is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

and

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the ''

Fairy Tail ''Fairy Tail'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from August 2006 to July 2017, with the individual chapters collected and published into 63 '' ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series created by

Hiro Mashima is a Japanese manga artist. He gained success with his first serial ''Rave Master'', published in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1999 to 2005. His best-selling work, ''Fairy Tail'', published in the same magazine from 2006 to 2017, ...

. First making his debut in ''Fairy Tail'' chapter #1, originally published in Japan's ''

Weekly Shōnen Magazine is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male high ...

'' on August 2, 2006, Natsu is depicted throughout the story as a member of the eponymous wizards' guild, who are notorious in the fictional kingdom of Fiore for their numerous accounts of causing unintentional

property damage Property damage (or cf. criminal damage in England and Wales) is damage or destruction of real or tangible personal property, caused by negligence, willful destruction, or act of nature. It is similar to vandalism and arson (destroying propert ...

with their magic. Being a Natsu possesses the same abilities as his foster father, the dragon Igneel, namely the ability to consume and envelop himself in fire. Natsu's predominant role in the series is to reunite with Igneel, who has been missing for seven years by the story's outset. He appears in most ''Fairy Tail'' media, including both

feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

, all

original video animations , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

( OVAs),

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

s, and

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

. He is voiced by

Tetsuya Kakihara is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He was affiliated with 81 Produce before he became a freelancer in June 2013. He set up his own agency, Zynchro, in July 2014. Since 2010, Kakihara has been affiliated with Kiramune, a music label by Bandai ...

in Japanese, while

Todd Haberkorn Todd Haberkorn is an American voice actor and director, who has dubbed in anime, films, and video games. Career While Haberkorn was working in theater, he joined Funimation as a voice actor, with minor roles in ''One Piece'', ''Black Cat'', a ...

voices him in the English dub. Mashima stated that he had created Natsu based on his own personality and referred to him as his favorite character. Natsu's character has generally received a positive critical response, with reviewers applauding his fight scenes and energetic personality throughout the series. His

motion sickness Motion sickness occurs due to a difference between actual and expected motion. Symptoms commonly include nausea, vomiting, cold sweat, headache, dizziness, tiredness, loss of appetite, and increased salivation. Complications may rarely include d ...

has also been well-received as a

humor Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

ous element within the story. Natsu has placed high in popularity polls, and many different pieces of merchandise related to him, such as

action figure An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are ...

s, have been released.

Creation and conception

During the making of the series ''

Rave Master ''Rave Master'', titled just ''Rave'' and, alternatively, ''The Groove Adventure Rave'' in Japan, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. The series follows Haru Glory, a teenager on a quest to find the five frag ...

'', manga author

considered the protagonist

Haru Glory is the main character of the manga ''Rave Master'' by Hiro Mashima. Born on Garage Island, Haru was left in the care of his older sister. In the beginning, Haru accidentally fishes Plue up, and his owner, Shiba meets him with terrorists from the ...

as the "angsty hard-working type". As a result, when writing ''Fairy Tail'', Mashima made the new lead Natsu to be calmer than Haru. Natsu Dragneel was one of the first

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

created during the development of ''

''. He was conceptualized as a fire-using member of a courier guild who would suffer from

, a character trait the author based on one of his friends. Mashima implemented Natsu's motion sickness into the final version of the character, believing that this and his pink hair make the character unique. Mashima cited his own personality as a

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

student as the inspiration for Natsu's personality, and his father's death as an influence for the relationship between Natsu and Igneel. Natsu's concept evolved in a one-shot short story titled ''Fairy Tale'', where he is depicted as a spirit with horns. He is normally portrayed as wearing black-colored clothing, which Mashima chose in favor of his original choice of red to improve the contrast between the character's fire abilities and clothes. The author mentioned that Natsu had been designed to give the best of himself when it comes to everything. Mashima regarded Natsu's

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

throughout the story as great and stated that the series could easily progress because of it. The author also commented that Natsu is his favorite character. Mashima named Natsu after the Japanese word for "summer" to avoid using Western fantasy names that would sound unfamiliar to the Japanese audience, and to follow up on the fact that the protagonist of his earlier work ''

'' is called Haru, which means "spring". Mashima also said that the names of both characters highlight their personality traits, with Natsu being "a fiery guy". Natsu's age is left ambiguous throughout the series, with the character's age listed as "unknown" on the cover of chapter 23. A scene occurs during chapter 108 in which he is trapped behind a runic blockade designed to prevent those over the age of 80 from crossing; as a response to questions about the scene, which were submitted by readers for the "Emergency Request! Explain the Mysteries of Fairy Tail" section of the

's volume 15 ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' release, it is asserted that the character's age is actually not over 80, and that "beyond that would be revealing an important plot point". Todd Haberkorn

Regarding the

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

adaptation of the series, Mashima commented that his favorite part is seeing Natsu and Happy move around, characterizing them as "fun". Mashima stated that he loves Natsu's voice from the anime. When the ''Fairy Tail'' anime started being released in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, Mashima was concerned about actor

's voice since Natsu, the character he plays, often yelled across the story. Haberkorn mentioned that one of his favorite aspects of voicing Natsu was leaving the

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

without a voice.

, Natsu's Japanese voice actor, said that while he had not initially wanted to voice Natsu and had instead hoped to voice the character

Gray Fullbuster The ''Fairy Tail'' manga and anime series features an extensive cast of characters created by Hiro Mashima. The series takes place primarily in the Kingdom of Fiore, a country in the fictional universe Earth-land, where several of its residen ...

, he had come to love playing Natsu and thought he was meant to voice him. He further mentioned that Natsu is his favorite character and considered him "fantastic". He also described Natsu's character as difficult because he has exceptional gifts compared to his friends. Kakihara stated that each scene in which he voiced Natsu remained in his mind, adding that he regarded Happy as his own partner since he is Natsu's companion.

Appearances

In ''Fairy Tail''

Natsu first appears in ''Fairy Tail'' chapter #1, "The Fairy's Tail", which was originally released on August 2, 2006, in ''

''. He is an orphan who is raised and trained by the dragon Igneel in the use of which grants him the ability to consume and create fire, and makes him immune to fire-based attacks. He also possesses other superhuman abilities such as immense strength, a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and resilience against otherwise lethal attacks. Because of his sharpened senses, however, he suffers from incapacitating motion sickness when riding any sort of transportation. After Igneel disappears on the date of July 7, X777, Natsu is inducted into the

wizards' guild, where he becomes notorious for causing most of the

collateral damage Collateral damage is any death, injury, or other damage inflicted that is an incidental result of an activity. Originally coined by military operations, it is now also used in non-military contexts. Since the development of precision guided ...

his guild is blamed for. Seven years later, Natsu and his

Exceed is a series of Japanese shoot 'em up video games developed by the dōjin circle (formerly FLAT). The first game, ''eXceed'', was released in 2005, and the latest game, ''eXceed3rd JADE PENETRATE BLACK PACKAGE'', was released in 2009. The series ...

companion, Happy, rescue celestial wizard

Lucy Heartfilia is a fictional character and protagonist of the ''Fairy Tail'' manga series created by Hiro Mashima. Lucy first makes her debut in ''Fairy Tail'' chapter #1, originally published in Japan's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' on August 2, 2006, as a ...

from a criminal operating under Natsu's alias, "Salamander", which Natsu confuses to mean Igneel, an actual

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

. The three form a team to perform missions together, later being joined by two of Natsu's childhood rivals, ice wizard Gray Fullbuster and armor wizard

Erza Scarlet The ''Fairy Tail'' manga and anime series features an extensive cast of characters created by Hiro Mashima. The series takes place primarily in the Kingdom of Fiore, a country in the fictional universe Earth-land, where several of its resident ...

, becoming what their guildmates label as Fairy Tail's most powerful team. Natsu develops his skills as a Dragon Slayer by temporarily gaining the power-boosting ability. He is eventually selected to participate in Fairy Tail's S-Class promotional trial held on Sirius Island, the guild's sacred ground. The exam is interrupted when Natsu and his guildmates encounter Zeref, an immortal dark wizard who wishes to be killed by Natsu but is not recognized by him. Zeref is hunted by the dark guild

Grimoire Heart The ''Fairy Tail'' manga and anime series features an extensive cast of characters created by Hiro Mashima. The series takes place primarily in the Kingdom of Fiore, a country in the fictional universe Earth-land, where several of its resident ...

, led by former Fairy Tail guild master

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

, whom Natsu defeats after obtaining the from Dragon Slayer Laxus Dreyar, which combines their fire and lightning magic, respectively. Shortly afterward, the black dragon Acnologia assaults the Fairy Tail wizards, who are placed into seven years of

suspended animation Suspended animation is the temporary (short- or long-term) slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. It may be either hypometabolic or ametabolic in nature. It may be induced by either endogen ...

by the spirit of Mavis Vermillion, Hades' predecessor, for protection within the magic Fairy Sphere. Returning to find that Fairy Tail has fallen behind the other wizard guilds in the kingdom of Fiore, Natsu participates in the Grand Magic Games tournament with his friends to regain their guilds' prestige. He receives a power upgrade from the

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

guild Crime Sorcière prior to the tournament, which allows him to defeat the reigning champions, Dragon Slayers Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney. Following Fairy Tail's victory in the tournament, Natsu becomes embroiled in a war between his guild and

Tartaros In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; grc, , }) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's ''Gorgias'' (), souls are judg ...

, a dark guild of Etherious demons created by Zeref that seek to summon E.N.D., Zeref's ultimate creation. When Acnologia appears and threatens both guilds, Igneel emerges from Natsu's body, revealed to have sealed himself within Natsu at the time of their apparent separation in order to

inoculate Inoculation is the act of implanting a pathogen or other microorganism. It may refer to methods of artificially inducing immunity against various infectious diseases, or it may be used to describe the spreading of disease, as in "self-inoculati ...

him against dragonification, a Dragon Slayer affliction that transforms them into dragons similar to Acnologia. After his strength proves inefficient to prevent Acnologia from killing Igneel, Natsu embarks on training journey with Happy to avenge Igneel. Natsu returns one year later after learning to use one of Igneel's powers. He and Happy then reunite with Lucy and help her reform the guild, which has disbanded in their absence. During Zeref's ensuing invasion with the militaristic Alvarez Empire, Zeref identifies Natsu as his younger brother and the true incarnation of E.N.D., resurrected from death as an infant to kill Zeref. It is further revealed that Igneel raised Natsu at Zeref's request four-hundred years ago before sending him to the present era through Eclipse, Zeref's

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

gate, to assist in defeating Acnologia. After a failed attempt to kill Zeref, Natsu's demonic transformation is triggered, which manifests as a tumor-like "demon seed"; this, coupled with a similar "dragon seed" that induces dragonification, endangers his life. Natsu falls into a coma following a rampage in his demon form, but he recovers by asserting his humanity during a

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

dream, destroying both seeds. He subsequently defeats Zeref while Lucy edits the book containing Natsu's demonic essence to sever his connection to it. Natsu then kills Acnologia by destroying his disembodied spirit inside a

space-time In physics, spacetime is a mathematical model that combines the three-dimensional space, three dimensions of space and one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional manifold. Minkowski diagram, Spacetime diagrams can be used to visualize S ...

rift after his allies immobilize the dragon's body within Fairy Sphere. In the epilogue, Natsu and his team depart on a "century quest", a guild mission that has never been accomplished in under 100 years.

In other media

Natsu appears in both ''Fairy Tail''

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

. In '' Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess'' (2012), Natsu defeats Dist, the leader of the Carbuncle guild. Natsu also makes an appearance in the

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...

manga created by Hiro Mashima for this film and in its animated adaptation. In '' Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry'' (2017), he fights and wins against Animus, the ruler of the kingdom of Stella, while half of Natsu's body takes on the appearance of a dragon. Natsu is also a character in all nine ''Fairy Tail''

( OVAs). In the first OVA, Natsu cleans a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

alongside other Fairy Tail guild members; in the second, he is depicted as an

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

student; in the third, he is sent to the past by a magic book; in the fourth, Natsu goes to a

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

in order to train for the Grand Magic Games; in the fifth, he spends time at a

water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...

; the sixth is a

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

OVA of ''Fairy Tail'' and Hiro Mashima's ''Rave Master'' series, where Natsu meets ''Rave Master''

Haru Glory and ''Rave Master'' heroine

Elie Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former royal burgh in Fife, and parish, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, eight miles east of Leven. The burgh comprised the linked v ...

; in the seventh, Natsu participates in a penalty game; in the eighth, he tries to cheer Mavis Vermillion up; and in the ninth, Natsu attends a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

party held at Lucy's house. He also appears in every

based on the series, including one where he is a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

, and one which is inspired by the ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' novel. Natsu is also present in '' Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest'', the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the ''Fairy Tail'' manga that directly continues the original story. He appears in several

spin-offs Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

from the original manga as well. Natsu is a

playable character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

in several ''Fairy Tail''

, such as the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

action video game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform gam ...

''Fairy Tail: Portable Guild'' (2010) developed by

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

and its two sequels — ''Fairy Tail: Portable Guild 2'' (2011) and ''Fairy Tail: Zeref Awakens'' (2012). He also appears in

video games, including '' Sunday vs Magazine: Shūketsu! Chōjō Daikessen'' (2009) alongside Lucy. Natsu is present in a video game developed by Gust Co. Ltd. as well.

Reception

Critical response

Critical reception of Natsu's character has generally been positive. Journalists have analyzed his characterization in the manga. While reviewing the manga series, Carl Kimlinger of ''

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

'' (''ANN'') mentioned that the story usually followed the pattern where Natsu showed how strong he was every time he ended up in a bad situation. He also commented that Natsu has "strong principles, insane power", and a "wacky weakness", stating that all of these traits make him a model for characters from ''shōnen'' action manga. Kimlinger said that placing Natsu against dangerous villains managed to create real interest. He further characterized Natsu as "an often frightening force", but he also depicted him as being "little more than a short fuse" with a sense of

and motion sickness. Carlo Santos of the same website thought that Natsu's fight against wind wizard Ergior, the acting leader of the dark guild Eisenwald, was the highlight of that particular volume. Santos further stated that Natsu being called a "flaming brat" added humor to the story. He also commented that Natsu had become a hero following the events from the Tower of Heaven. The writer described Natsu's

battle cries A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

as "fierce" and his "flamethrowing magic" as "intense". Rebecca Silverman of the same website wrote that Natsu proved to be both intelligent and creative during his fight with a villain from the Grimoire Heart guild. Silverman further added that Natsu had started being depicted as falling suggestively on Lucy more often, and she believed this highlighted the idea of love and romance in the manga. A. E. Sparrow of ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' mentioned that Natsu, being a fire wizard with motion sickness, is "a complex character", and he said that it would be fun to watch him throughout the series. David West of '' Neo'' felt that Natsu's fire-based abilities match his quick-tempered nature and said the character has a tendency to scuffle. The writer described Natsu as "reckless and wild", stating that the character's fire magic is destructive. Dale North of ''Japanator'' regarded Natsu as "one of the best and most powerful" Fairy Tail members and described his fighting skills as "incredible". Critics have also provided comments in regard to Natsu based on how he was depicted in ''Fairy Tail''s animated adaptation and feature films. Reviewing the anime, Carlo Santos felt that Natsu's abilities were not expanded on at the beginning of the story and said Natsu's fire magic was presented through mediocre animation. He further stated that Natsu's motion sickness produced "cheesy humor"; nonetheless, Santos considered Natsu "pumped-up" and energetic, and he praised Todd Haberkorn's role as Natsu's English voice actor. The reviewer said that Natsu's fight against Dragon Slayer Gajeel Redfox was "eye-catching". He elaborated on this by mentioning that Natsu's confrontation with Gajeel showed "pure fighting spirit", stating that he enjoyed "the clash of fire and metal" and "their intense

Type-A A type or type A may refer to: * A-type asteroid, a type of relatively uncommon inner-belt asteroids * A type blood, a type in the ABO blood group system * A-type inclusion, a type of cell inclusion * A-type potassium channel, a type of voltage-g ...

personalities"; Santos described Natsu's final blow from this battle as "epic". He also stated that Natsu's fight against wizard Jellal Fernandes was one of the greatest confrontations in the series. He further mentioned that Natsu's acrobatic moves provided some "truly great visuals"; nevertheless, Santos felt that Natsu winning his fights in the same manner became a

cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...

in the story. Carl Kimlinger criticized Tetsuya Kakihara's role as Natsu's Japanese voice actor, but he approved of Haberkorn's voice acting. Kimlinger wrote that while Natsu's partnership with Happy and Lucy was bizarre, it represented the main part of the story. Rebecca Silverman praised Natsu's skill in taking care of children, stating that he proved to be "competent at something besides fighting"; she also said this was "a nice inversion" of the trope in which the heroine is the one showing her abilities when it comes to parenting. David West thought Natsu is "colorful and loud". Crystalyn Hodgkins of ''ANN'' wrote that Haberkorn was suitable for Natsu's voice, but she felt he could have sometimes sounded more enthusiastic. Andy Hanley of ''UK Anime Network'' described Natsu as one of "Fairy Tail's brightest young names", and Richard Gutierrez of ''The Fandom Post'' regarded Natsu's behavior as a form of humor. While reviewing ''Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess'', Kimlinger praised that Natsu resembled his portrayal from the manga series, and he enjoyed Haberkorn's performance. Reviewing ''Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry'', Silverman stated that the scenes in the opening sequence which depicted Natsu's childhood were "nice reminders of what brought him to where he currently is".

Popularity and merchandise

In a popularity poll published in the 26th issue of ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'', Natsu ranked second, obtaining a total of 7343 votes. Merchandise inspired by Natsu has been released, including

s. Necklaces based on him have been produced. Badges inspired by him have also been created.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragneel, Natsu Fairy Tail characters Anime and manga characters who use magic Anime and manga characters with superhuman strength Comics characters introduced in 2006 Television characters introduced in 2009 Fantasy anime and manga characters Wizards in fiction Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities Fictional characters with superhuman senses Fictional half-demons Male characters in anime and manga Male characters in television Teenage characters in anime and manga Teenage characters in television Fictional pranksters Fictional orphans Fictional characters displaced in time