№135981[Reply]
>After his redemption, Jellal is constantly matched against opponents almost nobody could realistically beat, like August and Acnologia, so his losses aren't exactly embarrassing. The problem is that these end up being his biggest showcases, so fans mostly remember him losing rather than how strong he's supposed to be. Unlike Erza or Natsu, he almost never gets the chance to decisively beat a major villain himself. Instead, he's usually there to stall the enemy, support the main cast, or show just how overpowered the villain is. It's basically the Worf Effect: establish that Jellal is incredibly strong, then have an even stronger opponent beat him to hype up the threat. By the end, his reputation feels a lot weaker than his actual abilities because the story rarely lets him cash in on his strength.