'Fairy Tail' Creator Rings In 2018 With Erza Sketch

Fairy Tail may have ended its run last year, but series creator Hiro Mashima is keeping the fire burning in all sense of the word. Often sharing art pieces depicting his characters in attractive clothing and poses, that definitely has not changed in the new year.

For the new year, Mashima shared a new picture of Erza to Twitter. It features Erza, in an outfit that could easily be one of her many armor changes, welcoming fans to the new year with some caligraphy.

While this Erza sketch is cool, Mashima spent last year sharing rather spicy sketches of his characters to Twitter. To celebrate the holidays, he uploaded an alluring sketch of Lucy for Christmas, also uploaded a curvaceous sketch of Juvia in a revealing Santa suit, and a decidedly less naughty sketch of Wendy and Plue. To bring in the new year, Mashima sketched a cute Lucy in dog ears, and a bedroom piece for Erza.

Last Halloween he depicted both Erza and Lucy in risque outfits. Lucy donned a tight-fitting cat costume while Erza wore a golden Playboy bunny suit. The Halloween pair of sketches also led to a fan debate as fans felt Erza and Lucy got the brunt of the focus, which made some later sketches of Erza and Lucy with tight fitting clothing a bit harder to appreciate even when the sketches highlighted the kind of features fans of the series tended to enjoy.

But Mashima has also uploaded sketches for a different kind of fan as well. Fans of the "NaLu" ship in the series were treated to a sketch catering to their needs recently as it featured a handsomely dressed Natsu and a scantily clad Lucy. There's even one decidedly less spicy work with Natsu and Gray playing around (that goes well with the bedroom sketch of Erza). Mashima has also teased that he was working on his next work for 2018, by releasing a piece of new art with most of the series' characters.

For those unfamiliar with Fairy Tail, the series was originally created by Hiro Mashima. It is set in a fantasy world full of magic, and Natsu Dragneel is a fire breathing wizard with the powers of a dragon, and is in search of his missing foster father, the dragon Igneel. As he and his wizarding guild Fairy Tail get into adventures, Natsu always tries to find a way to succeed. The series ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from August 2006 to July 2017 and has spawned 60 million copies. It was later adapted into an anime by A-1 Pictures, Dentsu Inc., and Satelight in 2009 and ended its first run in 2013. A second series ran from 2014 to 2016, and a third series is planned for a 2018 release.