Fairy Tail, Part 1

Magic is a serious (and often humorous) business enterprise in this winning fantasy series. In the kingdom of Fiore, sorcerers have systematized and regulated the black art, forming guilds to better ply their trade as they take on freelance assignments. Teen wizard Lucy aspires to join one of these organizations—the illustrious Fairy Tail. She gets her chance after being rescued from slavers by Natsu and his flying blue cat, Happy, both Fairy Tail members. Natsu is, in fact, a mighty “fire wizard” and was raised by a dragon—although, despite his hot-headed courage, he suffers from chronic motion sickness. Lucy soon learns that most of the Fairy Tail mages have similar quirks (and a tendency to cause major property damage during monster battles). Fairy Tail's colorful but economical animation harkens back to the popular Hiro Mashima manga series from which it derives, with spelled-out sound effects and gag labels. Compiling 12 episodes from 2009 on a dual-language set, rated TV-14, extras include audio commentaries from the English-language cast. Highly recommended. [Note: Fairy Tail, Part 2 and Part 3 are also newly available, with Part 4 slated for release on Mar. 20.] (C. Cassady)