Yoshihiro Togashi Draws FAIRY TAIL’s Natsu as Koji Seo, George Morikawa, and More Creators Join 20th Anniversary Tributes

Hunter x Hunter creator Yoshihiro Togashi surprised fans with a hidden crossover in his tribute illustration celebrating the return of FAIRY TAIL. The artwork, created to commemorate Hiro Mashima’s new short serialization FAIRY TAIL: RE:FANTASIA, features protagonist Natsu Dragneel, but also some familiar faces hidden in the background.

Behind Natsu are Gon Freecss, Killua Zoldyck, Kurapika, and Leorio Paradinight, all drawn by Togashi as part of the illustration. You can check it out below.

Togashi is one of several manga creators contributing commemorative illustrations for FAIRY TAIL‘s 20th anniversary. Others include George Morikawa (Hajime no Ippo), Koji Seo (The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses), Miki Yoshikawa (A Couple of Cuckoos), Atsuo Ueda (FAIRY TAIL: 100 Years Quest), and Yudetamago (Kinnikuman).

The illustrations will also be included in the special edition of the first FAIRY TAIL: RE:FANTASIA volume, which is scheduled to release on October 16. The edition comes with a set of 16 postcards featuring artwork by Mashima alongside the guest illustrations.

FAIRY TAIL: RE:FANTASIA began serialization in Weekly Shonen Magazine Issue #35, marking Hiro Mashima’s first time personally drawing a new FAIRY TAIL manga since the original series concluded in 2017. The short series is part of the franchise’s 20th anniversary celebration.

FAIRY TAIL is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima, and it was his third major manga series after Rave Master and Edens Zero. The manga was serialized in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine from August 2006 to July 2017, getting compiled into a total of 63 volumes. It has surpassed 72 million copies in circulation worldwide.

Kodansha USA licensed the series in English, and it’s available on K MANGA digitally. The story is described:
Cute girl wizard Lucy wants to join the Fairy Tail, a club for the most powerful wizards. But instead her ambitions land her in the clutches of a gang of unsavory pirates led by a devious magician. Her only hope is Natsu, a strange boy she happens to meet on her travels. Natsu’s not your typical hero—he gets motion sickness, eats like a pig, and his best friend is a talking cat. With friends like this, is Lucy better off with her enemies?

The manga received a TV adaptation of 328 episodes, along with numerous spin-offs, special episodes and movies. The sequel manga, Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest, got an adaptation of its own, which aired for 25 episodes from July 2024 to January 2025

Source: Oricon
©Hiro Mashima, KODANSHA/FAIRY TAIL Committee, TV TOKYO