First making his debut in Fairy Tail chapter #1, "The Fairy's Tail",[JP 2] originally published in Japan's Weekly Shōnen Magazine on August 2, 2006, Natsu is depicted throughout the story as a member of the eponymous wizards' guild, who are notorious in the fictional Kingdom of Fiore for their numerous accounts of causing unintentional property damage with their magic.

During the making of the series Rave Master, manga author Hiro Mashima considered the protagonist Haru Glory as the "angsty hard-working type".

He was conceptualized as a fire-using member of a courier guild who would suffer from motion sickness, a character trait the author based on one of his friends.

Explain the Mysteries of Fairy Tail" section of the manga's volume 15 tankōbon release, it is asserted that the character's age is actually not over 80, and that "beyond that would be revealing an important plot point".

[13] Regarding the anime adaptation of the series, Mashima commented that his favorite part is seeing Natsu and Happy move around, characterizing them as "fun".

[7] When the Fairy Tail anime started being released in North America, Mashima was concerned about actor Todd Haberkorn's voice since Natsu, the character he plays,[14][15] often yelled across the story.

[25] Natsu is eventually selected to participate in Fairy Tail's S-Class promotional trial held on Sirius Island, the guild's sacred ground.

[48] After falling into a coma following a rampage in his demon form,[48] he recovers by asserting his humanity during a metaphysical dream, destroying both seeds.

[49] He subsequently defeats Zeref, acknowledging their brotherly bond, while Lucy edits the book containing Natsu's demonic essence to sever his connection to it.

[50][51] Natsu then kills Acnologia by destroying his disembodied spirit inside a space-time rift after his allies immobilize the dragon's body within Fairy Sphere.

[94][95] Eventually, following one year of training to defeat Acnologia, Natsu achieves greater power by entering Fire Dragon King Mode,[JP 7] which uses a limited reserve of magic left within him by Igneel.

While reviewing the manga series, Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network (ANN) mentioned that the story usually followed the pattern where Natsu showed how strong he was every time he ended up in a bad situation.

He also commented that Natsu has "strong principles, insane power", and a "wacky weakness", stating that all of these traits make him a model for characters from shōnen action manga.

[98] Carlo Santos of the same website thought that Natsu's fight against wind wizard Erigor, the acting leader of the dark guild Eisenwald, was the highlight of that particular volume.

[100] Rebecca Silverman of the same website wrote that Natsu proved to be both intelligent and creative during his fight with a villain from the Grimoire Heart guild.

[101] Silverman further added that Natsu had started being depicted as falling suggestively on Lucy more often, and she believed this highlighted the idea of love and romance in the manga.

[102] A. E. Sparrow of IGN mentioned that Natsu, being a fire wizard with motion sickness, is "a complex character", and he said that it would be fun to watch him throughout the series.

[103] David West of Neo felt that Natsu's fire-based abilities match his quick-tempered nature and said the character has a tendency to scuffle.

[105] Critics have also provided comments in regard to Natsu based on how he was depicted in Fairy Tail's animated adaptation and feature films.

[112] Rebecca Silverman praised Natsu's skill in taking care of children, stating that he proved to be "competent at something besides fighting"; she also said this was "a nice inversion" of the trope in which the heroine is the one showing her abilities when it comes to parenting.

[116] While reviewing Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess, Kimlinger praised that Natsu resembled his portrayal from the manga series, and he enjoyed Haberkorn's performance.

[55] Reviewing Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry, Silverman stated that the scenes in the opening sequence which depicted Natsu's childhood were "nice reminders of what brought him to where he currently is".