Discussion The Official Relationship/Pairing/Shipping Thread

[Otaku shrink]

Ok, whoever is trying to spill this over to create some unnecessary drama anonymously on Tumblr since things are quiet on the Gruvia tag...can we not please? People that are not even on Mangahelpers are getting messaged about this.

Nah Gruvia is still unappealing in my eyes. PERIOD.

I have different preference lmao guys just deal with it. You're like shoving Gruvia to my face like "if you don't ship it you suck" "gruvia is the best" "gruvia is the saving grace of FT". LMAO NO. Just like how others view nalu as boring, I view Gruvia as distasteful, creepy, and boring too. That's it.

It's like y'all gruvia fans can't accept flaws in the relationship. lmao. pathetic.

If others view jerza and gajevy as boring too... then okay? no need to get soooooo worked up about it.

That's fine...you don't have to like it, but this is a discussion thread regarding ships. People will discuss. Writing long posts citing things that actually happened is a way of backing up an opinion.

 

[darkenedreality]

Nah Gruvia is still unappealing in my eyes. PERIOD.

I have different preference lmao guys just deal with it. You're like shoving Gruvia to my face like "if you don't ship it you suck" "gruvia is the best" "gruvia is the saving grace of FT". LMAO NO. Just like how others view nalu as boring, I view Gruvia as distasteful, creepy, and boring too. That's it.

It's like y'all gruvia fans can't accept flaws in the relationship. lmao. pathetic.

If others view jerza and gajevy as boring too... then okay? no need to get soooooo worked up about it.

I'm convinced you're just a troll now, especially because no one is doing the things you claim. You don't have to keep saying you dislike it, we heard you the first time. If you don't have anything new, intelligent, or insightful to add to the discussion, please don't post. Repeating the same thing over and over with no support like a broken record just allows people to not take you seriously. And quite frankly it's annoying.

Notice how I'm backing up my arguments with facts from the manga. The other ships I don't care for I left one comment on and that was it. No one is trying to "counter" your opinion. I personally responded to other people who stated innacurate facts.

 

[Hermit]

This is such a good comment!

Thanks

Although we shouldn't mix reality with manga (it's all fictional in the end) I want to put this here... how many times we kinda blame ourselves for loving someone who ignores or is a scumbag to us? Why we do that? Why we DO love this person regardless? You cannot control love. You cannot force yourself to like and even dislike someone. It just goes natural.

I tend to think of things like love and romance in manga to be attuned more to reality than fiction, so there's mo middle line there. It's part of human nature regardless of whether its in a movie or real life. Part of the reason I really appreciate ZerVis is because him falling for her and her death breaking him is honestly...some of the rawest emotion I've ever read in a manga. That was some seriously wonderful characterization by Mashima and I can see stuff like that happening in real life as well.
The same would apply to GruVia as well.

I was in love with someone who didn't care and even brutally rejected me but despite trying not to love him anymore I wasn't able to.

Lol, I think I was pretty much the same, mine spanned....2 years? Once they rejected me I took some time off and currently I can say I'm over her....well, I did find someone new, although she pulled a Gray and told me to wait for her for a while Which quite frankly, I'm okay with, when you love someone, all you want is for them to be happy. Wishing that they reciprocate your feelings imo feels a little selfish to me.

This to say, if Gray is forcing himself then he isn't Gray firstly. Secondly, he is just chaining himself down in a disastrous future after years of suffering just to make another person's life bright. Is this Gray of Fairy Tail or...? The same one who canonically told Lyon to fight for his dreams and to expect a brighter future compared to their past? (oh! Didn't Gray have a flashback of Juvia while saying this? He is really forcing himself even in his subconscious lol)

The thing with Gray, he builds walls around him. You can even see in his interactions with his guild mates. He doesn't allow himself to get too close to them. Juvia is the one person who has stuck with him through thick and thin, and slowly but surely, he's letting his guard down around her. Which is very very natural, even for a fiction.

Saying Gray is forced to love Juvia is just utterly insulting to him. Pity? Yeah, even living h a p p y l y with her was out of pity. Even holding her hand to cheer her up in Tartaros.

Gray having pity on someone? Pffffft, the guy beat the shit out of Invel and didn't even stop even after his face was mangled.

That's some pity alright

Some points about Juvia here were so true, I myself consider her obsession (mostly the merchandise she has...) and "love rival" thing annoying, but it's just comedy and Mashima uses it. Of course, tho, comedy has to be taken lightly as it should. Juvia jokes about love rivals coming for Gray, heck she even called Zera a love rival despite not knowing or seeing her.

I'll accept it. Juvia's character revolves around Gray. That's pretty much true. But using this as a basis to downplay the ship and Gray as well? Na ah fam, I'll fight off anyone who says this

I'll end it here... they say Gruvia fans do not understand Gray's character but imho it's the other side who doesn't.

Facts

 

[M3J]

I... still don't understand how Gray-Juvia is forced. It's Gray who chose to reciprocate her feelings, and it's normal for Gray to go from being creeped out by her to liking her after spending time with her and fighting alongside her. This is called development. Not Lucy and Natsu staying friends and caring for one another and Lucy not being pissed off Natsu touched her boobs after they were in trouble and he saved her or something. How or why people claim that's development is beyond me.

Anyway, I'm also open to the idea of Lucy-Loki.

 

[Nemispelled]

Allow me to explain why you're wrong. I really dislike when people use the "the fans want it" excuse because they dislike a certain development and can't back up their "argument" with fact. Here, in chronological order:

1) During an interview in 2007, when asked if he accepts reader's suggestions, Hiro Mashima states this: "Very rarely. I don’t completely ignore their comments of course, but in the end, since every reader has different expectations, if I accept every suggestion, then I would not be able to create a proper story. So changing the storyline due to the reactions of the readers alone is quite rare."

2) Gruvia did not become popular until Hiro Mashima of his own accord started developing it. It was extremely unpopular and disliked up until the GMG. Why? The answer is obvious. It was a joke.

3) The entire point of Lyon liking Juvia was to add more comic relief and to further Gruvia's development. How do we know? Because it wasn't even a proper love triangle (if you've watched enough shoujo you know know this), and lasted only an arc. Lyon gave up on Juvia after realizing it was hopeless. And Juvia only ever had eyes for Gray. Lyon was never an option.

4) Gray never had any romantic development with any other females aside from Juvia. I don't know where you are getting this "he's attracted all these females", but that's wrong.

5) Finally, in the omake special volume that came out in September of this year, afterwards were included on each of the stories. In the same volume where Hiro Mashima said he had no intention to make Nalu romantic but conversely ended up making readers expect it, he also commented on 413 Days. After going through the classifications of Gray fans, Hiro Mashima said "I've already decided how Gray will turn out/what his future will be. It will unlikely change regardless of the reader's thoughts".

Tl;dr: Gray and Juvia are getting together because the author wants it.

I completely disagree. I dislike it when people influence Juvia's character on Gray's character.

Exactly. Mashima said very rarely. Gruvia was one of those "very rarely" cases.


Mashima always intended for Gruvia to be a one-sided love. Mashima didn't start focusing on that pairing until the fans blew it out of proportions and constantly nagged Mashima.

Mashima was known for being a comedic mangaka back then. He won an award for that. Gruvia was never meant to be taken seriously in my opinion.


Lyon liking Juvia severely degraded Gray as a character.

I hated that love triangle as it was the most BS. That's all Lyon and Juvia have ever done for Gray. They negatively affect Gray as a character by being portrayed as "Gray's equal" in combat.


People are even saying Gray trained on Juvia's level during the 1-year timeskip.

Which is complete BS. They are only saying that because Juvia is a leech on Gray... never gives Gray any time to develop relationships/friendships with any other guild member except her...

Talk about suffocating..


I never said Gray had romantic development with any other female character.

I'm saying he attracted many females. Which is true.

Several people inside and outside the guild have acknowledged that Gray is one of the best looking guys.

It's no surprise there, so I don't see why people have to act like he's Juvia's slave only...

Juvia doesn't own him.. like *** dammit.


That omake "413 Days" came out very recently. Mashima has already decided Gray's partner by this time... obviously I know that.


But he gave it some room back then for change.

That didn't happen because he was constantly bombarded with hate and insults every time he shipped Gray with somebody else as a joke.

Not to mention the constant nagging that the fans did.


But whatever, if Gray has to end up with Juvia, then so be it, but I definitely dislike/hate this pairing. I disagree with it, but I'll accept it if it happens.

 

[darkenedreality]

I completely disagree. I dislike it when people influence Juvia's character on Gray's character.

Exactly. Mashima said very rarely. Gruvia was one of those "very rarely" cases.

You completely ignored the part where he said he already decided Gray's future and it won't change despite fan opinion. Regardless, your statement here has no support whatsoever.

Mashima always intended for Gruvia to be a one-sided love. Mashima didn't start focusing on that pairing until the fans blew it out of proportions and constantly nagged Mashima.

Again, you have no support. Hiro made his twitter in 2012, but Gruvia started developing into a two sided relationship in 2010-2011. That was the S-class exam arc. Get your facts straight. And to be honest, its been developing since Juvia first appeared. They were labeled as a couple by Alzack and Bisca before Edolas, that's how far back it goes. As I said, the ship wasn't even popular back then. Gruvia fans don't nag him any more than every other pairing fandom. In fact, it's been show cased that minority ships like Graylu and Nali nag him more, yet Hiro never gives into their demands. He's writing what makes sense for the story, and romance wise it makes sense for Gray and Juvia to get together.

Mashima was known for being a comedic mangaka back then. He won an award for that. Gruvia was never meant to be taken seriously in my opinion.

And I'm telling you why you're (mostly) wrong. While I do think Gruvia was a big joke in the beginning, it's evident that Hiro planned to make it canon from early on. Why else have Juvia's love stick for so long and develop Gray's side? Why make their magic complimentary? Juvia was literally created to be Gray's love interest.

Lyon liking Juvia severely degraded Gray as a character.

I hated that love triangle as it was the most BS. That's all Lyon and Juvia have ever done for Gray. They negatively affect Gray as a character by being portrayed as "Gray's equal" in combat.

People are even saying Gray trained on Juvia's level during the 1-year timeskip.

Which is complete BS. They are only saying that because Juvia is a leech on Gray... never gives Gray any time to develop relationships/friendships with any other guild member except her...

Talk about suffocating..

If you think Juvia negatively effects Gray, despite her being his emotional support and partner throughout the series, then I don't know what to tell you. I have no words for such an inaccurate claim. Gray chooses to be with Juvia of his own accord most of the time.

I never said Gray had romantic development with any other female character

I'm saying he attracted many females. Which is true.

Several people inside and outside the guild have acknowledged that Gray is one of the best looking guys.

It's no surprise there, so I don't see why people have to act like he's Juvia's slave only...

Juvia doesn't own him.. like *** dammit.

What females? Any that actually stuck for more than a page? Enlighten me. Being attractive doesn't matter, what counts is actual development. Which he only has with Juvia.
No, Juvia doesn't own him. She was going to give up on him at the end of Tartarus finale. Gray didn't let her, instead he embraced her. He can say "no" to her at

That omake "413 Days" came out very recently. Mashima has already decided Gray's partner by this time... obviously I know that.

But he gave it some room back then for change.

That didn't happen because he was constantly bombarded with hate and insults every time he shipped Gray with somebody else as a joke.

Not to mention the constant nagging that the fans did.

But whatever, if Gray has to end up with Juvia, then so be it, but I definitely dislike/hate this pairing. I disagree with it, but I'll accept it if it happens.

I can't believe you're still blaming the fans when I already destroyed that claim. But I suppose using a desperate method like that is to be expected since you have nothing left. Anyway, I think this will be my last response. It's disgusting how much you're belittling Juvia's significance to Gray, especially now that it's confirmed he's reciprocated her feelings. And it's also disgusting how much you're belittling Hiro Mashima, as if he would just cave to every reader's wish without considering the consequence of his story.

 

[Nemispelled]

You completely ignored the part where he said he already decided Gray's future and it won't change despite fan opinion. Regardless, your statement here has no support whatsoever.



Again, you have no support. Hiro made his twitter in 2012, but Gruvia started developing into a two sided relationship in 2010-2011. That was the S-class exam arc. Get your facts straight. And to be honest, its been developing since Juvia first appeared. As I said, the ship wasn't even popular back then. Gruvia fans don't nag him any more than every other pairing fandom. In fact, it's been show cased that minority ships like Graylu and Nali nag him more, yet Hiro never gives into their demands.



And I'm telling you why you're (mostly) wrong. While I do think Gruvia was a big joke in the beginning, it's evident that Hiro planned to make it canon from early on. Why else have Juvia's love stick for so long and develop Gray's side?




If you think Juvia negatively effects Gray, despite her being his emotional support and partner throughout the series, then I don't know what to tell you. I have no words for such an inaccurate claim. Gray chooses to be with Juvia of his own accord most of the time.



What females? Any that actually stuck for more than a page? Enlighten me.
No, Juvia doesn't own him. She was going to give up on him at the end of Tartarus finale. Gray didn't let her, instead he embraced her.




I can't believe you're still blaming the fans when I already destroyed that claim.

Don't see how that claim was ever destroyed...

But regardless, Gruvia was always a complete one-sided love (until end of Tartaros when the ship was forced).

Even in Tenrou, Gray saved Juvia because she was his guild-mate and a nakama.

Gray would do that for any female in the guild including Erza and Lucy.

I think people's shipping eyes are starting to forget the difference between Romance and Nakama/Friendship.

Not every little thing that Gray does to Juvia is considered shipping-material.

If it were, Gray would have already had tons of romance with Erza. And even potentially Mira and Lucy too.

 

[darkenedreality]

Don't see how that claim was ever destroyed...

But regardless, Gruvia was always a complete one-sided love (until end of Tartaros when the ship was forced).

Even in Tenrou, Gray saved Juvia because she was his guild-mate and a nakama.

Gray would do that for any female in the guild including Erza and Lucy.

I think people's shipping eyes are starting to forget the difference between Romance and Nakama/Friendship.

Not every little thing that Gray does to Juvia is considered shipping-material.

If it were, Gray would have already had tons of romance with Erza. And even potentially Mira and Lucy too.

I've edited my post to be more clear. There's things Gray has done for Juvia that are exclusive to only her, including sacrificing his life, crying into her chest, holding hands, and living together. Normal friends (male and female) do not do these things, especially in Japan. Likewise, Juvia has done things for Gray that no one else has or could. You can say that Gray would save any other person in Fairy Tail, but Hiro (only) uses Juvia constantly and for a reason. We don't have to question if he will do this and that for her, as the answer is undoubtably yes.

You're right, there is a difference between romance and friendship. It's ironic you can't see Gray and Juvia's relationship is NOT friendship.

Gruvia started as enemies, then became nakama, and finally love interests. Romance has to start somewhere, so of course he saved her when she was a guild mate. Moreover, Hiro outright confirmed the bond romantic on the post card from the 10th anniversary exhibit which reads 'autumn romance' for Gray and Juvia. Gray barely interacts with other females, and if he does it's no where near the level of Juvia. I've already explained why Gruvia isn't forced, and how it wasn't always one sided. Despite supporting myself with the manga, you will see what you want to see and be very disappointed in the end. Continue shipping your crack pairings.

 

[Dorsher]

Nali is as non-existent as Natza. Natza is purely platonic and sisterly love. while Nali is like.... nothing. lmao

And those complaining about boob grabs should know that fairy tail is published under WSM, a magazine targeting young adult males. It's not a child-friendly magazine unlike Jump. It markets on a different set of people. It has SMUT series in it. Just like how Cars/Alcohol Drinks/etc showcase provocative and sexy girls, it's all business.

Shonen Jump is super child-friendly. Enjoyed mostly by the gen public.

Weekly Shonen Magazine has a niche..... their buyers are mostly male college students.
That's why..NEGIMA, LOVE HINA, YAMADA-KUN and 7 witches, Domestic no Kanojo, Suzuka... and OTHER ECCHI/SMUT exists in WEEKLY SHONEN MAGAZINE ... etc..

It's like compaining that COSMO MAGAZINE is too mature. lmao.

 

[Nemispelled]

I've edited my post to be more clear. There's things Gray has done for Juvia that are exclusive to only her, including sacrificing his life, crying into her chest, holding hands, and living together.

Normal friends (male and female) do not do these things, especially in Japan.

How are the things you listed exclusively to Juvia?

He would sacrifice his life for any of his other female guildmates... you think he would be like "Nah, go ahead and die."?

He was ready to sacrifice his life several times for Erza. He put himself in harm's way during ToH just to save Erza. Hell, he was ready to sacrifice his life on Galuna Island, when he was going to cast Iced Shell on Lyon and Deliora.

This isn't about Juvia, Gray is not that selfish. He would sacrifice his life for any of his friends.

Holding hands was only for the Unison Raid. Gray has never shown to outright hold Juvia's hand at random times. That's what couples do, and clearly Gray isn't feeling that.

Crying into her chest happened at the end of Tartaros Arc (again, I admit this is around the time when the ship was finally forced).

Living together was all Juvia's fault.... You really can't say that is Gray's way of reciprocating the love because Juvia clearly stalked and followed him there. There wasn't really anything Gray could do except say "Get lost"... but again, he doesn't do that to his nakamas.

Gray even got out of bed when Juvia went too far and climbed in with him.


Up until end of Tartaros, Gray never really did anything to Juvia out of the ordinary that he would do to any of the other female guild members.

Eventually during the series, Gray did return some affection because Juvia's character was beginning to hit rock bottom, so Gray had to do it to save her from a one-sided obsession. That's how the ship was forced.

Continue shipping your crack pairings.

Did I ever say I was going to stop?...

 

[Axiomus]

Again, you have no support. Hiro made his twitter in 2012, but Gruvia started developing into a two sided relationship in 2010-2011. That was the S-class exam arc. Get your facts straight. And to be honest, its been developing since Juvia first appeared. They were labeled as a couple by Alzack and Bisca before Edolas, that's how far back it goes. As I said, the ship wasn't even popular back then. Gruvia fans don't nag him any more than every other pairing fandom. In fact, it's been show cased that minority ships like Graylu and Nali nag him more, yet Hiro never gives into their demands. He's writing what makes sense for the story, and romance wise it makes sense for Gray and Juvia to get together.

I've always found the conspiracy theories about fans pressuring Hiro into doing something against his will to be a bit cringeworthy.

Hiro probably doesn't even understand English well enough to even be bothered reading into all the twitter messages. If Hiro made changes to the plans of where he wanted to take certain characters, it's probably because he realized how close he's portrayed them up to that point and figured its a good way to evolve their relationship. I doubt he was pressured into doing anything he really didn't want to. Even if the fans influenced him, it would likely be in response to positive feedback as opposed to hate-mail. Also, the fans he listens to would likely be writing to him in Japanese. In fact, it's far more likely for him to be influenced by his editor wanting to appeal to their Japanese WSM viewership than it is for him to personally read a twitter comment and make decisions off that. After all, that's where the money comes from.

 

[Nemispelled]

I've always found the conspiracy theories about fans pressuring Hiro into doing something against his will to be a bit cringeworthy.

Hiro probably doesn't even understand English well enough to even be bothered reading into all the twitter messages. If Hiro made changes to the plans of where he wanted to take certain characters, it's probably because he realized how close he's portrayed them up to that point and figured its a good way to evolve their relationship. I doubt he was pressured into doing anything he really didn't want to. Even if the fans influenced him, it would likely be in response to positive feedback as opposed to hate-mail. Also, the fans he listens to would likely be writing to him in Japanese. In fact, it's far more likely for him to be influenced by his editor wanting to appeal to their Japanese WSM viewership than it is for him to personally read a twitter comment and make decisions off that. After all, that's where the money comes from.

Words aren't the only form of communication online.

Mashima will get the message if I post 300+ Gruvia pics tomorrow while speaking entirely in alien language on his Twitter.


And Mashima knows what "Gray", "Juvia", and "Gruvia" are by now. I just need to spam those words 500+ times.


Then, whenever Mashima draws Gray with anybody else other than Juvia, I'll just post these:




That's why stuff like emojis exist... you don't need translations for those because visuals are pretty much universal languages.

C'mon, we've all used the internet before, it isn't hard to nag Mashima if you want to.

 

[thatsvicchan]

Mashima himself stated that Gray and Juvia had a boom inside him, so of course he personally feels the pairing and develops it. The only reason Juvia was introduced almost 500 chapters ago is to be Gray's partner. If you do not understand a simple thing like this then you basically aren't used to get mangas right. Period.

PS. This is getting annoying and all the blind hate in this thread needs to stop. Juvia and "nakama" cannot even be in the same sentence lmao chapter 499 was a well snap to your faces. . now let's move on, because your blind hate towards a canon ship won't make it less canon or destroy it.
Even for a fan it's tiresome talking about the same thing for almost 3 pages.


So... How cute and especially in character were the last Mashima arts? I am so glad Jerza was there since it seems a forgotten ship and that's really a pity.

 

[Doughboy]

Nali is as non-existent as Natza. Natza is purely platonic and sisterly love. while Nali is like.... nothing. lmao

It's crazy but Natza has a better chance of being canon than Nali. It just shows you how far Lisanna fell out of the main story. She real life hasn't been relevant in 6 years. Nali is more romantic though, Erza and Natsu I liked the thought of it and thought it had a chance until the Kain fight, I liked their moments together but the brother-sister bond I like better w/ funny fanservice moments. Same as Gray x Erza.

Also it's nonsense to say Hiro gets swayed by his fans on ships. He literally just said in the omake volume special that he knows what Gray's endgame is and won't change it while saying Natsu and Lucy are "more than friends, less than lovers" right now. Nothing changed to me, it's just when you're writing a story things are suppose to progress, cause that's what happens in real life. Again, Nalu has the highest chance of staying friends/not being canon but who really knows but Hiro.

 

[Dorsher]

It's crazy but Natza has a better chance of being canon than Nali. It just shows you how far Lisanna fell out of the main story. She real life hasn't been relevant in 6 years. Nali is more romantic though, Erza and Natsu I liked the thought of it and thought it had a chance until the Kain fight, I liked their moments together but the brother-sister bond I like better w/ funny fanservice moments. Same as Gray x Erza.

Also it's nonsense to say Hiro gets swayed by his fans on ships. He literally just said in the the omake volume special that he knows what Gray's endgame is and won't change it while he Natsu and Lucy are "more than friends, less than lovers" right now. Nothing changed to me, it's just when you're writing a story things are suppose to progress, cause that's what happens in real life. Again, Nalu has the highest chance of staying friends/not being canon but who really knows but Hiro.

NALI ROMANTIC? BITCH WHERE?

EVEN CARLA AND HAPPY ARE MORE ROMANTIC THAN THAT GHOST SUNKEN SHIP.

Nalu is quite a hard thing to do in Mashima's case because of their personalities. They're quitr dense in a sense. But the foundation of their relationship is what will make them worth it in the end. NALU FOR LIFE.

 

[GamerSkull]

NALI ROMANTIC? BITCH WHERE?

EVEN CARLA AND HAPPY ARE MORE ROMANTIC THAN THAT GHOST SUNKEN SHIP.

Nalu is quite a hard thing to do in Mashima's case because of their personalities. They're quitr dense in a sense. But the foundation of their relationship is what will make them worth it in the end. NALU FOR LIFE.

Whoa, take it easy. I like NaLu too but don't get so overly defensive about it.

I think NaLu is more of a slow one because both sides are more naive than the people in other pairings. It's either gonna be endgame or they'll both be single because if either person would start dating someone else, that relationship that they had would deteriorate and they wouldn't be as close as they were, which is something I cannot see happening so things should work out for the best.

--- Double Post Merged, Nov 21, 2016, Original Post Date: Nov 21, 2016 ---

As for NaLi, I felt like it died the moment Lisanna passed the torch to Lucy in the Tenrou arc and told her to stay by Natsu's side. They shared a brief moment during the Tartaros arc but it was still far more platonic there than romantic.

Natza was an interesting crack ship but Erza is more of an elder sister to him (especially with what she told him and Gray in Ch. 507).

They washed each other's backs in Ch. 355 though.

But you know what I ship? Natsu x Minerva! Best ship ever!............. lol jk
I want to see Brandish screw with Lucy by pretending to like Natsu... that'd be entertaining. (Bratsu!)
ok I'll stop now.

 

[Doughboy]

NALI ROMANTIC? BITCH WHERE?

Naw I was saying Nali is more romantic than Natza lol my bad if I didn't make it clear enough. But yeah Nali sunk basically when Lisanna told Lucy to stay by Natsu, I mean flat out RIP. Lisanna has only really triggered Mira fans in the recent years, which sucks cause Mira is a great character.

 

[darkenedreality]

I've edited my post to be more clear. There's things Gray has done for Juvia that are exclusive to only her, including sacrificing his life, crying into her chest, holding hands, and living together. Normal friends (male and female) do not do these things, especially in Japan. Likewise, Juvia has done things for Gray that no one else has or could. You can say that Gray would save any other person in Fairy Tail, but Hiro (only) uses Juvia constantly and for a reason. We don't have to question if he will do this and that for her, as the answer is undoubtably yes.

You're right, there is a difference between romance and friendship. It's ironic you can't see Gray and Juvia's relationship is NOT friendship.

Gruvia started as enemies, then became nakama, and finally love interests. Romance has to start somewhere, so of course he saved her when she was a guild mate. Moreover, Hiro outright confirmed the bond romantic on the post card from the 10th anniversary exhibit which reads 'autumn romance' for Gray and Juvia. Gray barely interacts with other females, and if he does it's no where near the level of Juvia. I've already explained why Gruvia isn't forced, and how it wasn't always one sided. Despite supporting myself with the manga, you will see what you want to see and be very disappointed in the end. Continue shipping your crack pairings.

How are the things you listed exclusively to Juvia?

He would sacrifice his life for any of his other female guildmates... you think he would be like "Nah, go ahead and die."?

He was ready to sacrifice his life several times for Erza. He put himself in harm's way during ToH just to save Erza. Hell, he was ready to sacrifice his life on Galuna Island, when he was going to cast Iced Shell on Lyon and Deliora.

This isn't about Juvia, Gray is not that selfish. He would sacrifice his life for any of his friends.

Holding hands was only for the Unison Raid. Gray has never shown to outright hold Juvia's hand at random times. That's what couples do, and clearly Gray isn't feeling that.

Crying into her chest happened at the end of Tartaros Arc (again, I admit this is around the time when the ship was finally forced).

Living together was all Juvia's fault.... You really can't say that is Gray's way of reciprocating the love because Juvia clearly stalked and followed him there. There wasn't really anything Gray could do except say "Get lost"... but again, he doesn't do that to his nakamas.

Gray even got out of bed when Juvia went too far and climbed in with him.


Up until end of Tartaros, Gray never really did anything to Juvia out of the ordinary that he would do to any of the other female guild members.

Eventually during the series, Gray did return some affection because Juvia's character was beginning to hit rock bottom, so Gray had to do it to save her from a one-sided obsession. That's how the ship was forced.

Did I ever say I was going to stop?...

How are they exclusive to only Juvia you ask? Perhaps we should define "exclusive" since you apparently don't know what it means.

ex·clu·sive
ikˈsklo͞osiv/
adjective
restricted or limited to the person, group, or area concerned.

Everything I listed Gray has only done with Juvia.

As I said, you can "say" Gray would sacrifice his life for any of his friends. But has he? Nope. Hiro has only shown Gray dying for Juvia. We don't need to question if he would throw his life away for her, unlike the rest. The iced shell attempts you mention were not explicitly for anyone, but rather to defeat the enemy. His friends are the ones who actually stopped Gray from completing iced shell in both instances, but he never hesitated in sacrificing his life for Juvia. Willing to sacrifice and ACTUALLY doing it are completely different things.

Gray is the one who initiated holding hands by putting his hand on Juvia's shoulder during the unison raid. Did you forget during the Tartaros arc where he held her hand of his own will and told her he's here with her? Guess so. That's a very intimate thing for Gray. Like I said, he only holds hands with Juvia, something a couple would do in Japan.

You're taking the comedic aspect too seriously. If Gray truly didn't want Juvia living with him, she wouldn't be there. You are literally repeating the same arguments over and over again that I have already countered. You're saying nothing new.

No, Gray fell in love with Juvia on his own. She did not force him into anything and does not expect anything. All major Gruvia moments are initiated by Gray, as far back as Edolas and Tenroujima. You cannot say a ship is forced when it's been developing throughout the entire series, and yes, romantically.

I think it's hilarious you're trying so hard to downplay Gray and Juvia's moments because you don't like them. Lol. The excuses make you look desperate.

 

[Nemispelled]

How are they exclusive to only Juvia you ask? Perhaps we should define "exclusive" since you apparently don't know what it means.

ex·clu·sive
ikˈsklo͞osiv/
adjective
restricted or limited to the person, group, or area concerned.

Alright, let's keep that definition in mind while reading the rest of my post.

Everything I listed Gray has only done with Juvia.

Yeah, and half the things you listed are Nakama/Friendship actions. They, in no way, imply anything about Gray and Juvia being a couple.

Gray has shown affection for several other females as well, Juvia isn't the only one you know.

I don't mind if you take pride in Gruvia as a ship, but please don't just ignore every other relationship and moment that Gray has had with other females.

That's where the shipper urge takes over, and that's going too far because you are denying facts.

As I said, you can "say" Gray would sacrifice his life for any of his friends. But has he? Nope. Hiro has only shown Gray dying for Juvia. We don't need to question if he would throw his life away for her, unlike the rest. The iced shell attempts you mention were not explicitly for anyone, but rather to defeat the enemy. His friends are the ones who actually stopped Gray from completing iced shell in both instances, but he never hesitated in sacrificing his life for Juvia. Willing to sacrifice and ACTUALLY doing it are completely different things.

Why is Iced Shell not explicitly for somebody? Gray did it to save his friends (Natsu, Happy, and Lucy) because at that moment, he didn't know that Deliora was already weakened.

He also did it for his master, Ur. Why are you ignoring this?

Not everything that Gray does for somebody is considered "Romance".... again, leave Juvia out of this for a second...

Gray is willing to sacrifice for his friends.

That is my entire point... just because Gray sacrifices his life to avenge Ur, does that mean he has some sexual desire for Ur?

How about avenging everybody in his hometown? Does he want romance with everybody in his village?


Sacrificing yourself for somebody is not worthy of "shipping-material".

Why?

Because friends do that for each other too... not just couples.


Couples sleep together at night in the same bed.

And as far as I'm concerned, Gray hasn't done that with Juvia yet.

Gray is the one who initiated holding hands by putting his hand on Juvia's shoulder during the unison raid. Did you forget during the Tartaros arc where he held her hand of his own will and told her he's here with her? Guess so. That's a very intimate thing for Gray. Like I said, he only holds hands with Juvia, something a couple would do in Japan.

Gray put his hand on her shoulders for the Unison Raid.

It was to let her know that he was willing to perform a Unison Raid to defeat Lyon and Chelia. It was to get her attention and express his intention for teamwork..


If putting your hand on somebody's shoulder is considered "Romance", Gray would have already been shipped with Natsu and Erza a long time ago.

Not only did he have "hugging" contact with both Natsu (Galuna Arc) and Erza (Phantom Lord Arc), but he bathed with them naked and washed their backs..

C'mon, this is getting absurd really. Not every touch or contact that Gray has with Juvia is canon shipping material.

That's what the Gruvia shippers want to see...

You're taking the comedic aspect too seriously. If Gray truly didn't want Juvia living with him, she wouldn't be there. You are literally repeating the same arguments over and over again that I have already countered. You're saying nothing new.

I'm repeating myself as much as you are repeating yourself.

No, Gray fell in love with Juvia on his own. She did not force him into anything and does not expect anything. All major Gruvia moments are initiated by Gray, as far back as Edolas and Tenroujima. You cannot say a ship is forced when it's been developing throughout the entire series, and yes, romantically.

It was forced in my opinion.

I think it's hilarious you're trying so hard to downplay Gray and Juvia's moments because you don't like them. Lol. The excuses make you look desperate.

What should I be desperate about?

I already said I'll admit it if that's what the fans and Mashima wants...

But don't expect me to ship Gruvia nor like that ship... in fact, I have my right to dislike/hate it.

 

[darkenedreality]

Yeah, and half the things you listed are Nakama/Friendship actions. They, in no way, imply anything about Gray and Juvia being a couple.

That's it, I can no longer take you seriously. It's a hopeless cause... Everything I've written has flown over your head as you let your bias blind your view of the canon that's present in the manga. Like thatsvicchan said, Juvia and nakama can't be even be used in a sentence together when it comes to Gray, yet you continue to downplay many of Gray's romantic actions towards her because you just don't like it. I'm just laughing at this point, so here, enjoy the latest official twitter art from Hiro:

The only girl that he has romantic development with that's been evolving over time and the girl that he has the strongest bond with. <3