''Fairy Tail'' is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by

Hiro Mashima is a Japanese manga artist. He gained success with his first serial ''Rave Master'', published in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1999 to 2005. His best-selling work, ''Fairy Tail'', published in the same magazine from 2006 to 2017, ...

. It was serialized in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

's ''

Weekly Shōnen Magazine is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male high ...

'' from August 2006 to July 2017, with the individual chapters collected and published into 63 ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes. The story follows the adventures of

Natsu Dragneel is a fictional character and protagonist of the ''Fairy Tail'' manga series created by Hiro Mashima. First making his debut in ''Fairy Tail'' chapter #1, originally published in Japan's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' on August 2, 2006, Natsu is d ...

, a member of the popular wizard

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

Fairy Tail, as he searches the fictional world of Earth-land for the dragon Igneel. The manga has been adapted into an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series produced by

A-1 Pictures is a Japanese animation studio founded by ex-Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata and it is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex. History The studio was established by SMEJ's animation production division, ...

Dentsu Inc. Dentsu Inc. ( ja, 株式会社電通 ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dentsū'' or 電通 ''Dentsū'' for short) is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is currently the largest adverti ...

Satelight is a Japanese animation studio. Aside from several stand-alone projects, the studio is well known for producing the '' Aquarion'' and '' Symphogear'' franchises, as well as later installments of the ''Macross'' franchise. The company's Represen ...

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, and

CloverWorks is a Japanese animation studio that was rebranded from A-1 Pictures' Kōenji Studio. It is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex. Establishment On April 1, 2018, A-1 Pictures rebranded its Kōenji Studio ...

which was broadcast in Japan on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...

from October 2009 to March 2013. A second series was broadcast from April 2014 to March 2016. A third and final series was aired from October 2018 to September 2019. The series has also inspired numerous

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

manga, including a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

by Mashima, ''

Fairy Tail Zero ''Fairy Tail Zero'' (stylized as ''FAIRY TAIL ZERØ'') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It is a prequel to Mashima's ''Fairy Tail'' manga, depicting the events leading to the formation of the titular wizards ...

'', and a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

storyboarded by him, titled '' Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest''. Additionally, A-1 Pictures has developed nine

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

s and two animated feature films. The manga series was originally licensed for an English release in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Del Rey Manga Del Rey Manga was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. History Del Rey Manga was formed as part of a cross-publishing rela ...

, which began releasing the individual volumes in March 2008 and ended its licensing with the 12th volume release in September 2010. In December 2010,

Kodansha USA Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and mang ...

took over the North American release of the series. The Southeast Asian network

Animax Asia Animax is the pay television channel in Asia owned by KC Global Media Asia which broadcasts Japanese language anime and Simulcast anime, anime programming through English-language feeds in Southeast Asia (formerly including Brunei), South Asia (ex ...

aired an English-language version of the anime for seven seasons from 2010 to 2015. The manga was also licensed in the United Kingdom by Turnaround Publisher Services, in Australia by

Penguin Books Australia Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Editorial Ivrea Editorial Ivrea is an Argentine manga and comics publisher that publishes in Argentina, Spain and Finland. They also published ''Lazer'', a magazine which was specialized in anime, comics, manga, series and other media. The magazine has an acid ...

. The anime has been licensed by

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...

for an English release in North America. As of February 2020, ''Fairy Tail'' had 72 million copies in print.

Plot

The world of Earth-land is home to numerous

s where wizards apply their magic for paid job requests.

, a Dragon Slayer wizard from the Fairy Tail guild, explores the Kingdom of Fiore in search of his missing adoptive father, the dragon Igneel. During his journey, he befriends a young celestial wizard named

Lucy Heartfilia is a fictional character and protagonist of the ''Fairy Tail'' manga series created by Hiro Mashima. Lucy first makes her debut in ''Fairy Tail'' chapter #1, originally published in Japan's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' on August 2, 2006, as a ...

and invites her to join Fairy Tail. Natsu, Lucy, and the cat-like

Exceed is a series of Japanese shoot 'em up video games developed by the dōjin circle (formerly FLAT). The first game, ''eXceed'', was released in 2005, and the latest game, ''eXceed3rd JADE PENETRATE BLACK PACKAGE'', was released in 2009. The series ...

Happy Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. Sinc ...

form a team, which is joined by other guild members:

Gray Fullbuster The ''Fairy Tail'' manga and anime series features an extensive cast of characters created by Hiro Mashima. The series takes place primarily in the Kingdom of Fiore, a country in the fictional universe Earth-land, where several of its residen ...

, an ice wizard;

Erza Scarlet The ''Fairy Tail'' manga and anime series features an extensive cast of characters created by Hiro Mashima. The series takes place primarily in the Kingdom of Fiore, a country in the fictional universe Earth-land, where several of its resident ...

, a magical knight; and

Wendy Marvell The ''Fairy Tail'' manga and anime series features an extensive cast of characters created by Hiro Mashima. The series takes place primarily in the Kingdom of Fiore, a country in the fictional universe Earth-land, where several of its residents ...

and

Carla Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man". Notable people with the name include: * Carla, French singer and former member of the children's music group Kids United * Carla Abe ...

, another Dragon Slayer and Exceed duo. The team embark on numerous missions together, which include subduing criminals, illegal dark guilds, and ancient Etherious demons created by Zeref, a wizard cursed with immortality and deadly power. After several adventures, Natsu and his companions find Zeref living in isolation on Fairy Tail's sacred ground of Sirius Island, where he expresses a desire to die for the atrocities he has committed. A battle over Zeref ensues between Fairy Tail and the dark guild

Grimoire Heart The ''Fairy Tail'' manga and anime series features an extensive cast of characters created by Hiro Mashima. The series takes place primarily in the Kingdom of Fiore, a country in the fictional universe Earth-land, where several of its resident ...

, which attracts the attention of the evil black dragon Acnologia. The Fairy Tail wizards survive Acnologia's assault when the spirit of their guild's founder and Zeref's estranged lover, Mavis Vermillion, casts the defensive Fairy Sphere spell that places them into seven years of suspended animation. Later, Fairy Tail wages war against

Tartaros In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; grc, , }) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's ''Gorgias'' (), souls are judg ...

, a dark guild of Etherious who aim to unseal a book believed to contain Zeref's ultimate demon, E.N.D. When Acnologia returns to annihilate both guilds, Igneel – revealed to have sealed himself within Natsu – emerges to battle Acnologia, only to be killed in front of a helpless Natsu, who departs on a training journey to avenge Igneel. After Natsu returns one year later, Fiore is invaded by the Alvarez Empire, a military nation ruled by Zeref, who intends to acquire Fairy Heart, a wellspring of infinite magic power housed within Mavis's equally cursed body preserved beneath Fairy Tail's guild hall. While battling Zeref, Natsu is informed of his own identity as both Zeref's younger brother and the true incarnation of E.N.D. (Etherious Natsu Dragneel), whom Zeref resurrected as a demon with the intention of being killed by him. When Natsu fails to do so, Zeref absorbs Fairy Heart from Mavis in a bid to rewrite the present timeline with one where he might prevent his own curse and Acnologia's rise to power. After Natsu defeats Zeref to stop the drastic changes to history his actions would create, Mavis lifts her and Zeref's curse by reciprocating his love, which kills them both. Meanwhile, Fairy Tail and their allies detain Acnologia within a space-time rift created by the use of Eclipse, Zeref's

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

gate. However, Acnologia escapes while his disembodied spirit traps all of the present Dragon Slayers within the rift to maintain his godlike power. Lucy and many other wizards across the continent immobilize Acnologia's body within Fairy Sphere, while Natsu accumulates the other Dragon Slayers' magic and destroys Acnologia's spirit, killing him and freeing the Dragon Slayers from captivity. The following year, Natsu and his team depart on a century-old guild mission, continuing their adventures together.

Production

After finishing his previous work, ''

Rave Master ''Rave Master'', titled just ''Rave'' and, alternatively, ''The Groove Adventure Rave'' in Japan, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. The series follows Haru Glory, a teenager on a quest to find the five frag ...

'',

found the story sentimental and sad at the same time, so he wanted the storyline of his next manga to have a "lot of fun." His inspiration for the series was sitting in bars and partying with his friends. He also described the series as being about young people finding their calling, such as a job. Mashima drew a

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

titled ''

Fairy Tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

'' that was published in ''Magazine Fresh'' on September 3, 2002, which served as a pilot. Mashima's later concept for the serialized version involved Natsu as a fire-using member of a

courier A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

guild who carries various things on assignments. Mashima then came up with the idea to have different types of wizards hanging out in one place, and eventually coerced his editor into allowing him to change the concept to a wizard guild. The title was changed from "Tale" to "Tail" in reference to the tail of a fairy, which the author said may or may not prove to be a "pivotal point." Mashima stated that while he tried to consider both his own interests and the fans' on what would happen next in ''Fairy Tail'', the fans' took precedence. In the period between ''Rave Master'' and ''Fairy Tail'', all but one of Mashima's assistants left, and the artist said making sure that the three new ones knew what to do was the hardest thing throughout the first year of serialization. Mashima described his weekly schedule for creating individual chapters of ''Fairy Tail'' in 2008: script and storyboards were written on Monday, rough sketches the following day, and drawing and inking were done Wednesday through Friday; time in the weekends was for ''

Monster Hunter Orage is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. Loosely based on the ''Monster Hunter'' series of video games by Capcom, ''Monster Hunter Orage'' premiered in Kodansha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Shōnen Rival'' in April 2008. ...

'', a monthly series Mashima was writing at the same time. He usually thought up new chapters while working on the current ones. Mashima had six assistants in 2008 that worked in an area with seven desks, as well as a sofa and TV for video games. In 2011, he stated that he worked six days a week, for 17 hours a day. For the characters of the series, Mashima drew people he had 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. He took Natsu's motion sickness from one of his friends, who gets sick when they take taxis together. When naming the character, the author thought western fantasy names would be unfamiliar to Japanese audiences, so he went with the Japanese name for summer; Natsu. Mashima based the reporter character Jason on American manga critic Jason Thompson, who interviewed him at 2008's

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

, and another on an employee from

, the original North American publisher of ''Fairy Tail''. He based the humorous aspects of the series on his daily life and jokes his assistants would make.

Publication

Main series

Written and illustrated by

, ''Fairy Tail'' was serialized in the manga anthology ''

'' from August 2, 2006 to July 26, 2017. The 545 individual chapters were collected and published into 63 ''

'' volumes by

between December 15, 2006 and November 17, 2017. In 2008, a special

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

one-shot between ''Fairy Tail'' and

Miki Yoshikawa is a Japanese manga artist best known for her manga series ''Flunk Punk Rumble'', ''Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches'' and '' A Couple of Cuckoos'' and their accompanying anime series. Her debut work was a one-shot called ''Glory Days'' in Kodan ...

's ''

Flunk Punk Rumble ''Flunk Punk Rumble'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Miki Yoshikawa. The series began as a three-part short story that was later developed into a full series and serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekl ...

'', titled , was published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine''. It was later included in ''Fairy Tail+'', an official fanbook released on May 17, 2010. Another crossover with Mashima's first series ''

Rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

'' was published in 2011. A special issue of ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'', published on October 19, 2013, featured a small crossover between ''Fairy Tail'' and

Nakaba Suzuki is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his fantasy series ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' (2012–2020), which has over 37 million copies in circulation. He began a sequel, ''Four Knights of the Apocalypse'', in 2021. Life and career The fir ...

's ''

The Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins is a classification of vices used in Christian teachings. Seven deadly sins may also refer to: Art * ''The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things'', a 1485 painting by Hieronymus Bosch * ''The Seven Deadly Sins of Modern ...

'', where each artist drew a ''

yonkoma , a comic strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom. They also sometimes run right-to-left horizontally or use a hybrid 2×2 style, depending on the layout requirements of ...

'' (four-panel comic) of the other's series. An actual crossover chapter between these two ran in the magazines' combined 4/5 issue of 2014, which was released on December 25, 2013. A two-volume series called '' Fairy Tail S'', which collects short stories by Mashima that were originally published in various Japanese magazines through the years, was released on September 16, 2016. The series was licensed for an English-language release in North America by

. 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,

acquired the license and began publishing ''Fairy Tail'' volumes in May 2011. They published the 63rd and final volume on January 23, 2018. Kodansha USA began publishing a larger omnibus version of the series in November 2015. Called ''Fairy Tail: Master's Edition'', each installment corresponds to five regular-sized volumes. They published the first volume of ''Fairy Tail S: Tales from Fairy Tail'' on October 24, 2017. The manga has also been licensed in other English-speaking countries. In the United Kingdom, the volumes are distributed by Turnaround Publisher Services. In Australia and New Zealand, the manga is distributed by

Penguin Books Australia Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Fairy Tail Zero ''Fairy Tail Zero'' (stylized as ''FAIRY TAIL ZERØ'') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It is a prequel to Mashima's ''Fairy Tail'' manga, depicting the events leading to the formation of the titular wizards ...

'' by Mashima and '' Fairy Tail: Ice Trail'' by Yūsuke Shirato—began with the launch of a monthly magazine titled ''Monthly Fairy Tail Magazine'' on July 17, 2014, and ended in the magazine's thirteenth and final issue published on July 17, 2015. A third series, '' Fairy Tail Blue Mistral'' by Rui Watanabe, ran in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''

Nakayoshi is a monthly ''shōjo'' manga magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First issued in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 60 years of manga publication history. Notable titles serialized in Nakayoshi include ''Princess Knight ...

'' from August 2, 2014 to December 1, 2015, while another, '' Fairy Girls'' by Boku, was released in Kodansha's ''

Magazine Special was a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Kodansha and first launched with a cover date of September 5, 1983. Its audience demographic is geared toward younger teenage boys, and contents tend to be predominantly sports stories and high ...

'' from November 20, 2014 to August 20, 2015. Kyōta Shibano created a three-part meta-series titled '' Fairy Tail Gaiden'', which was launched in Kodansha's free weekly ''Magazine Pocket''

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

. The series began in 2015 with ''Twin Dragons of Saber Tooth'' from July 30 to November 4, continued with ''Rhodonite'' from November 18, 2015 to March 30, 2016, and concluded with ''Lightning Gods'' in 2016 from May 4 to September 14. '' Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest'', a

to the original manga, began serialization on ''Magazine Pocket'' on July 25, 2018. It is storyboarded by Mashima and illustrated by Atsuo Ueda. Another spin-off, '' Fairy Tail: Happy's Heroic Adventure'' by Kenshirō Sakamoto, began on July 26 on the same app. On June 27, 2018, Mashima announced another spin-off manga for the app, '' Fairy Tail City Hero'', written and illustrated by Ushio Andō. All eight ''Fairy Tail'' spin-off manga, including all three installments of ''Gaiden'', are licensed for English release by Kodansha USA.

Media

Anime

, Dentsu Entertainment, and

produced an

adaptation of the manga. The anime, also titled ''Fairy Tail'' and directed by

Shinji Ishihira is a Japanese anime director. In 2002, Ishihira was put in charge of directing an anime for the first time with '' Ichi the Killer: Episode 0''. Since then, some of the series he has directed include ''Fairy Tail'' and ''Log Horizon''. Biography ...

, premiered on

on October 12, 2009. The series ended its run on March 30, 2013, with reruns beginning to air on April 4, 2013 under the title ''Fairy Tail Best!''. Forty-one DVD volumes containing four episodes each have been released. The Southeast Asian network

aired the series locally in English. On January 18, 2011, British anime distributor

Manga Entertainment Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1987, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyro ...

announced on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that the company would release the anime series in bilingual format at the end of the year. On April 21, 2011, they had confirmed that the first volume with 12 episodes would be released in February 2012; however, they later announced that the first volume would be released on March 5, 2012. In 2011, North American anime distributor

Funimation Entertainment Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

announced that they had acquired the first season of the ongoing series. The series made its North American television debut on November 22, 2011 on the

Funimation Channel Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

. The anime is also licensed by

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatri ...

, who streamed and simulcasted the series on AnimeLab in Australia and New Zealand Melanesian Region (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu), Polynesian Region (Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu).

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

announced that the ninth installment would get the DVD/Blu-ray release on March 25, 2014. On March 4, 2013, Mashima announced on his

account that the anime would not end yet, and confirmed on July 11 that a sequel series was greenlit. The sequel series was officially confirmed in ''Weekly Shonen Magazine'' on December 28, 2013 with a special edition chapter. The sequel is produced by

and

, featuring character designs by Shinji Takeuchi; the original series' voice actors also returned to the project along with director Shinji Ishihira and writer . The official website for the sequel was launched on January 7, 2014. The series premiered on TV Tokyo on April 5, 2014, and was being simulcast by

. The second series concluded its run on March 26, 2016. On March 22, 2016, Mashima announced via Twitter that another ''Fairy Tail'' series was being developed. On July 20, 2017, Mashima confirmed on Twitter that the final season of ''Fairy Tail'' would air in 2018. The final season of ''Fairy Tail'' aired from October 7, 2018 to September 29, 2019. A-1 Pictures,

, and Bridge produced and animated the final season, which ran from October 7, 2018 to September 29, 2019. for 51 episodes. Following

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

's acquisition of

, the dub was moved to Crunchyroll.

Original video animation

Nine

s (OVAs) of ''Fairy Tail'' have been produced and released on DVD by A-1 Pictures and Satelight, each bundled with a limited edition ''

'' volume of the manga. The first OVA, is an adaptation of the manga

omake ''Omake'' (, usually written ) means ''extra'' in Japanese language, Japanese. Its primary meaning is general and widespread. It is used as an anime and manga term to mean "extra or bonus." In the United States, the term is most often used in ...

of the same name, and was released with Volume 26 on April 15, 2011. The second, is also an adaptation of the omake of the same name, and was released together with Volume 27 on June 17, 2011. The third, was released together with Volume 31 on February 17, 2012, and features an original story written by series creator Hiro Mashima. The fourth, "Fairies' Training Camp", is based on chapter 261 of the manga, and was released with Volume 35 on November 16, 2012. The fifth, is based on chapter 298 of the manga and was released with Volume 38 of the manga on June 17, 2013. A sixth OVA, titled is an adaptation of the omake of the same name and was released on August 16, 2013, with Volume 39 of the manga.

Theatrical films

film adaptation of ''Fairy Tail'', titled '' Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess'', was released on August 18, 2012. It was directed by Masaya Fujimori, and its screenplay was written by anime staff writer . Series creator Hiro Mashima was involved as the film's story planner and designer for guest characters appearing in the film. To promote the film, Mashima drew a 30-page prologue manga , which was bundled with advance tickets for the film. The DVD was bundled with a

special edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

release of Volume 36 of the manga on February 13, 2013, and included an animated adaptation of "Hajimari no Asa" as a bonus extra. The film was aired on

on March 23, 2013. Funimation has licensed North American distribution rights to the film. The English dub premiered at

Nan Desu Kan Nan Desu Kan (NDK) is an annual three-day anime convention held during September at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado. The convention is the largest anime convention in the Rocky Mountain region and each one takes ...

on September 13, 2013, and was released on Blu-ray/DVD on December 10, 2013. A second anime film was announced on May 15, 2015. On December 31, 2016, the official title of film was revealed as '' Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry'', which was released on May 6, 2017 in Japan.

Video games

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

, titled was unveiled at the 2009

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. The ...

. The game was developed by Konami Examu Games inc. 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, was released on March 22, 2012. The characters Natsu and Lucy also appeared as playable characters in the crossover video game '' Sunday VS Magazine: Shūketsu! Chōjō Daikessen'' for the PSP in 2009. Two fighting games, and were released for the

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

on July 22, 2010 and April 21, 2011, respectively. In 2016, a

browser game A browser game or a "flash game" is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer. Some browser games are also available as mobile apps, PC games, or on c ...

developed by GameSamba titled ''Fairy Tail: Hero's Journey'' was announced to be open for

closed beta A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...

testing. On September 5, 2019, it was announced that a

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

titled ''Fairy Tail'', developed by

Gust Co. Ltd. is a video game developer and division of Koei Tecmo Games, known for their ''Atelier'' franchise. Company was founded in 1993 in Nagano, Japan, as the first game software house in Nagano Prefecture. The company began by creating ''dōjinshi' ...

and published by

Koei Tecmo is a Japanese video game, amusement and anime holding company created in 2009 by the merger of Koei and Tecmo. Koei Tecmo Holdings owns several companies, the biggest one of those being its flagship game developer and publisher Koei Tecmo Game ...

would be released for

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

, and

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

on March 19, 2020 worldwide; the game was later delayed to June 25. The game was then delayed to July 30, 2020 in Japan and Europe, and in North America on July 31, 2020 due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Audio

The music for the anime was composed and arranged by

Yasuharu Takanashi is a prolific Japanese composer and arranger for anime and video game series. His anime composition credits include ''Naruto Shippuden'', ''Fairy Tail'', ''Log Horizon'', '' Shiki'', ''Hell Girl'', and ''Record of Ragnarok''. He also composed ...

. Four original soundtrack CDs have been released, containing music from the anime: the first soundtrack volume was released on January 6, 2010, the second volume on July 7, 2010, the third soundtrack volume on July 6, 2011, and the fourth soundtrack volume on March 20, 2013.

Character song An image song or character song is a song on a tie-in single or album (often called an image album or character album) for an anime, game, ''dorama'', manga, or commercial product that is sometimes sung by the voice actor or actor of a character ...

singles were also produced; the first single, featuring

Tetsuya Kakihara is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He was affiliated with 81 Produce before he became a freelancer in June 2013. He set up his own agency, Zynchro, in July 2014. Since 2010, Kakihara has been affiliated with Kiramune, a music label by Bandai ...

(Natsu) and Yuichi Nakamura (Gray) was released on February 17, while the second single, featuring

Aya Hirano is a Japanese actress and singer associated with the voice acting agency Grick. Beginning in the entertainment industry as a child actor in television commercials, she appeared in her first voice acting role in the anime television series '' A ...

(Lucy) and

Rie Kugimiya is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is best known for her voice performances in anime, which include Alphonse Elric in the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' series, Kiana in ''Honkai Impact 3rd'', Kagura in ''Gin Tama'', and Happy in ''Fairy Tail ...

(Happy), was released on March 3, 2010. Another character song album, entitled "Eternal Fellows," was released on April 27, 2011. Two of the songs from the album, performed by anime cast members

(Natsu) and

(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 is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Haikyō. Her major roles include Alicia Florence in ''Aria'', Milly Ashford in ''Code Geass'', Erza Scarlet in ''Fairy Tail'', Irisviel in the '' Fate/Zero'' and ''Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya'' s ...

(Erza),

Satomi Satō is a Japanese voice actress and singer. Biography Satō is affiliated with Aoni Production's Junior Talent. She attended Tokyo Announce Gakuin Performing Arts College. She is known as , as means "sugar" in Japanese. She announced her marriage ...

(Wendy),

Wataru Hatano is a Japanese voice actor and singer affiliated with 81 Produce. At the 2nd Seiyu Awards in 2008, Hatano won the Best Male Rookie Award for his roles as Sam Houston in ''Toward the Terra'' and Tenshi Yuri in ''Saint Beast: Kouin Jojishi Tenshit ...

(Gajeel), and a duet by

(Happy) and

Yui Horie is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with VIMS and Starchild. She has been affectionately nicknamed by her Japanese fans. She debuted as a voice actress in 1997, releasing her debut single "''My best friend''" on . Since then, sh ...

(Carla). An

internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

program began airing on HiBiKi Radio Station on February 11, 2012, featuring anime voice actors

(Natsu) and

Mai Nakahara is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actress and singer associated with I'm Enterprise. She played Rena Ryūgū in ''Higurashi When They Cry'', Nagisa Furukawa in ''Clannad (visual novel), Clannad'', Seele Vollerei in ''Honkai Impact 3rd'' ...

(Juvia) as announcers.

Reception

Manga

As of February 2020, the ''Fairy Tail'' manga had 72 million collected volumes in circulation. In France, the series had sold over 7.7 million copies by 2018. According to

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

, ''Fairy Tail'' was the eighth best-selling manga series in Japan for 2009, fourth best in 2010 and 2011, fifth best of 2012, dropped to ninth in 2013, to 17th in 2014, and was 15th in 2015. 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.

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

's Deb Aoki listed ''Fairy Tail'' as the Best New Shōnen Manga of 2008. ''Fairy Tail'' won Best Manga Series of 2008 at the 2009 Anime & Manga Grand Prix held by French magazine ''AnimeLand''. It also won the 2009

Kodansha Manga Award is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, the event is sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in three categories: '' shōnen'', '' shōjo'', and general. The awards began in 1977, initially w ...

for

shōnen manga is an editorial category of Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent boys. It is, along with manga (targeting adolescent girls and young women), manga (targeting young adult and adult men), and manga (targeting adult women), ...

. At the 2009 Industry Awards for the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, the organizers of

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...

, ''Fairy Tail'' was named Best Comedy Manga. It also won Best Shōnen Manga at the 2009

Japan Expo Japan Expo is a convention on Japanese popular culture - the largest of its kind in the world - taking place in Paris, France, although it has branched out into a partnership festival - Kultima - and expanded to include some European and US pop c ...

Awards. Volume 9 of the manga was nominated in the Youth Selection category at the 2010

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (french: Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lu ...

. Reviewing the first volume, Carl Kimlinger of

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

(ANN) felt ''Fairy Tail'' followed standard shōnen action manga tropes, writing "the mix of goofy humor, face-crushing action, and teary-eyed sap is so calculated as to be mechanical." Carlo Santos, also of Anime News Network, agreed in his review of volume three; having positive views towards the art, particularly the action scenes, but citing a lack of story and character development. By volume 12 Santos suggested that Mashima's true talent lies in "taking the most standard, predictable aspects of the genre and somehow still weaving it into a fun, fist-pumping adventure." Reviewing the first 11 volumes, ANN's Rebecca Silverman wrote that while the art in the early arcs of ''Fairy Tail'' may not be its best, the stories arguably are. She also praised Lucy and Erza as strong female characters. Her colleague Faye Hopper was more critical, calling the manga a "somewhat mediocre shounen series

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

pushes enough buttons" so as to make her want to read more. Kimlinger, Silverman, and A.E. Sparrow of ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' all felt Mashima's artwork had strong similarities to

Eiichiro Oda is a Japanese manga artist and the creator of the series ''One Piece'' (1997–present). With more than 516.5 million ''tankōbon'' copies in circulation worldwide, ''One Piece'' is both the best-selling manga in history and the best-se ...

's in ''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapte ...

''. While Sparrow used the comparison as a compliment and said it had enough unique qualities of its own, Kimlinger went so far as to say it makes it difficult to appreciate Mashima's "undeniable technical skill."

Anime

The anime has also received a positive response from critics and viewers alike. In Southeast Asia, ''Fairy Tail'' won Animax Asia's "Anime of the Year" award in 2010. 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. In reviewing the first Funimation Entertainment DVD volumes, 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. 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. In his review of the third volume, Santos praised the improvements of the story and animation, and said that the volume "finally shows the

nime New Interfaces for Musical Expression, also known as NIME, is an international conference dedicated to scientific research on the development of new technologies and their role in musical expression and artistic performance. History The confere ...

series living up to its potential." In his reviews of the fourth and sixth volumes, however, Santos praised the storyline's formulaic pattern, though saying that "unexpected wrinkles in the story ..keep the action from getting too stale," but calling the outcomes "unpredictable".

Notes

;General ;Translations

References

External links

*
Official manga website
of Kodansha
Official anime website
of TV Tokyo
Official anime sequel website
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