Who is Hiro Mashima?
The man who drew a 545-chapter series without missing a week.
Hiro Mashima (born May 3, 1977) is the writer and artist of Fairy Tail, and before it Rave Master, and after it Edens Zero: three long serials in the same magazine, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, across a quarter of a century. He is as famous for his work rate as for his stories; his production speed has its own page in this archive.
His heroes are named for the seasons: Haru (spring) in Rave, Natsu (summer) in Fairy Tail, Aki (autumn) in Monster Soul, and Shiki, a word for the four seasons themselves, in Monster Hunter Orage and Edens Zero. He has said he chose Japanese names because Western fantasy names would be unfamiliar to his readers.
THE LIFE IN BRIEF
Nagano to the top of the magazineBorn 1977
Hiro Mashima was born on May 3, 1977, in Nagano. His father, an aspiring artist, died while Mashima was young; his grandfather brought him discarded manga found in the mountains, and Mashima learned by drawing from them.
The prize, 1998
Working part-time at an arcade, he drew the one-shot Magician and entered it in Weekly Shōnen Magazine's rookie competition. It won the Rookie Prize, worth around $7,000, and was published in the magazine's 51st issue of 1998. He had never served an apprenticeship under another artist.
Rave, 1999
His first serial, Rave Master, debuted in the same magazine in 1999 and ran to 2005 across 35 volumes. Fairy Tail followed in 2006 and made him one of the best-selling manga artists in the world.
The honours
Kodansha Manga Award, 2009, for Fairy Tail. The Harvey Awards' International Spotlight award, 2017. A Fauve Special Award at Angoulême, 2018, in the country that bought 7.7 million copies of his guild story.
His stated masters
Mashima names Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball, the Dragon Quest games, and Kinnikuman as what made him an artist, and grew up on Hayao Miyazaki's films. Asked in 2011 for his favourite manga, he answered Berserk.
Still at the desk
After Fairy Tail: Edens Zero (2018–2024), the monthly Dead Rock (2023–), character designs for the game Farmagia, and in 2026 a return to his own guild for Fairy Tail Re:Fantasia. His former assistants include Miki Yoshikawa, who went on to her own hit series.