Not to be confused with Fairy tale.

Fairy Tail
First volume of Fairy Tail, released in Japan by Kodansha on December 15, 2006
???????? (Fear? Teiru)
Genre | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Manga
Written by | Hiro Mashima
Published by | Kodansha
English publisher | NA Del Rey Manga (former) Kodansha Comics USA
Demographic | Sh?nen
Magazine | Weekly Sh?nen Magazine
Original run | August 2006 – ongoing
Volumes | 34 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed by | Shinji Ishihara
Written by | Masashi Sogo
Music by | Yasuharu Takanashi
Studio | A-1 Pictures, Satelight
Licensed by | AUS Madman Entertainment NA Funimation Entertainment UK Manga Entertainment
Network | TV Tokyo
English network | SEA Animax Asia US Funimation Channel
Original run | October 12, 2009 – ongoing
Episodes | 160 - Ongoing (List of episodes)
Original video animation
Welcome to Fairy Hills!!
Directed by | Shinji Ishihara
Written by | Masashi Sogo
Music by | Yasuharu Takanashi
Studio | A-1 Pictures, Satelight
Released | April 15, 2011
Original video animation
Fairy Academy - Yankee-kun and Yankee-chan!
Directed by | Shinji Ishihara
Written by | Masashi Sogo
Music by | Yasuharu Takanashi
Studio | A-1 Pictures, Satelight
Released | June 17, 2011
Original video animation
Memory Days
Directed by | Shinji Ishihara
Written by | Masashi Sogo, Hiro Mashima
Music by | Yasuharu Takanashi
Studio | A-1 Pictures, Satelight
Released | February 17, 2012
Runtime | 24 minutes
Anime film
Fairy Tail the Movie: The Phoenix Priestess
Directed by | Masaya Fujimori
Written by | Masashi Sogo
Music by | Yasuharu Takanashi
Studio | A-1 Pictures, Satelight
Licensed by | NA Funimation Entertainment
Released | August 18, 2012
Original video animation
No official title
Directed by | Shinji Ishihara
Written by | Masashi Sogo, Hiro Mashima
Music by | Yasuharu Takanashi
Studio | A-1 Pictures, Satelight
Released | November 16, 2012
Runtime | 24 minutes
Anime and Manga portal

Fairy Tail (????????, Fear? Teiru?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It has been serialized in Weekly Sh?nen Magazine since August 2, 2006, and has been published by Kodansha in 30 tank?bon volumes as of January 2012[update]. An ongoing anime produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight was released in Japan on October 12, 2009,[1] and has spawned three original video animations. The series follows the adventures of Lucy Heartfilia, a teenage wizard who joins the titular wizards' guild and teams up with fellow guild member Natsu Dragneel as he searches for the dragon Igneel. An anime film entitled Fairy Tail the Movie: The Phoenix Priestess has been adapted from the series and was released on August 18, 2012.

The series was originally licensed for an English language release in North America by Del Rey Manga, which began releasing the individual volumes on March 25, 2008 and ended its licensing with the 12th volume release in September 2010. The series was taken over by Kodansha USA Publishing, which continued its North American release.[2] The Southeast Asian network Animax Asia aired an English-language version of the series for two seasons from 2010 to 2012.[3][4] The anime has been licensed by Funimation Entertainment for an English-language release in North America.[5]

## Plot[edit]

See also: List of Fairy Tail characters

Lucy Heartfilia is a 17-year-old celestial wizard who runs away from home to join Fairy Tail, a rambunctious wizards' guild whose members are famous for their overly destructive antics. Along the way, she meets Natsu Dragneel, a boy who is traveling the land of Fiore together with his partner Happy, a flying cat, in search of his foster parent, a dragon named Igneel who had disappeared seven years earlier. Lucy is soon abducted by a renegade wizard posing as the famous Salamander of Fairy Tail. Natsu rescues Lucy, revealing himself to be the real Salamander and a Dragon Slayer, a wizard with the abilities of a dragon. After defeating the imposter, Natsu invites Lucy to join Fairy Tail.

Lucy forms a team with Natsu and Happy, along with Gray Fullbuster, an ice wizard with a habit of accidentally stripping, and Erza Scarlet, an armored female wizard. They are tasked with completing missions requested by people and collect money for rewards, such as hunting monsters and fighting illegal guilds called dark guilds. Soon after, the rival guild Phantom Lord attacks Fairy Tail, resulting in a guild war. Fairy Tail defeats the rival guild, and Phantom Lord members Gajeel Redfox, a Dragon Slayer raised by the dragon Metalicana, and Juvia Lockser, a water wizard, join Fairy Tail. The guild also crosses paths with Jellal Fernandes, Erza's childhood friend who is being manipulated by Ultear Milkovich to revive the ancient dark wizard Zeref using the Tower of Heaven. Natsu defeats Jellal and the Tower of Heaven is destroyed. Later, Laxus Dreyar, the renegade grandson of the guild's master Makarov Dreyar, stages a battle royal in Fairy Tail and is expelled as a result.

Forming an alliance with the wizard guilds Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale and Cait Shelter, Fairy Tail fights and defeats the dark guild Oraci?n Seis with the help of a reformed Jellal, who is arrested for his previous crimes. Wendy Marvell, a Dragon Slayer raised by Grandine and the sole member of Cait Shelter, joins Fairy Tail along with her flying cat Carla. Lucy, Natsu and the others enter the alternate universe of Edolas when their guild vanishes due to Edolas' powers. The group encounters Faust, the universe's king who intends to bestow a limitless supply of magic for the universe. Happy also discovers his and Carla's heritage as Exceeds sent to Earthland as infants on the orders of their queen Chagot. Allying with the Exceeds and Faust's son Mystogan, Fairy Tail defeats Faust and restores their guild at the cost of Edolas' magical power being drained. The group returns to Earthland together with the Exceeds, one of which, Pantherlily, forms a partnership with Gajeel.

Some time later, several members of Fairy Tail, including Natsu, Lucy, and their allies, participate in an exam on their guild's sacred ground of Tenrou Island in which wizards can advance to a higher rank and thus take part in more dangerous missions. During the exam, the dark guild Grimoire Heart appears and seeks Zeref, who has been living on the island. Aided by a reformed Laxus, Fairy Tail defeats Grimoire Heart, and Zeref kills the guild's leader Hades. However, the incident summons the black dragon Acnologia, which attacks the island. The spirit of Fairy Tail's founding master, Mavis Vermilion, protects everyone on the island from Acnologia's assault with a defensive spell, freezing them in time.

Seven years later, the spell lifts and the returning members of Fairy Tail discover their guild to be the weakest in Fiore. The group participates in an annual tournament to decide the country's strongest guild called the Grand Magic Games. Also participating in the tournament are Sabertooth, the current strongest guild containing Dragon Slayers Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney, and Raven Tail, a guild led by Makarov's resentful son Ivan. At the same time, Arcadios, a captain of the nation's royal army, plots to open a magic gateway, Eclipse, by using the 12 Zodiac gatekeys, so that a person can be transported back in time to several years before the series' present, and destroy Zeref before he becomes a threat. Jellal, having escaped from detainment and formed the Crime Sorc?rie with Ultear, encounters the source of the magical power. Meanwhile, after defeating Sabertooth, Fairy Tail claims first place in the Grand Magic Games.

## Setting[edit]

The world of Fairy Tail is populated by humans and numerous other races, including Exceeds, dragons, celestial spirits, and giant beasts. Earth Land (??????, ?su Rando?), a vast peninsula, is divided into ten different countries: the Fiore Kingdom (???????, Fi?re ?koku), Seven (???, Sebun), Bosco (???, Bosuko), Iceberg (??????, Aisub?gu), Minstrel, Midi, Desierto, Joya, Bellum, and the Pergrande Kingdom. Sin and Caelum, two different islands, are also a part of Earthland.

Magic (??, Mah?) is an ability occurring in every individual for some races, although 10% of Earthland's population use this magic.

## Production[edit]

After finishing his previous work, Rave Master, Hiro Mashima found the story sentimental and sad at the same time, so he wanted the storyline of Fairy Tail to have a "lot of fun [for everyone]". When originally creating the series, Mashima was inspired by magicians and wizards. He based Natsu's motion sickness on one of his friends, who gets sick when taking taxis together.[6] When naming Natsu, Mashima thought western fantasy names would be unfamiliar to Japanese audiences. When writing individual chapters of Fairy Tail, Mashima takes a five day process: on Monday, the script and storyboards are written. On Tuesday, Mashima writes rough sketches. From Wednesday to Friday, he finishes the drawing and inking on the chapters. Mashima usually begins new chapters after completing the previous ones.[7] For the characters of the series, Mashima drew upon people he has known in his life. In establishing the father-son relationship between Natsu and Igneel, Mashima cited his father's death when he was a child as an influence. Mashima based the humorous aspects of the series on his assistants would make jokes about things that gave him ideas, as well as from both his work and daily life.[8]

## Media[edit]

### Manga[edit]

See also: List of Fairy Tail manga volumes

Written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima, Fairy Tail has been serialized in the manga anthology Weekly Sh?nen Magazine beginning on August 2, 2006. The individual chapters have been collected and published into tank?bon volumes by Kodansha since December 15, 2006. As of June 2012[update], there are 289 chapters and 33 tank?bon volumes. A special in Weekly Sh?nen Magazine featured a crossover with Flunk Punk Rumble, released in 2008. The official fanbook, Fairy Tail , was released on May 17, 2010 in Japan.

The series was licensed for an English-language release in North America by Del Rey Manga.[9] The company released the first volume of the series on March 25, 2008 and continued until the release of the 12th volume in September 2010. After Del Rey Manga shut down,[10] Kodansha Comics USA acquired the license and began publishing Fairy Tail volumes in May 2011.[2] As of May 2012[update], 20 English-language volumes have been published.

### Anime[edit]

See also: List of Fairy Tail episodes
The Funimation staff and voice cast of the anime at the 2011 New York Comic Con, from left to right: Todd Haberkorn (Natsu), Cherami Leigh (Lucy), Colleen Clinkenbeard (Erza), Newton Pittman (Gray) and Tyler Walker (ADR director).

A-1 Pictures and Satelight produced an anime adaptation of the manga. The anime, also titled Fairy Tail and directed by Shinji Ishihira, premiered on TV Tokyo on October 12, 2009.[1] As of July 4, 2012, 30 DVD volumes containing four episodes each have been released, with two more scheduled to be released on August 1 and September 5, 2012, respectively.[11] The Southeast Asian network Animax Asia aired the series locally in English.[4] On January 18, 2011, British anime distributor Manga Entertainment announced on Twitter that the company would release the anime series in bilingual format at the end of the year.[12] On April 21, 2011, they had confirmed that the first volume with 12 episodes would be released in February 2012;[13] however, they later announced that the first volume would be released on March 5, 2012.[citation needed] In 2011, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment announced that they had acquired the first season of the ongoing series.[5] The series made its North American television debut on November 22, 2011 on the Funimation Channel.[14]

### Original video animations[edit]

Three original video animations (OVAs) of Fairy Tail have been produced and released on DVD by A-1 Pictures and Satellite. The first OVA, Y?koso Fairy Hills!! (????????????!!?, lit. "Welcome to Fairy Hills!!"), is an adaptation of the manga omake of the same name, and was released together with the 26th tank?bon manga volume on April 15, 2011. The second, Y?sei Gakuen Yankee-kun to Yankee-chan (???? ??????????????, lit. "Fairy Academy: Yankee-kun and Yankee-chan"), is also an adaptation of the omake of the same name, and was released together with the 27th volume of the manga on June 17, 2011.[15] The third, titled "Memory Days" (???????, Memor? Deizu?), was released together with the 31st volume of the manga on February 17, 2012,[16] and features an original story written by series creator Hiro Mashima.[17]

### Film[edit]

Kodansha announced on October 12, 2011 that an anime film adaptation of Fairy Tail, titled Fairy Tail the Movie: The Phoenix Priestess (??? FAIRY TAIL ?????, Gekij?ban Fear? Teiru: H?? no Miko?), will be released on August 18, 2012.[18] It was directed by Masaya Fujimori, and its screenplay was written by anime staff writer Masashi Sogo. Series creator Hiro Mashima was also involved as the film's story planner and designer for guest characters appearing in the film.[19] Funimation has licensed North American distribution rights to the film.[20]

### Video games[edit]

An action video game for the PlayStation Portable, titled Fairy Tail: Portable Guild, was unveiled at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show.[21][22] The game was developed by Konami and was released on June 3, 2010. Two sequels to Portable Guild have also been released for the PlayStation Portable?the first, subtitled Portable Guild 2, was released on March 10, 2011; the second, Fairy Tail: Zeref Kakusei (FAIRY TAIL ?????, Fairy Tail: Zerefu Kakusei?, lit. Fairy Tail: Zeref Awakens), was released on March 22, 2012. Two fighting games, Fairy Tail: Gekit?! Mad?shi Kessen (FAIRY TAIL ??! ??????, lit. Fairy Tail: Fight! Wizard Battle) and Fairy Tail: Gekitotsu! Kardia Daiseid? (FAIRY TAIL ??! ????????, Fairy Tail: Gekitotsu! Karudia Daiseid??, lit. Fairy Tail: Attack! The Greak Kardia Cathedral), were released for the Nintendo DS on July 22, 2010 and April 21, 2011, respectively.[23] The characters Natsu and Lucy also appeared in the crossover video game Sunday VS Magazine: Sh?ketsu! Ch?j? Daikessen as playable characters.[24]

### Music[edit]

The music for the anime was composed and arranged by Yasuharu Takanashi. As of July 2011, three original soundtrack CDs have been released, containing music from the anime: the first soundtrack volume was released on January 6, 2010,[25] the second volume on July 7, 2010,[26] and the third volume on July 6, 2011.[27] Character song singles were also produced; the first single, featuring Tetsuya Kakihara (Natsu) and Yuichi Nakamura (Gray) was released on February 17,[28] while the second single, featuring Aya Hirano (Lucy) and Rie Kugimiya (Happy), was released on March 3, 2010.[29] Another character song album, entitled "Eternal Fellows," was released announced on April 27, 2011. Two of the songs from the album, performed by anime cast members Tetsuya Kakihara (Natsu) and Aya Hirano (Lucy), were used for both OVAs as the opening and ending themes, respectively. Other songs on the volume are performed by Yuichi Nakamura (Gray), Sayaka Ohara (Erza), Satomi Sat? (Wendy), Wataru Hatano (Gajeel), and a duet by Rie Kugimiya (Happy) and Yui Horie (Carla).[30]

### Radio[edit]

An internet radio program began airing on HiBiKi Radio Station on February 11, 2012, featuring anime voice actors Tetsuya Kakihara (Natsu) and Mai Nakahara (Juvia) as announcers.[31]

## Reception[edit]

### Manga[edit]

In Japan, the fifth volume of Fairy Tail was ranked seventh in a list of the top ten manga, and the series once again placed seventh after the release of the sixth volume.[32] Fairy Tail was in 2011 the 4th best selling manga in Japan (by series).[33] About.com's Deb Aoki lists Fairy Tail as the best sh?nen manga of 2008.[34] It also won the 2009 Kodansha Manga Award for sh?nen manga.[35] It has also won the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation's Industry Award in 2009 for best comedy manga.[36]

### Anime[edit]

The anime has also received positive response from critics and viewers alike. In Southeast Asia, Fairy Tail won Animax Asia's "Anime of the Year" award in 2010.[37] In 2012, the anime series won the "Meilleur Anime Japonais" (best Japanese anime) award and the best French dubbing award at the 19th Anime Manga Grand Prix in Paris, France.[38]

In reviewing the first Funimation Entertainment DVD volume, Carlo Santos of Anime News Network praised the visuals, characters, and English voice acting, as well as the supporting characters for its comedic approach. However, Santos criticized both the anime's background music and CGI animation.[39] In his review of the second volume, Santos also praised the development of "a more substantial storyline," but also criticized the inconsistent animation and original material not present in the manga.[40] In his review of the third volume, Santos praised the improvements of the story and animation, and said that the volume "finally shows the [anime] series living up to its potential."[41]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Fairy Tail Manga Gets TV Anime Green-Lit for Fall (Updated)". Anime News Network. 2009-06-26. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
2. ^ a b "Kodansha USA Publisher Take Over of Fairy Tail North American Manga Release". Anime News Network. December 12, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
3. ^ "Fairy Tail Animax Airdate List". Animax India. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
4. ^ a b "Fairy Tail Season 2". Asia Animax. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
5. ^ a b "Funimation Adds Fairy Tail, Live-Action Treasure Hunter". Anime News Network. 2011-04-22.
6. ^ Aoki, Deb. "Interview: Hiro Mashima". About.com. The New York Times Company. p. 1. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
7. ^ Aoki, Deb. "Interview: Hiro Mashima". About.com. The New York Times Company. p. 2. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
8. ^ Cha, Kai-ming (August 3, 2008). "Everyday Hiro: Fairy Tail?s Mashima at Comic-Con". Retrieved April 26, 2012.
9. ^ "Del Rey Manga acquires bestselling manga Fairy Tail". activeAnime. July 28, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
10. ^ "Kodansha USA To Take Over Del Rey Titles". Anime News Network. 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
11. ^ "????:FAIRY TAIL" (in Japanese). TV Tokyo. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
12. ^ "Manga UK Adds Fairy Tail, Shikabane Hime: Aka". Anime News Network. January 18, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
13. ^ "Manga UK confirms date for the release of the first volume of Fairy Tail".
14. ^ "FUNimation Week 48 of 2011". [dead link]
15. ^ "Fairy Tail Manga's 27th Volume to Bundle 2nd Anime DVD". Anime News Network. 2011-02-17.
16. ^ "????FAIRY TAIL??????". Kodansha. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
17. ^ "Fairy Tail Manga Volume 31 to Bundle 3rd New Anime DVD". Anime News Network. 2011-09-14.
18. ^ "Fairy Tail Adventure Manga Gets Film Next August". Anime News Network. 2011-10-12.
19. ^ "Fairy Tail Film's Staff Listed". Anime News Network. 2011-11-17.
20. ^ "Funi Adds Seikishi Yamato R, One Piece Strong World, Fairy Tail Film, Akira". Anime News Network. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
21. ^ "Tokyo Game Show 2009 Konami Special Site". Konami. Archived from the original on November 26, 2009. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
22. ^ Spencer (April 8, 2010). "Only Two Months Until Fairy Tail: Portable Guild". Siliconera. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
23. ^ /index.html "????:FAIRY TAIL" (in Japanese). TV Tokyo. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
24. ^ "???? VS ???? ??? ?????:Sunday VS Magazine: Sh?ketsu! Ch?j? Daikessen" (in Japanese). Konami. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
25. ^ "Fairy Tail Original Soundtrack Vol.1". Retrieved 2010-07-18.
26. ^ "Fairy Tail Original Soundtrack Vol.2". Retrieved 2010-07-18.
27. ^ "Fairy Tail Original Soundtrack Vol. 3". Retrieved 2011-07-06.
28. ^ "Fairy Tail Character Song Collection Vol.1 Natsu Gray". Retrieved 2010-07-18.
29. ^ "Fairy Tail Character Song Collection Vol.2 Lucy Happy". Retrieved 2010-07-18.
30. ^ "Fairy Tail Character Song Album". Retrieved 2011-01-30.
31. ^ "?????FAIRY TAIL Web????????????? ???????????" (in Japanese). hibiki-radio.jp/. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
32. ^ "Tohan's top 10 manga rankings". Retrieved 2007-07-25.
33. ^ "Top-Selling Manga in Japan by Series: 2011". Retrieved 2011-11-30.
34. ^ Aoki, Deb. "2008 Best New Manga". About.com. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
35. ^ "33rd Annual Kodansha Manga Awards Announced". Anime News Network. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
36. ^ "Anime Expo 2009 Rides on a High for its Second Day in Los Angeles". Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation.
37. ^ "Animax Taiwanese website". Retrieved February 10, 2012. [dead link]
38. ^ "ANIME NEWS: 'Fairy Tail' takes top award at Paris grand prix". Asahi Shimbun. May 5, 2012.
39. ^ Santos, Carlo (December 13, 2011). dvd-combo-pack-part-1 "Fairy Tail Blu-Ray DVD 1 Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
40. ^ Santos, Carlo (January 2, 2012). dvd-combo-pack-part-2 "Fairy Tail Blu-Ray DVD 2 Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
41. ^ Santos, Carlo (February 15, 2012). dvd-combo-pack-part-3 "Fairy Tail Blu-Ray DVD 3 Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 15, 2012. [dead link]

## External links[edit]

| Anime and manga portal

English

- Official manga website of Del Rey
- Official anime website of Animax Asia
- Hodgkins, Crystalyn. "Interview: Hiro Mashima." Anime News Network. November 8, 2011.
- API (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
- API (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia

Japanese

- Official manga website of Kodansha
- Official anime website of TV Tokyo
- Official radio program website of HiBiKi Radio Station
- Official anime film website

Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima
Franchise | Volumes 1–15 16–30 31–current Episodes Season 1 2 3 4 Characters
Film | Phoenix Priestess
Related | Rave Master

Template:Series in Weekly Sh?nen Magazine Template:Weekly Sh?nen Magazine - 2000?2009