Fairy Tail Creator Mashima Hiro Honored with Special Award at Angoulême International Comics Festival

Angoulême International Comics Festival (Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême) is the second largest comics festival in Europe and the third biggest world wide after Japan’s Comiket and Italy’s Lucca Comic & Games. Held every year since 1972, the 45th edition of the festival took place Jan. 25-28, 2018.

This year’s guest of honor was Fairy Tail creator Mashima Hiro, who received the festival’s Fauve Special Award.

In addition to presenting the award, the festival also hosted a special exhibition of Mashima’s work in which many pieces of original art were displayed for the first time outside of Japan alongside figures, outfits, and videos.

This is not the first time Japanese manga has been honored at the festival, with Akira's Otomo Katsuhiro having received the Grand Prix back in 2015. However, this year has seen a step up in the festival’s manga focus, with many young fans excited to see Mashima making a personal appearance at the event.

Adapted with permission from SPICE