From Natsu to Lucy, fans are familiar with the characters, only needing to look at a picture to identify which anime they belong to. The artistic style of Hiro Mashima draws inspiration from works like One Piece, but the author has utilized the best elements of the manga world and put them into his own popular series.
Why Does Hiro Mashima Feel Pressure Regarding Female Characters in Fairy Tail?
Despite the tremendous success of Fairy Tail and its beloved characters worldwide, Hiro Mashima often feels the weight of expectation. In an interview, Mashima-sensei stated: “Actually, I don’t excel at writing female characters. I want to portray them beautifully, and I feel a lot of pressure when doing so.”
According to the author, he finds it much more challenging to write female characters because they can quickly become stereotypical. This feeling can be overwhelming, even for someone with a creative background. Clearly, Hiro Mashima should not feel pressured regarding his work on female characters in relation to his own achievements.
For Mashima, writing female characters means facing the challenge of wanting to create something beautiful, and this is the moment where the pressure truly arises. Many other mangaka share this concern, including Gege Akutami, who has openly admitted that he struggles with the portrayal of female characters. Even Eiichiro Oda finds it challenging to create female characters in One Piece.
Mashima-sensei acknowledges that he has faced these challenges for quite some time. His inspiration comes from his grandfather, who encouraged him to pursue a career in manga.
“I still remember my grandfather showing me a manga magazine that he had saved for me. I thought the illustrations in that magazine were wonderful, and I had tried to copy them,” the author recalls.
This moment was when Mashima realized his passion for art, and he continues to love this form of artistic expression. However, an important part of being a mangaka is creating a story that carries a unique emotional resonance.
The creator of Fairy Tail cannot definitively state whether he prefers the narrative or the characters. Mashima is captivated by the entire creative process, where a mangaka combines their style with a narrative that fits well.
