[Anime News] Fairy Tail Anime Returns in April

The sixth issue of 2014 of Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine is announcing on January 8 that the anime adaptation of Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail manga will return in April on Tokyo TV and its related channels.

Director Shinji Ishihira expressed his joy at being able to bring the anime to fans in the spring. He mentioned that while there will be a change in staff for the restart of the anime, they are working to increase the quality of the show as a whole.

The magazine lists the cast and staff:

Cast
Natsu - Tetsuya Kakihara
Lucy – Aya Hirano
Happy – Rie Kugimiya
Gray – Yūichi Nakamura
Erza – Sayaka Ohara
Staff
Director: Shinji Ishihira
Series Composition: Masashi Sogo
Character Design: Shinji Takeuchi
Animation Production: A-1 Pictures, Bridge
Takeuchi is replacing Aoi Yamamoto as character designer, while Bridge is replacing Satelight as one of the studios animating the series.

Mashima had asked fans earlier this year to wait until he could announce some "good news" since the first television anime adaptation of Fairy Tail ended. Mashima added on Twitter at the time, "It's actually not over yet. I can't say more than this, but I hope you watch the rerun starting in April and wait for the day I can announce some good news. […] Anime is not the end. Don't stop believing." The series concluded with a "To Be Continued" title card. Mashima later announced that the television anime project had relaunched.

Director Ishihira assures fans that though some staff members have changed, quality of the anime has increased