Hiro Mashima Confesses That Fairy Tail Was Born Out of His ‘Loneliness’

Would you believe that a mangaka’s successful tale–or “tail”–of friendship was born out of loneliness? It’s an underdog origin story for an artist like Hiro Mashima.

The wizards gathered at New York Comic Con for the Spotlight panel on the famed mangaka, who debuted with Rave Master in the Weekly Shonen Magazine from 1999 to 2005. He became most famous for Fairy Tail, published in Weekly Shonen Magazine in 2006 and adapted into a hit 2009 anime series. The Fairy Tail adventures continues in its currently running sequel, Fairy Tail: 100 Years (illustrated by Atsuo Ueda), while its J.C. Staff-produced anime adaptation premiered in July 2024. (Shinji Ishihara is the chief director and Toshinori Watanabe is the director.) The 100 Years Quest is an insurmountable quest, but &TEAM Natsu is on it. “I don’t want to give any spoilers so I don’t want to give away whether [they] can finish the quest,” Mashima teased.

A Wolverine cosplayer tossed the mangaka the question that unexpectedly punched an emotional gut. Did Mashima base Fairy Tail, a story of friendship, on his personal life? That’s when he spilled it: “To tell you the truth, I wrote the story cause I had no friends. My loneliness is what you’re seeing.” Of course, the room raised their hands to offer to be his friend.

The panel didn’t open with this tale of woe, with Mashima first greeting the New York Comic Con fans with a cheery “Whassup guys!… My most proud moment is being the author of Fairy Tail! Let’s have fun together today!” This was his third visit to New York, and often for New York Comic Con, which once granted him a meetup with the English dub cast of Fairy Tail. Fans whooped when he passed compliments to Todd Haberkorn for his impressive work as Natsu‘s English voice.

On the stage, he also produced two drawings on the live feed. Every time his hand manifested another character, the fans squealed. While it’s public information, twice did Mashima find himself crediting Dragon Ball, by the late Akira Toriyama, who passed away in March, as an inspiration for Fairy Tail.

Did Mashima intend the Fairy Tail sequel? “No.” It was the decision of “corporate.” “When I was working on the original series, it never occurred to me to have a sequel.” To be clear, the 100 Years Quest is no less a labor of pride for Mashima. “So the storyboarding and storyline development is all by me. There are moments where I even surprise him [Atsuo Ueda] in the direction where the story goes.”

Fairy Tail couldn’t hog the spotlight, with celebration also paid to Eden Zero, Rave Masters, and DEAD ROCK. One fan inquired about Rave Master and whether Mashima would be interested in the return of the anime adaptation to finish the saga. “I’m always honored when I hear that. But to tell the truth, I like the new work that I’m doing, so right now, it’s not in my heart to do [continue] a Rave Master [anime] series. If it comes up as an opportunity, maybe perhaps!” Then he moved onto a real serious question about DEAD ROCK. When crafting a character who very much wants to “kill God,” he said, “I wanted to try something edgy for a change and do something I haven’t done before.”

Mashima also wrote a crossover in Mashima’s Heroes. Does that indicate a connected universe in Mashima’s stories? He said, “I don’t think of the worlds being connected.” But if featuring his heroes across his work helps draw his readers into his other story sagas, he doesn’t mind benefiting from it. (“I read Rave Master and I was like, that’s Plue!” Lyu said.)

Certainly, the Fairy Tail theme of friendship resonated with his fans. “It’s helped me get through a lot of my struggles in high school and helped me connect with my friends on a deeper level,” one fan told Mashima at the Q&A mic.

There was a point where Mashima realized that Fairy Tail wasn’t just a local success, but a global one. “When first invited to New York Comic Con, I didn’t believe there was a worldwide audience and was immediately surprised by the warmth of the fanbase [at New York Comic Con].”

He dispensed some inspiring words about artistry being attached to humanity, rather than a technical skill. “As an artist, one of the most important things is empathy and being receptive to the world around you. So instead of [just] continuing on the technical aspect, I want artists to get out in the world because that would enrich you.”

“They say in English, touch grass,” added Lyu.

“For me, there is a part of me that has achieved a part of success, and at the same time, I feel that I haven’t fully succeeded,” he confessed. “One of the things that I think is important for me is I don’t say ‘I want to do something.’ I say, ‘I’m going to do something.’”