Funimation announced yesterday that they have acquired the rights to the first 48 episodes of popular shonen anime Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail is based on the hit manga of the same name by Hiro Mashima. The manga became popular when it was serialized in weekly shonen jump. Work on the English dub has already started, featuring Todd Haberkorn as Natsu. The series is expected to be released on DVD and BluRay later this year.

The series follows the adventures of Lucy Heartfilia, a young girl who wants desperately to be a full-fledged mage. She runs away from home and towards the land of Fiore to join the most prestigious of all mage guilds in the world: the Fairy Tail Guild. Along the way, she meets Natsu Dragneel, a quirky teenage boy and practicitioner of the ancient Dragon Slayer magic. With his best friend, Happy the cat, beside him, Natsu is looking for his foster parent, a dragon named Igneel. They become a team and take on odd jobs for fame and profit.