Meet the World's Worst-Rated Anime Episode That’s Actually a Classic

Modern shonen is mostly defined by long-standing hits like One Piece and My Hero Academia, or newer sensations like Solo Leveling and Dandadan. That said, before all these new mega-hits came along, one shonen series constantly competed with the so-called “Big Three.”

Despite having an ongoing sequel manga and anime in 100 Years Quest, Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima has somewhat faded into the background in the last couple of years. Still, due to the popularity Fairy Tail enjoyed in the 2010s, the anime remains fairly well-rated among fans and across forums, save for one singular episode, which is arguably in fact one of its best.

Fairy Tail Has One of Shonen’s Worst-Rated Episodes

But It’s Secretly Good

For how influential Fairy Tail once was, it also surprisingly houses what may just be one of the worst-rated shonen episodes. Coming in as the second episode of a filler arc, Episode 126 of Fairy Tail is the lowest-rated episode of the entire series, with a score of 5.9 on IMDb.

While this score isn’t as low as the likes of Season 3 of One Punch Man, with the former technically being a seinen, Fairy Tail remains in the running for shonen’s worst-rated episode. The episode in question is titled “The Truly Evil Jiggle Butt Gang” and follows Fairy Tail’s typical episodic filler format, this time centered on a mission to transport cargo on a train.

It is on this mission that Lucy, Natsu, Wendy, Happy, and Carla first encounter the self-proclaimed scoundrels plotting to steal the gold cargo on board. As their namesake suggests, the Jiggle Butt Gang’s offense centers around their fart attacks, and what ensues is a slew of butt and fart gags, arguably made even funnier in the English dub.

While fart humor has gotten a bad rep, Fairy Tail does manage to use it in a truly hilarious manner, such as using a triple fart combo to propel a train carriage forward. Overall, with Wendy temporarily joining the troupe and attempting to recruit them into Fairy Tail, the episode itself is quite entertaining.

Moreover, given the standalone structure of the episode, it arguably also serves as an excellent introduction to the series and the silly yet lovable humor at its core.

Fairy Tail’s Most Hated Episode Kicks Off Its Best Filler Arc

In retrospect, Fairy Tail as a series is full of surprises upon rewatch. For one, the series handled filler in quite a unique way, with only two major filler arcs throughout its run, in addition to single, stray filler episodes scattered across the series. In all, Fairy Tail contains little over 60 episodes of filler in all, with even its two major filler arcs being well executed.

Of the two, the Key of the Starry Sky Arc is arguably unskippable, and not just because of the Jiggle Butt Gang episode. Despite being anime-exclusive, the filler arc is well incorporated into the broader canon.

The Key of the Starry Sky Arc not only expands on Lucy’s family history and childhood but also calls back to the Edolas and Oracion Seis Arcs in meaningful ways, giving closure to some characters while setting the stage for future character arcs for others like Cobra.

Even the Jiggle Butt Gang, who were introduced as gag villains, eventually come to be a constant and even somewhat important presence later in the arc.

All in all, while the reception to Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest has been somewhat mixed, there’s no denying that Fairy Tail is still truly a shonen classic. While A-1 Pictures’ animation may not have been as flashy as it is with series like Solo Leveling at present, don’t let its animation and badly rated episodes stop you from giving Fairy Tail a chance.