Fairy Tail

Overview

Fairy Tail began as a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. The manga has been adapted into an anime series, four OVAs (original video animations) and an anime film. Five video games including three for the Sony PSP and two for the Nintendo DS have been released in Japan, as well as several music albums including soundtracks for both the anime series and anime film.

Setting

Early designs show influences from 19th/early 20th century architecture

Fairy Tail is set in Earthland, specifically the kingdom of Fiore, which is designed to resemble an early twentieth century European city. This can be seen in the slightly modernized Gothic architecture, the canals filling the city, and the common forms of transportation such as carriages and steam locomotives. However this older look is merged with modern fashion, technology, and behaviors and attitudes from the characters themselves. This merger of classic designs with newer hipper themes has earned Fairy Tail much praise. Examples of these mergers would be in the armor's Erza wears, each of which take the look of an armor from around the world and mixes in designs, symbols, or colors that match modern fashion. Another example would be the Celestial Spirits that Lucy summons, these are meant to represent the 12 figures from the Zodiac, but each of them have been redesigned to look like humans in modern settings, for example Cancer the Crab is a hairdresser with dreadlocks and shades.

As for the rest of the world, even though Fiore and most of what has already been seen in Fairy Tail is meant to carry a European influence, references to other nations have been made as well. Natsu and Happy have referenced Ninjas before implying there may be the equivalent of Japan in this world, and two characters (Alzack Connell and Bisca Mulan) resemble cowboys and are said to be from the West, meaning there may also be the equivalent of America in this world.

Themes

Guilds

Guilds in the world of Fairy Tail are Organizations that employ magic users to carry out task. These guilds are overseen by a Magical Council that makes sure all operations of the guild are lawful and do not cause trouble for other guilds. However, if a guild is not recognized by this council for its illegal activities, then it becomes a Dark Guild, which in Fairy Tail are the equivalent of criminal organizations, the most powerful of which is the Balam Alliance, which is made up of three other Dark Guilds. Each guild, whether good or bad, has a symbol that each member has tattooed onto their body.

Magic

Magic is the driving force of civilization in Fairy Tail, with many common objects and machines being either magically enhanced or powered by magic. Because magic is the primary theme in Fairy Tail we see a wide variety of it used, and while most of it is unique to Fairy Tail, clear inspirations from real world myths and magic can be seen, going along with the theme in Fairy Tail of combining aspects of old and new. For example, Cana Alberona fights using magical cards, which are clearly a reference to Tarot cards in that she can use them to read people's futures, however she also has the ability to combine them together in battle to create a wide range of spells, thereby going beyond the real world legends about magic cards to create something new.

Other forms of magic in Fairy Tail include:

The Celestial Spirit Aquarius

• Dragon Slayer Magic - Magic that grants powers similar to those of a dragon, leading to increases strength and additional powers that relate to the elements of magic that dragon possessed.
• Celestial Spirits - These are magical beings living on a different realm of existence, and are capable of being summoned through the use of magic keys and signing a contract with their summoner. You can see the influence from real world legends about summoning creatures in these contracts, and keys have always been associated with myths about magic in the real world.
• Requip Magic - A brand of magic rarely seen in real world mythology, making it quite possibly the most unique magic in Fairy Tail. This magic allows the user to swap out armor, weapons, or other objects for others that they have stored elsewhere.
• Elemental Magic - The elements have always played an important role in magic, and in Fairy Tail it's no exception with characters such as Juvia Loxar and Droy having power over everything from water to plants.

Manga

Fairy Tail Vol.1 (2006)

See also: Fairy Tail (manga) for plot and characters.

Fairy Tail began serialization on August 2, 2006 in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine, and on December 15, 2006 Kodansha published the first Fairy Tail tankōbon volume. As of June 2012, there are 289 chapters and 33 tankōbon volumes.

Del Rey Manga licensed the series for an English-language release in North America. The first volume was published on March 25, 2008 continuing until the release of the 12th volume on September 28, 2010 before Del Rey Manga shut down. Kodansha Comics USA acquired the license and published Fairy Tail volume 13 on May 10, 2011. As of November 27, 2012, 22 English-language volumes have been published.

Fairy Tail won the 2009 Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen manga and the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation's Industry Award in 2009 for best comedy manga In 2011, Fairy Tail was the 4th best selling manga in Japan (by series).

Publishers

• Kodansha (Japan)
• Del Rey Manga (North America, for the first twelve volumes)
• Kodansha USA (North America, thirteenth volume onward)
• Pika Edition (France)
• JBC (Portugal)
• Tong Li Publishing Co., Ltd. (China, Taiwan)

Anime

Fairy Tail (2009)

See also: Fairy Tail (anime) for plot and characters.

Fairy Tail premiered as an anime series on October 12, 2009, co-produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight and directed by Shinji Ishihara. It premiered on TV Tokyo. Animax Asia licensed the series and dubbed in English for Hong Kong in September 20, 2010, but the series was canceled after its 48th episode due to the lack of time. The series won Animax Asia's Anime of The Year Award. At the 2011 Sakura-Con, FUNimation Entertainment of North America announced its distribution to American audiences. They will release a DVD/Blu Ray box set in Novermber 22, 2011.

FUNimation has released four Blu-Ray/DVD combo packs featuring an English dub and the original Japanese audio with English subtitles.

1. The first release covers episodes 1-12 on 2 discs. It's released on November 22, 2011.
2. The second release covers episodes 12-24 on 2 discs. It's released on December 27, 2011.
3. The third release covers episodes 25-36 on 2 discs. It's released on January 31, 2012.
4. The fourth release covers episodes 37-48 on 2 discs. It's released March 20, 2012.

FUNimation Blu-ray + DVD Combo Packs

Original Video Animations

See also: OVA 1, OVA 2, OVA 3 and OVA 4 for plot summaries.

There are currently four OVA episodes of Fairy Tail, each packed in with a special edition volume of the manga. The first and third OVA take place at unspecified times in the story line. The second is completely seperate from the story-line, taking place in a high school setting. The fourth clearly taking place during the Grand Magic Games Arc, at about the same time as episode 153 (chapter 261 & 262, volume 31 of the manga).

Fairy Tail OVA 1-4

Music

See also: Fairy Tail (anime) for theme music.

As of July 2011, three original soundtrack CDs have been released, containing music from the anime. Three character song CDs have also been released.

Fairy Tail Original Soundtrack

Three original soundtracks containing the music from the Fairy Tail anime series have been released. Volume 1 was released on January 6, 2010, volume 2 on July 7, 2010, and volume 3 on July 6, 2011.

Fairy Tail Original Soundtrack Vol.1-3

Click here to reveal track list.

Fairy Tail Original Soundtrack Vol.1

Catalog No. PCCG-01016 Release Date: Jan 06, 2010 Release Price: 3150 JPY Published by: Pony Canyon Composed by: Yasuharu Takanashi, Edward Elgar Arranged by: Yasuharu Takanashi Performed by: Kana Strings, Isamu Takita, Kenji Fujisawa, Kanako Ito, Hideyo Takakuwa, Hirofumi Mizuno, Yasuharu Takanashi, REMI

#	Title	Length
01	FAIRY TAIL Main Theme (FAIRY TAIL メインテーマ)	2:32
02	Erza's Theme (エルザのテーマ Erza no theme)	2:54
03	Magic Invocation (魔法発動 Mahou Hatsudou)	1:47
04	Dragon Slayer (ドラゴンスレイヤー)	1:59
05	Tower of Heaven (楽園の塔 Rakuen no Tou)	1:51
06	Dark Guild (闇ギルド Yami Guild)	1:59
07	Mirajane's Theme (ミラジェーンのテーマ Mirajane no theme)	1:50
08	Lively Town (にぎやかな街 Nigiyaka na Machi)	1:25
09	Fairy Tail (妖精の尻尾 Yousei no Shippo)	1:21
10	Celestial Magic (星霊魔法 Seirei Mahou)	0:25
11	Good Luck, Lucy (ルーシィがんばる Lucy Ganbaru)	1:45
12	Gray's Theme (グレイのテーマ Gray no theme)	2:11
13	Natsu's Theme (ナツのテーマ Natsu no theme)	1:55
14	Destiny (宿命 Shukumei)	2:51
15	Creeping Shadow (忍び寄る影 Shinobiyoru Kage)	1:34
16	Laxus's Runaway (ラクサス暴走 Laxus Bousou)	1:43
17	Fairy Law (フェアリーロウ)	2:00
18	Comrades (仲間たち Nakamatachi)	2:27
19	Hometown (故郷 Kokyou)	1:38
20	Lucy's Theme (ルーシィのテーマ Lucy no theme)	1:29
21	Maelstrom of Ice (氷の戦塵 Koori no Senjin)	1:56
22	Revenant (幽鬼 Yuuki)	1:51
23	Oh Darkness, Foregather! (闇よ、つどえ！ Yami yo, Tsudoe!)	1:50
24	Eisenwald (アイゼンヴァルト)	0:24
25	Black Wizard (暗黒の魔導士 Ankoku no Madoushi)	2:28
26	Salamander (サラマンダー)	2:16
27	Ice Edge Swirling (氷刃舞う Hyoujin Mau)	2:15
28	Magic Duel (魔法対戦 Mahou Taisen)	1:40
29	Sorrowful Past (悲しき過去 Kanashiki Kako)	2:13
30	Deliora the Demon (悪魔デリオラ Akuma Deliora)	3:14
31	Titania's Armor (ティターニアの鎧 Titania no Yoroi)	1:39
32	Blazing Fist (燃え上がる拳 Moeagaru Kobushi)	1:36
33	Last-Minute Magic (最後の魔法 Saigo no Mahou)	1:35
34	Burning Rage (紅蓮の怒り Guren no Ikari)	1:58
35	Pomp and Circumtance -Rock ver.- (威風堂々 -Rock ver.- Ifuudoudou -Rock ver.-)	2:02
36	FAIRY TAIL Main Theme -Slow ver.- (FAIRY TAIL メインテーマ -Slow ver.-)	2:34

Fairy Tail Original Soundtrack Vol.2

Catalog No. PCCG-01057 Release Date: Jul 07, 2010 Release Price: 3150 JPY Published by: Pony Canyon Composed by: Yasuharu Takanashi, Sergei Rachmaninoff Arranged by: Yasuharu Takanashi, Hiromi Mizutani, Kenji Fujisawa Performed by: Makoto Motoi Strings, Kana Strings, Isamu Takita, Kenji Fujisawa, Makoto Motoi, Kanako Ito, Hirofumi Mizuno, Hideyo Takakuwa, Yasuharu Takanashi, REMI, Ryoko Ono

#	Title	Length
01	Iron Dragon	2:21
02	Leo	2:10
03	Wicked Hammering	2:53
04	Reminiscence ~Awaking Soul~	3:11
05	New Friendship	3:03
06	Happy's Theme	1:32
07	Suspicious Wizard	1:34
08	Makarov	1:34
09	Fantasia	2:12
10	Tabidatsu Mono e	2:00
11	Phantom Lord	0:29
12	Magic Challenger	3:07
13	Baneslayer Storm	2:04
14	Tragic	1:37
15	FAIRY TAIL Main Theme -Piano ver.-	2:29
16	Natsu's Magic 1 ~Fire Dragon's Roar~	0:30
17	Natsu's Magic 2 ~Fire Dragon's Piercing~	0:26
18	Natsu's Magic 3 ~Fire Dragon's Burning Fist~	0:22
19	Gray's Magic 1 ~Ice Make~	0:24
20	Gray's Magic 2 ~Ice Geyser~	0:27
21	Gray's Magic 3 ~Ice Edge · 7 Hits Swirl~	0:36
22	Erza's Magic 1 ~Adamantine Armor~	0:22
23	Erza's Magic 2 ~Heavenly Wheel's Armor~	0:25
24	Erza's Magic 3 ~Purgatory's Armor~	0:34
25	Dark Afterglow	0:43
26	King of the Celestial Spirits	1:35
27	Tower of Heaven ~ from Piano Concerto No.2 in C Minor Op.18	2:30
28	Released Power	2:41
29	Bonds	2:34
30	Reminiscence ~Sad Soul~	2:40
31	Magic Crystal	2:29
32	Satan Soul	0:44
33	Fierce Battle Against Evil	3:30
34	Eternal Magic	2:07
35	Fiore Kingdom	2:42
36	FAIRY TAIL Main Theme -METAL ver.-	2:03

Fairy Tail Original Soundtrack Vol.3

Catalog No. PCCG-01175 Release Date: Jul 06, 2011 Release Price: 3150 JPY Published by: Pony Canyon Composed by: Yasuharu Takanashi Arranged by: Yasuharu Takanashi Performed by: Kana Strings, Makoto Motoi Strings, Makoto Motoi, Kenji Fujisawa, Isamu Takita, Hirofumi Mizuno, Hideyo Takakuwa, Yasuharu Takanashi, REMI

#	Title	Length
01	The Magical Land's Traveler
02	Three Dragon Slayers
03	Swiftly
04	Furious Fight of Steel
05	Allies, Assemble!
06	Shall's Confession
07	Oracion Seis Appears!
08	Leader Against Leader
09	Midnight Awakens
10	Poison Dragon of Cobra
11	Nirvana's Light
12	Parallel World Edolas
13	People of the Floating Islands
14	Mystogan's Theme
15	The Sky Maiden
16	Winged One
17	Interdimensional Magic Anima
18	Exceeds
19	Disappearing Magic Power
20	Ice Boy
21	Angel Annihilation Plan
22	Angel's Anguish
23	Panther Lily
24	Dragon Chain Cannon
25	Fierce Fight and Magic
26	Celestial Fight
27	The Power of Justice
28	Erza vs. Erza
29	Dragon Force
30	Ancient Magic