Natsu Dragneel

"Now I got a fire in my belly!"

- Natsu's catchphrase.

"I'm all FIRED UP NOW!!!"

- Natsu's other catchphrase.

Natsu Dragneel (in Japanese: ナツ・ドラグニル, Natsu Doraguniru) is the main protagonist of the anime/manga series Fairy Tail. He is a Fire Dragon Slayer and member of the Fairy Tail Guild. He is the adoptive son of Igneel and later revealed to be the younger brother of Zeref Dragneel and illegitimate uncle of August, having originally died just over 400 years ago before being brought back to life by his brother as the most powerful Demon to ever exist called E.N.D. (in Japanese: イーエヌディー, Ī Enu Dī), or Etherious Natsu Dragneel (in Japanese: エーテリアス・ナツ・ドラグニル, Ēteriasu Natsu Doraguniru). He was also among the five Dragon-trained Dragon Slayers sent to the future from around the same time as his rebirth, having an additional purpose in the defeat of Acnologia.

He is voiced by in the Japanese version of the anime and  in the English version; the former also voiced Simon, Jin Kisaragi and Rundelhaus Code.

Appearance
Natsu is a lean, muscular young man of average height with a slightly tan skin tone, black eyes, and spiky pink-colored hair; Natsu has a scar on the right side of his neck, hidden by his scarf. Following his titanic battle with the Rogue Cheney of the future, Natsu gains a cross-shaped scar on the left side of his abdomen, a result of the two fatal wounds the man dealt to him during their several altercations. After a battle with Zeref he gained a new jagged scar across his cheek. His red guild mark is located just below his right shoulder.

Natsu's main outfit consists of a sleeveless, gold trimmed, black waistcoat, often left open and untucked, exposing his bare chest, a black cloth that extends to his knees, held by a leather brown belt with a silver, oval-shaped buckle, white knee-length trousers with black ribbon ties, a thick black wristband on his left wrist, black open-toed sandals and the scale-patterned scarf he received from his adoptive father Igneel. He has also been known to wear a rolled up comforter strapped across his back, though he rarely carries it in battle.

In the year X791 Natsu's attire receives minor changes. He now wears an open-collared, one-sleeved version of his original waistcoat, which is instead tucked in and zipped. The sleeve covers Natsu's left arm, leaving his Fairy Tail mark, as well as his entire right arm, consequently exposed. Natsu continues wearing Igneel's scarf and retains the same lower clothing. He now wears his wristband on his right wrist.

In the year X792 Natsu is seen wearing a large, tattered, dark cloak with his trademark scarf. His pants are torn and patched and his arms and legs are wrapped in bandages. Later, he discards this outfit in favor of his old one, although he keeps the bandages on his right arm. It was later revealed that these bandages hide a dragon tattoo on his arm which contains the last remnants of Igneel's power which he kept covered to conceal its power but after using it in it one time usage the tattoo disappears and he forgoes these bandages completely

Personality
"I will never stop trying, I will never stop fighting for my future and everyone else's, the world we live in is what we make of it... and no matter what's going to happen tomorrow, I'm going to keep fighting to live today!"

- Natsu highlighting his determination. Natsu was mischievous, carefree and reckless in nature and despite consistent brawls with other members of Fairy Tail is fiercely loyal and protective. Natsu had a straightforward mind and often tackled issues with a "hands-on" approach. Even when disrespected or faced with obvious hostility Natsu rarely ever reciprocated the feelings and often forwent grudge-holding. He did, however refuse to forgive Jellal Fernandes for making Erza Scarlet cry but eventually did so anyway and considered him another one of his allies. He occasionally showed compassion for his enemies such as when Erik was betrayed by Brain.

He had a particularly close and competitive relationship with fellow members Gray Fullbuster and Erza. With the former he had a constant rivalry from a young age seemingly due to their opposing powers and although they often denounced each other as not being friends they regularly watched each others' back even when enraged. He had the same sort of relationship with Erza — both he and Gray being scared of her since they first began fighting and seemed to have a fairly good relationship in the past as according to her they used to shower together much to Lucy Heartfilia's disturbance. He befriended people rather quickly too, considering Lucy a friend and willing to team up after only a few days of knowing her.

Natsu rarely exhibits any perversity towards the opposite sex, there only being two noted instances. The first is seen prior to the Grand Magic Games, when he is seen trying to peek, along with several other of his male Guild mates, on the women as they bathed.The second is when Lucy comes crashing into him while nude, and he stares at her body, even touching her breasts for a moment.

Natsu continuously tried to prove his strength to others. At various points in time he challenged Erza, Laxus Dreyar, Mirajane Strauss and even Gildarts Clive (in short, all of Fairy Tail's current S-Class Wizards) to fight him, albeit he was beaten every single time. Despite his losses, Natsu bears them no ill will as he considers everyone in the Guild to be his family. Natsu even went as far as defending Laxus from his disillusioned grandfather and Fairy Tail's Guildmaster Makarov Dreyar after his attempt at taking over the Guild. Due to his reckless nature, Natsu's fights usually ends with widespread destruction. Natsu's love of fighting has allowed him to develop a rather strategic mind, helping him to, on various occasions, find flaws in his opponent's techniques or simply weaknesses they possess. Natsu has also defeated his opponents with pure wit rather than brute strength. Natsu, befitting his recklessness and love of fighting never backed out of a fight.

Natsu was very close to Mirajane's sister Lisanna Strauss and because of this after her supposed death no one in Fairy Tail mentioned her out of respect for his feelings. However, after Lisanna's return to Earth Land from Edolas this was no longer the case.

As a Dragon Slayer Natsu suffers from motion sickness. Natsu becomes sick from riding on any form of transportation, even if the transportation happens to be other people as shown when he was carried by Lucy. This, however did not apply to Happy,as he considers him family, not transportation. Natsu can become sick from looking at, or simply thinking about, any form of transportation.In spite of his naturally dense nature, Natsu is quite perceptive and understanding of his friend's feelings. After his battle with Gildarts during the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial, Natsu came to understand and accept fear, and has used this acceptance to help his Guildmates and himself emotionally grow. Prior to this event, Erza’s wrath (albeit for comic relief), transportation, and the Magic Council were the only things that Natsu feared.

Although Natsu considers his family in Fairy Tail to be more important than his biological family, he is not entirely without empathy towards them. When he finally got to see his parents, he was shocked and genuinely distraught upon watching them die, likely as unlike Zeref, he had no grudge against them. He even showed pity of Zeref's tragedy.

History
400 years ago, Natsu was born as the younger brother of Zeref and they lived peacefully in a small village with their parents but the village was destroyed by a dragon killing Natsu and their parents. This caused Zeref to research magic and its connection to life and death; much later using the body of his dead younger brother, he was revived as the as the most powerful Etherious: E.N.D.. Natsu was soon turned over to Igneel who raised Natsu and taught him how to talk, write, and his own, signature form, of Lost Magic: Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. During his time as Igneel's child, he became acquainted with fellow dragon slayers Gajeel, Wendy, Sting and Rogue whenever their dragon parent met several times a year. Very soon, the dragons use the dragon soul seal both to halt the dragon transformation of their children and to prolong their lives due to their souls being maimed by Acnologia. The concealed dragons along with their children were sent through the Eclipse Gate to a time where the etherano concentrations were very high enough for them to recover and defeat Acnologia.

The departure of E.N.D. of the past led to many legends being created, such as him being the strongest and vilest of the Etherious who formed the Dark Guild Tartarus making E.N.D. as their Guild Master when in fact Mard Geer Tartaros came into possession of his book and believed it was sealed with an unbreakable Magic seal.

Natsu awoke on July 7, X777, with no memory of his journey to the future and believed this was the day Igneel, along with the other Dragons, mysteriously disappeared, leaving Natsu to fend for himself. Natsu then left on a quest to find Igneel and was eventually found by the Guild Master of Fairy Tail: Makarov Dreyar. Natsu ended up joining Fairy Tail, in which he formed a close, sibling-like rivalry with Gray Fullbuster and Erza Scarlet.Natsu found an egg in the forest east of Magnolia.Thinking it to be a Dragon Egg, Natsu took it to the Guild and asked Makarov to make it hatch, but Makarov and Erza told him that he was the only one that could make the egg hatch; through love and care.Lisanna offered to help Natsu care for the egg until it hatched, to which Natsu happily accepted. The two built a shabby straw house in the park to keep the egg warm, becoming very close in the process.

The next morning, Natsu discovered that the egg was missing, and began to blame several of his guildmates. After arguing with almost everyone in the Guild and nearly starting a fight with Mirajane, Elfman appeared, carrying the egg, explaining that he only wanted to help, but was too embarrassed to ask. Suddenly, the egg hatched and a a blue cat with wings came out. Lisanna remarked upon the sudden change in the Guild's atmosphere after the cat's birth, prompting Natsu to name the cat Happy.

A few years passed and Lisanna partook upon an S-Class job with her siblings, in which she was supposed to hunt a creature called "The Beast". Natsu wished to go with him, but Elfman opposed, as he felt he should be the one to take care of his family. Lisanna was accidentally killed (supposedly) by Elfman during his attempt at taking over the monster. Though Natsu forgave him, he was greatly saddened by the event.

Magic and Abilities
Enhanced Smell: Natsu has a very keen sense of smell. Natsu could easily distinguish Kaby as a poor man, rather than a rich one, from his smell, even though he was temporarily living in his friend's expensive house to appear otherwise. Natsu could also, as a result of their prior encounter, track Ultear via scent, despite the large distance between them.
 * Fire Dragon Slayer Magic (火の滅竜魔法 Ka no Metsuryū Mahō): He is adept with his Dragon Slayer Magic and makes use of it in many different ways in combat. As with all Dragon Slayers, he can consume his respective element, with the exception of that which he has created, to replenish his energy reserves. The heat of his fire can increase in temperature, which is proportional to Natsu's emotional state. Natsu subconsciously used this against Erigor; his flame's heat significantly rose as he got more enraged. This is also called the Flame of Emotion.He incorporates the flames he ignites into his fighting style, greatly increasing the damage of his blows. As such, Natsu's Magic revolves around the usage of fire that can spout from any part of his body. Natsu's ability to eat flames gives him immunity to most types of flames and allows him to spew fire from his lungs.This fire is exceptionally strong - equivalent to a Dragon's fire - being able to burn even through metal.He can even use his flames to create a propulsive effect.The type of fire he uses can be changed. For example, it can be solidified to cling to surfaces.
 * Dragon Force (ドラゴンフォース Doragon Fōsu): By consuming Etherion and the Flame of Rebuke, respectively, Natsu has been shown to be able to enter Dragon Force. This ability is said to be the final and most powerful state a Dragon Slayer can attain, and it has been said that their power becomes comparable to that of a real Dragon's.
 * Transformation (変身魔法 Henshin Mahō): Natsu has mastered the rudimentary skills of Transformation Magic. He was able to successfully transform into Lucy on his first try.Fire Dragon Slayer Doll  During his fight with Kain Hikaru, Natsu briefly gained possession of Kain's doll, Mr. Cursey, and utilized its abilities.
 * Enhanced Hearing: Natsu, according to his himself, possesses exceptionally good hearing, something which, during the Grand Magic Games, was proved true: during Lucy Heartfilia's fight with Flare Corona, in which the latter remotely employed her hair to threaten Asuka Connell, who was cheering from the stands, thus forcing Lucy into submission, Natsu was seemingly the only person who managed to hear Asuka's name in the two combatants' low conversation, reacting and protecting the girl from Flare's threat, something which allowed Lucy to continue the battle.Natsu displaying his physical strength against Sting and Rogue
 * Enhanced Strength: Natsu has shown on numerous occasions to possess a high degree of strength, enough for him to perform a number of physical feats, among which are freely swinging around the mast of a ship as a makeshift weapon,doing the same with a palm tree he personally broke, bare-handed,shattering a billiard table and cracking most of its balls simply by hitting one of them with the cue,and stopping the gargantuan Dorma Anim's foot, which was going to crush him and his fellow Dragon Slayers, all by himself, subsequently throwing the robotic Dragon off balance by rapidly pushing it away.Furthermore, he was capable of battling both Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney, alone, while they were in Dragon Force, easily over-powering the two with his sheer physical strength.
 * Enhanced Reflexes: Natsu possesses fast reflexes, having been capable of dodging attacks from Erza, Laxus and, most recently, attacks from Sting.
 * Enhanced Speed: Natsu's speed and reflexes are impressive, enough for him to close great distances in a blink of an eye and dodge swift attacks.Natsu effortlessly defends against Sting's Holy Nova
 * Immense Durability: Natsu has proven himself to be incredibly durable. He has managed to take continual, deadly assaults from foes and continue fighting. Such impressive resistance was first shown during his battle with Erigor, in which he received wounds from his opponent's strong, sharp wind, and kept fighting on, nonetheless.Also, during his fight with Cobra, Natsu displayed a natural resistance against the Oración Seis' member's poison, described as lethal and corrosive. A true testament to his durability was shown when he blocked one of Sting Eucliffe's strongest attacks, Holy Nova, with a single hand, and emerged completely unscathed from the enormous explosion that followed the impact.
 * Master Hand to Hand Combatant: Natsu is an extremely proficient unarmed fighter, often using his Dragon Slayer Magic in combination with punches, kicks, and even headbutts, to combat his opponents to great effect. Such skill is paired with amazing physical prowess: aside from his strength, Natsu has displayed high degrees of speed, agility and reflexes, enough for him to match melee-specialists of Erza's caliber in battle.

Quotes
"I will never stop trying. I will never stop fighting for my future and everyone else's. The world that we all live in is what we make of it. It's not just up to you. And no matter what's gonna happen tomorrow, I'm gonna keep fighting to live today."

- Natsu to Future Rogue.

"I'm gonna work even harder. I'm gonna get even stronger. And when I do, I'M GONNA TAKE DOWN ACNOLOGIA!!!"

- Natsus last words before Igneel dies

"Don't feel insecure just because you lost!! We are Fairy Tail! We're from the guild that doesn't know when to stop! We won't survive unless we keep running!"

- Natsu to Gray Fullbuster.

"So you're gonna end this by dying, huh? Stop running away!"

- Natsu to Gray Fullbuster after he stops him from killing himself.

"Erza belongs to Fairy Tail, I won't hand her over to you!"

- Natsu to Jellal Fernandes.

"Erza was crying, her voice was shaking, and she was giving up. I don't want to see Erza like that. Erza should always be strong and courageous, that's why... I'LL FIGHT!!!"

- Natsu to Jellal Fernandes.

"I am already used to taking on the same sins. For a Fairy Tail Mage, the true sin is averting one's eyes... and no longer being able to believe in anyone!"

- Natsu to Zero.

"You bastards lay one finger on Lucy and I'll turn all of you to ash."

- Natsu to Hughes.

"My comrades are alive right now!! The Exceeds are alive too!! Whether they've got Magic or not, the important thing is that they're alive! These are lives, dammit!"

- Natsu to Hughes.

"We'll stop it, even if my body crumbles to bits I'll stop it with my soul!"

- Natsu to Panther Lily.

"We joined a guild so that we could live. I might not know much about this world, but for the sake of all living things of this world, I'll defeat you!"

- Natsu to Faust.

"Don't give up. It's not over yet. Bring it on, bastard... I'm standing right here!"

- Natsu to Faust.

"Gramps, lets fight. I know there are times when you have to fall back, Gildarts taught me that. But this ain't one of those times. The bastard who makes an enemy of Fairy Tail, we need them to remember the power of our guild with all its heart and soul. Lets fight gr...gramps!"

- Natsu to Makarov Dreyar.

"That is our Fairy Tail!! We don't live like we have already died, like you do!! We live with our lives on the lines, you bastard!! If you don't have the courage to change things then you might as well just die!!!"

- Natsu to Hades.

"When we're all alone, it might be to frightening to bear... but we're all right beside each other. We've got our friends close by! Now, there's nothing to fear! Because we're not alone!!!"

- Natsu to Team Natsu.

"Is it that funny to you when someone's sad? In that case, I'll beat you 'till you won't even be able to crack a smile!"

- Natsu to Midnight.

"Don't cry Lucy, Let's save the tears for when we win."

- Natsu to Lucy Heartfilia.

"It's for our comrades. For seven years... Always... They were waiting for us... No matter how tough it was, no matter how sad; even if they were made fools of, they endured and endured... and protected the guild. For our comrades, we'll show you... The proof that Fairy Tail has kept going! And that's why we'll keep moving forward!!!"

- Natsu to Sting Eucliffe.

"If you're a guild, take care of your friends. That is all I have to say."

- Natsu to Sabertooth.

"Are we prepared to make an enemy out of the Kingdom? The question is, are you bastards prepared to make an enemy out of Fairy Tail?"

- Natsu to Kama.

"Is that your reason for fighting?! We're different!!! We fight for the sake of our injured friends!!! No matter if our opponents are humans, demons, or even gods!!!"

- Natsu to Jackal.

"Actually... I don't really need my clothes! But my scarf! Gimme my scarf!"

- Natsu to Tartaros Prison Guards.

"Well now, lookie here? Some pretty strong lookin' dudes all lined up for us... Now that's what I call hospitality."

- Natsu to members of the Nine Demon Gates.

"That's not what family is! It's not about being allowed or not allowed! You create happiness! That's what family is! If you're going to claim you have no family, then any last sliver of a bond we have is gone right now! Alright, Big Bro?!"

- Natsu to Zeref.

Trivia

 * In the short-story version of Fairy Tail, Natsu wasn't a human, but a spirit with horns.
 * As a child, Natsu is voiced by Luci Christian.
 * Coincidentally, both Todd Haberkorn and Luci Christian voice the teenager and child versions of Allen Walker in D.Gray-man, with the latter also voicing Lenalee Lee.
 * The original colour of Natsu's clothing was supposed to be red. However, Hiro Mashima decided to change it to black because he wanted a better contrast between Natsu's fire and his clothing.
 * Natsu and Happy collect items to preserve the memories of their missions (i.e Lucy's maid costume, the fake Salamander signature, a souvenir from Galuna Island, etc).
 * Hiro Mashima said that Fire Dragon's Iron Fist is Natsu's signature move
 * According to Volume 16 Limited Edition: Sorcerer Interview:
 * The best quality of Fairy Tail according to Natsu was "There are a lot of strong guys there".
 * He wishes to defeat Erza and Laxus, and find Igneel in the future.
 * He has a good relationship with Happy and Lucy.
 * Natsu claims that he hasn't found a job yet that is difficult for him to handle.
 * Natsu is often conisdered one of the most popular and recognisable anime heroes, in addition to being one of the primary members of the Shōnen Magazine franchise.
 * Todd Haberkorn has stated that Natsu is one of his favourite roles.