Hiro Mashima’s Fairy Tail manga is set to return earlier than originally announced, with the new short-term serialization now scheduled to begin in Issue #35 of Weekly Shonen Magazine on July 29.
The new serialization was initially slated to launch in the magazine’s combined Issue #36/37 on Aug 5, as announced in April.
However, the magazine’s editorial department revealed that the schedule was moved up by one week due to scheduling issues and Mashima’s unexpectedly fast manuscript progress.
“Due to scheduling circumstances within Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as Hiro Mashima-sensei progressing the manuscripts at a speed far beyond the editorial department’s expectations, we decided to move up the serialization start date so readers can enjoy the series as soon as possible.”
The upcoming manga is part of the franchise’s 20th anniversary celebration and will feature a brand-new story centered on Natsu and the other members of the Fairy Tail guild.
The manga is especially significant for longtime fans because Mashima will personally handle the artwork.
Although the franchise has continued through multiple sequels and spin-offs over the years, including Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest with artwork by Atsuo Ueda, Mashima has not directly drawn a new Fairy Tail serialization since the original manga ended in 2017.
Mashima launched Fairy Tail in August 2006 in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine. It ran for 545 chapters.
The manga has over 72 million copies in circulation and has been adapted into anime by A-1 Pictures in collaboration with other studios. There are three seasons of the anime in total, along with multiple anime films and OVAs too.
Source: Oricon
