Fairy Tail is a classic anime series that has its own unique position. It might not have the fame of the big three of shonen manga, but for numerous fans, it was their entrance into the universe of anime and manga.
Fairy Tail is considered by author Hiro Mashima as his greatest work, even though he has been involved with other projects too. The plot is based on a common topic, showing the influence of friendship, which might be exactly what new anime fans require.
Even though Fairy Tail is usually light and comical, it has given us some very scary bad guys in forms of dragons, demons, and deranged immortals. In a world where magic is everywhere and can appear in many forms, it’s not surprising that certain individuals would use their powers for evil purposes. The existence of these powerful enemies makes the story more complex and serious at times.
Hiro Mashima’s Approach to Crafting Complex Villains in Fairy Tail
Fairy Tail has tons of awesome villains. There are fan favorites such as Jellal Fernandes, Hades, and Flare Corona, to name a few.
What truly makes a great anime villain is not just their power and ability to hinder the main characters, but also an interesting background that reveals why they choose this path or what motivates them in life.
The character with the most complexity is possibly the main enemy, Zeref. His life starts as a deep secret but over time and in the last arc of the story we learn more about him.
In an interview with Anime News Network, when asked about Zeref’s compelling nature as a tragic figure rather than a typical villain. The creator of Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima, responded,
“I didn’t want a typical bad guy. I kind of combined all of the elements I had been cultivating and inserted edit into this character, and he became a really highly complex character.”
Mashima’s deliberate crafting of Zeref as a nuanced, tragic figure rather than a one-dimensional villain adds significant depth and dignity to the overarching narrative conflict in Fairy Tail.
Hiro Mashima Draws Profound Inspiration from Dragon Ball and Kinnikuman
It is a common practice for manga artists to cite specific creators who have inspired their artistic styles. Gege Akutami, for example, pays tribute to Tite Kubo‘s Bleach by using drawing cues from it.
Koyoharu Gotouge also takes elements from Bleach along with Masashi Kishimoto‘s creation, Naruto. Hiro Mashima mentions the legendary Akira Toriyama, who created Dragon Ball, as their big influence.
Mashima’s love for Dragon Ball shows us how powerful and long-lasting this series is in Japan. We can see the lively, full-of-energy style of Dragon Ball reflected in Mashima’s works like Fairy Tail or Edens Zero.
Apart from Toriyama, Mashima has said that he got ideas from Kinnikuman, another famous series that has inspired many artists. Fascinatingly, Kinnikuman was first created as a funny imitation of Ultraman, but it grew into a very popular series on its own, as Mashima can confirm.
You can watch Fairy Tail on Crunchyroll.
