Born May 3, 1977 in Nagoya, Japan, Hiro Mashima is a manga artist best known for Rave Master and Fairy Tail, both long-running action shonen manga series published by Kodansha. With a lighthearted sensibility and a wild art style that mixes hip-hop influences with classic cartoon slapstick, Mashima is one of the most popular fantasy manga artists in Japan today.