How to watch Fairy Tail in order
Need a new fantasy franchise to get into? Well we've got you covered on how to start with Fairy Tail.
Fairy Tail is one of those anime which has been going a while (as you can tell by our list of filler episodes)!
But what if it’s your first time tackling the franchise where do you start?
Here's how to watch Fairy Tail in order, plus what else you need to know if you're new to the show.
How to watch Fairy Tail in order
Start with the anime episodes and work your way through the seasons.
- Fairy Tail (2009) episode 1-175
- Fairy Tail (2014) - episodes 176-265
- Fairy Tail (2014) - episodes 267 to 275
- All other movies/OVAs (Movie 1: Phoenix Priestess, Movie 2: Dragon Cry, OVAs 1-9)
As for the OVAs, some of them are connected to the main story or, at least, adjacent and then there are ones that stand alone. A good example would be Fairy Academy: Yankee-kun and Yankee-chan, which is an alternate universe episode, while Fairy Tail x Rave is a crossover with author/mangaka Hiro Mashima's other series. And, if the season's right, you can check out Fairies' Christmas which is the obligatory festive episode.
As for the movies Phoenix Priestess and Dragon Cry, we'd suggest checking them out after the major time skip event. There are dedicated fansites and, of course, the r/fairytail subreddit where fans go into some really in-depth detail on what to watch, but at the end of the day, it's all about how you want to enjoy the series that matters.
Skip the filler episodes if you’re not into specific characters (they were a massive thing back in the day, when anime had episode counts in the 300s rather than just the more standardised 12 or 26 you get now). You’ve also got the manga to binge-read, so dive in and enjoy the media dopamine.
What’s the plot of Fairy Tail?
Fairy Tail is based on a manga series by Hiro Mashima which introduces a fantasy ream called Earth-land, where adventurers use their magic to earn money in return for helping the inhabitants.
The titular Fairy Tail is a guild and the story follows one of its members Natsu Dragneel as he explores the kingdom of Fiore and meets a young mage named Lucy Heartfilia, who he invites to join the guild.
Of course they end up attracting others and both the cast and the series get bigger as we go, through various media and spin-offs, with the series finishing its run in 2019. There are also movies and video games (several of which have been released or are due for release this year alone).
How long is Fairy Tail?
To give you an idea of how big this series is, there are 545 chapters, which were collected into a whopping 63 volumes.
If you’re interested in the manga as a starting point then Kodansha took over the licensing from Del Rey in 2012 and the final volume was published in English in 2018.
There are also a number of spin-off series including Fairy Tail: Ice Trail, Fairy Tail: Gaiden and others.
When it comes to the anime, there are 328 episodes spread over nine seasons. There are also two films and nine Original Video Animation (OVAs, which are the anime equivalent of direct to video).
Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Asha Bardon cut their teeth as a journalist in the mid 2000s, specialising in everything Japan, from tech and games to culture and anime. They’ve written for NEO, SFX, Newtype USA, ImagineFX, every official gaming magazine going, AOL and TenTonHammer.com amongst many others. In 2017, they moved into the world of manga adaption for an American publisher and now has over eighty published volumes under their belt. Asha has recently returned to journalism after completing two Masters degrees, one in Classics and a second in Interdisciplinary Japanese Studies.
