Our point-of-view character for the story started out as a middling Celestial Spirit mage with a few strong kick attacks and a whip so she could fight alongside her summons, but Lucy has made significant strides since her humble beginnings. She commands 10 of the 12 Zodiac Celestial Spirits, pioneered the “Star Dress” spell that allows her to use their power as her own, and figured out how to rewrite Natsu’s Book of E.N.D. so she could save him from otherwise fatal injuries and release him from Zeref’s control. We’re so happy to see how far she’s come!

Lucy’s distant ancestor was also a Celestial Spirit mage, albeit one who had an even grander task to accomplish than just keeping Natsu alive. Anna was in charge of raising the Dragon Slayer children 400 years ago, setting them up with their adoptive dragon parents, and sending them through the (nearly impossible to open and close) Eclipse Gate to the future so that they could eventually grow up to defeat Acnologia. Even though she played more of a background role in the story, Anna’s magic had to be powerful to get the Dragon Slayers to the future in the first place.

Formerly a recurring villain in the early arcs of Fairy Tail, Ultear redeemed herself by saving everyone at the Grand Magic Games from certain death during the dragon attacks orchestrated by Future Rogue. She used the forbidden “Last Ages” spell, which reversed time by one minute at the cost of aging herself to near death. With the knowledge of what happened during that minute, countless people were able to dodge attacks that killed them the first go-around. Ultear even comes back in spirit form during the Dimaria fight to break Wendy and Chelia out of stopped time!

As one of the Spriggan 12, Irene is already at a much higher level than most mages we’ve seen before. She can enchant weapons to become living people, restructure the landmass of an entire continent at will, and pull meteors out of orbit to throw at people. She’s also the originator of Dragon Slayer magic and used to be able to turn into a dragon herself. The only one able to defeat her is her equally overpowered daughter, the indomitable Erza Scarlet.

The first Guild Master of Fairy Tail has slept underneath the guild hall for over 100 years, only able to appear as a spirit until the Alvarez arc when she returns to help lead Fairy Tail to victory. She grew up as a penniless child with only her illusion magic to keep her company, but eventually became a master tactician and mage who invented the three great Fairy spells: Fairy Law, Fairy Glitter, and Fairy Sphere. She also suffers from Ankhseram’s curse just like Zeref, so she’s the only one who can truly understand him. In the end, that knowledge is what allows her to defeat him once and for all.

On the surface, Erza doesn’t seem to have enough magic power or strength to justify her virtually unblemished winning streak over opponents that could easily wipe the floor with her comrades. However, Erza possesses the most ironclad armor that any anime character can have: plot armor. It doesn’t matter if every bone in her body is broken, her pain sensors are turned up to eleven, or if she’s crushed by a meteor, she’ll shrug all of it off and claim victory over her dumbfounded enemies. Why? “Because she’s Erza.”

Gildarts is one of Fairy Tail’s most elite mages – he barely appears in the series because he’s usually busy taking on S-class missions that nobody else can even hope to handle (Captain Marvel style). When he returns home, the entire town of Magnolia has to shift its layout with industrial lifts just so that his “Crush” magic doesn’t accidentally destroy everything in its path. During the Tenrou Island arc, the normally cocksure Natsu shakes in fear and admits defeat after just a sampling of Gildarts’ true power. The only reason the S-class hero loses points is that he doesn’t do much during the final fights with Zeref and Acnologia.

Zeref has been the mysterious “man behind the man” for most villain groups in the series, either as a shadowy general or just as an object of worship. He is burdened with Ankhseram’s curse, which kills everything that he cares about if it enters a small radius around him. However, he still manages to amass a gigantic army in the neighboring country of Alvarez because he doesn’t view them as people, so he’s still more than a match for the Fairy Tail guild. He can also create demons and control Natsu through the Book of E.N.D., so it’ll take more than just brute force to kill him...

This ancient dragon is so immensely powerful that, when the Fairy Tail guild first encountered him during the Tenrou Island arc, they had to freeze themselves inside a magical sphere for seven years just to survive one of his basic attacks. Once the last arc of the series comes around, Acnologia is determined to kill every single Dragon Slayer and take over the world. And since he’s the Magic Dragon Slayer, regular magic doesn’t work on him at all. How can our heroes possibly hope to scratch him, let alone defeat him?

Natsu is the Fire Dragon Slayer, adoptive son of the dragon Igneel and the intrepid main character of Fairy Tail. By all rights, he shouldn’t be able to outmatch Zeref or Acnologia, but with the combined power of his Dragon Slayer magic, his friends’ help, his own dogged determination, and even more plot armor than Erza, he prevails in the end. He even overcomes the magical tumor that nearly kills him through sheer willpower! Without a doubt, Natsu is the strongest character in the entire series.

One of the original founders of the Fairy Tail Guild and the 2nd Master of Fairy Tail after Mavis Vermillion, Hades (known as Precht Gaebold then) ended up leaving the Guild in the care of Makarov Dreyar in order to discover the origin of magic. This journey would lead to the discovery of Zeref himself, resulting in a reformation of what he originally believed in as well as the founding of the Dark Guild known as Grimoire Heart in order to ultimately revive Zeref. Hades has a variety of techniques that make him a formidable foe, but among his most signature techniques in combat are his Demon’s Eye, which grants Hades abilities such as bringing things back to life under his control and immense Magic Power, and his abilities regarding Chain Magic, which were frequently used in his youth. Although he was defeated by Natsu (with some help from the Fairy Tail Guild as a whole) and is eventually killed by Zeref himself, Hades is certainly a force to be reckoned with.

An intimidating S-Class Mage in the Fairy Tail Guild, Erza Scarlet’s abilities in combat are nothing to dismiss despite being ranked at #9. Erza is an opponent most people don’t want to cross not only because of her skills, but also because of her personality, as she tends to be pretty strict and impatient. Erza’s magic mainly revolves around requipping; she has a variety of different armors and outfits that she uses in combat, and combined with her quick reflexes, her swordplay and her durability, make her someone you don’t want to underestimate. Accomplishing feats such as defeating 100 monsters at once, mastering different swords, and temporarily serving as the guild’s 7th Guild Master during Makarov’s absence just shows how much Erza should be respected in terms of her strength.

Considered to be the main antagonist throughout the series, Jellal’s strength is balanced throughout his various techniques both in and outside of combat. Once a member of the Magic Council, Jellal worked towards permanently eliminating the members of the Fairy Tail Guild, and possessed the necessary manipulations skills to hide his true nature from those around him. However, a key part to Jellal’s character revolves around him losing his memory and holding himself accountable for his mistakes as he relearns his past, resulting in Jellal becoming even stronger. Jellal’s magical abilities span from Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth Magic to Heavenly Body Magic, Thought Projection, and even Darkness Magic, resulting in a variety of different techniques to defend against while fighting him. Through these techniques and more, Jellal is able to hold his own against almost anyone.

A second generation Dragon Slayer and Makarov’s grandson, Laxus specializes in Lightning Magic. This specialization results in Laxus’ techniques being incredibly powerful, such as producing and manipulating electricity at will from anywhere, turning himself into a lightning bolt and moving at incredible speeds, and (in conjunction with his Dragon Slayer Magic) powerful physical attacks that can cause mass destruction. As a result, Laxus can back up his arrogant attitude, something that eventually results in a head to head rivalry with Natsu. Considering that he is on par with Natsu and can go toe to toe with him, it’s safe to say that Laxus is among the best of the best when it comes to strength.

The 3rd, 6th, and 8th Guild Master of the Fairy Tail Guild and one of the Ten Wizard Saints, Makarov relies a lot on his experience in combat, which is impressive for someone that’s almost 90 years old. Despite his small stature and his unique eccentricities, Makarov makes up for these with his skillset. His Giant Magic allows him to grow to a size as big as Tenrou Island, his Maximum Defense Seal is among the best to rely on for protection, and his use of Fairy Law is so powerful that it defeated a fellow Wizard Saint in one blow. Make no mistake, Makarov’s abilities combined with his amazing sense to love and believe in people easily rank him among the best.

The protagonist of the series, Natsu has certainly seen his ups and downs when it comes to combat, as he has lost to all of Fairy Tail’s current S-Class mages despite showing abilities that prove he can hold his own with them if not defeat them. As a result, the consistency of his abilities can be lacking. Yet despite these setbacks, Natsu continues to grow in strength, and his use of Fire Dragon Slayer Magic as well as the power he achieved with Fire Dragon King Mode cannot be ignored. Combined with his enhanced reflexes, hearing, strength, and speed as well as his resolve for growing stronger, Natsu certainly has quite the case for being the strongest mage.

The Fairy Tail Guild’s ace in the hole as well as its 5th Guild Master (albeit very brief), Gildarts is extremely laid back in his approach to fighting, never holding his opponent in too high a regard but never underestimating them either. His signature magic is a type of Caster Magic known as Crush, which is exactly what it sounds like: anything that comes into contact with Gildarts, including an opponent’s Magic spells, will be obliterated into pieces. In addition to his mastery of Crush, Gildarts is also an expert in hand to hand combat, something he effortlessly uses to overcome Natsu in their fight despite Natsu’s strength, and possesses an incredible amount of Magic Power, even among S-Class Mages. There’s certainly a reason why he’s Fairy Tail’s ace and the next choice for Guild Master.

Also known as the Black Dragon and one of the first ever Dragon Slayers, Acnologia quite simply possesses a massive amount of raw power that arguably puts him in the conversation as to whether he’s the strongest character overall. What Acnologia has accomplished with his abilities is nothing short of incredible: using his Dragon Slayer Magic to reap the souls of actual dragons, being the one responsible for why Gildarts has a prosthetic left arm and left leg, and possessing an immense amount of Magic Power to the point where even Zeref considered him powerful enough to rule the world. With his immense strength, Magic Power, and transformation abilities, Acnologia’s strength is easily recognized among the best of the best.

The first Fairy Tail Guild Master as well as a cofounder of Fairy Guild, Mavis’ strength lies in not only her Magic Power, but also her skills as a tactician, The strategies she employs in combat for both herself and the rest of the Guild allow them to overcome almost any opponent to the point where it seems that Mavis is reading the future. Mavis’ magic abilities themselves are also incredible: throughout most of the series she is comatose, relying on her powerful Thought Projection technique to communicate only to those that possess the Fairy Tail Guild symbol. In addition, Mavis can utilize her Illusion Magic to project some realistic and scary images, and her Fairy Glitter Spell allows Mavis to concentrate energy from the sun, the moon, and the stars. It is also because of Mavis’ Fairy Sphere technique that the Fairy Tail Guild are able to defend against Acnologia’s Dragon roar technique, something very few mages can defend against. She even has a few Dark Magic abilities in her arsenal to use as well. All in all, despite her age and her unique limitations, Mavis certainly has what it takes to possibly be considered the strongest Fairy tail character.

The strongest character in Fairy Tail bar none, Zeref is revered as the strongest Mage of all time as well as the most evil. Zeref’s character is complicated: he is very vindictive and won’t hesitate to kill those he believes are evil, yet feels he must atone for all the sins he has committed over the course of his existence. Zeref’s strength lies in his mastery of all forms of Dark Magic at a young age and the fact that his Magic Power is so enormous that at times he can’t consciously control it; the only way he can is if he remains cold-hearted and holds no regard for human life. Ankhseram Black Magic in particular allows Zeref to kill anything he desires, resulting in the side effect of immortality for Zeref as well as the inability to age. Zeref also has a mastery of Living Magic, resulting in some incredibly powerful demons. Not to mention techniques such as Law, a bright light that can inflict powerful damage to its target and also the technique Zeref taught Mavis, or Immobilization Magic, which allows Zeref to freeze time over a surrounding area. It’s without a doubt that Zeref makes the best case for being the strongest character in Fairy Tail.