Think The Jungle Book. Now think The Incredibles. Now think Harry Potter.
Natsu, a boy raised by a dragon, is a wizard in the Fairy Tail guild. Why is a wizard’s guild called Fairy Tail? According to author Hiro Mashima, the title “may prove to be a pivotal point, but it may not.” Manga readers should never expect the title, storyline, or characters – or anything about the manga in general – to have anything do with each other, never mind make sense. Just suspend the disbelief and it’s all good.
Lucy is a huge fan of Fairy Tail and would love to become a member herself. As a celestial wizard, she can summon spirits when she needs help, but they don’t always behave as she wishes. She gives little thought to Natsu when she meets him and his cat, Happy, focusing instead on a wizard she believes is a Fairy Tail star. Droves of girls swarm around the gorgeous man assumed to be the great Salamander, and Lucy fusses like the rest. When he reveals himself as an impostor with a devious plan to sell his fans into slavery, it is the unremarkable Natsu who comes to her rescue, and ultimately, that of the other endangered girls. He makes quite a mess during his rescue, and confronts the false Salamander for slandering the name of Fairy Tail. Natsu has a vested interest in the guild’s reputation, but Lucy is stunned to discover how deep that interest is; as the real Salamander, he is furious that this slave trader would mar the name of his guild.
Fairy Tail doesn’t have the best reputation, actually. Guild Master Makarov takes the crew to task with a stunned Lucy present and in awe of the famed heroes. Their transgressions? Destroying property, including private homes, churches, castles, and a harbor – the last during Natsu’s successful rescue of the girls headed for slavery – as well as seducing the wrong girls, stumbling around naked, stealing underwear, and charging vast amounts of liquor as ‘business expenses.’ While the guild members wait for a reprimand, Makarov shakes with fury and surprises them with an outburst against the Council, who has complained about the guild as part of their duties as regulators of wizardry: “The Council can eat crap for all I care!”
With Makarov’s encouragement to “follow the path you truly believe in,” Natsu makes an honorable quest to save the father of a sad boy who waits alone with the guild for his parent to return from his own mission. Lucy and Happy, who can talk and has wings, tag along to help, or maybe not. Lucy’s trouble with summoned spirits rears its ugly head – literally – but all is not lost, of course. Happy and Natsu team up after their successful adventure to harass Lucy at her new apartment, and Happy makes proper use of the walls as only a cat could; as a scratching post.
I imagine there are a lot of scratching posts in Japan. Cats are the most popular pet on the island nation, which may explain the preponderance of cats in manga: cats with magical powers, cats that transform into other animals, people who transform into cats, and characters that are part cat and part human. There are always plenty of girls running around in cat costumes as well; usually very skimpy ones at that. UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie features catgirl maids who call, or meow, to each other to initiate a gathering. While serious and shy Sakaki of Azumanga Daioh adores cats, the one she finds in the street always bites her for no apparent reason. Kisa Sohma turns into a sweet tiger cub in Fruits Basket, but her shyness leads her to bite the well-meaning Tohru, who wants to befriend her. It would be quite a task to attempt to list all of the manga that use cats in their storylines; let’s just say that cat lovers should have no trouble finding one that suits them.
My favorite cat character is Kyo Sohma of Fruits Basket. He’s bad, but not without reason; and not beyond saving. He has some growing up to do, that’s for sure, but good girl Tohru can’t help but fall for the family outcast. As a child, she felt sorry for cats, which are excluded from the Chinese zodiac by a cruel trick played by the rat. Kyo is the cat personified, figuratively and literally, and is at odds, fittingly, with his cousin Yuki, who transforms into a rat. Fruits Basket merits its own column or two; for now, suffice it to say, I carry my affection for Kyo, and cats in general, around on my shoulder.
Medora is a young adult librarian with an obvious love for cats, chinchillas, and lemons. You can visit her at Forging an Art.
