Danica Davidson
October 22, 2024 
While doing a panel at New York Comic Con, manga creator Hiro Mashima was asked by a member of the audience if his series Fairy Tail was based on his real life. Mashima answered, “To tell you the truth, I wrote the story cause I had no friends. My loneliness is what you’re seeing.”
He said that “corporate” came up with the idea of a sequel series, adding, “When I was working on the original series, it never occurred to me to have a sequel.”
Just as creating Fairy Tail was cathartic for him, reading it has been cathartic for countless people around the globe. A fan in the audience got the opportunity to say to Mashima, “[Fairy Tail] helped me get through a lot of my struggles in high school and helped me connect with my friends on a deeper level.”
The panel likewise had Mashima doing live drawings, and he praised English dub actor Todd Haberkorn for his job voicing Natsu in Fairy Tail.
The mangaka additionally gave some advice on being an artist. “As an artist, one of the most important things is empathy and being receptive to the world around you,” he remarked. “So instead of [just] continuing on the technical aspect, I want artists to get out in the world because that would enrich you.”
Kodansha USA publishes Fairy Tail in English and gave this description for the plot:
Fairy Tail Plot
Cute girl wizard Lucy wants to join the FAIRY TAIL, a club for the most powerful wizards. But instead her ambitions land her in the clutches of a gang of unsavory pirates led by a devious magician. Her only hope is Natsu, a strange boy she happens to meet on her travels. Natsu’s not your typical hero—he gets motion sickness, eats like a pig, and his best friend is a talking cat. With friends like this, is Lucy better off with her enemies?
Source: ANN
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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