Summary

• Fairy Tail's main ship, NaLu (Natsu and Lucy), has strong evidence of romantic feelings between the two characters, with moments of care and support.
• The relationship between Natsu and his first love, Lisanna, was largely downplayed, with the author favoring Natsu's relationship with Lucy.
• Fairy Tail takes a similar approach to One Piece in terms of on-screen romance, focusing more on friendship, action, and self-actualization rather than romantic relationships.

After a successful 11-year run, including a popular anime adaptation, Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail manga ended in 2017. The fan-favorite shonen series enchanted viewers with its rich, magical world, and proved it could keep up with other titles like Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece — even if many do argue that One Piece portrays female characters with more finesse.

Part of Fairy Tail's charm was its large roster of vivid and distinct characters. Primarily following the lives of Lucy, Natsu, Erza, and Gray (with Wendy and Gajeel added later), the series excelled at developing character relationships. The romantic relationships felt real and earned. Lucy and Natsu, the two main protagonists, are Fairy Tail's main ship (known to fans as "NaLu"), but author Hiro Mashima has never confirmed the true nature of their relationship. The original manga and anime have both ended, but fans continue to hope for a NaLu confirmation in future Fairy Tail projects.

Updated on January 13th, 2024 by Louis Kemner: This feature about the Fairy Tail ending and whether Natsu and Lucy get together has been updated to adhere to CBR's current publication standards.

Evidence That Natsu And Lucy Care For Each Other

Notable NaLu Episodes:

Lucy and Natsu share many charged moments across the story, providing plenty of evidence that the two care for each other romantically. Natsu was the one who invited Lucy to join the Fairy Tail Guild and, from that scene forward, they had an immediate connection. In the Phantom Lord arc, for example, Lucy called out for Natsu when she was falling from the Phantom Tower, knowing, somehow, that Natsu would save her. That points to a special, almost telepathic, bond between the duo. In a filler episode, Natsu and Lucy went to each other's house to wait for the other and, despite being surrounded by friends they could hang out with, felt a pang of loneliness without the other there. During the Eclipse arc, the anime's 15th Opening showed a notable NaLu moment in which Natsu went berserk after Future Lucy was killed. He then promised to protect only Lucy's future, not all of Fairy Tail's, confirming that she was the only one who mattered to him.

There are also the more general recurring hints, beginning with the most obvious: Natsu has seen Lucy naked several times and hasn't exactly shied away during those moments of Fairy Tail's flamboyant fan service. Scenes in which Natsu and Lucy save each other often end with them hugging in ways that the camera romantically frames, while filler episodes increase the flirty moments between the two, usually focusing on the two almost kissing or Lucy blushing at Natsu's antics.

A more indirect example is the marriage of the Edolas versions of Natsu and Lucy, a development that took the Earthland characters by surprise. Even though Earthland Natsu and Lucy knew there was romantic tension between them, they were still astonished to see their Edolas isekai counterparts marry out of love and have a daughter, Nashi Dragneel. Of course, the Edolas and Earthland Natsu and Lucy may not be the exact same people, so their relationship can go in different directions, but there's also the fact that Edolas Natsu and Lucy didn't have that much compatibility but still forged a happy marriage together. The Edolas Lucy was a tough-talking punk with a black leather outfit to match, while Edolas Natsu was gentle and didn't seem to have Lucy's respect. Still, if those two could find enough middle ground to build a solid marriage, the odds are even greater for Earthland Natsu and Lucy, who have more mutual respect and understand each other better.

Don't Forget Natsu's First Love, Lisanna Strauss

At the end of the day, Natsu and Lucy are a good pair because of their long history and compatible personalities. So, why didn't they declare their feelings to one another? And where did the (possible) lovebirds end up? Before answering that question, there's still the question about Lisanna Strauss, Natsu's and Lucy's fellow wizard in the Fairy Tail guild. As Natsu's first love, there is a large group of "NaLi" shippers who support that romantic pairing. Looking back at the early episodes that had them together, it's easy to see why those shippers argue that NaLi was always meant to be.

Natsu and Lisanna have more than just a romantic history together. The pair go way back to their shared childhood friendship, and the innocence in their burgeoning relationship was adorable. Young Lisanna even outright proposed to Natsu, and he would have very likely gone on to marry her if tragedy hadn't struck first. However, their time together was cut short by Lisanna's death. She was eventually brought back from the dead to start a possible love triangle, but things for Lisanna just weren't the same. Mashima largely ignored Lisanna. Scenes tended to feature her fighting in animal print lingerie rather than sharing moments with Natsu and trying to reforge their relationship. Mashima's comments at an anime convention in France in 2019 can be seen as the final hole to sink the ship: He admitted "Personally, I think Lisanna is a nice girl, and it would be a shame to see her with a guy like Natsu. I feel that the Natsu and Lucy ship is more suitable."

Mashima then added, "At that time, what fans thought about romantic relationships became very important. I thought, whatever I do, they are going to hit me. Because of this, I thought to myself that the simplest thing would be for Natsu to remain as is so that nothing concrete happens."

Do Lucy And Natsu Get A Fairy Tale Ending?

Despite evidence that even Mashima thought NaLu was a far sturdier ship than NaLi, it never really sailed. At least not in the original Fairy Tail manga, anyway. Judging by how fiercely fan wars can rage, it isn't fair to blame Mashima for leaving things open. His open confession to liking NaLu better may be his way of telling readers that's his version of what's canon.

At the end of the Fairy Tail anime, Lucy confessed how much Natsu and Fairy Tail influenced her. It was the perfect setup for Natsu to confess his love to her, but he dropped the ball, but the two nevertheless band together for the 100 Years Quest spinoff, which has released fourteen volumes so far (with an anime adaptation announced as well). There may be plenty of time for Lucy and Natsu to revisit their relationship status, and maybe even take the next step, but no one should hold their breath.

Fans might be upset with Mashima for not confirming NaLu, but Fairy Tale's creator has given the fans plenty of romantic subtext to work with. He's even gone on record admitting he likes the NaLu pairing, which means fans can at least presume the two have romantic feelings for each other. In fact, maybe it's better if there's no canon confession just yet, as it offers time to create more tense moments until one of them has no choice but to outright confess. As for disappointed NaLi shippers, Lisanna can still be considered Natsu's first love, while the open (and questionable) ending regarding his current romantic life leaves room for every shipper's fantasies.

Fairy Tail Took The One Piece Route With On-Screen Romance For Natsu And Lucy

The Fairy Tail anime throws shippers a few bones with some established on-screen romances, such as Levy McGarden and Gajeel Redfox falling in love and the marriage between Bisca and Alzack, the latter being two minor supporting characters in the Fairy Tail guild. The guild has a roughly even ratio of male and female members, making heterosexual pairings remarkably easy to write or imagine, especially in the context of shonen action anime, a genre that's typically light on romance. Still, even if the Fairy Tail anime has ample room for many romances, only a few actual romances are established, and for good reason, most of all with the NaLi and NaLu pairings. This means that for the most important, prominent characters, Fairy Tail takes the One Piece route with romance, albeit with more substantial teasing of those potential romances.

Author Eiichiro Oda of One Piece fame made a point of minimizing the romance in his pirate manga/anime franchise. Mr. Oda knows that shonen action anime is meant to thrill young male audiences with action, adventure, and the power of friendship, and romance, while not necessarily unwelcome, simply feels too disconnected from those things. Different authors have differing opinions on how much romance is enough, but Mr. Oda takes the minimalistic route so characters like Monkey D. Luffy can focus on what One Piece is really about, and not dilute the story with fun but ultimately unnecessary romantic escapades. That may be why Luffy is written as a blatant ahodere who can't recognize Boa Hancock's obvious romantic gestures toward him. Not even the skirt-chasing Sanji Vinsmoke got a solid romance outside some wholesome moments with the villain-turned-ally Charlotte Pudding.

Hiro Mashima ended up doing something similar with Natsu and Lucy in Fairy Tail, even if the approach was different, and looking back, it was for the best. Natsu's and Lucy's shared adventure in the Fairy Tail guild is about friendship, action, and self-actualization, not tying the knot. Simply put, romance was not the point, even if fans wanted it, and the story of Fairy Tail reflects that. Still, Natsu and Lucy aren't made of stone — they are teenagers with strong hormones, and they have personal compatibility, too. In the context of shonen action/adventure, romantic tension is sufficient to acknowledge that an attractive teenage boy and girl like Natsu and Lucy would at least entertain the idea of romance and feel both excited and flustered about it. That One Piece-style compromise is all Fairy Tail needs to give Natsu and Lucy some realistic emotional depth while giving shippers plenty of material to work with to imagine their fanon happily ever after.