Fairy Tail Season 4

Right now you can watch Fairy Tail Season 4 on and — and it is funnier than its reputation suggests. A single, tightly-focused season means there is plenty to get through without ever feeling padded. An 8/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Tetsuya Kakihara leads a cast with real comic timing. Start it whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Fairy Tail Season 4 is worth clearing space for. The jokes in Fairy Tail Season 4 land because the characters underneath them are worth caring about. This season contains a single story arc, titled "Dai Matō Enbu" (大魔闘演武, lit "Grand Magic Games"), which adapts material from the beginning of the 31st through the ending of the 35th volumes of Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail manga over 25 episodes. Focusing on Natsu and the others who were frozen in time for seven years on Sirius Island, the members return to Magnolia and discover that Saber Tooth is the strongest guild in the Fiore Kingdom. Having become the weakest guild during the absence of its core members, Fairy Tail decides to enter the Grand Magic Games, an annual competition to decide Fiore's strongest guild. Tetsuya Kakihara and Aya Hirano lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was aired in 2012. Fairy Tail Season 4 earns its laughs from character rather than situation, which is why it does not wear thin the way pure farce tends to. It rarely drops the ball, and when it does, it recovers fast.

If you need a comedy that actually makes you laugh, Fairy Tail Season 4 is a strong candidate. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single week. Tetsuya Kakihara anchors an ensemble with real chemistry. Genuinely funny, consistently, across the whole run.