Hello to all.
In the wake of the recent NaLu and Gruvia development we got in the 100 Year Quest, I figured I might as well talk about Jerza for a bit.
Now, I may just be a sentimental kind of guy, but I can't help but think back at how fucking screwed over Jerza got in the final chapter when compared to the other three "Big Four" pairings. I mean, Gruvia and GaLe received more or less explicit confirmations, and while NaLu's confirmation was not as explicit in the English translation, it was still implied heavily enough that it may as well be canon. Meanwhile, there was no interaction between Jellal and Erza in the final chapter, just Hisui pardoning Jellal for his crimes, followed by a panel of Erza brushing her hair. Now, I'm pretty sure that a lot of people here thought that Jellal had abandoned Erza, and I really can't blame them. That said, NatZa fans were quick to capitalize on this and peddle the lie that Natsu and Erza could start a romantic relationship in the sequel.
As mentioned in my previous rants, it was not unheard of early on for people who were not fans of the NaLu ship to instead support NatZa. Unlike GrayLu, which did not receive any real emotional development even during these early chapters, NatZa surprisingly received a fair bit of development during the earlier arcs that an untrained eye could construe as romantic development. And to many of these same NatZa fans, Erza's feelings for Jellal probably came out of left field.
While the Tower of Heaven arc seemingly made Jellal out to be a complete asshole to Erza (a lot of NatZa fans ignore the fact that Jellal was possessed at the time), the same arc had also highlighted how emotionally close they were as kids. Among other things, Jellal was the one to give Erza her last name, and was both willing to trade places with her after she confessed to one of his crimes and fight his way to her after she was tortured. And even after all the crimes he had committed while under Ultear's possession, Erza had retained her feelings for him, feelings that were proven mutual after Jellal's memories were restored.
With this in mind, NatZa fans are also quick to point out that Jellal had also abandoned Erza at critical junctures, including Chapter 264 and the final chapter. While it was true that they didn't officially tie the knot at these junctures, it was actually justified in both instances. With the former, Jellal had only recently escaped from prison, and Erza would've become wanted herself if they had become an item at that point. With the latter, it's actually unknown what went on between the two, but what can be implied is that the two are secretly dating (I mean, why the fuck else would Erza be brushing her hair every day?)
Which brings us back to NatZa. Like I previously mentioned, it is easy to construe the emotional development that Natsu and Erza received during the ToH arc as romantic development, especially when one considers that many of these "moments" are similar to a lot of future NaLu moments. That said, if NatZa was actually intended as a romantic pairing, then why did such development stop after the Nirvana arc. The answer is actually pretty simple; if you compare these early interactions to interactions in later arcs, it's made pretty clear that Natsu sees Erza as a big sister. If you think I'm bullshitting, consider this: When Natsu punched Gray out after the latter tried using a suicide attack in order to seal away Deloria, I don't think anyone could reasonably construe that as a romantic Gratsu moment. A similar logic can be applied to, say, Natsu pulling Erza out of Etherion.
With that all said, it's like... what the fuck are NatZa shippers expecting? For Mashima to throw away the strong emotional bond that Erza and Jellal have just so he can pair her with a boy that she views like a little brother in the sequel? Cut me a fucking break. At the end of the day, Erza and Jellal have romantic feelings for each other, and have had them since at least Chapter 264, and you'd have to be a special kind of deluded to think otherwise.
TL;DR: Jerza is canon. NatZa is dead. Deal with it. Game Over.
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Fairy Tail is (c) 2006-2019 Hiro Mashima
All unit(s) are Lv18 and above.
This pic was made by GaggedDude32. Go here and here to view his stuff.
Have a nice day.
