Bakel

"That scarf of yours. Me like." — Bakel to Natsu Dragneel in "Order"

Bakel
Japanese	バクル
Rōmaji	Bakuru
Characteristics
Race	Human
Gender	Male
Hair Color	Maroon
Professional Status
Affiliation	Alvarez Empire
Occupation	Mage Soldier
Previous Team	Ajeel Squad
Previous Partner(s)	Kareem
Personal Status
Status	Active
Debuts
Manga Debut	Chapter 455
Anime Debut	Episode 291
Portrayal
Japanese Voice	Tarō Kiuchi
English Voice	Dave Woodard

Bakel (バクル Bakuru) was a soldier within the Ajeel Squad of the Alvarez Empire Imperial Army. He was the captain of one of the ships under Ajeel Raml's command during the assault of Magnolia.

Appearance

Bakel is a tall, dark skin muscular man with dark messy hair and distinctive scarring on his right cheek and markings surrounding his mouth. He wears a striped scarf around his face to hide his eyes and ears from view. Furthermore he wears a second scarf around his neck, foregoing a shirt he simply wears dark arm warmers with attached light gloves. Upon his chest is a tattoo of an eye similar in nature to the ones that mark his pant knees. His pants are dark in color and held up by a sash in the same striped pattern as the scarf that hides his eyes. Dangling from the scarf around his neck are four straps with metal rings hooped at the end of them.

Personality

Bakel is shown to be a laid back individual in that he has little problem giving orders to his subordinates regardless of whether they; are capable of carrying out the task or not, or in a position to be given detailed instructions. This was shown when he was asked by a subordinate how they were supposed to breach the Jutsu Shiki barrier of Freed Justine; he simply shrugged the question off with little more than a hearty laugh. During combat he is also shown to be completely laid back, commenting to Natsu Dragneel that he liked the scarf he was wearing.

Synopsis

Alvarez Empire arc

Bakel in battle with Natsu

Bakel is supposedly the commander of a unit within the fleet which Ajeel Raml leads to attack Magnolia. As their airship safely lands on the west cliffs, at the outskirts of the town, Bakel orders his troops to charge towards it, jokingly shrugging off the question of how to breach Freed Justine's Jutsu Shiki barrier. Before they can advance however, they are confronted by the Flying Dragon Squad, with the three Dragon Slayers pummeling down the hordes of soldiers. As Natsu utilizes his Fire Dragon's Claw, sending a large number of soldiers flying, it moves at high speeds towards Bakel who merely deflects it back at the mentioned Dragon Slayer. Bakel and Natsu then goes on to clash, with Natsu pushing the Alvarez captain back mustering another explosive punch. Seemingly unaffected however, Bakel smiles at Natsu, sarcastically praising him for his strength.

Bakel is later seen lying on the ground bruised and battered. However, as Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy see more airships approaching, Bakel gets back up and tries to crush Natsu into the ground. Natsu remains unfazed from the attack and strikes back with a powerful uppercut that sends Bakel flying high into the air and crashing through the airship that Ajeel and Erza are fighting on.

Magic & Abilities

Immense Strength: Bakel has been shown to possess incredible brute strength during the battle for Magnolia. He is capable of unbalancing an opponent like Natsu Dragneel with air pressure alone caused by a sweep of his arms, deflecting a high-paced attack in the process. His subordinates within the Ajeel Squad have also noted that his prowess lie solely within his physical strength.

Trivia

• Bakel was originally written in Japanese as Bakeru (バケル), which is a Japanese word meaning "to change shape." It most commonly refers to supernatural shape-shifters who haunt, deceive, or cause trouble in the human world.

Quotes

• (To Natsu Dragneel): "That scarf of yours. Me like."