Summary
Fairy Tailmight not have been as popular as some other shonen anime, but it had its highlights. One of the coolest parts of the anime was its dragons, legendary creatures of immense power and influence, who empowered the Dragon Slayers and played major roles in some of the anime’s most important arcs.
It took a while for the Dragons to show up in the flesh, but fans weren’t disappointed when they did. Their raw power dwarfed that of even the show’s most powerful humans, and they even made the Dragon Slayers look like chumps at times.Fairy Tailis arguably one ofthe best shonen anime ever, and these dragons were one of the best things about the show. However, not all dragons were created equally. Some were much more powerful than others, with one standing above the rest. With the newFairy Tail: 100 Years Questadaptation about to introduce fans to the Dragon Gods, there’s never been a better time to look back at the original anime’s mightiest dragons.
Updated on Jul 03, 2025, by Robbie Mitchell:With the release of Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest it’s finally time to take a look at the Dragon Gods. These mighty dragons hail from the northern continent of Guiltina and each is said to be at least as powerful as the anime’s former titleholder, Acnologia. The new series is ongoing, as is the manga, so we haven’t seen all that much of all the Dragon Gods yet. This being considered, we’ll be using some information from the manga to rank them.Those who wish to avoid spoilers might want to wait until both are finished before reading on.
Status
Deceased
Fans never got to learn that much about Motherglare. It was summoned by future Rogue Cheney using Dragon Tamer Magic during the Grand Magic Games, one ofthe best anime tournament arcs, and quickly established itself as one of the most powerful dragons. Motherglare mostly uses Diamond Dragon Slayer Magic, which makes it more of a defensive fighter.
Focused on the diamond element, Motherglare can use the Diamond Form spell to up its alreadynaturally high defense and reinforceits jaws for extra powerful bites using Diamond Dragon’s Jaw. Its roar attack, which shoots a diamond beam, can level a mountain. On top of these, Motherglare has another trick up its sleeve, Egg Magic, which allows it tospawn little Dragonoids that fight on its behalf. Motherglare was powerful enough during this arc to hold its own against Atlas Flame, a dragon that ranks much higher on this list. That said, Motherglare gets the bottom ranking because its abilities were mostly defence-based, and it was ultimately a minor player in the anime.
Ranking Animus is kind of difficult because viewers never really got to see him at full power. As theantagonist ofFairy Tail: Dragon Cry, he spent most of the film manipulating people. Before the events of the film,Animus was brutally defeated by Acnologiabut, when near death, managed to use the Dragon Soul Technique to seal himself in a young Sonya’s body. He then bided his time, using his powers to manipulate Sonya and the people around her while he healed.
Animus wielded thepowerful Dragon Slayer Magic, while his roar attack was a deadly beam of pure energy. While trapped within Sonya, he used his thought projection magic to create a human projection strong enough that others could see it. He used that projection to become King of Stella by convincing Sonya that he would be a kind and benevolent ruler. He could also use his powers of Telekinesis to bind others in place by pointing at them. At the end of the day, however,Animus only appeared in the movie, lessening his impact on the series as a whole. He was also dependent on the Dragon Cry artifact and relied on mind games over brute strength. These factors land him with a low ranking when it comes to power.
Fans can’t be sure how powerful Grandeeney was before she got her soul stolen, and during the anime, viewers never see her use her Sky Dragon Magic, which makes it hard to rank her. Her gentle-looking design would suggest she was never much of a fighter.
However,Grandeeney raised and trained Wendy Marvell,who went on to become one ofthe strongest female mages inFairy Tail, even though her training with Grandeeny was never completed. Grandeeny also taught Porlyusica the super powerful Milky Way and Shattering Light: Sky Drill attacks in the hopes they’d be passed on to Wendy. This indicates that once upon a time,Grandeeney was pretty powerful, even if fans never got to see her at full strength during the anime.
Like several ofFairy Tail’s other high-profile dragons, Skiadrum had his soul stolen by Acnologia’s Dragon Slayer Magic. This left him in a half-dead state, which means fans never saw all that many impressive feats from him during the anime. His most impressive feat was arguably during the Tartaros arc, one ofFairy Tail’s best arcs, during which Skiadrumdestroys several powerful Face bombs single-handed.
His true power, though, lay in hisShadow Dragon Slayer Magic. This allows him to turn his body into shadows and move at high speeds. He also has the Shadow Dragon’s Illusion, which gives him the ability to manipulate and change any human’s memory - something he did to his son, Rogue. In the wrong hands, that could be a dangerous power indeed. Skiadrum’s half-dead nature and the fact that viewers never saw that many impressive physical feats from him earned him a low-to-middle place ranking.
Weisslogia and Skiadrum appear to be on a similar power level, but the White Dragon just edges into the lead. Weisslogia’s White Dragon Slayer Magic haspotent offensive abilities. His stigmata attack can freeze opponents, while his roar attack takes the form of a deadly laser beam. During the Tartaros arc, Weisslogia is also seen destroying a good number of Face bombs by both ramming them and summoning impressive pillars of light.
Like Skiadrum, he also possesses theability to alter human minds, something he did to Sting. Everything viewers see from Weisslogia suggests he’s more powerful than the previous dragons on this list, and if he hadn’t lost his soul, he could have given the higher-ranked entries a run for their money.
Straight out of the gate, Metalicana’s body is made out of metal, and that alone is enough to earn him a decent ranking.Fairy Tail’s dragons are intimidating enough, but one with an iron hide would be downright terrifying to fight in battle.
Unfortunately,fans never got to see Metalicana use his Iron Dragon Slayer Magic,but he did teach it to Gajeel. Considering how powerful Gajeel is and the fact that Metalicana would be even more powerful himself, Metalicana must deserve a high ranking. During the Tartaros Arc, Metalciana didn’t need any fancy tricks to destroy the Face bombs; he simply flew into them, his sheer force smashing them to bits.
Atlas Flame is a pretty big step up from the earlier entries. While he was originally introduced as an antagonist, it soon turned out that he was under the influence of the Dragon Supremacy Magicand that he’s actually a pretty cool Dragon. It is a surprise, considering hetends to be engulfed in flames.
According to Atlas Flame himself, hisflames are as powerful as the flames of hell. The flames that make up his body make him immune to all but the most deadly attacks, and he can dispel any magic that has been cast on his opponents. His Hell Flame Roar lets out a blast of devastating flames powerful enough to take out all the members of Fairy Tail, and his Fire Spin attack is one best avoided. He’s so powerful that a village of giants even worships him as a god.
Irene is a fairly unique entry in that she is a human who becomes a dragon. As one ofthe best female villains inFairy Tail, she was animmensely powerful 400-year-old magewho had grown inhuman over the years. As one of the first Dragon Slayers, Irene’s mastery of enchantment magic allows her to manipulate reality and augment her abilities significantly.
Irene’s sheer age means her combat experience is extensive, and she’s honed her powers over countless battles. Her transformation into a dragon was a result of her intense magical power and the curse of the Dragon Seed. She can enchant whatever she wishes, and during her battle with Erz, Scarletmanages to summon a massive meteor. Her dragon form simply magnifies her existing powers to terrifying levels, giving her the ability to cast spells and enchantments much more powerful than any mere human ever could.
Igneel’s title as the Fire Dragon King should be a good indicator of just how powerful he is. He’s a giant,legendary dragon who possesses mastery over all fire magic, which he uses for both deadly long-range and melee attacks. His roar attack takes the form of a giant explosion that destroys everything nearby, while his Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist is powerful enough to blow away the Dragon King Acnologia.
His defenses are just as impressive, and Igneel is the only powerful dragon to go toe-to-toe with Acnologia and walk away with just a handful of cuts and scrapes. Whereas most dragons ultimately fled from the Dragon King, Igneel was confident enough in his might to take the fight to him. He’s an incredibly powerful dragon and one ofthe most iconic anime dragons ever.
Acnologia wasn’t just the most powerful dragon in the anime (before the recent debut of the Dragon Gods). He was easilyFairy Tail’s most powerful character, and it’s not even close. Acnologia was once a Dragon Slayer who made a vow to slay every Dragon in existence. Instead, he overused his magic, and after bathing in dragon blood, hebecame the very thing he hated.
His element is Magic itself, something that makes him almost unstoppable. His Dragon’s Roar ability destroyed Tenrou island, leaving nothing but a crater behind, and with his Eternal Flare ability, he’s able to summon actual stars that rain down on his enemies. His dragon form simply takes his many powers and amps them up to untold levels.Acnologia managed to kill almost all the dragons single-handedly, and his very name instilled fear in all who heard it.
