Phantom Lord!

is the 21st episode of the Fairy Tail anime. It first aired on March 8, 2010.

After coming back from a job, Team Natsu finds their guild building destroyed. The guild doesn't take action at first, but after seeing a horrible scene in the park, they decide to go to war with Phantom Lord.

Synopsis
Team Natsu is returning from a mission, all happy and chipper, because it went very well. Lucy asks why the others came along, since the request was hers, and Natsu responds by saying that they are the strongest team. He however, forgets to mention Lucy in the strongest team roster, which makes her angry. On their way, a lot of the townspeople of Magnolia are looking at them empathetically, whispering that they probably haven’t seen it yet. When they finally reach the guild building, they find it torn apart by metal rods, surging out of the center.

Mirajane meets them, and discloses it was Phantom. She directs them to the basement, once the storage room, where Natsu asks the Master why nothing is being done, and Erza agrees with Natsu, but Makarov brushes their words off. Mirajane says the attack happened in the middle of the night, so no one was hurt and Makarov uses this fact to make Phantom look even punier that it is. Natsu isn’t convinced, and Mirajane confesses the real reason why they aren’t counterattacking, it is utterly forbidden by the Council.

Lucy returns home, only to find the entire team on her house. They say that in this time of war, it’s best to stay together, so she yields to the demand. They make themselves comfortable, and after some bickering, settle down and chat. Meanwhile, Team Shadow Gear is attacked by an unknown figure. Secretly, as to preserve silence. In Lucy's apartment, Erza explains about the guilds’ other skirmishes. She says however, that it never amounted to anything more, and after Gray's mention of them, Lucy inquires about the Ten Wizard Saints. Erza explains it is a title of great prestige, bestowed by the Council’s Chairman. Makarov and Jose, Phantom’s Master, are both considered such, and so is Siegrain. The discourse then turns to the guilds’ brute force, with Erza saying that they are on par. The Masters are also approximately the same level, but Phantom has the Element 4, 4 S-Class wizards and Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer who is responsible for the destruction of the Guild headquarters. Lucy realizes that if he is an Iron Dragon Slayer, then similar to how Natsu eats fire, this guy must eat iron.

In the Phantom Lord’s hall, Gajeel is eating iron when is interrupted by an ally, who he punches away. Jose comes and congratulates Gajeel on the progress. He says that the “trash” won’t react from just that, so he left an extra present. Jose is delighted, but remind him to keep “that person” alive. The next morning, at the South Gate Park, the team finds Levy, Jet and Droy chained to a tree, beat up and signed with the Phantom mark. Upon his arrival, the Master is beyond furious and declares war on Phantom Lord.

Lucy is left behind to tend to the wounded, and remembers of the first time she met Levy. They click instantly, so much so that Lucy promises her to be the first to read her novel. Tears roll down her cheek and promises not to forgive whoever did this. The guild arrives at Phantom Lord, Natsu blows up the door, and the battle officially begins. The Fairy Tail Mages quickly gain the upper hand, with Natsu, Erza, Gray, Elfman, Loke, Cana, Happy and especially the Master being in the first line of attack. The Master soon leaves to fight Jose, and the fight seems to be in Fairy Tail’s hand. Gajeel and the Element Four however, are nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, at Magnolia, Lucy is walking to her home when rain starts to fall. Juvia and Sol appear to Lucy and they fight, with Lucy coming out kidnapped. Back at Phantom Lord, the battle rages and Fairy Tail still has the upper hand, but when the Master is out of sight, Gajeel enters the fight.

Fights

 * Shadow Gear vs. Gajeel Redfox (started and concluded)
 * Fairy Tail vs. Phantom Lord
 * Lucy Heartfilia vs. Juvia Lockser (started and concluded)

Spells Used

 * Purple Net
 * Smoke Crush
 * Spark Shot
 * Homing Shot
 * Nature, Run Wild!
 * The Dam of Shy Love
 * The Distance Between The Two Is Forever
 * Mud Shot
 * Wide Shot
 * The Distance Between The Two Is Forever
 * Mud Shot
 * Wide Shot

Abilities used

 * Hand to Hand Combat
 * Swordsmanship
 * Immense Magical Aura

Weapons used

 * Swords
 * Magical Weapons
 * Magic Sniper Rifle
 * Magic Pump-Action Shotgun

Items used

 * Gate of the Canis Minor Key
 * Gate of the Canis Minor Key

Manga and Anime Differences

 * There are additional scenes of Team Natsu on their way to the guild in the anime.
 * In the manga, it was Max Alors and an unidentified Mage who were talking about getting revenge on Phantom Lord Guild, whereas it was Levy, Jet and Droy who were discussing about it in the anime.
 * Makarov asked Lucy if the job they took went well after he greeted them in the manga, but in the anime, he gave Natsu, Lucy, Gray and Happy their punishment for the S-Class job they took without permission.
 * Natsu was angrier in the manga when he told Makarov that the guild was destroyed.
 * Erza's reaction to Lucy's underwear was not shown in the manga.
 * An additional scene of Levy, Jet and Droy being attacked was shown in the anime.
 * Another set of extra scenes were added showing Lucy asking who wants to take a bath next, Erza requipping into her PJs, and Lucy taking away her book draft from Gray, saying that she already promised that Levy should be the first one to read it.
 * Makarov's magical aura was seen emanating from him in the anime after he saw Team Shadow Gear bound to a tree.
 * The anime showed an additional flashback of Levy helping Lucy and the others who were affected by the Changeling spell.