All 22 Fairy Tale Arcs in Order
Fairy Tail is an adventure and fantasy manga written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima, first published on August 23, 2006, in Shōnen Magazine, by the Japanese publisher Kōdansha. There are 545 printed chapters, which have been collected in 63 volumes (tankōbon) when the manga ended in July 2017. The series has also inspired several spin-off manga, including a prequel, Fairy Tail Zero, and a sequel, titled Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest.
On October 12, 2009, the anime adaptation produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight premiered, whose first season ended on March 30, 2013, with a total of 175 episodes. In August 2012, an anime film was released, based on a story derived from the manga. A second anime was produced by A-1 Pictures and Bridge starting on April 5, 2014, and ending on March 26, 2016, containing 102 new episodes. A new anime part came out in 2018.
Fairy Tail is one of the larger shonen projects of the 21st century and because of that, we are going to bring you the Fairy Tail arcs in proper order and tell you how many arcs there are.
How many Fairy Tail arcs are there?
As of the time of writing, including both the prequel and sequel mangas, there are currently 22 Fairy Tail arcs. The original manga was divided into 20 arcs (five of which had unofficial titles), whereas the prequel and sequel mangas have one arc each, so far.
Fairy Tail arcs in order (at a glance)
Here are all of the Fairy Tail arcs in proper chronological order (the ones marked with an asterisk have unofficial titles):
- Zerø arc
- Macao arc*
- Daybreak arc*
- Eisenwald arc
- Sub-Zero Emperor Lyon arc
- Phantom Lord arc
- Loke arc*
- Tower of Heaven arc
- The Battle of Fairy Tail arc
- Oración Seis arc
- Daphne arc*
- Edolas arc
- Tenrou Island arc
- X791 arc
- Key of the Starry Sky arc
- Grand Magic Games arc
- Eclipse Celestial Spirits arc
- Sun Village arc*
- Tartaros arc
- Avatar arc
- Alvarez arc
- 100 Years Quest arc
What is the best way to read the Fairy Tail arcs?
The best way to read the Fairy Tail arcs is by their proper chronological order. You might start off with the first arc just to get to know the world, but then you can go back to the prequel arc before continuing on.
Fairy Tail arcs in order
Zerø arc
The Zerø arc is the first arc of Hiro Mashima’s spin-off, Fairy Tail Zerø. The year is X686. Six-year-old Mavis works for the Red Lizard Guild. One day, the Blue Skull Guild attacks the Red Lizard Guild, and all its members were eliminated, only Mavis Vermillion and Zera, two little girls, are spared. They stay on Tenro Island and grow up together.
Treasure Hunters, World Seaken, Precht Gaebolg, and Yûri Draer land on the island in search of the Jade of Tenrô, but they learn that the treasure has been stolen by Blue Skull. They go together in search of him and find him after researching the location of the guild. When they arrive in Magnolia, they find Blue Skull’s dragon destroying the city.
Macao arc*
The Macau Arc is the very first arc in the series. The vast majority of guild members are featured there, starting with Natsu Dragnir, Lucy Heartfilia, and Happy. The arc begins in the port city of Harujion, in Magnolia. Lucy Heartfilia, the young girl, is a constellationist. She just bought the stellar spirit of the dog: Nikola. As she exits the store, she sees a crowd of hysterical girls.
As she approaches, she sees Bora de Prominens, the so-called Salamander. The latter uses the magic of hypnosis, normally prohibited. She gets mad at him and out of control, when suddenly, a pink-haired man accompanied by a flying blue cat arrives, looking him up and down, denying that this person is Salamander.
Daybreak arc*
The Daybreak Arc is the second arc of Fairy Tail. It recounts the first mission that Natsu, Lucy, and Happy went on together: they were to retrieve the Day Break book from a corrupt aristocrat. However, the mission turns out not to be exactly what the client had initially presented. Lucy finally manages to find a new home in the city of Magnolia at 70,000 Jewels a month, which she considers reasonable.
After taking a bath, she discovers that Natsu and Happy have broken into her house. She reprimands them and then agrees to let them stay at her house for a while. Sitting around a table, they start talking about Lucy’s Sky Keys. She then explains how Constellation Magic works. She presents the keys she has while explaining that the silver keys can be bought in stores while the gold keys are much rarer since there are only 12 of them, three of which are in her possession. possession.
She then remembers that she had a silver key with which she had not yet signed a contract. So she decides to show Natsu and Happy how a contract between a mage and a spirit works. She summons Nikola, the puppy spirit, and signs a contract with him. She chooses to give him a nickname: Plue. In the anime, while observing Plue and Happy, Natsu thinks of teaming up with Lucy, which she immediately accepts. This event marks the beginning of Team Natsu.
Eisenwald arc
The Eisenwald Arc is the third arc in Fairy Tail. It narrates Team Natsu’s fight against Eisen Wald, who seeks to use the Lullaby against the guild masters. Back in Fairy Tail, Natsu and Lucy are told by Gray about the return of Erza, the guild’s most powerful magician. All the members seem terrified but Lucy is eager to meet her. When Erza returns to the guild, she blames them for causing more disasters and pissing off the Magic Council. After that, she asks Natsu and Gray to team up together in order to defeat a black guild Eisen Wald and stop them from using the Lullaby.
At first Natsu and Gray absolutely did not want to team up together but they end up accepting to avoid angering Erza. The next day, they meet at the station. Lucy is also present, at Mirajane’s request to prevent Natsu and Gray from taking the cabbage.
She is surprised by the luggage that Erza takes away. Once on the train, and Natsu is stunned because he had motion sickness, Erza explains to them that she had heard people talking about the Lullaby by an underground guild, Gray will show Lucy at the same time, the type of magic that ‘he uses
Sub-Zero Emperor Lyon arc
We find ourselves in a square in Fiore where Natsu and Erza were to fight, as Natsu had requested. When the fight begins, Erza equips herself with the Flame Empress Armor. The fight rages on but is interrupted by a messenger from the Magic Council who comes to arrest Erza. It will later be discovered that the Magic Council was doing this to be authoritarian and that Erza would not be punished.
But Natsu who was unaware, intervenes during Erza’s trial, pretending to be her; they both end up in jail. Fortunately, Jycrain delivers them and everything returns to normal. Following this story, Natsu wants to continue his fight but Erza defeats him with a single punch. This is when Laxus and Mistgun make their first appearance. It is then discovered that someone has stolen an S quest.
At the same time, Natsu proposes to Lucy to leave for the island of Galuna. At first, Lucy refuses but after seeing that there was a golden key included in the reward, she happily accepts. After arriving on Galuna Island, Grey, Natsu, Happy, and Lucy arrive at a village where they are told about the mission they must undertake: to destroy the moon.
While looking for another way to complete the quest, they discover a temple where Deliora, the Chaos demon, is locked up. We later learn that it was Leon, a former friend of Grey’s also called Emperor Zero who moved Deliora and who wants to free him and then confront him in order to surpass their former master Oul.
Phantom Lord arc
The Phantom Lord Arc is the fifth arc in the series and is part of the first season of Fairy Tail. After completing the mission on Galuna Island, Natsu and his comrades return to the guild. They are surprised to see it destroyed. They learn that the culprits are the members of the Phantom Lord Guild. The tension is at its height and a great war breaks out between the two enemy guilds. As Natsu’s Team returns from their mission to Galuna Island, they find that they are being watched.
They do not suspect anything until they arrive in front of their guild. She looks completely destroyed. Mirajane then tells them that the destruction of Fairy Tail is due to an attack by the Phantom Lord Guild. Mirajane then takes them to some sort of cave. Makarov welcomes them then hits Natsu, Gray, and Happy severely for carrying out an S-rank mission. On the other hand, he does nothing to Lucy, just warning her not to do the same stupid thing again.
Loke arc*
The Loke Arc is the sixth arc in the series. It reveals a lot about the history of the guild’s mysterious Loke. While Natsu’s Team is hard at work, they come across Loke, not far from there, who had a job nearby. As soon as he sees Lucy, he runs away, which amuses Grey, who thinks Lucy did something to him. Later, the team decides to take a break at a hotel so they can enjoy the hot springs.
After they relax, a violent pillow fight breaks out between the mages. As she was about to join the battle, Lucy was hit hard by several pillows. Having judged that her life would be in danger if she stayed, Lucy fled. She is walking with Plue and Happy when she is attacked by mages. That’s when Loke appears and saves her. To thank him, Lucy invites him for a drink.
Tower of Heaven arc
The Tower of Heaven Arc is the seventh arc in the series. It notably brings up Erza’s childhood friends. This arc teaches us a lot about Erza Scarlett’s past and history. Loke gave Natsu’s Team four tickets to Akane Beach to thank them for what they had done for him previously. While the mages were having fun and enjoying the casino, strange people, claiming to be Erza’s friends, appeared.
One of them tackles Natsu and shoots him in the mouth. Another went after Gray and Juvia, who had just arrived. Eventually, they manage to capture Erza, their target, and Happy, and tie up Lucy. One of them mentions the Tower of Heaven and a certain Gerald. That’s when Erza regains consciousness, on the boat that was to take them to the tower. The one who talked about Gerald, Shaw, comes down to see her and starts talking to her.
The Battle of Fairy Tail arc
The Battle of Fairy Tail Arc is the eighth arc in the series. During it, Laxus and Raijin’s Unit consisting of Fried Justin, Ever Green, and Bixrow launched an attack on Fairy Tail on behalf of Laxus, who coveted the place of the guild master, his grandfather. The mages of Team Natsu return from the Tower of Heaven and see their guild rebuilt. This arc concludes with the Fantasia, a grand parade closing the Harvest Festival, and the departure of Laxus, who has been expelled from the guild despite regrets.
Oración Seis arc
The Oración Seis Arc is the 9th arc in the series. Four guilds have decided to join forces in order to dismantle the guild of Oracion Seis. These guilds, Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale, Cait Shelter, and Blue Pegasus each send members of their guild to form the Alliance of Light, which will aim to fight the Oracion Seis who want to seize Nirvana. It is in this arc that we see for the first time, the Celestial Dragon Slayer: Wendy Marvel.
Daphne arc*
Gray traps Natsu, and sends him to Daphne along with Wendy, Carla, and Happy. They enter a building, which turns out to be a trap since it doesn’t exist from the outside. Gray proceeds to fight Natsu, but despite the fierce fight, Natsu prevails quite easily. Too easily, because it was Grey’s trick. He freezes Natsu’s hands, taking him prisoner. Daphne enters the scene, sending Natsu to another space to use him to activate the Dragonoid.
Meanwhile, Lucy and Erza having gone in search of Natsu, find themselves fighting lizard men, who have the ability to copy their magic. But through trickery and force, they eventually prevail, but too late. Daphne releases the Dragonoid and launches it to storm the city. Meanwhile, Elfman, Macau, and Wakaba grab Grey, knock him unconscious, and bring him to the master.
But they were seriously injured on the way. The Fairy Tail guild goes to meet the Dragonoid to prevent him from destroying the city. Meanwhile, Gray reveals his deeds to Makarov, and says that only Natsu can destroy the Dragonoid. The Fairy Tail master decides to launch the counterattack and explains his plan to Grey.
Despite the reluctance of the guild, Natsu insists that we destroy him with the Dragonoid to save the city. But as the Dragon absorbs Natsu’s soul, he gradually loses his reason. Erza takes advantage of this and attacks him. At the same time, Gray and Juvia cast a Unison Raid spell, Ice Curtain to annihilate the Lizardmen.
Then Gray provokes Natsu, and swears at him, and Happy, Lucy, and Erza do the same, understanding that Natsu has to be angered in order for him to release his strength. Natsu is furious, his anger increases his strength tenfold. Erza tries to free Natsu but fails so Gajeel intervenes and manages to free him. Then he asks everyone to send fire for Natsu. He receives this fire and eats it. His strength has fully returned. And he managed to destroy the Dragonoid without any problem.
Edolas arc
The Edolas Arc is the 11th arc in the series and the 10th in the manga. While the Guild celebrates the return of Gildarts, it is sucked into a parallel world: Edolas. The only ones that haven’t been sucked in are Natsu, Wendy, Happy, Carla, Lucy, Gajeel, and Mistgun. The latter will try to save their friends who have been transformed into Lacrima. The final fight will be Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel against the Droma Anim.
Tenrou Island arc
The Tenro Island Arc is the 12th arc in the series and the 11th arc in the manga. Lucy finds that the Mages of Fairy Tail are fulfilling their missions at a breakneck pace. Mirajane explains to him that the cause of this overactivity is the Advanced Exam for Rank S Mages, which is fast approaching. After the appointment of the Mages able to participate in the Examination, Makarov orders his proteges to go to Tenrô Island to perform the tests there. However, our friends are unaware that this island is home to a coveted being and that an event that will change everything is about to occur.
X791 arc
The X791 arc is the 13th arc of the series and the 12th of the manga. It features the return of Team Tenro and their debut in the year X791. The Magic Ball is a quest requested by the wealthy Count Balsamico for members of Fairy Tail to protect his daughter Aceto from Velveno, an escaped prisoner who copies the appearance and power of people he has copied.
Before the ball begins, we are introduced to Aceto and the Count, then they are dressed in noble outfits for the ball. The ball seems to be going very well until we discover an injured and unconscious dancer in a cabin, the one present at the ball must logically be Velveno, which turns out to be true. But this one wishes to have the hand of Aceto, this last accepts only if he pays his debt of prison, because she tests the same feelings. The knights of the runes come to lock him up, mission accomplished.
Key of the Starry Sky arc
The Key of the Starry Sky Arc is the 14th arc in the series. It is exclusive to anime. When one day, Lucy’s cousin, Michelle, arrives at the Fairy Tail Guild to give Lucy a mysterious gift in the shape of a giant needle from her father, Lucy and her friends set out to find this suspicious object. . However, this gift seems to arouse several desires.
The arc begins with an old man waking up from a dream in which a stuffed animal is surrounded by flames. An unknown young girl is later seen on a train with some sort of briefcase in her possession. At the headquarters of the Council of Magic, Rahal talks with Gran Doma about several cases of destroyed churches. Gran Doma orders Rahal to find and arrest the culprit as soon as possible.
Grand Magic Games arc
The Grand Tournament of Magic Arc is the 15th arc in the series and the 13th in the manga. Life resumes its course in Fairy Tail, Gildarts is appointed as the fifth master of the guild but quickly goes on a trip leaving a letter. As the master of the guild, he makes two important decisions: to reinstate Laxus and to appoint his successor, Makarov. To the latter, he leaves a mission, that Fairy Tail regains the heights.
That’s good, every year a big tournament where the guilds compete to designate the strongest takes place in Crocus a few months later. Knowing that the bounty is 30 million jewels, Makarov decides on Fairy Tail’s participation and the mages go to train. Moreover, it seems that a strange emanation of magic comparable to that of Zeref has been spotted in previous years.
Eclipse Celestial Spirits arc
The Eclipse Celestial Spirits arc is the 16th arc in the series and the 14th in the manga. It begins right after Fairy Tail wins the Grand Tournament of Magic. It focuses on the actions of two characters from the future: one introduced from the previous arc and only out to save his friends, the other with much more obscure and ambitious designs.
Sun Village arc*
The Sun Village Arc is the 19th arc in the series and the 15th manga. The action begins when the Guild returns to Magnolia after winning the Grand Magic Tournament. Makarov receives a request, perhaps the most important since the creation of Fairy Tail, coming from one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Ishgar, Worlod Seaken, who asks Gray Fullbuster and Natsu to go to the Village of the Sun in order to free the inhabitants of the village as well as the Eternal Flame, their protective god of strange magic ice. However, Fairy Tail is not alone on the scene.
Tartaros arc
The Tartaros Arc is the 20th arc in the series and the 16th manga. As the mission in the Village of the Sun is accomplished, an earthquake shakes the world of magic! Nine councilors are killed in the explosion of Era, the headquarters of the Magic Council. It’s the underground Tartaros guild that’s behind it all! Dranbalt barely escapes and goes to see Cobra d’Oracion Seis in his prison to extract information from him. There, he learns an incredible truth: that E.N.D., the most powerful Demon of the Book of Zeref, is the master of Tartaros.
Avatar arc
The Avatar Arc is the 21st arc in the series and the 17th in the manga. A year after the disbandment of the Fairy Tail Guild and Makarov’s sudden disappearance, Natsu and Lucy embark on a long journey to hunt down their comrades and reunite the guild. Along the way, they encounter allies and foes, new and old. Meanwhile, a sinister organization aims to fill the power vacuum left by the defeats and collapse of the Baram Alliance and they pave the way for a new world owned by Zeref.
Alvarez Empire arc
The Alvarez Empire Arc is the 22nd arc in the series and the 18th in the manga. Return of the Heroes with the rebirth of Fairy Tail after the year-long guild disbandment, Mest reveals Makarov’s disturbing disappearance from the guild for a year-long period to Natsu’s Team. Before Mest’s revelation, Erza becomes the Guild’s Seventh Master and she faces her greatest challenge of becoming a new leader, but the guild is about to battle against the threat that terrifies even the Magic Council.
The Alvarez Empire of Arakitacia is about to launch a full-scale war on Ishgar to take and attack the secret of Fairy Tail (Lumen Histoire). An old enemy resurfaces with her past to confront Mavis Vermillion and pulls her own strings trying to fulfill her destructive urge. The return of the evil dragon Acnologia in human form aims to attack and kill the seven Dragon Hunters to fulfill his ultimate quest.
100 Years Quest arc
The 100 Years Quest Arc is a spin-off arc and is also known as Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest. It is the story arc that covers the entire Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest series which takes place chronologically after the Fairy Tail series. Natsu’s Team embarks on the 100-year quest to “seal” the five potentially destructive dragons known as the Five Dragon Gods who have the same power as Acnologia. While they are away, the Guild Members introduce a new recruit named Touka who arouses the suspicions of Gajeel, Juvia, and Gerald (a guild ally).
Will there be more Fairy Tail arcs?
Well, the sequel manga is currently ongoing and has, so far, only one arc. Since we don’t know how long this manga is going to last, we cannot tell you anything about the future arcs, but we can confirm that there will be more Fairy Tail stories before the sequel manga ends.