Fairy Tail the Movie 2: Dragon Cry
劇場版 FAIRY TAIL 『DRAGON CRY』 (Fairy Tail Movie 2: Dragon Cry)
- Action
- Adventure
- Fantasy
- Mythology
- Super Power
- Episodes
- 1
- Duration
- 1 hr 24 min
- Aired
- May 6, 2017
- Status
- Finished Airing
Synopsis
*Fairy Tail the Movie 2: Dragon Cry* centers on Dragon Cry, a staff-like relic forged from the rage and sorrow of dragons long since vanished—an artifact said to hold catastrophic power. When the traitor Zash Caine steals it from the Kingdom of Fiore and escapes to the island nation of Stella, the balance between nations is suddenly at risk.
With the relic in dangerous hands, the King of Fiore dispatches Fairy Tail to recover it. Their pursuit leads them into Stella, where an unsettling secret lurking within the kingdom complicates the mission, forcing the guild to draw on everything they have to reclaim Dragon Cry and protect both realms.
Otaku Consensus
Dragon Cry lands as the stronger of Fairy Tail’s two theatrical outings: Tatsuma Minamikawa’s direction keeps the movie compact, A-1 Pictures gives the guild’s super-power combat a cleaner big-screen snap, and the late-series dragon mythology makes it feel more consequential than a disposable side story. Its main weakness is the same one cited by detractors across fan discussions: the movie leans on stacked exposition and familiar plotting, so several action beats feel either rushed or less inventive than Fairy Tail at its best. For viewers already invested in the Avatar-to-Alvarez stretch of the franchise, it plays less like optional filler and more like a concentrated franchise event.
Why You Should Watch
Watch Dragon Cry if you want late-stage Fairy Tail energy in a single theatrical burst: guild banter, dragon-lore escalation, and magic brawls without committing to another long arc. It especially suits fans who like the team-mission momentum of One Piece films or the power-ceiling spectacle of The Seven Deadly Sins, but want Fairy Tail’s warmer found-family rhythm and brighter fantasy palette. The movie is best approached after you know the Avatar arc context and before the Alvarez endgame, because its placement gives certain transformations, tensions, and mythology more bite. If Phoenix Priestess felt too isolated, Dragon Cry is the more franchise-conscious follow-up: still self-contained, but built to reward viewers who track where the anime’s final saga is heading.
Key Characters
- NNatsu Dragneel
Natsu is the film’s most important emotional and combat focal point, with Dragon Cry using his dragon-slayer identity as more than just a power-up showcase.
- LLucy Heartfilia
Lucy anchors the movie’s guild chemistry, giving the theatrical chaos a familiar point of view rather than letting it become only a sequence of set pieces.
- HHappy
Happy keeps the film tied to Fairy Tail’s comic timing, balancing the heavier dragon mythology with the series’ mascot-driven levity.
- ZZash Caine
Zash Caine stands out as a movie-original instigator whose role pushes the story into international fantasy politics rather than a standard guild job.
What Makes It Stand Out
- 1
A-1 Pictures returned for the second Fairy Tail movie, giving Dragon Cry a direct production link to Phoenix Priestess while aiming for a faster, more event-film rhythm.
- 2
The movie is widely discussed as fitting between the Avatar and Alvarez arcs, which makes viewing order matter more than it does for many shounen franchise films.
- 3
Hiro Mashima is credited as the original creator, while the film’s core production team includes director Tatsuma Minamikawa and character designer Yuuko Yamada.
- 4
The staff list separates prop design between Hiroshi Ogawa and Michinori Shiga, a notable detail for a movie centered on a single artifact with mythological weight.
- 5
AniList’s strongest tags are Magic and Dragons at 79% each, with Mythology and Super Power listed as official themes, reflecting how strongly the film leans into Fairy Tail’s late-series dragon material.
Fun Facts & Trivia
- Fun fact 1
- Dragon Cry opened in Japan on May 6, 2017 as a one-episode theatrical feature, not as an OVA or television special.
- Fun fact 2
- Its cross-platform reception is notably consistent: MAL lists it at 7.56 from 106,074 votes, while AniList records a 74/100 score and 832 favourites.
- Fun fact 3
- The movie’s MAL footprint places it at rank #1916 and popularity #1367, making it a mid-ranked but broadly sampled entry rather than a niche franchise footnote.
- Fun fact 4
- Fan discussions often recommend watching it after the Avatar arc and before the Alvarez arc; viewers who skip the manga context commonly report that its timeline is harder to place.
- Fun fact 5
- The visual team includes art director Junichi Higashi, art designer Yuuta Fujii, color designer Saori Gouda, photography director Yuuichirou Tozawa, and editor Yoshiaki Kimura, showing a full theatrical pipeline beyond the TV-series template.
Studios
- A-1 Pictures
