Natsu

"Let's get serious... Arahabaki!!"

— Natsu

Natsu (凪津 or ナツ) is a character in the Soul series of fighting games. Her first appearance was in the series' sixth installment, Soulcalibur V. She appears as a playable unit in Project X Zone 2 as the sole representative of the Soulcalibur franchise.

What lies in her soul is Confidence.

In Soulcalibur V's promotional material, she is referred to as a Worthy Successor.

Appearance

Despite her Japanese name and origin, Natsu has Strawberry-blonde hair. She has a curious hairstyle consisting of multiple ponytails on the back of her head and she wears a shiny pink hair-clip decorated with feathers. Natsu wears a scarlet bodysuit with long sleeves and is protected by partial armor on her arms and hips. She has a liking to glittery pink items, as even her swords' handles are pink and their scabbards are decorated with pink stones. There is a red bandage tied around her right thigh and the feather motif is repeated on the back of her greaves. She has strings of shiny pink beads attached to her waist. Natsu's outfit is bird themed, possibly falcon, which is visible in the recurring feather ornaments and the decoration of her vambraces.

Personality

Due to Natsu only making a very brief appearance in the story of Soulcalibur V, there isn't much known about her, other than that she seems to be a spirited young girl.

Judging by her pre-battle and victory quotes Natsu is lazy and rather cocky. When looking at her face Natsu is shown smiling most of the time and she playfully laughs and chuckles when attacking, showing her playful and rambunctious side while also maintaining a serious fighting spirit.

Natsu is also rather stubborn and disobedient, as she would sometimes disregard and ignore the Fu-Ma clan's rules. However, she seems to listen to those whom she respects or cares for, like her master Taki. It is possible that her personality is affected by the spirit of Arahabaki.

Since Taki had often left the village to carry out missions, Natsu was raised as the adopted child of Chie. The gentle Chie was always there to heal Natsu's heart, injured by discrimination. Growing up with the stigma of being "possessed by an evil spirit." But she is gentle and a very kind person.

As a child Natsu was particularly shy, but she gradually grew up into a cheerful and lively girl after receiving Taki's teachings.

Natsu appears to pay attention to her appearance, a characteristic common for a girl of her age. Although she may be accustomed to the prejudice around her, she still seems to suffer from handling her unruly hair every morning.

History

Natsu was a member of the demon-fighting Fu-Ma clan. She grew up under the harsh glares of her fellow ninja, who feared the great demon Arahabaki that was sealed within her. Some even made attempts on her life.

Thankfully, Natsu's master, Taki, protected and supported her. The young ninja came to love and respect her mentor; though she often disregarded the clan's rules, Natsu always obeyed Taki.

But now it had been several months since Taki left on a mission to the western continent, and Natsu was growing uneasy.

"Master said her journey would last no longer than two weeks..."

It was then that a girl named Leixia appeared at the gates of the Fu-Ma village. She explained she was on an "adventure" to uncover the secrets of a mysterious pendant. When Leixia learned of the demon dwelling within Natsu, not only did she show no fear, but she was actually envious of Natsu. Drawn to the girl's cheerful innocence, Natsu offered to serve as her bodyguard. After all, the trip might provide an opportunity to find her missing master as well...

And so it was the two girls began their long journey west...

Weapons

Stages

Fu-Ma No Sato: Mechanical Spider (SC5)

Fighting Style

Natsu uses an improvised version of Taki's moveset, focusing on close to mid-range. Natsu retains Taki's Possession stance in Soulcalibur IV. Compared to Taki, Natsu has higher damage output, but has fewer mix-ups with certain attack strings. To compensate, she has a few delayed input attacks to catch the opponent off-guard and deceptive options in Possession stance, such as using a bomb, quickly changing to a horizontal attack, or even teleporting behind the opponent. Like her master, Natsu has some of the fastest attacks in the game (i.e. A:6) and effective punishers. She also has some of the best okizeme in the game, mainly by the fact she can pressure her opponent with bombs (especially the unblockable version) or low attacks after knocking them down at the end of a combo.

With her wide array of useful tools, speed and damage, Natsu is considered by the SoulCalibur community as a top-tier character.

Critical Edge

Great Curse of Arahabaki: Natsu will hold her kodachi in the air and exclaim "Lets get serious...Arahabaki!" She will then stick her kodachi into the ground as she summons the Great Demon, sending six wild blasts through the stage and the opponent high into the air. This Critical Edge is very effective as it leaves the enemy vulnerable to numerous air combos and can be used to finish or extend a combo. Additionally, Natsu can quickly shift into her "Possession" stance during this attack, which can cause danger to the opponent even if it is blocked. The downside to this Critical Edge, however, is that it can be easily evaded by the "Quick Step" tactic if the enemy is prepared, leaving Natsu open for attack.

Theme Music

Soul_Calibur_5_Natsu's_Theme! — Soul Calibur 5 Natsu's Theme!

Natsu's theme from
*Soulcalibur V*

Soulcalibur V

"Faster Than a Howling Wind"

Appearances in Other Media

Natsu appears in the Strategy RPG game, Project X Zone 2. She is a solo unit and is the first character from the Soul series to appear in the Project X Zone franchise.

Quotes

You don't stand a chance.
Right now? Okay. - spoken when facing against Leixia
Man, what a drag.
You're so gonna regret this! - spoken when engaging in battle against Xiba or Maxi.
Ready?
What?
How's this?
Foul demon...banish! - spoken when attacking an "evil" character
Demons...BEGONE! - spoken when attacking an "evil" character
This is...CRAZY! - spoken when attacking Leixia or Xiba.
You want..easy? - spoken when performing a throw on Leixia, Xiba, or Maxi.
Obliterate!!
Disappear!
As if!
No way! - spoken when an enemy breaks her guard
Seriously!? - spoken when an enemy escapes her throw
Now what?
Oops.
Get lost!
Shut up!
I missed?
That's a wrap.
Let's get serious... Arahabaki!! — Spoken during her "Critical Edge".
Oh yeah.
You're so lame!
Dammit! So pathetic... — Spoken upon losing a Time Out.
What the...?! — Spoken during a Guard Burst and when hit by a tremor.
You're mine!
(sarcastic)You're such a pain. — Taunt
Bye now.
Ah Hell! — Spoken during a Ring Out.
This is bad! — Spoken during a second Ring Out and afterwards.
Whatever!
Over here!
Quick strike!
No way!
Boring.
I messed up. — Spoken when KO'd by Ivy's "Embrace of Guilt"
What a pain! - Spoken when getting up on low health.
Not bad.
You like?
Yeah, yeah.
Want more?
Outta my sight!!
Such a pain~! — Spoken during Yoshimitsu's Critical Edge
Not good! — Spoken during Algol's Sadalsuud Markab
No!!! — Spoken when defeated by Leixia or Xiba
Dammit!!! - Spoken when defeated by Maxi
How come it feels like I'm the loser? — Spoken after a victorious bout over Maxi
Go be cute, I'll do all the fighting, OK? — spoken after winning against Leixia
That's enough of that for one day!
That... didn't suck.
That wasn't bad. Not great, but hey!
Boo-hoo! Stop your pouting already!
Aw...Do I gotta? — Spoken in Story Mode
Leixia, seriously girl, you must be picking your opponents based on looks. — Spoken in Story Mode
I win again! Ain't no big surprise. — Spoken after defeating Xiba
Ugh... — When performing "Departure in Fire" throw.
You mocking me?- Spoken when timed out by Maxi.
What?! Whatever... - spoken when times out by Leixia or Xiba
Damn! So pathetic... - spoken when timed out
Leixia. - Unused
Xiba. - Unused
Maxi. - Unused
Time to train! - Unused
Master. -Unused

Trivia

General

Arahabaki is, according to the Shin Megami Tensei Wiki: "An ancient Japanese aboriginal god since the Kohun period. The Momunofu were his servants and before his religion was submerged by the Shinto pantheon, Arahabaki was worshiped in Japan's North-Eastern regions. He was also worshiped by Nagasunehiko, an enemy of Emperor Jimmu, and so by the Emperor's orders Arahabaki became a symbol of treachery, rebellion, and heresy and his worship was forbidden for a long period afterwards. Nowadays, Arahabaki's clay figurine is especially common in inns throughout Japan." This demon is a recurring character in the Megami Tensei series, and is commonly a symbol for defiance.
Many people in the community compare Natsu to the main protagonist of the popular manga and anime Naruto, due to both of them being ninjas, having blonde hair, similar personalities and wearing very bright outfits. Naruto also had a demon sealed within him, just like Natsu. She also possesses the quote "Man... What a drag!", which is the catchphrase of Naruto character Shikamaru Nara. Another connection to Naruto is that she shares an English voice actress with Naruto's teammate and crush, Sakura Haruno, both characters being voiced by Kate Higgins.
- Also, Natsu shares the same English voice actress as Talim, as they are both voiced by Kate Higgins.
Her hairstyle might be a reference to the nine-tailed fox spirit, the Kitsune.
Her hairstyle resembles that of Ayame from Tenchu, making the characters look very similar to each other if it weren't for the drastically different color schemes. During a livestream from Project Soul, the hair color was explained as a design choice to make her look as different from Taki as possible.
Natsu's appearance is aesthetically similar to the gyaru fashion trend in modern Japan; her decorated pink nails, light colored hair and flashy ornamentation are all typical of the style, including her thick, dark eyelashes and hair style.
Natsu's name shares the character 津 with Yan Wujin, the father of Leixia and Leixin. However, they are read differently from each other, due to vast differences in Japanese and Chinese reading.
Natsu shares the bird theme of her outfit with Tira and Siegfried.
Though there's no connection between them, Natsu's personality strongly resembles that of Seong Mi-na.
Natsu is not a native of the Fu-ma village. Her own village was destroyed by Arahabaki when she was an infant.
Natsu shares the same name with the main male protagonist of Fairy Tail, Natsu Dragneel.
Natsu is the only Japanese character with blonde hair. Setsuka also has blonde hair but her origin is unknown and she has black hair in Soulcalibur III.
Natsu does not return in Soulcalibur: Lost Swords, ironically being replaced by the same character she was meant to succeed.

Soulcalibur V

Strangely enough, when she faces off against herself she will occasionally say "Foul demon...banish!". A quote that she uses to address an evil aligned character when attacking them. Because of this, she seems to consider herself an evil character, despite her bubbly personality and allegience to the Fu-Ma clan. It may be possible that she is referring to Arahabaki.
In her official 2D artwork, Natsu has glittery pink fake nails, but they're missing in her in-game model. She shares this discrepancy with Viola.
Natsu's titles in Quick Battle are Phantom and Swift Sealing Knife.
Natsu's theme, Faster Than A Howling Wind, bears a slight reassemblence to Taki's theme from Soulcalibur and Soulcalibur III, The Cursed Image. The rhythm is noticeably a lot faster, but it is played with a lot of the same instruments.
The title of Natsu's theme may be a reference to Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan (風森火山), a philosophy from Sun Tzu's book The Art of War. The characters translate into "wind", "forest", "fire", and "mountain", and is commonly translated as, "Be as quick as the wind, as still as the forest, as dangerous as fire, and as immovable as the mountains."
In a behind-the-scenes video, the decision to include Natsu came from deciding that Taki would likely be too old to be a ninja anymore. In Odashima's mind, you can only be a ninja up to a certain age, after which you retire from active duty and focus on training younger ninjas. While Taki has retired, she's still watching over Natsu, he adds.
A flower-like symbol can briefly be seen on Natsu's left shoulder during her Critical Edge and in one of her win animations. This could possibly be the seal placed on her or the symbol of Arahabaki.
Some of Natsu's early costume concepts were based on shrine maiden outfits. Her other costume concepts bear references to geishas.
In the concept sketches, it is suggested that Natsu's hairstyle is caused by the influence of Arahabaki.
Natsu's alternate outfit resembles Setsuka's alternate outfit from Soulcalibur III.
In Episode 15 for Soulcalibur V's story mode, Natsu uses Kuzukiri & Mekki-Maru.
Natsu's 1P costume was designed by Tomoko Imura.
Natsu is the only character in the series to use a modern insult phrase, "That didn't suck." However, this remark awkwardly conflicts with the game's atmosphere, which is set up in the 17th century.
Early beta versions of had a different theme for Natsu which was not included in the final version of the game.
Natsu's weapons Kuzukiri & Awayuuki resemble Rekki-Maru & Mekki-Maru 1P appearance in Soulcalibur II, Which are Taki's primary weapons, this hints to their relationship as teacher and student.
Every time Natsu uses some of her demon based powers, the seal placed on Arahabaki by Taki weakens.
Natsu has Taki's previous side throws; "Cellar Drop" and "Jute Burial", but their names have been switched in the move list. "Cellar Drop" is now named as the right side throw while "Jute Burial" is named as the left side throw. In previous games, it was the other way around. It is unknown if this was intentional or a mistake.
In early beta, the blasts from her Critical Edge rose after she released her kodachis from the ground.

Etymology

Natsu (凪津) means "Summer" in Japanese.

Relationships

Disciple of Taki.
Friend, bodyguard, and travel companion of Leixia.
Friend and travel companion with Maxi and Xiba.
A demon known as Arahabaki is sealed within her.
Raised by Chie.
Li Long's son, Riki, is part of the Fu-Ma's demon sealing team and a brother figure to Natsu.
Appears to be an acquaintance of Yoshimitsu II.
Repeatably picks on Xiba in order to relieve stress.