a long time. He just felt very underwhelming compared to the other, more bombastic members of the team, and every time we revisited his backstory revolving around Ur and Deliora, my immediate response would be, “Oh, here we go again.” It felt like the story couldn’t figure out what else to do with him, and he felt disconnected from the main plot compared to the others… at least, until I’d fully understood the big picture.

Gray’s personality is quite understated. On the surface, most people would likely read him as the archetypal broody, dark-haired dreamboat that has all the gays and gals swooning… which is true. But there’s more going on with his character than meets the eye, and more than he gets credit for - from myself included. The tragedy he endured at a young age, the strife within his family life, his mentorship with Ur and rivalry with Lyon, his clash with Ultear, and his twisted reunion with his father Silver.

When you line all these disparate pieces up, you get the story of a man who’s seen the darkness of the world. Who’s been fueled by anger, and who knows the depths of loneliness all too well. But through Fairy Tail, he learns to have hope, for himself and his future. He becomes a better person who can inspire hope in others who’ve lost their way, even when they blame him for their misfortunes and losses. And honestly, this man is the definition of dramatic. Just look at his style, his outfits, and how artsy his Maker Magic is.

So today, we’re gonna talk about why y’all need to put some respect on Gray Fullbuster’s very unfortunate name.

Galuna Island:

When we first meet Gray, his debut is alongside the rest of Fairy Tail, where we’re meant to empathize with Lucy as the guild’s newcomer. And his first impression is an icy pretty boi with literal ice powers, and a habit of… stripping. Which… okay then. I mean, all the gals and gays in the audience definitely appreciate that. As we see more of him, we’re witness to his intense brotherly rivalry with Natsu, cuz ya know, fire and ice. Or, “Nah, I just hate his guts.”

And along the way, Gray gives the vibe of being the cool, aloof member of the team. He’s essentially the ideal boyfriend of everyone who’s a sucker for broody, very pretty men with hearts of gold concealed by a frozen shell. His personality is more subdued than the other Fire Fairies, which in turn makes it easy for viewers to project whatever they like onto him. Again - ideal to get people to latch onto a potential husbando.

Now, season 1 is unique in its structure given it’s double the usual length, and has multiple arcs along with standalone and filler episodes. This allows viewers to ease themselves into the world of Fairy Tail, getting to know the characters before being thrown into arcs which can last 20 or more episodes at a time. The four major arcs of season 1 are either directly or nominally centered around each of the Fire Fairies: Phantom Lord for Lucy; Tower of Heaven for Erza; pretty much… everything else for Natsu; and then Galuna Island for Graty.

As the Galuna Island Arc progresses, we discover that the cursed island is home to the frozen demon Deliora, which destroyed Gray’s childhood city and presumably killed his parents. After Gray lost all he had at such a young age, he was found in the ruins by the ice wizard Ur, as well as her student Lyon. They took Gray in, and Gray studied his specialized Ice Make Magic under Ur’s tutelage. Through her, he learned the beauty of Maker Magic, and he also found a mentor who could help guide him toward a better path. Unfortunately, his desire for revenge hadn’t fully faded.

Hearing about Deliora going on another rampage, the young Gray decided to go after the beast to avenge his parents, against Ur’s wishes. Ur and Lyon came to Gray’s rescue, with Ur losing her leg in the process. To stop the monster, Ur used a dangerous and forbidden spell: the Iced Shell. It transforms the caster’s body into an icy prison, which will hold the target in stasis for eternity. Lyon attempted to pull off the spell to stop Deliora and prove himself as a wizard, not realizing the cost of the spell, but Ur stopped him, then performed the spell herself.

In her final moments, Ur told Gray that she wanted him and Lyon to see the world and enjoy full lives. She’d freed Gray from the darkness within him - his desire for revenge - and had given him the hope of a better life free from the threat of Deliora’s destruction. Unfortunately, Lyon blamed Gray for Ur’s death, upset that without Ur, he’d never be able to surpass his mentor’s magical prowess. They parted ways, with Gray shortly thereafter joining Fairy Tail and learning about the Iced Shell from Makarov. Ur does technically live on, both in Gray’s heart, and as the ice within the spell she cast.

While Gray was able to move on with his life, meeting new friends in Fairy Tail and building a family for himself, Lyon remained fixated on his need to surpass Ur. In his mind, the only way to achieve that goal was to destroy Deliora, who even Ur couldn’t slay. Gathering support from those who’d also lost their homes and loved ones from Deliora’s rampages, Lyon located the frozen demon and transported it to Galuna Island, hoping to use the Moondrip there to break the Iced Shell and free Deliora, allowing him to finally slay the beast, even if it risked anyone nearby.

This drive to surpass Ur is all that’s kept Lyon afloat all these years, though naturally, he hasn’t exactly focused on enjoying life the way Gray has. Still, Lyon weaponizes Gray’s guilt for Ur’s death, to the point Gray attempts to sacrifice himself via the Iced Shell to seal Deliora away again when it’s about to be freed. Part of him wonders if this is the only way to make things right - but it’s not. Natsu affirms that, demanding that Gray needs to live for his friends, as well as his mentor’s dying wish. Ur would never want her students to fight each other, let alone throw their lives away.

Ultimately, Gray decides to live. He wants to enjoy life as Ur wished, and knows he deserves that - and so does Lyon. When it turns out Deliora had died long ago from the Iced Shell sapping away its life force, it means Gray and Lyon are free. Lyon is devastated, again in despair from having his goal of surpassing Ur ripped away, but this time, Gray has the wisdom to tell him that he needs to change his perspective. Lyon needs to live his life, cherish friendships he’s already inadvertently started building with his followers.

A lot of people - myself included prior to my rewatch - talk about the Galuna Arc as if it’s filler, but I feel like this dismisses its role in getting us acquainted with one of the main characters, as well as the compelling themes at play here. Living on and finding meaning within unimaginable suffering, relying on a found family for support when faced with old demons (literal ones, in this case), and choosing to live. I for one am a huge fan of the way Natsu, and the story itself, calls out this dangerous idea of atonement through death. All hurting yourself does is create more suffering for the people you love. You deserve to live a full, happy life with people you love, who also love you.

I especially love Lucy’s words as she book-ends the arc like the authoress queen she is. After the Iced Shell melts, Ur’s spirit has now gone out to sea, and will stand watch over her students from the sea from now on… which turns out to be very important when we meet Ultear. But this idea of confronting the tragedies of your past, and deciding to live on and enjoy life as it is in the present, is fundamental in most of Gray’s arcs going forward. From his confrontation with Ultear in the Tenrou Island Arc, to meeting his father Silver in the Tartaros Arc.

Gray has this dark edge to his character because of what he’s been through. He’s seen the cruelty and misery of the world firsthand, and in spite of it, decides to move forward and make his own happiness. There are moments his dark side becomes more apparent, especially cuz the story loves to toy with the idea of Gray “going evil” several times - even though we know every time he’s just being a double agent. But at the end of the day, Gray will always look for the light.

Artsy Maker Magic:

Briefly, I wanna talk about Gray’s magic. His use of Maker Magic makes him unique compared to other elemental wizards, and generally speaking, other ice bitches in media as a whole. He’s able to create specific, highly detailed constructs out of ice: cages, guns, arrows - you name it, he can make it. It helps make his ice more visually interesting, and also means he’s incredibly versatile in combat. Honestly, I wish some other wizards would hurry up and learn Maker Magic… certain pink-haired, fire breathing ones.

There’s also an artistic side to Maker Magic, pointed out by Ur herself. It requires creativity from the caster, forcing them to observe the world around them, and then to recreate what they see in their own style. Personally, I’d love seeing some actual artistic applications of Gray’s magic in this regard: seeing him become a magical ice sculptor I’d imagine would allow for a more interesting avenue for his character as an artsy bitch.

I kinda wish they ventured more into Maker Magic in this regard, not only in its application, but also its parallels to conventional, nonmagical forms of art. I’d imagine many of the fundamentals of sculpting or painting would likely apply to Maker Magic. What I’m saying is, I want moody art student Gray who suffers from imposter syndrome and can tell you everything you need to know about why your favorite thing doesn’t get the basics of color theory or proportions.

I do love that when he becomes an Ice Demon Slayer, his ice becomes purple, like his father’s. Generally speaking, I’m a sucker when elements stray from their conventional colors. Blue fire, pink lightning, purple ice? Yes to all of the above. Honestly, I kinda wish Gray’s ice was purple from the start, but what can ya do, that’s what Blender models are for. I am jealous though that Lyon got the more unique coloring, since his ice is turquoise, but whatever. Maybe it just means Lyon is bougie.

Honestly, I think it would’ve been cool if Gray had known his father was a demon slayer from the start, and perhaps he’d learned about demons and other creations of Zeref as a result of that, coupled with his lasting desire for revenge against Deliora. Knowing the throughlines with Gray’s connections to Zeref, it made him go from the least connected to the plot of the main characters to one of the most connected - it just needed a better execution. Or rather, it probably helps with hindsight, given I’m still surprised Hiro Mashima is alive given the brutal turnaround times and terrible work culture of the Japanese manga industry.

On a lighter note, Gray is generally a lot more artsy and dramatic than he’s usually given credit for, mostly - I’d argue - because of his subdued personality. I mean, just look at his wardrobe (when he’s actually wearing clothes, that is). Every outfit he has slays, and unlike Blake Belladonna, this boi can rock a white coat like it’s no one’s business. My personal favorite look for him though is his Grand Magic Games look when fighting Rufus in the library. I’m a fan of the arm warmers and samurai pants. Oh, and when he goes evil? The slicked back hair? It’s everything.

Relationships within the Guild:

As mentioned before, Gray and Natsu have a typical sibling rivalry. Lots of people use that for shipping material, and I respect that, given Gray and Natsu is like… baby’s first gay ship when they get into Fairy Tail. It’s a queer rite of passage until you develop better taste, which is to say, the obviously superior pairing of bisexual exes Gray and Loke.

That being said, I love the friendship between Gray and Natsu. They naturally clash being ice and fire, but also given Gray’s more measured, levelheaded responses compared to Natsu’s impulsive reckless abandon. But make no mistake - Erza is the one with the braincell… sometimes. I do wish they did more with Gray and Natsu’s clashes, as well as their friendship - giving them a proper source of their conflict beyond their personalities, as well as emphasizing the fact they do love each other.

The others… yeah, their friendships with Gray needed more work. It kinda feels like Gray doesn’t really get much material with any Fire Fairy who isn’t Natsu. For example, Erza - she, Gray, and Natsu are the base trio of the group, as they’ve been in Fairy Tail the longest of the team, and all joined around the same time: Erza first, then Gray, then Natsu.

Given Erza likewise suffered incredible trauma and tragedy from a young age, I would’ve liked if that made them some of the closest members. It can be hard for them to relate to others because of how much darkness they’d have to endure, losing chances at normal childhoods. Perhaps they confide in each other and no one else, potentially leaving Natsu left out given his more innocent nature. Not to mention, Gray and Erza are easily the most introverted members of the team, and I’m surprised they aren’t more regularly exhausted from all the chaos at Fairy Tail.

Now what I wish we got more of is Gray and Lucy content. Given Lucy’s a writer, I think going down the art route for Gray could’ve given them a lot to bond over. They’re both creatives: Lucy’s just more about prose while Gray is about visuals. Plus, outta the whole team, they’re probably the ones who’d have the easiest time acting like “normal people” (aside from, again, the stripping in public). Gray’s suffered through tragedy like Erza, but he’s much more lowkey compared to how bombastic and over-the-top Erza can be.

And then, Gray and Wendy… do these two ever speak? Is this the Ladybug of Fairy Tail? Anyhow, Wendy also dresses to the nines, so let her and Gray be fashion icons together. And also let them do a Unison Raid where they make a whole ice storm together. You’re not really part of Fairy Tail until you’ve caused at least natural-disaster levels of property damage.

And… I will admit it… I am Gruvia trash. For a long while, I wasn’t a fan of it given Juvia’s… obsession with Gray. It kinda reminded me of that weird Bolin and Eska subplot from Korra Book 2, where we’re meant to laugh cuz it’s a crazy woman harassing a man, but I think the second half of Fairy Tail, as well as elongated exposure because shonen will DIE by their running jokes, have won me over, as well as the fact Gray lowkey does care about Juvia, and they actually develop a tender, subtle romance over the whole show - and it doesn’t involve queerbait, yay.

Conclusion & Outro:

Gray isn’t my favorite character in Fairy Tail, but I’d say he’s one of them by this point. His story of overcoming tragedy, choosing to live and enjoy that life, and inspiring others to do the same really aged like wine for me. With the whole picture in mind, it’s pretty easy to arrange everything into a coherent story for Gray over the course of the series. Could’ve been executed better, but for what it is, I really enjoy my diseased interpretation, and Gray’s iconic fashion.

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I’m the Unicorn of War, and Gray’s fashion is most certainly not a shit show… but the writing of his friendships with anyone who isn’t Natsu certainly is.