#40 A graphic novel: Fairy Tail (Volume One), by Hiro Mashima.
MANGA!!!!! I must admit, I love animes and mangas. I dedicated a great chunk of my time reading these in school and whenever I visited Barnes and Nobles. I couldn’t name all of the animes I’ve watched. Probably one of the reasons I didn’t do so well in high school (they are so addictive! I regret nothing!). Anime usually refers specifically to Japanese comics. Unlike the Western style comics like DC and Marvel, anime reads back to front, right to left. After your first volume, it tends to come naturally to your eyes. The amazing art work and story-telling trapped in the many panels of the pages, help you to easily dive into each volume of any series you pick up.
Fairy Tail is still currently running on air, and I’m a loyal follower. I’ve always been interested in taking the time to read the actual manga behind the series, and I’ve taken advantage of this reading challenge to get my hands on a copy and read it from cover to cover. It took me a little under 10 minutes to consume it, and it flooded back memories of the anime.
Lucy Heartfilia is a Celestial Spirit mage, able to summon zodiacs from golden keys to help her in battle, although she considers them friends just as much as fighting partners. Natsu Dragneel is a member of the Fairy Tail Guild, one of the many guilds that are run by and for mages from where they can find jobs and live. Volume one is basically the introduction to their world and the characters through their first encounter. Rumors of a powerful mage in town where Lucy happened to be visiting, catches her attention and she investigates. He was calling himself Salamander, a powerful fire using mage. The crowds around him were going crazy with praise and girls throwing themselves at him. Natsu had also heard the rumors and he looks for “Salamander” hoping it is someone he has been searching for. When he realizes this man isn’t who he is after, he walks away uninterested. Lucy finds this strange since she seems drawn to Salamander and cannot explain it. When Natsu had interfered earlier, she got distracted and the feelings wore off. Lucy realized that it meant Salamander was using a love charm, to attract the girls around him.
She runs after Natsu and thanks him for helping her break out of the charm and offers him a reward of food. He gladly accepts and soon after breaks her pocket with the food bill. They part ways. Lucy eventually runs into Salamander again but because she’s aware of his charm, it doesn’t work on her. He offers her an invitation to a party he is hosting later that night, and said he knew she was special when he first saw her, and offered to talk to his Master to let her join Fairy Tail, which catches her attention since she has always dreamed of becoming a member. She agrees to suck it up hoping it would be worth it in the end.
When she goes to the party, she soon realizes it was a trap but it’s too late as she is held captive. Natsu had heard rumors of the Salamander claiming to be from Fairy Tail, his guild, and nothing upsets him more than someone slandering the name of his family. He crashes the party, and during a heated battle with Salamander, they realize that Natsu is the REAL Salamander. BAM! The first volumes ends with Natsu saving Lucy and running off before the town police catch them for causing a huge ruckus. Offering to take Lucy to the REAL Fairy Tail, thus starting their adventure together.
It’s a great show and it’s fun to read. For all those into anime, I give this a 5 out of 5.
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