NOTE: In the novel, the above description does NOT apply at all. He's much more the opposite with a terrible temper. ^-^ Of course I wouldn't mind. That is, if I liked his novel self (which I don't really; still cool, but not the same).

Anime Nat-chan has red hair, beautiful blue eyes that are mostly pupil in most pictures, a blue stripe on each cheek, a white tank top, white pants, a stone piece of headgear around his head, thin blue gloves, a red scarf of sorts around his neck, and blue shoes. He also has three paopee: Kenkonken (Universal Ring), Kontenryou (Sky Muddling Damask), and Fuukarin (Wind-Fire Wheels). He has more paopee he gets later (Kinsen, Kasensou, Kyuuryuushinkatou II, and Bakuryuusaku), but these are his three main ones. The damask is red and he has it tied to his waste with a red sash. His Kenkonken are on his wrists like bracelets, and fired off like bullets. The Fuukarin are hovering, so to speak, a few inches under his feet.

Manga Nat-chan has stone shoes, thick blue gloves with a metal strip wrapping around the knuckles, and is much more muscley. He also gets SEVERAL other outfits over the course of the manga (he looks cute in each one too; look at Directory sprite).

Novel Nat-chan looks his age (which is why I dun really like his novel self in the same way), and his paopee look a lot different (they look closer to what they're called). Novel Nataku later gets eight arms and three heads after Taiitsu takes him to recover from Yu Hua (Ryogaku?)'s virus from his Blood Converting Dagger. Taiitsu was sending him back to West Qi's front to help Taikoubou, but stopped him so that they could have a cup of tea together to toast Nataku. He also gave three dates to Nataku to eat after each cup of tea. After that took his leave, but he didn't get far before a loud noise from his own body sounded and 6 arms and 2 more heads sprouted from his body, his face turned indigo and his hair turned cinnabar (which might explain why he has red hair in the anime and manga, ne?). Nataku wasn't quite sure what to make of it, so he went back to Taiitsu and complained 'bout the inconvenience of the heads and arms. Taiitsu initially laughed (the anime/manga Nataku probably would've killed him RIGHT here) and then explained to him that his new arms and heads would prove to be a display of what the Chan Taoists (the Taoist sect the ppl of Konronsan are from) can do, and that he'd be special just like all the talented people he met earlier in the expedition to dethrone Chuuou. He also told him he'd prove himself to be a great hero in an upcoming battle and that he could transform himself from the three-headed, eight-armed form into his original form as he wished. The novel Nat-chan was very happy about this and put one of his weapons in EACH hand, which still left him with three empty hands, so Taiitsu gave him three more paopee.

Now believe it or not, this boy is just over 13 when you first see him in the manga! In the anime, it's even more shocking because he was born around when Kisho divined that he would be away from Seiki for seven years because he would be imprisoned in Chouka, and by the time Kisho came back, Nataku was hanging out with Taikoubou already, so that would mean he's about 7 in the anime (10 if you count gestation). O.o Well, if I have my calculations correct anyway. I dunno how long Taiitsu Shinjin had him in that thingy and keeps him from Taikoubou and the timeline in Feng Shen Yan Yi's slightly different from the manga. Allow me to explain.

When his Mom was pregnant with him, he was in her womb for 3 years and 6 months! Chinese usually count the time inside the mother as one year, so when they're born they're considered 1 year old. Since he was in there for over 3 years, he is technically 3 years old upon birth. (In the manga, he looked it too). After 3 years and six months had pass, Nat-chan's Mommy, Yinshi (Madame Yin in Feng Shen Yan I), was wondering when he was going to be born. One night, she dreamt that Taiitsu Shinjin came and put a yin-yang designed ball into her belly (original novel just says he threw something at it). This is probably why Nat-chan is considered a paopee ningen. He isn't exactly entirely human (kind of fused with that ball thing, I guess), and he does have a great deal of resistance to attacks as well as a helluva lot of HP and ATP (RPGers say WHOOHOO~!). Anyway, after that, she woke up and began going into labor. The manga follows the original novel here, and the anime is different (maybe cuz manga/novel version was kinda icky?).

In the manga and the novel, a fleshy ball thingy (the placenta?) came out of Nat-chan's Mommy. Nataku-kun's Daddy thought it was a monster (that part's in the novel; not fluent in Japanese), so he tried to cut the fleshy ball with a sword (that happened in both). With an opening now in the ball, Nataku, looking like a 3 year-old, climbed out, and, I guess you could say, he was officially born. (WITH his paopee too; he didn't have the Fuukarin in the original novel though cuz Taiitsu gave it to him later).

In the anime, his Mommy's tummy glowed and a transparent, yellow-ish bubble went through her tummy and floated above the bed until it finally gently laid him in his Mommy's lap. Big difference huh? Now the question is, would you rather see the fleshy ball or constantly see the shots of too much of baby Nataku being shown? *ahem*

Seven years later (four in the anime), Nataku had a big problem with a dragon king. In the manga and anime, he was "playing" in a river with his Mommy. In the original novel, he was bathing in it cuz it was hot and washing himself with his damask (Kontenryou; that red sheet thing he wears around his waist). Anyway, in the anime and manga his damask had a bad reaction to the water and killing all the fish, and in the novel, it caused a bunch of earthquakes that shook the dragon king's palace. Eventually though, in all cases, it led to the dragon king's third son coming up to get rid of the person causing all the trouble. Nataku killed the dragon prince to (in the manga and anime) save his mother. In the novel, he took its carcass so that he could make a dragon belt for his father out of the tendon (a violent yet sweet gesture).

After this (in the anime and manga), the dragon king came for him for revenge for killing his son. To save his family (what a sweet boy), he sacrificed himself and shot himself in the head with his own Kenkonken paopee (aww...). After his death, a little burial mound was built for him by Yinshi. His father (Li Sei), the mean jerk that he was, smashed his little grave. His father threw the ball thing he found in the shrine into the river and it floated along until Taiitsu Shinjin found it and put it in a lotus flower. He was reborn shortly afterwards. (This whole thing took 3 years).

In the original novel, the dragons went to go to complain to the Jade Emperor, and Nataku with his much more violent temper in the novel, did a lot of beating of dragons and such until all four of the dragon kings came to his house and threatened his family. To save his mother and father, he commited suicide with a sword in a rather VIOLENT manner. His spirit went to his master, Taiitsu Shinjin (Fairy Promordial in the novel), for help. Taiitsu told him to return his flesh and bones to his parents so that he would no longer have any ties to them (he wouldn't really be their son anymore), and then find a way to get a temple built for him. After three years of receiving offerings and incense, he would be reborn. Nataku appeared to his mother in dreams several times to ask her to build the temple for him, and when she did not comply for awhile, he finally yelled at her the final time (O.O How VERY different from the anime and manga!), and she had a servant build the temple against her husband's wishes. The temple served as a home for his spirit, and people came to worship him from near and far. He was a very good god to the people too. He answered all their prayers for 6 months. For 6 months of worship, he got back some form and his voice because they offered him incense and stuff. Three years of this would have made him reborn completely, but things didn't turn out that way. His father passed by his temple on the way home one day though, and told the people they were worshipping a false god. He then prompty had Nat-chan's temple burned to the ground. Obviously when Nataku found out, he was pretty pissed. He went to his master, and his master put lotus petals, lotus leaves, and maybe one or two other things I can't remember right now into three piles, and then threw his soul/spirit into the piles. From this, Nataku was reborn as a 15-foot tall man (although still very young in actual years, and still portrayed in most pictures as a 13 year-old).

After Nataku was reborn (in all versions), he was pretty mad at his father, so he went after him in an attempt to kill him. In the manga and anime, Taikoubou stops him, and Taiitsu takes him away for awhile (in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to control his temper?). He later rejoins Taikoubou in tankoubon volume 5.

In the novel, various immortals stop him several times and teach him a lesson so that eventually, he becomes a much more mild tempered youth. One of the immortals gives his father a golden pavilion tower paopee which he can use to burn Nataku if he ever tries to kill him. Nat-chan'll feel the pain, but he'd really be unscorched. With this pillar, the immortal succeeds in getting Nataku to accept Risei as his father and stop killing him. If Nataku was ever to try to kill his father again, his father was to use the pillar on him and Nat-chan would back off. He later joins Prime Minister Jiang Ziya (that's Taikoubou) on his adventure to found the next dynasty. 10 years pass between the end of the chapter when Nataku/Nezha was reborn and had his temperament put into check by immortals and when he returns to the story and finally joins Jiang Ziya/Taikoubou, so in the book he's about 20-23 years old (depending on if you count the time inside his mother) at that point. Of course this is in earth years though. During his training with Taiitsu Shinjin, his aging could have been slowed so that physically, he is about 13 still, but in math, his age is around 20-23. By the end of the entire expedition though, he's in his 30s in math.

So, in conlcusion to this little age reasoning thing, in the manga, Nataku could be as young as 13 depending on the passage of time between when Taiitsu Shinjin took him away, and when he let him come back. In the anime, he's about 7-10 (if you count gestation period). I'm speculating that he could be much closer to his starting manga age by the end of the anime. In the novel as I read so far, Ziya was 72 and appeared in the chapter after Nataku's birth, and wasn't appointed prime minister until 8 years later. Two years after that, Nataku comes and joins Ziya to help protect West Qi from the emperor's soldiers coming to kill the Kou family (That would be Hiko, Tenshou, etc. except for Tenka cuz he was taken in by an immortal 13 years prior). By the end of everything, Taikoubou's 90, so Nataku should be about 33 then.

Nat-chan's seiyuu are Miyata Kouki (anime, Kaen CDs, and video games) and Imai Yuka (drama CDs; it's a girl! *wimper*). Miyata-san has a wonderful, soft, sweet voice. *swoons* Image songs of Nataku's are "PROOF OF BIRTH ~Tanjou no Akashi~" and "Itsuka Dokoka de". Another song he sings in is "Hi no Ataru Basho".

For pictures of Nataku, go to the image gallery.

To immerse yourself in Nataku related info and goodies, go to the shrine.

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