#i try not to bully anyone but give my perspective on why i dislike gr///via

[gralunaisland]

I just wanted to ask,

Is it okay for me to be a J///erza Anti?

I have my reasons for not shipping the ship, but at the same time I wonder if I'm just being difficult and trying to be "different".

One part of me is like, "J///Erza shouldn't be canon because the whole Jellal almost killed Erza, and has been the cause of her trauma ever since she was a child." But the other part of me is like, "But the fans ship it, they see that Erza has forgiven him and they have official art, even their potential future son has been drawn."

It's Okay to Be a Jerza Anti (Coming from a Jerza Shipper)

Thank you so much for coming to me with this ask! I'll give you my opinion on the subject to try to help you out.

It's completely okay for you to be Anti Jerza!

Really, everyone has a right to hate whatever ship they want to! That really comes down to personal preference, and it's very subjective, not objective.

But even beyond that, you have very understandable reasons to not like it, don't worry. I totally understand where you're coming from. The trauma Jellal inflicted on Erza at such a young age will probably never completely heal. He enslaved "willing" workers to work for him after manipulating them to think Erza was the one who had cut off their chances at escape. He killed Simon. He brutalized Erza and banished her.

Those aren't easy things to forgive. And it's really completely fine for you to not forgive those things. I'd say it just shows your empathy for what Erza had to endure, which is a good thing!

For me, the reason I ship Jerza is that I attribute all the horrible things he did to Ultear manipulating him into doing them with her magic. He thought he was doing the right thing in a dark and twisted way. I also appreciate the following arcs where Jellal is on a mission to atone for his sins and to better himself in repentance. Honestly, in my opinion, it's one of the best things Mashima has written.

But that doesn't mean you have to take that perspective! Because even though I don't blame him, it doesn't change the fact that he did commit all those harmful acts, so it's easy to see why people wouldn't like him regardless of his redemption arc.

I hope you won't feel pressured to like a ship just because other fans ship it. Fandoms seldom agree on most things, so it's natural to disagree with even a large portion of a fandom. I for one am a part of a smaller subgroup of fans who hates gr///via and all that it is (clearly haha) but there's a reason why gr///via, and Jerza, are a part of the Big Four--most people ship it. Doesn't make them right whatsoever, which is something I try to prove on this blog of mine.

I also would take official art as well as drawings of potential children as inconsequential. We shouldn't care if Mashima likes a ship or imagined their futures together. Manga authors are just as imperfect as the rest of us, so he could (and does) very well promote terrible, toxic ships. ( I talk about this topic in this post actually, I recommend checking it out!)

I hope this reassures you that your opinion matters. Don't be swayed by the masses; stand strong in what you like and dislike! >:D You got this, I believe in ya!

(Thank you for your patience!)