Fairy Tail (フェアリーテイル Fearī Teiru?) is a Japanese
manga series by
Hiro Mashima. It has been serialized in
Weekly Shōnen Magazine since August 23, 2006 where it is still on-going. The individual chapters are being collected and published in
tankōbon volumes by Kodansha, with 23 released as of November 2010. An
anime produced by
A-1 Pictures and
Satelight was released in Japan on October 12, 2009.
The series follows the adventures of the celestial spirit mage Lucy Heartfilia after she joins the Fairy Tail guild and teams up with Natsu Dragneel, who is searching for the dragon Igneel.
The series was 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. The series was taken over by Kodansha USA Publishing who will continue its North American release with the 13th volume due in May .
Plot
A young celestial spirit wizard,
Lucy Heartfilia, runs away from home and travels to the land of Fiore to join the magical
Fairy Tail Guild. Along the way, she meets
Natsu Dragneel, a teenage boy looking for his foster parent, a
dragon named
Igneel, with his best friend,
Happy the cat. Shortly after their meeting, Lucy is abducted by Bora of Prominence, who was posing as Salamander of Fairy Tail, to be sold as a slave. Natsu rescues her and reveals that he is the real Salamander of Fairy Tail and has the skills of a Dragon Slayer [fire type], an ancient magic. He offers her membership into the guild, which she gladly accepts. They, along with armored maiden Erza Scarlet, ice maker Gray Fullbuster, and Happy, become a team performing various missions offered to the Fairy Tail guild.
Manga
Written and illustrated by
Hiro Mashima, the
Fairy Tail manga premiered in
Weekly Shōnen Magazine in the August 23, 2006 issue. The series is still ongoing. As of September 2010, 209 chapters have been serialized. The individual chapters are collected and published in
tankōbon volumes by
Kodansha, which released the first volume on December 15, 2006. As of 17 May 2010, 23 volumes have been released in Japan. A special in
Weekly Shōnen 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.
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. Kodansha USA Publishing took over the series and will continue release starting with the 13th volume due for an estimated May 2011 debut under the Kodansha Comics brand name.
Anime
The
anime adaptation premiered on October 12, 2009. It is co-produced between
A-1 Pictures and
Satelight.
From episode 1 on-through episode 11, the opening theme song was "Snow Fairy", performed by
Funkist; with the ending theme being "Kanpekigu-no ne" performed by
Watari Roka Hashiritai. The second opening theme song for the anime was "S.O.W (Sense of Wonder)", performed by
Idoling!!! while the ending theme song was "Tsuioku Merry-Go-Round", by Onelifecrew; both of these spanning from episode 12 through episode 24. Opening three was "Ft.", created by Funkist, while "Gomen ne Watashi" was the ending theme by Shiho Nanba both also spanning from 25 to 35. The fourth opening theme song was first shown in episode 36 being "R.P.G. ~Rockin' Playing Game~" by SuG as the 4th opening to the series. "Kimi ga Iru Kara" performed by Mikuni Shimokawa also premiered on episode 36 as the 4th ending, until the season one's finale on September 27, 2010. Season two premiered on October 11, 2010, with "Egao No Mahou" by Magic Party and "HOLY SHINE" by Daisy x Daisy as the 5th opening and ending for the series, respectively. The 6th opening song is "Fiesta" by +Plus with 6th ending "Be as One" by w-inds. The series so far currently has 62 episodes aired, with 72+ episodes in the making.
The Show was canceled on Animax Asia due to lacking of time but it is still aring in some parts of Asia and in the Philippines. It ended with it's 48th Episode and it also won as the
ANIME OF THE YEAR on the said channel.
On January 18, 2011, British anime distributor
Manga Entertainment announced on
Twitter that the company will release the anime series.