Manga has really upped my tolerance for over-the-top backstories, to the point where its hard to make me feel deeply bad for a character, but this one managed it. It helps that I absolutely love the character of Erza, but it's also because, in seeing this backstory, it reframes much of what Erza has done earlier in the series and that's something I absolutely love out of long series.Aside from that, we get more of what Fairy Tail does best - flat and simple support for friends, regardless of what they are doing or where they're coming from. I love this arc quite a lot, even with the melodrama :)