Fairy Tail (フェアリーテイル Fearī Teiru) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It has been published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine since August 2, 2006, and has been published by Kodansha in 30 tankōbon volumes; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Kodansha, with the first released on December 15, 2006, and the 37th volume released on April 20, 2013. Fairy Tail follows the adventures of Lucy Heartfilia, a teenage wizard (魔導士 madōshi?), who joins the titular wizards' guild and teams up with fellow guild member Natsu Dragneel as he searches for the dragon Igneel.
The chapters have been adapted into an anime series produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight, which began broadcasting in Japan in 2009. Additionally, A-1 Pictures and Satelight has developed five original video animations, an animated feature film, Fairy Tail the Movie: The Phoenix Priestess, and a sixth original video animation, which is the prequel to the movie. The series ended on March 30, 2013.However, days after that announcement, i.e., on March 4, Mashima announced on his Twitter account that the anime would not end yet, and that reruns of the anime will begin airing on TV Tokyo under the title Fairy Tail Best on April 4, 2013.
The series was originally 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 in September 2010. In December 2010, Kodansha Comics USA licensed the series from Del Rey, and has since continued its North American release.The Southeast Asian network Animax Asia aired an English-language version of the series for three seasons from 2010 to 2013. The anime has been licensed by Funimation Entertainment for an English-language release in North America.
