FAIRY TAIL Volume 1(2008).
© Del Rey
Title: Fairy Tail
Volume: 1
Rating: Teen (13+)
Story and Art By: Hiro Mashima
Publisher: Del Rey
Price: $10.95
FAIRY TAIL Volume 1
By: Nadia OxfordDate: Monday, March 17, 2008
The offerings of the shonen manga genre are pretty straightforward: Boob jokes, goofy characters, lots of fights and plenty of humour. Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail doesn't deviate from the well-beaten path, but it's entertaining enough to remain readable, and even memorable.
Lucy, a wizard who relies on her cup size as much as her wallet to buy what she needs from life, is fanatical about joining a wizard's guild. Not just any guild, however; Lucy wants to join Fairy Tail, an exclusive club for the very best in the field. Her quest for status goes badly when she's tricked by a pirate with intentions of human slavery, but she's saved by a fire wizard named Natsu and his talking cat, Happy. Natsu, unrefined though he is, reveals himself to be an established member of Fairy Tail. He puts in a good word for Lucy, and adventure ensues.
Since shonen manga is prone to story patterns, its strength lies in the charm of its characters. Manga-ka Hiro Mashima is a veteran in the industry, having penned the popular Rave Master, so it's not surprising that Fairy Tail passes the character test—for the most part. It'd be nice to read a shonen manga wherein the token female didn't draw attention to her giant bazooms, but that's probably like asking the sun to extinguish itself. Natsu is a goof, yet is still capable of pulling his act together and unleashing hugely mysterious powers when the chips are down. Again, nothing special considering the genre. Fairy Tail's strength is actually its supporting cast, including other members of the Fairy Tail guild. The ice wizard Gray (who is, appropriately, rivals with the fire-wielding Natsu) has an inexplicable habit of losing his clothes and pilfering underwear off other people and/or clotheslines. It's a pretty juvenile trait, but undeniably funny. Happy has his own charm as well, as do (strangely enough) the monsters Lucy is able to summon to assist her in battle.
Fairy Tail's humour, as well as its art style, is not unlike another popular shonen series, One Piece, Though the main characters don't sport the same exaggerated features as the Straw Hat Pirates, some of the villains and monster creatures have the distinctive rubbery, lumpy look. At other times, Mashima's art looks distinctly like that of Akira Toriyama, another shonen master.
Fortunately, Fairy Tail has enough character to let it stand on its own, just far enough from its inspirations. Volume one retails for $10.95.
