Hiro Mashima, the author of Rave Master, Fairy Tail, and the ongoing Edens Zero series, joined YouTube on June 3. His channel’s description says it’s for his carefree drawing.
The first video on the channel was uploaded on June 3 and it explains the reason behind Mashima’s decision to join the platform. It says 2022 marks the manga artist’s 25th anniversary since he made his debut in a magazine. The fact made him get an idea to start something new, which turned into starting a YouTube channel. In addition, he reveals his wishes to do other than drawing: reviewing illustrations, making icons for social media with original characters, and gaming streams. He also notes that the comment section is open for suggestions.
You can check the video with illustrations of Hiro Mashima himself, Happy (Fairy Tail / Edens Zero), Plue (Rave), and E.M. Pino (Edens Zero). He stands at the center, showing his left thumb-up, with Plue on his head, while Happy and E.M. Pino stand behind him on both sides.
His second video came right after that with the title “SPEED PAINT JUVIA DAY“. You can enjoy seeing the manga artist’s skills from his rough sketch to coloring for Fairy Tail character Juvia Lockser.
The final version of the illustration is available on his Twitter:
Hiro Mashima has been active in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine for over 20 years, starting with Rave Master’s serialization from 1999 to 2005 (35 volumes), Fairy Tail’s decade-long run from 2006 to 2017 (63 volumes), and ongoing Edens Zero series from 2018. Edens Zero’s 21st volume is scheduled to release on June 17, 2022. This series inspired a 25-episode-long anime that aired from April to October 2021 and is receiving a second season.
Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest, a sequel to the Fairy Tail series, is currently serialized with Hiro Mashima’s story and Atsuo Ueda’s art on Kodansha’s online magazine Magazine Pocket, and volume 12 is slated to come out on July 8, 2022. This work also made an announcement for a TV anime project on September 11, 2021.
Source: Official YouTube, Official Twitter
© Hiro Mashima / Kodansha