View source for Fairy Tail Zero

{{Short description|Japanese manga series by Hiro Mashima}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox animanga/Header
| image = Fairy Tail Zero, volume 1.jpg
| caption = ''[[Tankōbon]]'' volume cover
| genre = [[Adventure fiction|Adventure]], [[fantasy]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Fairy Tail ZERO|url=https://kodansha.us/series/fairy-tail-zero/|publisher=[[Kodansha USA]]|access-date=June 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615200150/https://kodansha.us/series/fairy-tail-zero/|archive-date=June 15, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Note: Use and cite reliable sources to identify genre/s, not personal interpretation. Please don't include more than three genres (per [[MOS:A&M]]). -->
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Print
| type = manga
| author = [[Hiro Mashima]]
| publisher = [[Kodansha]]
| publisher_en = {{English manga publisher|US=[[Kodansha USA]]}}
| demographic = [[Shōnen manga|Shōnen]]
| imprint = 
| magazine = Monthly Fairy Tail Magazine
| magazine_en = 
| first = July 17, 2014
| last = July 17, 2015
| volumes = 1
| volume_list = #Manga
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Video
| type         = tv series
| director     = [[Shinji Ishihira]]{{efn-ua|Part of the main ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' series' anime, specifically the 8th season}}
| producer     = {{ubl|Yoshikazu Beniya|Tetsuya Endō|Noritoshi Satō}}
| writer       = Masashi Sogo
| music        = [[Yasuharu Takanashi]]
| studio       = {{ubl|[[A-1 Pictures]]|[[Bridge (studio)|Bridge]]}}
| licensee     = [[Crunchyroll]]{{efn|In [[North America]] through Crunchyroll (formerly known as [[Funimation]]) and in [[Australia]] through [[Madman Anime]].}}<br>{{English anime licensee
 |UK=[[Anime Limited]]
}}
| network = [[TX Network|TXN]] ([[TV Tokyo]]), [[AT-X (TV network)|AT-X]]
| network_en = {{English anime network|SEA=[[Animax Asia]]|US=[[Funimation Channel]]}}
| first        = January 9, 2016
| last         = March 12, 2016
| episodes     = 10{{efn-ua|The last two episodes of the 8th season are an adaptation of the last two chapters of the 49th volume of the original manga, rather than ''Fairy Tail Zero''}}
| episode_list = Fairy Tail (season 8)
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Footer}}

'''''Fairy Tail Zero''''' (stylized as '''''FAIRY TAIL ZERØ''''') is a Japanese [[manga]] series written and illustrated by [[Hiro Mashima]]. It is a [[prequel]] to Mashima's ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' manga, depicting the events leading to the formation of the titular wizards' guild. The manga was serialized in ''Monthly Fairy Tail Magazine'' from July 2014 to July 2015, with the 13 chapters collected into a single graphic novel by [[Kodansha]]. The collected volume was released in North America by [[Kodansha USA]]. The [[Fairy Tail (season 8)|eighth season]] of the ''Fairy Tail'' [[anime]] television series included an adaptation of ''Fairy Tail Zero'', which aired January to March 2016.

==Plot==
{{Main|List of Fairy Tail characters}}
In X679,<!--  105 years before the events of ''Fairy Tail'' --> six-year-old orphan [[Mavis Vermillion]] lives on Sirius Island as a servant at the Red Lizard wizards' guild. A violent skirmish breaks out between Red Lizard and the rival Blue Skull guild, leaving Mavis the apparent sole survivor alongside Zera, the Red Lizard guild master's daughter, who becomes her friend. Seven years later, a trio of treasure hunters – Yuri Dreyar, [[Precht Gaebolg]], and Warrod Sequen – come to the island in search of its sacred relic, the Sirius Orb. Yuri contends with Mavis over ownership of the orb until they discover it has already been taken by Blue Skull seven years earlier. Mavis forms a truce with the treasure hunters to recover the orb, proposing that Zera accompany them as well.

The group journeys to the city of Magnolia, where Blue Skull has established a brutal regime. Mavis attempts to bluff the guild into returning the orb by using her illusory magic, but fails to deceive the guild's master, Geoffrey. Outmatched, the group retreats into a nearby forest where Mavis encounters [[Zeref Dragneel|Zeref]], an infamous dark wizard. Unaware of his identity, Mavis expresses sympathy for Zeref upon realizing he is afflicted with a curse that kills all life around him against his will. Grateful for her company, Zeref agrees to teach the treasure hunters how to use magic so they can combat Blue Skull, becoming friends with Mavis in the process.

After Mavis and her friends successfully overthrow Blue Skull and capture Geoffrey, she discovers that the orb has become contaminated with evil magic. Yuri ignores her warnings and takes the orb for himself, becoming possessed by its magic and unwillingly fusing with Blue Skull's massive skeletal dragon, which rampages mindlessly through the city. Mavis exorcises the magic from Yuri by casting Law, a prototype spell learned from Zeref, which permanently halts Mavis's physical age as a side effect.

Guilt-ridden over Mavis's sacrifice, Yuri dedicates his life to protecting her. After Mavis accepts his friendship, he confesses to her that no one can see or hear Zera besides her, revealing Zera to be a sentient illusion that Mavis subconsciously created in place of the real Zera, who died during Blue Skull's raid on the island. With Zera's encouragement, Mavis accepts her as an illusion, causing her to disappear. To protect and reassure the people of Magnolia, Mavis and the treasure hunters organize the Fairy Tail guild in Zera's memory, with Mavis serving as guild master.

==Production==
In an interview included in the ''Fairy Tail Zero'' graphic novel, [[Hiro Mashima]] said he first rejected the idea of him creating a manga for ''Monthly Fairy Tail Magazine'' because he was so busy with the weekly ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' series and supervising its anime adaptation. After taking on a short job designing characters for a video game and deciding to focus on manga again, he planned a spin-off with ''Fairy Tail'' character Mavis Vermillion as the protagonist. Mavis was originally conceived for ''Fairy Tail'' as an old, grandfatherly character, but after Mashima realized that "Mavis" was a female name, and that his editors expected her to be female, he re-envisioned her as a young girl to surprise readers. Her popularity resulted in her making further appearances within the main story, and also inspired him to focus ''Fairy Tail Zero'' on how the guild was founded.<ref name="ftz interview">{{cite book | title=Fairy Tail Zero | first=Hiro | last=Mashima | chapter=A Long-form Interview with Hiro Mashima | publisher=Kodansha Comics | isbn = 978-1-63236-284-1 | year=2016 }}</ref>

The chapters for the monthly series were 20 pages each, as with the weekly series, and spanned one year across 13 issues. Mashima had planned the story to involve Mavis overcoming a hatred of guilds, but dropped the idea due to page limitations.<ref name="ftz interview"/> He designed the character Zera specifically for the series as a bully who becomes a kind person later in life, likening her to the character [[Éponine]] in ''[[Les Misérables]]''. He designed thick, black eyebrows for her to contrast with Mavis's short, thin eyebrows. He also tried to keep Zera's identity a secret, although his editors already figured it out after reading the first chapter, and were surprised when she reappeared in the next one; however, he was able to fool Mavis's Japanese voice actor, [[Mamiko Noto]].<ref name="ftz interview"/>

==Media==
===Manga===
Hiro Mashima began writing and illustrating the series in the first issue of [[Kodansha]]'s ''Monthly Fairy Tail Magazine'' on July 17, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-03-30/monthly-fairy-tail-magazine-to-launch-with-fairy-tail-zero-manga|title=Monthly Fairy Tail Magazine to Launch With Fairy Tail Zero Manga|date=March 30, 2014|website=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=December 14, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2014/03/30-1/fairy-tail-author-announces-spin-off-manga|title="Fairy Tail" Author Announces Spin-off Manga|last=Green|first=Scott|date=March 30, 2014|website=[[Crunchyroll]]|access-date=December 14, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2014/07/02/video-fairy-tail-magazine-promo|title=VIDEO: "Fairy Tail" Magazine Promo|last=Green|first=Scott|date=July 2, 2014|website=[[Crunchyroll]]|access-date=December 14, 2015 }}</ref> The series ended in the magazine's 13th and final issue on July 17, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-06-18/fairy-tail-zero-fairy-tail-ice-trail-spinoff-manga-to-end-in-july/.89330|title=Fairy Tail Zero, Fairy Tail: Ice Trail Spinoff Manga to End in July|date=June 18, 2015|website=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=December 14, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-07-18/kodansha-monthly-fairy-tail-magazine-ends-publication/.90556|title=Kodansha's Monthly Fairy Tail Magazine Ends Publication|date=July 18, 2015|website=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=December 14, 2015 }}</ref> The author stated that although the series was intended to be exclusive to the magazine, they received a lot of requests for a graphic novel version.<ref>{{cite book|title=Fairy Tail Zero|first=Hiro|last=Mashima|chapter=Afterword|publisher=Kodansha Comics|isbn=978-1-63236-284-1|year=2016|pages=270}}</ref> The single collected volume was released on November 17, 2015.

The series is licensed in North America by [[Kodansha USA]], who announced their license at an event at [[Books Kinokuniya]] in [[New York City|New York]] on November 15, 2015.<ref name="license">{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-11-15/kodansha-comics-adds-hiro-mashima-fairy-tail-zero-prequel-manga/.95407|title=Kodansha Comics Adds Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail Zero Prequel Manga|date=November 15, 2015|website=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=December 14, 2015 }}</ref> They published the collected volume on July 12, 2016.
<onlyinclude>{{Graphic novel list/header
| Language = Japanese
| SecondLanguage = English
| LineColor = CCF
| Width = 100%
}}
{{Graphic novel list
| VolumeNumber = 1
| RelDate = November 17, 2015<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kc.kodansha.co.jp/product?isbn=9784063955408|title=ＦＡＩＲＹ ＴＡＩＬ ＺＥＲＯ|website=[[Kodansha]]|language=ja|access-date=December 14, 2015 }}</ref>
| ISBN = 978-4-06-395540-8
| LicensedRelDate = July 12, 2016<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538033/fairy-tail-zero-by-hiro-mashima/|title=Fairy Tail Zero|website=[[Penguin Random House]]|access-date=December 14, 2015 }}</ref>
| LicensedISBN = 978-1-63-236284-1
| ChapterList =<noinclude>
{{numbered list|start=1
|{{nihongo|"The Fairies in My Heart"|心の中の妖精|Kokoro no Naka Yōsei}}
|{{nihongo|"The Truth Game"|真実のゲーム|Shinjitsu no Gēmu}}
|{{nihongo|"The Night They Set Out"|旅立ちの夜|Tabitachi no Yoru}}
|{{nihongo|"Dancing with Blades"|刃と踊る|Yaiba to Odoru}}
|{{nihongo|"Moonlit Lake"|月明かりの湖|Tsukiakari no Mizuumi}}
|{{nihongo|"Blue Skull"|{{ruby-ja|青い髑髏|ブルースカル}}|Burū Sukaru}}
|{{nihongo|"Black Wizard Mavis"|黒魔導士メイビス|Kuro Madōshi Meibisu}}
}}
| ChapterListCol2 =
{{numbered list|start=8
|{{nihongo|"Is Magnolia Burning Down?"|マグノリアは燃えているか|Magunoria wa Moeteiru ka}}
|{{nihongo|"Treasure"|宝物|Takaramono}}
|{{nihongo|"Law"|ロウ|Rō}}
|{{nihongo|"That Which Vanishes"|消えゆくもの|Kieyuku Mono}}
|{{nihongo|"Zera"|ゼーラ|Zēra}}
|{{nihongo|"Eternal Adventures"|永遠の冒険|Eien no Bōken}}
}}</noinclude>
| LineColor = CCF
}}
{{Graphic novel list/footer}}</onlyinclude>

===Anime===
{{main|Fairy Tail (season 8)}}
An adaptation of ''Fairy Tail Zero'' was announced for the ''Fairy Tail'' [[anime]] television series on the jacket bands of ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' volume 52 and on the single collected volume of the series.<ref name="ANN anime">{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-11-16/fairy-tail-zero-prequel-manga-gets-tv-anime-adaptation-in-january/.95398|title=Fairy Tail Zero Prequel Manga Gets TV Anime Adaptation in January|date=November 16, 2015|website=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=December 14, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2015/11/16-1/fairy-tail-zero-tv-anime-announced|title="Fairy Tail Zero" TV Anime Announced|last=Green|first=Scott|date=November 16, 2015|website=[[Crunchyroll]]|access-date=December 14, 2015 }}</ref> The adaptation premiered on January 9, 2016.<ref name="ANN anime" /> [[Funimation]] simulcasted the series as part of the anime's [[Fairy Tail (season 8)|eighth season]] with a broadcast dub in North America.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-12-22/funimation-to-stream-dimension-w-grimgar-pandora-divine-gate-prince-of-stride-dagashikashi-with-dub/.96800|title=Funimation to Stream Dimension W, Grimgar, Pandora, Divine Gate, Prince of Stride, Dagashikashi With Dub|date=December 22, 2015|website=[[Funimation]]|access-date=December 22, 2015 }}</ref>

==Reception==
The ''[[tankōbon]]'' of ''Fairy Tail Zero'' ranked 11th in sales by the end of its first week of release, selling approximately 104,878 copies.<ref>{{cite web|title=Japanese Comic Ranking, November 16–22|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-11-25/japanese-comic-ranking-november-16-22/.95806|publisher=Anime News Network|access-date=February 28, 2017|date=November 25, 2015}}</ref> The volume ranked 21st on its second week,<ref>{{cite web|title=Japanese Comic Ranking, November 23–29|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-12-03/japanese-comic-ranking-november-23-29/.96071|publisher=Anime News Network|access-date=February 28, 2017|date=December 3, 2015}}</ref> and 40th on the third week.<ref>{{cite web|title=Japanese Comic Ranking, November 30-December 6|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-12-09/japanese-comic-ranking-november-30-december-6/.96305|publisher=Anime News Network|access-date=February 28, 2017|date=December 9, 2015}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' listed the North American release as the 10th best selling manga at the end of its first week,<ref>{{cite web|title=New York Times Manga Best Seller List, July 17–23|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-07-29/new-york-times-manga-best-seller-list-july-17-23/.104806|publisher=Anime News Network|access-date=February 28, 2017|date=July 29, 2016}}</ref> and 8th on the second week.<ref>{{cite web|title=New York Times Manga Best Seller List, July 24–30|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-08-05/new-york-times-manga-best-seller-list-july-24-30/.105074|publisher=Anime News Network|access-date=February 28, 2017|date=August 5, 2016}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{notelist-ua}}

==References==
;''Fairy Tail Zero'' manga volume by [[Hiro Mashima]]. Original Japanese version published by [[Kodansha]]. English translation published by [[Kodansha USA]].
{{gnn|ref=November 2015 (in Japanese). {{ISBN|978-4-06-395540-8}}. July 2016 (in English). {{ISBN|9781632362841}}.| vol=1|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13}}

;Other sources
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Anime and manga}}
* {{Official website|http://www.fairytail-tv.com/contents/special/zero/|Official anime website}} {{in lang|ja}}
* {{Anime News Network|manga|17476}}

{{Fairy Tail}}
{{Hiro Mashima}}

[[Category:Fairy Tail]]
[[Category:2015 comics endings]]
[[Category:Adventure anime and manga]]
[[Category:Anime series based on manga]]
[[Category:Fantasy anime and manga]]
[[Category:Funimation]]
[[Category:Kodansha manga]]
[[Category:Prequel comics]]
[[Category:Shōnen manga]]