Fairy Tail (TV series)

Fairy Tail is a Japanese anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures, Dentsu, Satelight, Bridge, and CloverWorks. Based on the manga series Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima, the series premiered on TV Tokyo and its TXN affiliates on October 12, 2009.[1] The series follows the journeys of Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia and the popular wizard guild Fairy Tail through 328 episodes, concluding its main series run on September 29, 2019, before transitioning into a sequel series, titled Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest.

Plot

Production

The production of the Fairy Tail anime is notable for its shifts in animation studios across three distinct "Series" cycles. Season 1 (2009–2013): A collaboration between A-1 Pictures and Satelight. This era featured a lighter color palette and the consistent use of "Magic Circles" (Mahōjin) during combat, a visual trope later phased out. Season 2 (2014–2016): Following a hiatus, the show returned as Fairy Tail (2014). Bridge replaced Satelight as the co-animation studio. This run introduced a darker, more saturated color scheme and sharper character designs to better reflect the manga's evolving art style.[2] Final Season (2018–2019): CloverWorks (a former subsidiary of A-1 Pictures) joined the production to finish the series. This era utilized advanced digital lighting and cinematic effects for the final war against the Alvarez Empire.[3]

A-1 Pictures, Dentsu Entertainment, and Satelight produced the anime adaptation of the manga. The anime, also titled Fairy Tail and directed by Shinji Ishihira, premiered on TV Tokyo on October 12, 2009.[4] The series ended its run on March 30, 2013,[5] 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.[6] The Southeast Asian network Animax Asia aired the series locally in English.[7][8] 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.[9] On April 21, 2011, they had confirmed that the first volume with 12 episodes would be released in February 2012;[10] however, they later announced that the first volume would be released on March 5, 2012.[11] In 2011, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment announced that they had acquired the first season of the ongoing series.[12] The series made its North American television debut on November 22, 2011, on the Funimation Channel.[13] The anime is also licensed by Madman Entertainment, 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).[14] Funimation announced that the ninth installment would get the DVD/Blu-ray release on March 25, 2014.[15]

On March 4, 2013, Mashima announced on his Twitter account that the anime would not end yet,[16] and confirmed on July 11 that a sequel series was greenlit.[17] The sequel series was officially confirmed in Weekly Shonen Magazine on December 28, 2013, with a special edition chapter.[18][19] The sequel is produced by A-1 Pictures and Bridge, featuring character designs by Shinji Takeuchi; the original series' voice actors also returned to the project along with director Shinji Ishihira and writer Masashi Sogo.[18] The official website for the sequel was launched on January 7, 2014.[20][21] The series premiered on TV Tokyo on April 5, 2014, and was being simulcast by Funimation Entertainment.[22][23] The second series concluded its run on March 26, 2016.[24]

On March 22, 2016, Mashima announced via Twitter that another Fairy Tail series was being developed.[25] On July 20, 2017, Mashima confirmed on Twitter that the final season of Fairy Tail would air in 2018.[26] The final season of Fairy Tail aired from October 7, 2018, to September 29, 2019.[27][28][29] A-1 Pictures, CloverWorks, and Bridge produced and animated the final season,[30][31] which ran from October 7, 2018, to September 29, 2019. for 51 episodes.[32][33]

Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the dub was moved to the streaming service.[34]

Music

Reception

Fairy Tail has 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.[57] 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.[58]

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.[59] 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.[60] 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."[61] 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".[62][63]

External links