Episode 1

Fairy Tail (妖精の尻尾 Yōsei no Shippo) is the 1st episode of the Fairy Tail anime. It first aired on October 12, 2009 and the English version on September 30, 2011.

Lucy Heartfilia meets a young Mage named Natsu Dragneel and his talking cat Happy. The three encounter a criminal named Bora and after defeating him, Natsu takes Lucy to Fairy Tail.

Synopsis
In Hargeon Station a young boy and a talking cat are trying to get off a train, but the young boy, named Natsu Dragneel, suffers from Motion Sickness. The two are apparently looking for someone they call Salamander. Happy, the talking cat, achieves in getting off the train, but Natsu, because of sickness, doesn’t and departs along with the train.

Elsewhere, a blonde girl, named Lucy Heartfilia is looking for a magic store, and is surprised to find out that there’s only one store in town. The shop keeper wants to sell her a Colors Magic but instead she finds the key of Nikora, the Canis Minor. It's normal price is 20,000 Jewels, but Lucy, using her sex appeal tries to knock off a little of the price. She was able to knock off only 1000 Jewels, and infuriated, she asks herself if her sex appeal is worth only that. Nearby, a large crowd is gushing over someone. This someone is the so-called Salamander. Lucy runs over too, because of the Fire Magic the Salamander is supposed to have, a Magic you can’t buy in stores. Natsu and Happy are traveling in direction of the crowd too. They hope the Salamander is Igneel, as they doubt a Fire Dragon would be anyone but him.

The Salamander shows himself. Every female in the crowd seems captivated by his appearance, Lucy as well. When Natsu comes within the circle to look for him, he is disappointed, as this Salamander is not the one he was looking for. He leaves, and a bunch of girls attack him, ordering to be more kind to the “Salamander”. He offers an autograph to Natsu but Natsu doesn’t want it, much to the girls’ chagrin. "Salamander" then flies away, inviting everyone to his boat, where a party will be held.

Lucy invites Natsu and Happy to lunch with her, since it was their interruption that broke the spell. “Salamander” was using a Charm spell whose Magic breaks once the victim knows what is happening. She tells Natsu that she is a Mage herself, even though she hasn’t joined a guild yet. Guilds are places where Mages gather to share information and take jobs, so she wants to be in one, in order to call herself a full pledged Mages. She is confident that once she joins one, she will be able to take jobs and get paid. Lucy then asks Natsu who they were looking for, and Natsu replies Igneel, the Salamander, although he doesn’t look like a salamander. He doesn’t because he is a Dragon. Lucy is shocked to hear this as even in this world of Magic, Dragons are extremely difficult to meet. She makes them realize that a Dragon wouldn’t be in the middle of a town, much to Happy’s and Natsu’s shock. She pays and then leaves. When she turns back, she finds them kneeled over, thanking her for her kindness. They say payment is not needed, as they weren’t trying to save her, and Natsu wants her to have “Salamander’s” autograph. Lucy responds that no one would want that.

In the park Lucy is reading Weekly Sorcerer. She finds some information on Fairy Tail and sees a photo shoot of Mirajane, wondering herself how does one become a member of Fairy Tail. “Salamander” comes out of the bushes, and tells her he is a member of Fairy Tail, and he invites her personally to his party. This way, he buys her mind and even goes as far as to tell her that he will talk to the Master to get her in. Lucy happily agrees, and they decide to meet at the party. In the evening, Natsu and Happy are watching Salamander’s ship, when they hear some girls talk about him as a member of Fairy Tail. Natsu is angered by this, and they decide to go to the party. There, Lucy is having a toast with Salamander, and he offers to give her some drink. However, Lucy notices the Magic as Sleep Magic, and confronts him about it. Being discovered, Salamander brings out his men, all carrying unconscious women. He refers to the girls as his merchandise, and Lucy grabs her keys, but Salamander knocks them out of her hands. He catches them, and throws them into the sea.

Crying, Lucy loses faith in Fairy Tail and tells Salamander he is the worst kind of Mage. Natsu them barges in, and Lucy is taken away by Happy, who can fly. Salamander attacks, but Happy evades everything, and then runs out of Magic and falls into the ocean. Meanwhile, Natsu is getting beaten by Salamander’s men, because of his motion sickness. Lucy, who found her keys in the sea, summons Aquarius, the Water Bearer, one of the strongest spirits she had. She explains her powers as a Celestial Spirit Mage, which allow her to summon spirits from an alternate dimension. She orders Aquarius to blast the ship to the shore, but Aquarius has other plans. She calmly tells Lucy that the next time Lucy drops her keys, she will kill her, and loads her urn with water, then shoots. The water takes the ship to the shore, but Lucy and Happy are caught in the wave. When asked why she was caught in the wave as well Aquarius states she was aiming at Lucy, not the ship, and she “failed” by destroying it. She then asks not to be summoned, as she will be on vacation with her boyfriend.

Back to the ship, Natsu is no longer sick, rather he is angered. He reveals himself to be a Mage of Fairy Tail, and they should not pretend to be him. One of the sailors refers to Salamander as Bora, revealing his true identity. Natsu then goes face to face with him, and is hit with fire, which he eats. Happy explains that flames don’t work on Natsu, and Natsu uses his Fire Dragon's Roar on everyone, which makes them realize that he is the true Salamander. Happy explains that his Lungs breathe fire, his scales dissolve flames, and his claws wrap in flames… this Magic makes the users body turn into a Dragon's, an ancient kind of Magic, one that was taught to him by Igneel. Using his Fire Dragon's Iron Fist he blows Bora away, and along with it, a part of the city. When the guards come to take him, he grabs Lucy and runs, telling her to come with him, in order to join the guild, and the three of them run towards Fairy Tail.

Fights

 * Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, & Happy vs. Bora (started and concluded)

Magic used

 * (Summoned the Water Bearer, Aquarius)
 * (Summoned the Water Bearer, Aquarius)
 * (Summoned the Water Bearer, Aquarius)

Spells used

 * Red Carpet
 * Prominence Whip
 * Prominence Typhoon
 * Red Shower
 * Hell Prominence
 * Red Skull
 * Giant Wave Attack

Abilities used

 * Hand to Hand Combat

Items used

 * Colors Magic
 * Gate of the Water Bearer Key

Manga & Anime Differences

 * In the Manga there were two other keys beside Plue's key in a case but, in the Anime Plue's key was in a separate case.
 * The poses that Lucy did to get a discount are different.
 * Bora tried to use sedatives to capture Lucy in the manga, while the anime, he tried to use Sleep Magic.
 * The anime removed the fire-branding scene, when Bora almost branded Lucy in the manga.
 * Bora's men using guns was not included in the anime, instead Bora fires his magic at Lucy & Happy.
 * The fight between Bora and Natsu was extended, and names were given to Bora's Magic.
 * In the Anime, after Aquarius flushed the ship to shore, Natsu was fighting Bora outside the ship, while in the Manga, the two were still fighting from inside the ship.
 * The anime didn't include the key question of Dragons teaching Dragon Slayer Magic to humans.