Not A-1 Studios or J. C. Staff, Hiro Mashima Wanted an Entirely Different Animation Studio to Adapt Fairy Tail
Produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelite, Hiro Mashima’s Fairy Tail is the easiest anime to get into, especially for first-time anime viewers. With its easy-to-follow storyline, likable characters, epic battles, and unique world-building, Fairy Tail is one of the most popular shonen animes.
Fairy Tail follows the story of Lucy Heartfilia, a budding Celestial mage, who is determined to join the Fairy Tail guild. An action-packed adventure, this shonen series focuses on the theme of friendship and the idea of ‘found family’. Set in a world with magical creatures and evil mages, the main characters – Natsu Dragneel, Grey Fullbuster, Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, and Happy – are forced to go against Zeref and a powerful dragon Acnologia.
Fairy Tail also boasts some well-animated action sequences, courtesy of A-1 Pictures. While the series has been criticized for overusing the ‘power of friendship’ and character development issues, it also has an interesting storyline that only gets better as the story progresses.
Also Read: 5 Facts Every Anime Fan Should Know Before Watching Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest
Hiro Mashima Wanted Fairy Tail To Be Adapted By A Different Animation Studio
Hiro Mashima made his first American comic convention appearance at San Diego Comic-Con in 2008. Before the panel, Mashima humored the interviewers with some interesting insight into his work as a professional manga artist and the inspiration behind the Fairy Tail characters. He also gave a glimpse of his mischievous sense of humor which seems to be reflected in his works as well.
However, Hiro Mashima also presented another shocking revelation. When asked about an animation studio he would most like to work with, his prompt response was Pixar instead of expected answers like J.C. STAFF or A-1 Pictures. Given that A-1 Pictures co-produced Fairy Tail along with Satelite, it would be interesting to see how Pixar would’ve animated the series.
He also says that if a live-action version of Fairy Tail were made, he would want to cast Johnny Depp for Happy.
“The one that comes to mind is Johnny Depp for Happy (the blue cat)! (laughs) Having this turn into a live action film would be a dream come true for me.“
Although A-1 Pictures isn’t an industry titan like MAPPA and Toei Animation, they have an impressive library of works such as Solo Leveling, Sword Art Online, Your Lie in April, Anohana, Kaguya-Sama: Love is War and Black Butler.
