Out of all the shonen anime present today, Fairy Tail can arguably be considered the most wholesome of the bunch. From its jovial setting, creative magical abilities, and of course, the power of friendship, there is no denying that the series knows how to keep its fans hooked.
But despite what the show has going for it, there is the occasional moment in which the tone becomes more disturbing or serious in nature. Be it a character's death or a traumatizing backstory, these moments are sure to make viewers cringe or even look away. In a show renowned for its humor, these moments are surprisingly grim.
10 Gajeel's Treatment of Lucy
The Phantom Lord arc of Fairy Tail proved to be one of the first real challenges for the entire Fairy Tail guild. But one moment that truly highlighted the severity of the situation was Lucy's treatment at the hands of Gajeel.
After being recaptured by Phantom Lord, Gajeel takes it upon himself to torture Lucy for no reason other than to pass the time. Though Gajeel would eventually join Fairy Tail himself, this moment is a prime reminder of just how cruel he used to be.
9 Karen Abusing Aries and Loke
Prior to coming under Lucy's wing, Loke and Aries were previously owned by the Blue Pegasus mage Karen Lilica. Unfortunately for the two Celestial Spirits, Karen was a heartless mage who had no problem torturing her spirits or using them as shields during battles, all under the impression that she could do whatever she wanted with her spirits.
Even the Blue Pegasus master Bob deemed Karen's methods to be abusive and demanded her to stop. It was only until her death at the hands of another Celestial Spirit mage that Karen finally began to realize the consequences of her actions.
8 Erza's Past
Erza is one of the strongest members of Fairy Tail, but her past is also quite traumatizing. Having been abducted by a Zeref-worshipping cult as a child, Erza was forced to build the Tower of Heaven alongside several other enslaved children.
Things only got worse for Erza when a botched escape plan led to her losing an eye as punishment. Even several years after the fact, Erza still struggles to come to terms with her past; she occasionally has dreams about it, and memories resurface whenever she is in similar situations.
7 Laxus' Thunder Palace
In order to usurp the guild from his grandfather Makarov, Laxus orchestrates the Battle of Fairy Tail, a city-wide battle in which the guild members must fight each other to determine the strongest Fairy Tail mage and save the petrified Fairy Tail girls. However, upon Evergreen's defeat, the girls are set free, prompting Laxus to activate the Thunder Palace.
Not only did the Thunder Palace pose a threat to every citizen in Magnolia, but it was also a chilling testament to how far Laxus would go in order to take control of Fairy Tail. It ultimately took a combined effort from the entire guild to bring down the Thunder Palace, but the resulting aftershock left everyone grievously injured.
6 Midnight's Illusions
Team Natsu and their allies are warned that waking up Midnight of the Oracion Seis would be a huge mistake on their part. Ultimately, Midnight awakens and confronts Erza and her party on top of the Nirvana structure.
During their battle, Midnight subjects both Erza and Jellal to horrifying illusions, even transforming into a gargantuan monster in the process. Erza eventually negates his illusions using her fake eye, but it is safe to say that the illusions were very unsettling for many viewers.
5 The Naval Battle
Much like the Phantom Lord arc, the Grand Magic Games illustrated the fierce rivalry between the Fairy Tail and Sabertooth guilds as they vied for the title of the strongest. But even with this in mind, it is hard to excuse Minerva's actions towards Lucy at the time of the tournament's fourth event.
Rather than forcing Lucy out of the ring with her unique Territory magic, as per the rules of the Naval Battle, Minerva instead opts to brutally attack Lucy in order to teach Fairy Tail a lesson. Naturally, her actions earned the ire of both Fairy Tail and many viewers at the time.
4 Erza Captured by Kyoka
After she and Mirajane venture out to prevent the former chairman Crawford Seam, Erza is knocked out only to later reawaken in the clutches of Tartarus. From there, she was completely helpless as Kyoka, one of the Nine Demon Gates, tortured her both for her own satisfaction and to find out about Jellal's location.
Even after Erza broke down and repeatedly stated that she did not know where Jellal was, Kyoka continued to torture her, using her Enhancement Curse to heighten Erza's sensitivity to pain. Though Erza ultimately defeated Kyoka, she was still visibly shaken after the fact, to the point of remembering her traumatic childhood.
3 Alegria
The war between the Fairy Tail and Tartarus guilds proved to be one of the most destructive arcs in the entire series. This is especially notable when Mard Geer, the de-facto leader of Tartarus, cast the transformative Alegria curse upon the entire Fairy Tail guild.
After Mard Geer telepathically introduced himself to the guild, he immediately casts the curse, causing the Cube headquarters to morph into the sentient demon-like creature called Plutogrim. All the members of Fairy Tail are assimilated into the creature except Lucy, who is then immediately bombarded by Tartarus soldiers.
2 Juvia's Sacrifice
The fights against Alvarez's Spriggan Twelve were thrilling in their own right, but none of them were quite as unsettling and heart-wrenching as the fight against Invel Yura. Using his invasive Ice Lock technique, Invel forces Gray and Juvia to fight each other to the death.
However, rather than fall completely under Invel's control, Juvia and Gray instead choose to incapacitate themselves, with the former choosing to revitalize Gray with a surprise blood transfusion technique. Now empowered and enraged, Gray manages to defeat Invel, but not before grieving over Juvia's supposed loss.
1 Acnologia mocks Irene
Throughout the entire series, Acnologia has been notorious for his brutality, from attacking Tenrou Island to killing the Fire Dragon Igneel. This particular trait of his comes to a head during the later stages of the Ishgar-Alvarez war when he encounters a deceased Irene.
Upon acknowledging her as the mother of Dragon Slayer magic, Acnologia proceeds to desecrate Irene's corpse for seemingly no reason, much to Erza and Wendy's horror. It is only upon noticing that Wendy is a Dragon Slayer that Acnologia finally leaves Irene be, opting to kill Wendy instead.