10 things I'd do to change Alvarez. [Discussion]

Before I say anything, I do like this arc. I think it's much greater than many people give it credit for. It has issues and points that can be improved upon.

1. Shorten the spriggan 12 to 10. The plot doesn't really lose anything by losing Bloodman and Jacob. You can make up the parts they play by being more creative with a couple of the other 10.

2. Keep Makarov's sacrifice. It's disrespectful to give a character that epic a sendoff and then undo it. I'm well aware of how Mashima portrays sacrifice and how he does not see it as the right way out. That's what would make Makarov's sacrifice hit so hard as the situation was truly that dire to where he would resort to it.

3. Have Elfman take a big bit for Lisanna that leaves him with a scar to remember the war by.

4. Keep Natsu's scar on his face after the war. Not only is it cool and distinctive, It leaves him a reminder of not only his overconfidence, but the brother he had to help put to rest.

5. With Bloodman gone, Gajeel and his team take out several infiltration teams, then when those teams don't check in after a little while, they end up under fire by Irene, who uses her all-seeing eye to spot them and then rain down an attack. Gajeel coats himself in iron dragon scales and takes the hit for Levy. He ends up seriously injured. Yukino has to sunmon a spirit with healing capabilities to save him. Mira has ti constantly make iron for him to eat in order to replenish his strength. It's that bad. Later on, he chooses to take on the rest of the front line after Makarov's sacrifice for three reasons; make up for not doing much the rest of the war; let Erza get to Natsu and Gray; to honor the efforts of the man who gave him a home.

6. Cut out the god of dragons part surrounding God Serena. That's an inconsistency anyway, so it can go. Either simply make him a loon with a dragon-ball level obsession with strength and no connection to Ishgar to begin with (that way, him just getting one-shot by Acnologia makes his character way less of a letdown) and keep the original fight + death, or a double agent who had been gathering information about Alvarez in secret in order to arm Ishgar enough to stand a fighting chance against the titan that is Alvarez. For extra caution, have him slip information to Angel and Mest in small doses (through code, obviously) about the size of the army and what little information he can gather on the other 10. If you go this route, have him take on the four emperors yet not one-shot them this time. He's a good bit stronger than them, yet he faces some resistance against the four emperors together. There's also now more dialogue between Serena and Jura, who aims to take him head on to counter his aoe spells. He eventually defeats Jura through a combination attack yet loses some ground after the other three jump him. This is where Acnologia shows up, and God Serena's absolutely scared stiff. Everyone is. They can't even move, nore can they tear their eyes away from him. Then he gets one-shotted, and it strikes utter terror into the hearts of everyone there. At least with this route, God Serena goes out with having done everything he could to save Ishgar and it still sets up Acnologia as an unavoidable coming disaster. August can wipe out the rest of the emperors afterwards, as none of them can counter his copy magic or overcome his large amount of magic power.

7. Have Brandish try to kill Mest. I can live with her choosing to change sides, but I can't see her just letting him off after using her. There has to at least be some reconciliation there.

8. Have Wendy mention or have a flashback to tartaros at least once.

9. Take away the Juvia death fakeout and instead have her barely clinging to life in Gray's arms. Have him ice over the wound as he desperately tries to keep her alive, screaming out her name out of terror. His screaming gets Wendy's immediate attention due to her advanced hearing and her being nearby. That, and/or give Carla a premonition about it and they head over there. Give Gray flashbacks of Ul, Ultear and finally Silver before walking off to beat the brakes off of Invel. Later, him seeing Natsu as a demon gives him pause as he hadn't previously believed Invel, yet now sees that at the very least, Natsu isn't himself and is out of control. As a demon slayer, he is the only one equipped to handle it. He'll find out if his friend's truly a monster, or just out of his mind. As the fight goes on, and Natsu keeps raging, Gray starts holding back less and less, getting more and more lost in the fighting itself rather than the reason. He keeps hearing his father's voice in his ear, "The leader of Tartaros." "END." "Destroy him." and he finally gives in, fighting Natsu with the intent of killing him. Then do the Erza moment with them.

10. Give Cobra and Crime Sorciere in general a little more screen time. Have them be the ones that we see the grittier aspects of the war through.

What do you think of these?