'Fairy Tail' Creator Isn't Opposed To A Spin-Off

After years of production, Fairy Tail closed its doors a few months back when the manga published its final chapter. Hiro Mashima guided his hit series to an end after a few hundred chapters, but fans are already asking the artist if he would consider reviving the story for another go. Recently, Mashima was asked about a Fairy Tail spin-off during his visit to New York City, and the creator did not dismiss the idea.

Earlier this month, Mashima flew to the U.S. to attend New York Comic Con and celebrate all things Fairy Tail. The artist attended a press conference where Anime News Network was in attendance, and it was there Mashima admitted to his interest in a Fairy Tail revival.

The artist was asked specifically how he felt about the U.S. comic book industry and its ability to keep franchises going. In Japan, it is traditional for a manga to be written entirely be one person until its completed, but the west will bring in multiple writers for a franchise to extend its shelf life. Mashima said such a system could work for Fairy Tail one day.

"One of the great things about American comics is that so many people can work at once to turn it into a movies or different types of comic books or media and that carries over overseas. In terms of manga, it usually one person thinks of the story and everything is centered on that one storyline, so, if there is an opportunity to branch off, that's actually a good thing," Mashima said.

"In terms of Fairy Tail, a lot of people love the world view of Fairy Tail, so it is actually possible to expand the story into a spin-off taken over by another creator, so it is kind of diversifying the intellectual property."

Fairy Tail has only been wrapped since July, but Mashima has been asked more than once if the series could be revived one day. In past interviews, the artist has said he isn't thinking of a spin-off right now, but the notion could come to him in a few years.

"There's a lot of people who want to see how the story goes from here," he told fans earlier this fall. "So, if there's enough fans who want to see more Fairy Tail - whether I write it or it's somebody else's - I'd definitely like to see Fairy Tail expand."