The acclaimed manga artist, Hiro Mashima, renowned for crafting captivating stories like Fairy Tail and Edens Zero, is not only a master of his craft but also a fervent gamer with a passion for various genres and titles. In 2021, he unveiled his top games of the year, featuring immersive titles such as Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us Part II, and Final Fantasy VII Remake2.
Fueled by his love for gaming, Mashima embarked on a challenging journey to create his own game using the formidable Unreal Engine 5, a popular game engine renowned for enabling developers to craft realistic and stunning graphics3. He documented this creative venture on YouTube, sharing his progress, overcoming challenges, and imparting valuable insights with his fans.
Mashima initiated his game development project in September 2022, releasing three seasons of videos on the Kodansha Creators’ Lab YouTube channel4. The first and third seasons delve into Unreal Engine 5, while the second season focuses on Blender, a free and open-source 3D creation software5. The videos offer English subtitles for the first two seasons, with subtitles for the third season anticipated soon. New episodes are scheduled for release every Wednesday.
While Mashima is widely recognized for his fantasy manga series, Fairy Tail (2006-2017) and Edens Zero (ongoing since 2018), both of which have achieved global success and anime adaptations6, he has not stopped there. In July 2023, he introduced a new manga series titled Dead Rock, set in a demon world where aspiring demon kings train at a school named Dead Rock9.
