Fairy Tail is My Fairy Tale!

Do fairies have tails? It is a question to ponder for any of Hiro Mashima's adoring fans when he created the manga and anime Fairy Tail. Who doesn't crave a world filled with magic? Imagine a world where there is a place for everyone no matter how chaotic, destructive, strange, and disorganized you may be. Magic guilds, like the Fairy Tail guild, are based on friendship and understanding, and give all members a place to belong.

In the kingdom of Fiore on the planet Earth Land, is a powerful wizard guild called Fairy Tail. It is a haven for misfits, rejects, renegades, and the like. Still, it is somehow considered one of the best wizard guilds and is constantly featured in the published media, Sorcerer Weekly. Readers of this magazine, like main character Lucy Heartfilia, have their own impression of what the guild must be like to be so successful. Thankfully, this guild isn't as professional or tough to get into as her interpretation from the publication seems to suggest in the first episode of the series.

Lucy has no idea she has even met an "esteemed" Fairy Tail member when she bumps into Natsu Dragneel and his winged cat, Happy, in her quest to become a guild member. Both parties are seeking a "Salamander" (fire wizard and dragon slayer magic wielder) who was advertised to be in town. The pink-haired boy claims he was hoping the Salamander was his adoptive father, Igneel, a powerful dragon. He was incredibly disappointed it was this fraud instead. Lucy finds Natsu and his claims strange, and his insatiable food appetite and motion sickness both embarrassing and annoying at first.

The Salamander imposter sees Lucy later, and tells her he is from the Fairy Tail guild and can help get Lucy in if she only stays quiet about him using charm magic, an illegal form of magic. Though she thinks this man is oily, she accepts and later discovers his true intentions and false identity.

Lucy and many other women are taken captive on the imposter's yacht at a party they were all invited to attend. Lucy attempts to use her Celestial magic to opening Aquarius's gate key in the battle, but it isn't enough for her and the others to escape. When Happy and Natsu make their appearance and team up with her to save the day, Lucy shockingly realizes that the strange pink-haired boy she met is indeed the rumored fire mage from Fairy Tail. They defeat the impersonator and destroy part of town. After, Natsu attaches himself to Lucy, grabs her hand as authorities come, and casually invites her to join Fairy Tail.

Lucy, Natsu, and Happy all travel swiftly back to the Fairy Tail guild hall and Lucy receives a guild mark stamp on her hand. She watches as the guild members brawl and shout with one another as soon as Natsu enters the hall. Everyone is loud and...eccentric. One ice wizard keeps stripping to his underpants, a brown-haired woman wearing a bikini top is drinking alcohol like a sailor, and a couple of males are smoking cigarettes and gambling while hurling insults at each other. Talk about first impressions! Guild Master Makarov scares her initially by using his giant magic to end the ruckus. After, he holds papers sent to him by the Magic Council for damages his guild is responsible for and yells at them BEFORE telling them he doesn't care what the council thinks as long as his members do what they believe in!

Lucy then sees Mirajane, a Sorcerer Weekly cover girl and centerfold. Lucy rambles like a fan girl initially before asking her if these antics were normal for the guild. Little does Lucy realize that even this beautiful hostess who is so easy to talk with has some impressive and shocking magic. Mirajane, despite her sweet appearance actually has "take over" magic in the form of "Satan's Soul". She was an outcast for having demon blood which comes out later in the series. Still, it doesn't change who she is or the good that she harbors within her.

Mirajane tells Lucy that those antics are part of what make being a Fairy Tail member so fun, and that they all get along despite the appearance of fighting. Regardless of the guild members' varying personalities, all of them welcome Lucy in with open arms and provide unrivaled comradery with each other that only grows stronger throughout the series. The Fairy Tail guild is where she finds friendship stronger than family.

“What I want isn't money or pretty dresses, but a place that recognizes me as who I am. Fairy Tail is my other family, and it is a far more warming family than here!”-Lucy Heartfilia (to her father).

Why all of this background? Because; Natsu, Mirajane, and the guild were not at all what Lucy Heartfilia expected, nor did she expect to be accepted into the guild so easily. Natsu's quirks and oddities are visible to the naked eye. No one would have considered him prestigious, yet he was the true Salamander. It represents an acceptance of the unusual and a value on his merits and abilities without bias by the Fairy Tail guild, which I personally love.

What Lucy pictured from the magazine was completely different than what the guild and its members were in "real" life. They were argumentative, wild, crazy, ruffians even. They appeared not to get along, but truly did get along. Some might call this brotherly or sisterly love, or a family! These guild members even have leadership similar to a family head that stands by them for what they believe in, despite their recklessness.

No paperwork, red tape, or even a crazed induction ceremony occurred that Lucy had to experience in order to be part of their team. She just needed to want in, and receive a guild mark on a spot of her choosing. Wouldn't it be great if life were that simple?

As a creator, an innovator, a free-thinker, I desire a place like that; a place where you can stand for what you believe, be who you want to be, and have somewhere that supports you. Red tape and paperwork, in my viewpoint, get in the way of more meaningful interaction, purpose, and progress. The Fairy Tail guild and their attitude toward the Magic Council support this train of thought.

What is more is we all long for a sense of fellowship, comradery, and community; this can get lost in our electronic, disconnected, media-based world. A sense of "humanity" connects all the members in "real life". Fairy Tail wasn't like what Lucy read in Sorcerer Weekly, nor was it like what the newspapers or Magic Council would show regarding damages of the guild's adventures. The truth was something that couldn't be recognized without experience, and experiencing the guild would change Lucy's life forever. Her experience with this sort of comradery is something I personally would love to have. Though some might find the bond Fairy Tail guild members share cliché or tacky, it is something I yearn for; acceptance, friendship, creative flexibility, and support sound like wonderful things, and a personal fantasy of mine.

In addition to friendship, let's just talk about other magic for a bit. We'll start with Lucy's Celestial magic which for her combines both. Imagine being able to summon a Celestial spirit like, for instance, your zodiac sign. This is what her gate keys do! She opens up the gate to the Celestial Spirit realm and can unlock their assistance through contracts with each spirit's key she holds. While other Celestial mages may have treated their spirits unkindly, Lucy treats them as her friends. Aquarius's key was passed down to Lucy by her mother, and they've been together ever since despite Aquarias's "tsundere" attitude toward Lucy. Loki, a Fairy Tail guild member, is actually Leo in the flesh and tries to avoid Lucy when he finds out she is a Celestial wizard. He eventually becomes her strongest spiritual ally as she sacrifices herself to petition for his reinstatement among the spirits and salvation. I chuckle because she calls the Celestial Spirit King "stache face" after he treats Loki/Leo terribly in her opinion.

I love that she doesn't treat the ruler committing injustice in her mind any differently because of his high and mighty status. Not only that, but the Spirit King winds up respecting her and granting her wishes. Talk about a Fairy Tale! Rarely do things work out this way, but to have that possibility here in this manga would be a dream come true. Bring on equality regardless of status!

Personally, I find the Celestial Spirits fun to cosplay, and went as Virgo a few years prior. She has a unique personality with a customizable appearance based on who holds her gate key. I like that she is funny and mischievous at times. To say that this realm, world, and manga series is precious to me would be an understatement.

I've already mentioned Natsu's fire and dragon slayer magic and Mirajanes "take over" magic. Still, the possibilities for magic wielders are endless. They range from elemental, (i.e. fire, ice, water, earth, air/wind, etc.) to spatial, barrier, letter, giant, and transformation magic, etc. Dragon slayer magic is also a type of magic that allows users to transform partially into a dragon and eat the element the dragon's power wields. Natsu, for instance, can actually eat fire to gain more power. My personal favorite type of magic is "Heavenly Body Magic" which involves using objects from outer space and manipulating star energy from the user's own body. Stars and astrological magic bring me to my next point and personal favorite characters (yet another reason I would love to be transported to this universe).

Another cool thing about this "universe" is that there are additional parallel universes. The Fairy Tail I reference a desire to live in is the creation of Hiro Mashima's entire work, including these parallel universes; Celestial, Earth Land, Edolas, etc. I'm a sucker for the mysterious and parallel worlds when it comes to fantasy and fiction. Edolas is one of these worlds within the series. Earth Land has infinite magic stored within the body of organisms, despite only 10% of humans utilizing it. Edolas, however, has lacrimas that imbue magic into specific items. Edolas's magic supply is limited whereas Earth's is limitless. However, Edolas has a more steampunk vibe than any Earth Land. I love steam engines and alternative energy sources, so this fantasy world also speaks to me. Some Fairy Tail guild members actually get to travel to Edolas to help when it is in crisis.

One character in particular caught my eye early on in the series; a Fairy Tail guild member who used a sleeping spell to conceal his identity, Mystogan who is Jellal (a spatial magic user) of the parallel world Edolas. Both identities for a time existed in Earth Land, which is why Mystogan was so careful and used a pseudonym. Mystogan is a prince in Edolas with a kind, loving heart that intentionally reversed his father's work with Anima, a machine that stole magic power from Earth Land's magic resources, because he deemed it unjust. Meanwhile, Earth's Jellal is a corrupt Magic Council member with dark motives.

I love that their counterparts are mostly opposite of each other. Motion sick Natsu is a fast racecar driver in Edolas for instance, and everyone is afraid of Earth Land's usually sweet Lucy because she terrorizes Edolas's Fairy Tail guild instead. Natsu, Lucy, and other Fairy Tail guild members actually get to meet up with their contrasting selves and work together to save both worlds. Maybe you'd call it crazy, but wouldn't you love to meet your other self? I sure would regardless of whether they are good or evil. I think the concept is fun, and maybe we can actually learn something from each other like they and their counterparts did!

Edolas is also home to a breed of cat-like creatures that can hold magic within their bodies, contrary to the rest of Edolas, called Exceeds. These creatures are revered as angels or deities in Edolas due to that superior magic power. Happy, the winged cat partner of main character Natsu is actually an Exceed. Exceeds originally didn't exist in Earth Land except for Happy and other dragon slayer magic users. Feline-lovers, you'll be happy to know that when Mystogan reverses Anima, these creatures all become Earth Land's residents with some added humility due to the bond their covert operatives, Happy included, have with the Dragon Slayers they were supposed to betray. The benefit of intellectual feline companions and true friends was thereby added to the world of Fairy Tail and the home of Earth Land.

The main triumph of Fairy Tail is that even when evil does exist in the world, it is acknowledged, and overcome so many times. In this world, even the majority of villains become heroes. Second chances for individuals who have committed wrongdoing isn't just a fluke in this world, it is a common occurrence. Jellal, the wicked council member I mentioned earlier, actually changes for the better though he doesn't ever come quite as close to his Edolas counterpart, Mystogan, who continues to remain as close to Omni-benevolence as humanly possible. Several characters who once threatened Fairy Tail's guild join and become loyal Fairy Tail members for the love and acceptance they are shown, even if it takes a while. People and wizards make turn arounds for the better and stick with it here. Some join other legal and kind guilds, as Fairy Tail's kindness is spread to various others. Somehow, this guild changes the world for the better.

Perhaps that is part of what makes it fantasy. I long for a world where people get second chances and have the ability to commit to them. Few things feel better than being received in the open arms many crave, and the Fairy Tail guild builds their center around it.

Even Zeref, the true master and mage of dark magic did not want to be evil. He originally set out in his quest for a more well-meaning reason, and despises those who do evil for the sake of evil. He creates death in his wake and wants to avoid getting involved with others despite his dire loneliness. He does have compassion and wants to atone for his sins as he is also the creator of many demons, unfortunately, who wreak havoc on Earth Land. Zeref meets his end in the series, but it is for the betterment of the world and he happily dies beside his beloved partner. Later, visions of their look-a-likes are seen together and happy, which shows a sort of benevolent rebirth and second chance provided by the creator. As sad or as dark as things get in this series, there is always a light on the opposite side.

So, what is Fairy Tail? Fairy Tail is an optimist's paradise where good triumphs over evil. Evil exists and is acknowledge in this world, but it can be overcome. It is a manga series about understanding, love, friendship, patience, perseverance, change, and growth. It is a place where many receive second or greater chances. No matter how dark its villains were, they always had opportunity to receive forgiveness if they only change their ways. It is a silly series in parts with multiple character interactions and comedic arguments that will make you laugh. It is a world where cat creatures, dragons, parallel worlds, Celestial spirits, and magic exist. It is a place where you can find your spot and fit in, and if nowhere else, you need only ask the Fairy Tail guild. If I could be a part of any other world (or possibly exchange my place in this world while bringing my loved ones with me), it would be the universe created by Hiro Mashima, Fairy Tail.