I heard that the anime keeps up for the most part right on par. This is the first major deviation that I know of it taking, but I know little about the manga.

The manga is only half an arc or so ahead, so it's not far.

maybe the anime was giving the manga time to get ahead so that they could follow?

Yeah, that's generally what Filler is. They get 2-3 chapters done per episode, so they make filler in order to let it get ahead. FT is proably one of the better anime for that, the filler isn't very long.

Tis true... but I am eager to more scenes where they stop getting beat up and more often seeing them win.

I don't understand how a whole guild can attack and be defeated by a person. Only to have one of those same people, Gray, defeat that person later.

Yeah, A friend and I were the exact same. We waited about 20 chapters without seeing natsu destroy something. We were extremely happy when he finally did.

Oracion Seis?

Eh... them too. The filler arc right now had a character that pretty much wiped the whole guild of their energy and magic... and then the same dude got beaten by Gray later one... if a whole guild couldn't stop him, how could one member stop him?

Hmmm. Usually there's a half assed reason given. Something or other about a weak point, or weakness o a certain kind of magic. I haven't seen the filler, so I'm not sure though.

Usually Natsu does something unexpected like emptying all his magic and sucking in the enemy's or something. But in this case, nothing. They attacked with everything they had and the guy absorbed their energy. Gray attacks with everything he has, and the guy doesn't even attempt to absorb the energy and allows himself to freeze. The filler arc has impressive scenes, but the plot line has much to be desired.

Goodness, I love when Natsu dose something stupid. Its funny to watch

So true. I also love it when he protects his friends :D Touching moments where you can feel how much someone cares for another. And something I crave ^_^

I want Natsu to be real. Then again I want every anime to be real. I want to transform into dragons and use magic.

I would love Fairy Tail to be real. So much. I would join in a heart beat. The caring they have for each other... and the ability to improve myself... I want that.

forget all that, i wanna control fire and grow magical wings like happy

I just want Grays ability to remove every bit of his clothing at a moments notice. The ice powers would be pretty cool too though.

As for the whole absorbing magic thing, It's probably because of some crap about Grays magic being physical creation. Can't exactly absorb Ice.

You have a point there. I am unsure which of their abilities I would want. I think I would go with Erza's. She is strong and can change out outfits and armor so quickly :)

Well I'm reading the manga and not watching the anime at the moment but all I can say is in my opinion Fairy Tale is awesome. The characters are all fresh and different. No two people are extremely similar and just the concept of it all is amazing. : O

I don't think I'd want Erzas magic. It would be to hard to become accustomed to switching outfits in the middle of something.

I think that would make it all the more challenging... and joyful ^_^

And no two characters are alike, that is the best part :)

.....I WANT GRAY TO HAVE THAT POWER

I just started Fairy Tail a day ago and I have to say I love it ^^"
It was actually number 25 on my list of anime's to start watching but after hearing how good it was from my friends i decided to bump it to second and I gotta say... I am glad I gave it a chance. I am already hooked on it and almost half way through season 1. ^^'
I got a crush on Gray even though I said I absolutely wouldn't given my friends said I would. I tried and failed xD...

I really love Erza's character. She just exudes toughness from her very core but she just seems so... awesome yet caring at the same time even though from what i have seen so far she is a ball of crazy. Even though crazy is most of the characters XD.

^^" I just got to worry about catching up and watching all 138 episodes so far in 24 days.

Trust me, there will come a time when you dread reaching that last episode because it means you HAVE to wait a week to see the next one. They just get better and better, I promise. Gray is an amazing character. You start to learn their back stories as the series continues. His is tragic, but you will love the humor in why he loses his shirt. As for Erza, she has always been caring which you will see in her back story. The toughness though, *tear* she has to be tough. You will notice one thing about her. She NEVER cries. And the one time that she does, Natsu punches her in the stomach so that she goes unconscious because he doesn't want her to cry when she so desperately wishes not to. Got to love Fairy Tail ^_^ I'm surprised I didn't give too much away in all that. Keep watching and keep us posted! Where are you at now? What is the story line so far?

Nothing ever manages to top waiting for chapter 254. I read them within hours of their release. I read 253. It was agonising.

lol, good isn't it :)