Fairy Tail is a manga series by one Hiro Mashima, author of Rave Master, Monster Soul, Monster Hunter Orage, and later series EDENS ZERO among other works.
Taken place in a fantastical world known as Earthland, where magic is a commonplace and multiple wizard guilds are formed to perform various jobs from various clients throughout the land. One such guild is the titular Fairy Tail, a rather (in)famous wizard guild mainly comprised of some of Earthland's most notorious troublemakers and misfits widely known for causing so much property damage as much as they earnestly helping their clients.
The franchise mainly focuses on one such group of wizards within the notorious guild, each being a dysfunctional bunch with enough power to be the guild's Almighty Janitor:
- Natsu Dragneel: The Salamander. The resident flame-eating, literal hot-headed Fire Dragon Slayer with an unwaivering trust towards his friends.
- Lucy Heartfilia: The "Lucky" Celestial Spirit Wizard. A busty Rebellious Princess and the current holder of the 12 powerful Zodiac Celestial Keys.
- Gray Fullbuster: The Ice Maker. The cooler foil (and friendly rival) of Natsu Dragneel, resident walking Shirtless Scene and user of the versatile Ice Make Magic.
- Erza Scarlet: The Steel Fairy. The Not So Stoic master swordswoman and pride of the guild itself, an ungodly wielder of many swords, and a terrifying user of the Requip Magic.
- Wendy Marvell: The Sky Maiden. The Sky Dragon Slayer and the cutest (and youngest) Combat Medic of the group.
- Happy: Natsu Dragneel's pet Exceed (i.e. a talking flying cat) and fiercely loyal companion.
- Carla: Wendy Marvell's pet Exceed (i.e. a talking flying cat) and the group's foresight-seeing companion.
From there, other members of the guild are showcased and become prominent characters alongside other mainstays and additional members who join on through the series. Along the way, the guild encounters threats to themselves, their city, their kingdom, and eventually their world as more of the series' myth opens and secrets of the guild are revealed.
The original run of the series began in 2006 and ended in 2017 with an 11-year run and 63 volumes worth of material. However, the series proved to be immensely popular with an anime adaptation, two movies, a sequel manga, and several spin-offs to its name.
Manga
- Fairy Tail (2006-2017): Original series. 63 volumes.
- Fairy Tail ZERØ: (2014-2015) A prequel series that focuses on Fairy Tail's founders and what led to the formation of the guild. One volume.
- Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest: (2018-present) Drawn by a Atsuo Ueda, with Mashima involved as the writer and storyboard artist. Picks up after the original series ended.
Spin-Offs
- Fairy Tail: Ice Trail (2014): A prequel series that focuses on Gray when he was younger, and what happened between leaving his mentor and his travels that lead him to the guild. Two volumes.
- Fairy Tail: Blue Mistral (2014-2015): Focuses on the Dragon Slayer Wendy and her cat Charles/Carla and their own solo adventures. Four volumes.
- Fairy Girls (2014-2015): Focuses on the female cast of the series—Lucy, Erza, Wendy, and Juvia—and their own exploits. Four volumes.
- Fairy Tail Gaiden: Three single-volume series that focuses on the less prominent Dragon Slayers and their friends:
- Twin Dragons of Saber Tooth (2015): Focuses on the Saber Tooth guild and their Dragon Slayers, Sting and Rouge.
- Rhodonite (2015-2016): Focuses on Gajeel, a former villain-turned-guildmate, and two adventures set before and after the second time skip in the series, respectively.
- Lighting Gods (2016): Focuses on Laxus and his group, the Raijin Tribe, during the events of the second time skip.
- Fairy Tail S: Compilation of one shot stories that popped up during the series run. Two volumes.
- Fairy Tail: Happy's Heroic Adventure (2018-2020): Focuses on Happy, who ends up in a alternate world inhibited by anthropomorphic animals. Eight volumes.
- Fairy Tail: City Hero (2018-2019): Alternate universe series in which the guild is portrayed as a police force and dealing with criminals of their town. Four volumes.
- Mashima HERO'S (2019): A crossover with Rave Master and EDENS ZERO in celebration of Weekly Shonen Magazine's 60th anniversary. One volume.
Anime
- Gained one that started in 2009. Went on hiatus in 2013 after 175 episodes, and returned in 2014 under a new studio. Another hiatus followed in 2016 after an additional 102 episodes—including an adaptation of Fairy Tail ZERØ—before resuming in 2018 to cover the remaining story for 51 more episodes. Altogether that's 328 episodes.
- 100 Years Quest has been confirmed to be getting an anime adaptation.
Films
- Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess (2012): First movie. The guild helps a mysterious priestess try to prevent the re-awakening of a phoenix that could destroy the world.
- Fairy Tail The Movie: Priestess Of The Phoenix - The Sunrise (2012): One-shot manga prequel to Phoenix Priestess about how Éclair and Momon met and how they went on their journey.
- Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry (2017) Second movie. The guild is tasked with stopping a dangerous criminal from trying to find a magical staff of immense power.
Light Novels
- Fairy Tail: The Color Residing Within The Heart (2012)
- Fairy Tail 2: After The Grand Magic Games, Each Individual Day (2014)
- Ōedo Fairy Tail (2015)
- Fairy Tail 3: Trouble Twins (2016)
- Fairy Tail in Wonderland (2017)
- Wish on a Star (2017) - Tie-in novel to the Dragon Cry movie which expands on the story of Sonya and her past.
Video Gamenote
- Sunday VS Magazine: Shuuketsu! Choujou Daikessen (2009, PlayStation Portable): Crossover fighting game. Natsu and Lucy are playable characters.
- Fairy Tail Portable Guild (2010, PlayStation Portable): Action RPG.
- Portable Guild 2 (2011)
- Zeref's Awakening (2012)
- Fairy Tail: Fight! Wizard Battle (2010, Nintendo DS): Fighting game
- Fairy Tail: Attack! Kardia Cathedral (2011, Nintendo DS)
- Fairy Tail: Hero's Journey (Browser)
- FAIRY TAIL (2020, PlayStation 4/Nintendo Switch/Steam) Turn-based RPG. This is the first Japanese game in the series to be released outside a portable console and the game's home country.
- Fairy Tail Dungeons: an upcoming game by gino labo
