Short analysis: One of them is not like the others

Original post: August, 2018

Defending NaLu may become a full-time job if some shippers keep doing their thing as often as they do

The last post focused on how Lucy’s character, as portrayed in the story, contradicts the trends shippers often promote. In fact, that analysis indirectly refuted the premises even self-proclaimed NaLu lovers actively endorse as they twist or degrade the NaLu bonding for the sake of something else

However, this new analysis will focus one Natsu, more specifically a moment from Dragon Cry. As some of you might know, the storyboard for the movie was made by Mashima himself, and we’re going to focus one scene: Natsu’s “flashback” before getting his heroic second wind

Some people already noticed Lucy was the person that stood out in Natsu’s memories, but to understand why is this so relevant to NaLu we need to make a comparison to a similar “flashback” featured in the manga… for another relationship (I apologize to those who don’t like it, but it is necessary)

The scene: Gray was about to sacrifice his life in order to beat a powerful opponent from Tartarus. While he was about to perform his attack he remembered several of his guildmates, but one person stood out the most…

Juvia. And what is Juvia to Gray? Let us answer that question by taking a look at the story:

The girl he claimed as his

This becomes ironic for, just as we saw in a previous analysis, Gruvia “borrowed” a NaLu moment to provide with an emotional weight based on their bond. And now NaLu seemingly borrows something from Gruvia

The point is, the girl that stood out in each case is someone precious to said character in a more unique and impactful manner. That allows us to tell the way Natsu feels about Lucy is both different and more profound from the way he feels about rest of his guildmates

The final scenes reinforce this point by placing more emphasis on how much Natsu values the way Lucy perceives him, as well as the effect she has on him

But that’s something we already considered so what else is new? It’s just another NaLu moment that proves their emotional connection surpasses less substantial premises.