Wow early releases across the board this week. Not complaining though, we can get to the fight quicker.
Chapter 306: Gray vs Rufus
What Went Down: The touted battle of Gray against Rufus. Starts off with a flashback of the strategy before the games where Gray claims Rufus as his opponent then goes to the battle proper. We learn Rufus's magic is essentially to create or forget any magic from Memory, even combining magic he's memorized (in other words, another broken skill). Gray finds himself on the defensive most of the fight, but counters by Ice-Making so fast Rufus can't memorize it and slams him with a huge ice attack. Rufus tries to burn through it but his flames don't affect Gray who promptly hands Rufus his ass. Game, set, match; Gray avenges his honor.
- Important Things of Note
- Memory Magic explained in full
- Cheers and Jeers
Mmm not as spectacular as I was hoping it to be, but I'm not disappointed either. Both sides displayed their skills nicely, got their hits in and neither felt too one sided. I found Rufus's magic pretty interesting though, I knew he was Mega Manning by adding other people's magic to his arsenal, but combining them together certainly threw me for a loop and made him much more formidable. I was actually kinda sad we didn't get to see more of it in action. His combos were certainly devastating. I do have to call bull on the "forgetting" part though, its one thing to break through another person's magic with your own, but simply waving it away makes his power look more broken then it already was.
Gray's counter was quite creative too, after all your brain can only process something so fast. It's a wonder none of the other contestants thought of it. Then again they didn't have Mavis on their side who knew of the magic before hand so eh. Beautiful pieces of Ice Make too, looks like he was channeling Erza there. Especially loved the finale of the fight, starting with crowd exclaiming of Gray's stripping (not once but in three panels, Juvia's reaction was priceless XD) and ending in a total backfire on Rufus's part after all Gray does spar with a Fire Dragon Slayer. Gray grabbing and putting on Rufus's hat capped off the chapter beautifully.
- Final Grade: A
Sad we only got a panel of the Rescue Team in their current situation while the rest was dedicated to the fight. But the fight itself was nicely done with some good action and humor, just wish it would've went a little longer. But hey, we finally got this grudge match settled so I'm guessing next week will go to Laxus and hopefully some more time spent with the Rescue Team.