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Last updated: 1 November 2026

Quick Answer

Fairy Tail is the 2009 fantasy adventure anime from A-1 Pictures and Satelight, based on Hiro Mashima's manga. Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Gray and Erza take guild jobs across the kingdom of Fiore in 328 episodes (2009–2019), with the sequel 100 Years Quest following in 2024.

About Fairy Tail

In the kingdom of Fiore, wizard guilds take on jobs across the land, and none is rowdier than Fairy Tail. The 2009 anime, from A-1 Pictures and Satelight, follows Lucy Heartfilia, a young Celestial Wizard who runs away from her wealthy family to join the guild of her dreams. On her first day she meets Natsu Dragneel, a Fire Dragon Slayer raised by an actual dragon, and his flying cat partner Happy. Together with the ice wizard Gray, the armoured swordswoman Erza and a whole guild of lovable troublemakers, Lucy takes jobs that keep growing in scale, from dark guilds and cursed islands to a war against the Alvarez Empire. Fairy Tail is built on friendship: its wizards fight hardest when one of their own is in danger, and nearly every battle turns on loyalty rather than power alone. The anime ran in three productions between 2009 and 2019, covering all 328 episodes of Hiro Mashima's manga story, and the sequel Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest began in 2024.

Fairy Tail is a TV anime from 2009, first released in Fall 2009. It belongs to the Action and Adventure and Fantasy and Comedy genres and is listed as a completed series. The summary above is written by the AnimeYug team in our own words.

Official Trailer

Story & Plot

Lucy Heartfilia arrives in the port town of Hargeon hoping to join Fairy Tail, the famous guild she admires. She is rescued from a fraud posing as a Fairy Tail wizard by the real thing: Natsu Dragneel, a Dragon Slayer searching for the dragon who raised him and vanished seven years ago. Natsu brings Lucy to the guildhall in Magnolia, where Master Makarov welcomes her into a family of wizards who treat every job as an adventure and every guildmate as a sibling.

Team Natsu (Lucy, Natsu, Happy, Gray and Erza) takes on ever more dangerous work: breaking a demon's curse on Galuna Island, defending the guild from Phantom Lord, and stopping the dark guilds of the Balam Alliance. Behind the adventures runs a deeper mystery: all the dragons vanished on the same day in the year X777, and the black wizard Zeref, the most dangerous figure in history, is moving again. The story builds through the Grand Magic Games and the Tartaros war to a final conflict with Zeref and the dragon king Acnologia, where the bonds of the guild are tested to their limit.

Story Arcs & Episode Guide

The Fairy Tail anime is split into story sagas. Here is every saga in order, with its episodes and years.

ArcEpisodesYearsAbout
Prologue and Eisenwald1–102009Lucy joins Fairy Tail, and Team Natsu stops a dark guild's death flute
Galuna Island11–202009–2010An unauthorised S-Class job reveals Gray's past
Phantom Lord21–292010A rival guild declares war on Fairy Tail
Tower of Heaven30–402010Erza's childhood friends try to resurrect Zeref
Battle of Fairy Tail41–482010Laxus forces the guild to fight itself for the master's seat
Oración Seis49–682010–2011An alliance of light guilds hunts the dark guild seeking Nirvana
Edolas69–952011The guild is pulled into a parallel world without magic
Tenrou Island96–1222011The S-Class exam is interrupted by Grimoire Heart, and Zeref
Key of the Starry Sky123–1502012Anime-original arc: a clock, a prophecy and Lucy's family secret (filler)
Grand Magic Games151–2032012–2014After seven lost years, Fairy Tail fights to reclaim its number-one rank
Eclipse Celestial Spirits204–2262014–2015Anime-original arc: the Celestial Spirits rebel (filler)
Sun Village and Tartaros227–2652015The dark guild Tartaros targets the former council, and dragons return
Avatar266–2842015–2018A scattered guild reunites against a Zeref-worshipping cult
Alvarez Empire285–3282018–2019Zeref's empire invades; the final war with Acnologia

Why Watch Fairy Tail

  • Team Natsu's chemistry: five very different wizards who feel like a real family.
  • Dragon Slayers, Celestial spirits and dozens of inventive types of magic.
  • Big emotional payoffs, Fairy Tail fights hardest when a guildmate is in danger.
  • The Grand Magic Games tournament arc is a fan favourite across the whole series.
  • A complete story: all 328 episodes adapt the full manga, finale included.

Who Is It For?

Common Sense Media suggests Fairy Tail for ages 12 and up, and US releases carry TV-14 ratings. Expect frequent magical battles, some injuries, mild fanservice and revealing outfits, and occasional darker arcs involving death and curses. The tone stays warm and comedic overall, making it a good step up for viewers who have outgrown younger adventure shows.

Main Characters

View all characters →

Voice Actors

The Japanese voices behind the main characters of Fairy Tail.

  • Natsu DragneelFire Dragon Slayer
    Japanese voiceTetsuya Kakihara
  • Lucy HeartfiliaCelestial Wizard and aspiring novelist
    Japanese voiceAya Hirano
  • HappyNatsu's flying Exceed partner
    Japanese voiceRie Kugimiya
  • Erza ScarletS-Class wizard known as Titania
    Japanese voiceSayaka Ōhara
  • Gray FullbusterIce-Make wizard
    Japanese voiceYūichi Nakamura
  • Wendy MarvellSky Dragon Slayer
    Japanese voiceSatomi Satō
  • CarlaWendy's Exceed partner
    Japanese voiceYui Horie
  • Juvia LockserWater wizard devoted to Gray
    Japanese voiceMai Nakahara
  • Gajeel RedfoxIron Dragon Slayer
    Japanese voiceWataru Hatano
  • Laxus DreyarLightning Dragon Slayer
    Japanese voiceKatsuyuki Konishi
  • Mirajane StraussS-Class wizard and guild barmaid
    Japanese voiceRyōko Ono
  • Makarov DreyarFairy Tail's third master
    Japanese voiceShinpachi Tsuji
  • Jellal FernandesFormer council wizard seeking redemption
    Japanese voiceDaisuke Namikawa
  • Zeref DragneelThe Black Wizard
    Japanese voiceAkira Ishida
  • Mavis VermillionFairy Tail's first master
    Japanese voiceMamiko Noto

Staff & Production

Original Creator
Hiro Mashima
Animation Studio
A-1 Pictures and Satelight (2009–2013); A-1 Pictures and Bridge (2014–2016); A-1 Pictures, CloverWorks and Bridge (Final Series)
Series Director
Shinji Ishihira
Series Composition
Masashi Sogo
Music
Yasuharu Takanashi

Manga & Source Material

Fairy Tail adapts Hiro Mashima's manga of the same name, published by Kodansha.

  • Written and drawn by Hiro Mashima, the creator of Rave Master
  • Serialised in Weekly Shonen Magazine from 2 August 2006 to 26 July 2017
  • 63 collected volumes and 545 chapters; the manga is complete
  • More than 72 million copies in circulation as of February 2020
  • The sequel, Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest, is storyboarded by Mashima with art by Atsuo Ueda, and has run since 2018

Music

Fairy Tail used 26 opening and 26 ending themes across its three productions, and Yasuharu Takanashi's Celtic-tinged rock score is a signature part of the show's identity.

Opening Themes

  • “Snow Fairy”by FUNKISTThe first opening (episodes 1–11): reprised in the final episode
  • “MASAYUME CHASING”by BoAThe first opening of the 2014 series
  • “MORE THAN LiKE”by BiSHThe final opening (episodes 316–328)

Ending Themes

  • “Kanpeki Gū no ne”by Watarirouka HashiritaiThe first ending (episodes 1–11)
  • “Exceed”by MiyuuThe final ending (episodes 316–328)

Series Timeline

  1. 2006

    Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail manga begins in Weekly Shonen Magazine.

  2. 2009

    The anime premieres on 12 October 2009, produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight.

  3. 2012

    The first film, Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess, opens in cinemas.

  4. 2014

    The anime returns with a new production after a one-year break.

  5. 2017

    The manga ends after 545 chapters; the film Dragon Cry opens the same spring.

  6. 2018

    The Final Series begins, adapting the manga's last arcs.

  7. 2019

    The anime concludes with episode 328 on 29 September 2019.

  8. 2024

    The sequel anime Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest premieres.

Quick Answers

Is Fairy Tail finished?

Yes. Fairy Tail has finished airing, so you can watch the complete story from start to end without waiting for new episodes.

What genre is Fairy Tail?

Fairy Tail is a Action and Adventure and Fantasy and Comedy anime. You can browse more titles like it on our Action anime page.

When did Fairy Tail release?

Fairy Tail first released in Fall 2009. It is a TV series.

How many episodes does Fairy Tail have?

328 episodes across three runs: 175 episodes (2009–2013), 102 episodes (2014–2016) and the 51-episode Final Series (2018–2019). The sequel series, Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest, began in 2024.

In what order should a beginner watch Fairy Tail?

Watch the three series in release order. The episode numbers run continuously from 1 to 328. The film Phoenix Priestess (2012) fits around the first series' final year, and Dragon Cry (2017) fits after the 2014 series.

Is Fairy Tail finished?

The main story is complete: the Final Series adapted the manga's ending in 2019. The adventure continues in the sequel manga and anime Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest, set a year after the finale.

How is the Fairy Tail manga different from the anime?

The anime follows Hiro Mashima's manga closely and covers all of it, adding two anime-original arcs (Key of the Starry Sky and Eclipse Celestial Spirits) and some extra comedy. The manga is a little more violent in places; the anime softens some scenes for television.

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