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Like most Shonen anime, Fairy Tail is a big property to dive into. There are 328 episodes of the original anime, plus multiple movies and OVAs to wrap your head around. While there aren’t as many episodes as a behemoth like One Piece, it can still be a challenging series to get started with.

Set in a world where magic is commonplace and wizard guilds are set up in nearly every city, Fairy Tail is the story of Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and Grey as they tackle everything from body-changing shenanigans to world-threatening villains. Our Fairy Tail watch order will tell you exactly how to watch the iconic anime series in order.

How to watch Fairy Tail in release order

One of the best things about Fairy Tail is the way it presents its ensemble cast. Everyone gets a storyline to expand on their backstory without it feeling like filler or bringing the pacing of the show to a crawl. However, with so many characters in the Fairy Tail cast, that means that there are a lot of episodes to make your way through.

The good news is that the Fairy Tail anime runs largely in chronological order. There aren’t any major flashbacks to worry about, even though some key events take place before the story begins. The difficulty with watching the series is knowing where the OVAs and films fit into the Fairy Tail release order. Fortunately, we’ve done the hard work for you. Also, the eighth season (episodes 266-275) adapts the prequel anime Fairy Tail Zero, though you are generally better off watching the episodes in order to help you understand what is happening.

The best Fairy Tail watch order is:

• Fairy Tail Episodes 1-74
• Fairy Tail: Welcome to Fairy Hills!! OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 75-84
• Fairy Tail: Fairy Academy OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 85-117
• Fairy Tail: Memory Days OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 118-144
• Fairy Tail: Phoenix Priestess film
• Fairy Tail Episodes 145-158
• Fairy Tail: Fairies’ Training Camp OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 159-168
• Fairy Tail: The First Morning OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 169-175
• Fairy Tail: The Exciting Ryuzetsu Land OVA
• Fairy Tail: Fairy Tail X Rave OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 176-277
• Fairy Tail: Fairies’ Penalty Game OVA
• Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry film
• Fairy Tail: Natsu vs Mavis OVA
• Fairy Tail: Fairies’ Christmas OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 278-328
• Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest Episodes 1-12

How to watch Fairy Tail in chronological order

The chronological order of Fairy Tail is largely the same as the release order except for the above-mentioned Season Eight, which adapts the Fairy Tail Zero spin-off manga. This serves as a prequel that tells the story of Fairy Tail Guild’s first Guildmaster.

The chronological Fairy Tail watch order is:

• Fairy Tail Episodes 266-275
• Fairy Tail Episodes 1-74
• Fairy Tail: Welcome to Fairy Hills!! OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 75-84
• Fairy Tail: Fairy Academy OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 85-117
• Fairy Tail: Memory Days OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 118-144
• Fairy Tail: Phoenix Priestess film
• Fairy Tail Episodes 145-158
• Fairy Tail: Fairies’ Training Camp OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 159-168
• Fairy Tail: The First Morning OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 169-175
• Fairy Tail: The Exciting Ryuzetsu Land OVA
• Fairy Tail: Fairy Tail X Rave OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 176-265
• Fairy Tail Episodes 276-277
• Fairy Tail: Fairies’ Penalty Game OVA
• Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry film
• Fairy Tail: Natsu vs Mavis OVA
• Fairy Tail: Fairies’ Christmas OVA
• Fairy Tail Episodes 278-328
• Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest Episodes 1-12

Where can you watch Fairy Tail?

If you want to see all of Fairy Tail in one place, you’ve got some bad news ahead. While US fans can see all of the Fairy Tail anime on Crunchyroll, the streamer only has the Dragon Cry film and none of the OVAs. Fans in the UK will have an even tougher time as Crunchyroll doesn’t have the first 175 episodes of Fairy Tail in the territory. Those used to be available on Netflix but now are only available to stream via Amazon Prime Video.

What about the Phoenix Princess movie and the OVAs? Because the OVAs were initially given out in milestone volumes of the manga in Japan, they are incredibly tough to track down on legal streaming sites. Meanwhile, there is also no legal way to stream Fairy Tail: Phoenix Princess in most territories.

Are the Fairy Tail movies canon?

It isn’t uncommon for Shonen anime movies to have a somewhat nebulous relationship with the main canon of the series and Fairy Tail is no different. Both of the Fairy Tail movies are technically non-canon as they adapted events outside the original manga, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth watching! Original mangaka Hiro Mashima has come out and said that he enjoyed them so much that he would like them to be considered canon.

Do I need to watch the Fairy Tail OVAs?

Just like the movies, the Fairy Tail OVAs are largely relegated to the realm of non-canon since they don't adapt anything from the original manga. While they're aren't necessary to watch in order to understand the plot of Fairy Tail, they are generally very fun slice-of-life scenes that provide comic relief to the sometimes high-stakes action of the story. 

What’s next for Fairy Tail?

All good stories come to an end and the final episode of Fairy Tail aired back in 2019, but that doesn’t mean Natsu and his friends’ story is over just yet! A new Fairy Tail series, titled Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest, began airing in July 2024 on Crunchyroll. Taking place one year after the end of Fairy Tail, it sees Natsu undertaking a quest that was first lodged with the Fairy Tail guild a century earlier.

Each week, Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say "greatest," in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included... 

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