User:Sjones23/Lucy Heartfilia

Lucy Heartfilia (ルーシィ・ハートフィリア) is a fictional character in the Fairy Tail manga and anime series created by Hiro Mashima. The main female protagonist and viewpoint character of the series, Lucy is a celestial wizard affiliated with Fairy Tail. Sakura initially has an infatuation for Sasuke, praising him at every juncture, and heaping scorn upon the less skilled Naruto. Over the course of the series, she begins to shed this singularly driven persona, and grows more appreciative and accepting of Naruto. Lucy has appeared in several pieces of Fairy Tail media, including the feature film in the series, all of the original video animations, and several video games.

In naming the character, Mashima used The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" as a reference. Aya Hirano voices the character in the animated adaptations of the series, while Cherami Leigh plays her in the English dub.

Numerous anime and manga publications have praised and criticized Sakura's character. She was initially noted to be a stereotypical shōnen character, serving as a love interest for the protagonist, and served little purpose in the series initially beyond being comic relief. Her emergence from this stereotype as the series progressed, however, has been celebrated by reviewers. Amongst the Naruto reader base, Sakura has been popular, placing high in some polls. Several pieces of merchandise have been released in Sakura's likeness, including a plush doll and key chains.

In Fairy Tail
Lucy is a celestial wizard who runs away from her home one year before the beginning of the series. Within Sakura resides "Inner Sakura," a manifestation of her inner emotions. In addition to comic relief, Inner Sakura represents Sakura's actual opinion on things when she outwardly displays something opposite. As Sakura has a deep infatuation for Sasuke many of her earlier appearances are dedicated to her continuing effort to win his affection. She accompanies the rest of Team 7 during all of its early missions, though she does little to contribute to the battles that take place. Sakura lacks any unique traits that set her apart from the rest of Team 7 although Kakashi notes that she has an excellent control over her chakra early in Part I. As a result, Sakura sits on the sidelines, content in allowing her teammates to protect her and defeat their opponents. During the Chunin Exams, when the rest of Team 7 is left in need of her protection, Sakura realizes that relying on others to fight her battles has been unwise. She resolves to better her ninja abilities from that point further, and throughout the rest of the series takes a more active role in Team 7's battles. Lucy and the others are protected by a defensive spell from Mavis Vermillion, freezing them in time as Tenrou Island disappears.

After returning to Magnolia seven years later, Lucy acquires the ability to heal wounds, becoming one of the most experienced medical ninja. In order to secure her survival to heal other, Sakura also developed superhuman strength by building up chakra in her fists. Thanks to this, Sakura joins Team 7 as medical ninja to save Gaara from the criminal group Akatsuki. With help from the elder Chiyo, Sakura defeats the Akatsuki member Sasori who gives her hints of Sasuke's whereabouts. Naruto, Sakura, and the new members of Team 7 use this intelligence to track Sasuke down, but they are once again unable to prevent him from escaping. While disappointed in their failure, Team 7 tries once again to find Sasuke, though after almost apprehending him they lose his trail and are forced to return home. As they search for Sasuke during Part II, Sakura learns of the various hardships Naruto faces: the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox creature inside him which is being pursued by Akatsuki. Saddened by the impact both forces have had on his life, Sakura becomes protective of Naruto and tries to do whatever she can to help him overcome these obstacles. Sakura later resolves to kill Sasuke after understanding he is becoming a menace to the villages. However, when she fails to do it Naruto decides to settle things with Sasuke himself. When the group participates in the Grand Magic Games, Lucy participates in Team A.