Garfiel Tinzel (ガーフィール・ティンゼル) is Frederica Baumann's younger half-brother, the former guardian of the Sanctuary, and the current military officer of the Emilia Camp. Introduced as a secondary antagonist during the first half of Arc 4, he later became one of the main supporting characters of Re:Zero, with major roles in the second half of Arc 4, Arc 5, Arc 7, Arc 8, and Arc 9.
He harbored an immense fear of the outside world following a family tragedy. However, with Subaru's help, he overcame his past trauma, and after overcoming the incidents at the Sanctuary and Roswaal Manor, he joined the Emilia Camp. Since being exposed to the outside world, he has faced many situations where he was powerless, yet he still remains determined to protect those close to him.
Contents
Appearance
Garfiel is a young and relatively short boy with short gold hair and deep and sharp emerald-colored eyes. He originally kept his hair spiky and long but began to have a significantly neater haircut after the events of Arc 4. Due to his demi-human blood, he has sharp feline like fangs, similar to Frederica's. In fact, both Frederica and Garfiel share a similar face with perhaps the main difference being the large white scar stretching across the entirety of Garfiel's forehead, which he inflicted upon himself when, after experiencing the First Trial and seeing his mother's "death", he fell into a state of panic and repeatedly bashed his head against the walls of the Tomb, leaving him with a permanent X-shaped white scar.
Due to his vigorous training and his demi-human blood, Garfiel is extremely strong and possesses a rather well built and muscular physique. He can usually be seen wearing long black pants and a torn-up loincloth that is heliotrope-purple on the outside and red-violet on the inside and a short black vest with fuchsia accents. To match his color palette, Garfiel can also be seen wearing black long-sleeved gloves with fuchsia in them. A blue glintstone can also be seen dangling around his neck.
Personality
Garfiel is an extremely protective and diligent young man with some chuunibyou tendencies, such as often being impressed with Subaru's naming sense. He's even shown to be rather protective of women and children, as pointed out by Meili Portroute, and he has a sense for a person's romance, which is part of the reason that, despite not seeing eye to eye with Subaru at the time, he did not interrupt his conversation with Emilia in Arc 4. He cares for his allies, friends, and family, and he will become extremely hostile when those people are threatened. It is precisely because of this that, in his youth, he trained using the regimen detailed in a book detailing Reid Astrea's exercises, and he even went out of his way to learn healing magic in order to heal everyone around him. Because of his strong sense of duty, responsibility, and the need to protect those around him, Garfiel has set his sights and being among the strongest people around, as he does not want to lose anyone. However, he has a tendency to beat himself up over failing to live up to expectations he was given, and in these times, he feels powerless and becomes somewhat self-deprecating, which in turn results in him becoming depressed. Despite this, he usually finds a way to overcome those internal conflicts, usually becoming all the stronger and fiercer for it.
Garfiel has shown to have a crush on Ram, and that is part of his motivation for becoming stronger, often doing what he can to look good in front of her, usually to no avail. Regardless, because of this and the circumstances of his environment when he was younger, he read many stories, leading him to garnering a habit of speaking in idioms from these stories. Though initially, he started speaking with them to impress Ram, those idioms became one of Garfiel's signifying traits, and he can regularly be heard making comparisons to real life via these idioms. Likewise, these stories also ignited his great degree of respect for warriors, something he displayed in his confrontations with both Kurgan and Kafma Irulux. Because of this, he can’t stand when others mock these warriors for a loss, as seen when he defended Kafma from Olbart’s mocking and stood to protect him. Similarly, he greatly respects Dragons. In Arc 7, he expressed his disappointment at not being able to meet with the Dragons that Emilia had, but later, when he got to meet (as enemies) the Cloud Dragon Mezoreia, he immediately recognized its strength and was even honored to do battle with it. This respect was even greater for the Divine Dragon Volcanica, who he immediately recognized as beyond even the Cloud Dragon.
In his youth, Garfiel had a complex over his mother. Though he initially believed that she had abandoned him and his sister, he wanted to believe that she did so so that she could have a better life, something which led to Garfiel becoming protective and looking down on himself, and as a way to remember his mother, he started using her surname Tinzel, unlike Frederica. After witnessing her supposed death in the first trial of the Sanctuary, Garfiel was in denial, and in his distraught and panicked state, he permanently scarred his head. Following this, he considered himself the shield of the Sanctuary, and in order to protect the Sanctuary's residents, he did not want the barrier to be taken down out of his need to protect everyone, coming to believe that the outside world was a harsh and dangerous place.
During the events of Arc 4, Garfiel was forced to confront this side of himself after his confrontation with Subaru and the other members of the Emilia Camp. Despite his rage, trauma, and refusal to allow the destruction of the Sanctuary's barrier, after his defeat, he was convinced to face his past through the first trial again, in which he finally overcame his trauma. Following this, he began calling Subaru his Captain and began teasing him, seeing him, and Otto Suwen before him, a warrior worthy of respect, and he showed willingness to fight alongside him and the rest of the camp. Despite still maintaining a slightly aggressive side to him, he started becoming friendly with everyone in the camp, teasing Subaru and Otto and treating them like brothers, and following Emilia, wanting to help her bring about the Kingdom that she envisions. He even came to rely on Subaru quite a lot, as when Mimi Pearlbaton was injured and he was unable to heal her, his first thought was to find Subaru, as he believed he might be able to do something that he couldn't. And because of how Subaru saved him in the Sanctuary, Garfiel was inspired to do the same for others in a similar manner if he saw that they were suffering. For example, when he could see the anger, sadness, and suffering of Madelyn Eschart through Mezoreia, he resolved to defeat her so that he could speak to her and save her heart.
That said, following his fight with Elsa Granhiert at the end of Arc 4, Garfiel was left somewhat traumatized by the weight of his first kill, and he was temporarily haunted by a black phantom of the Bowel Hunter, who appeared at the edge of his vision every time Garfiel's psyche dropped significantly. Furthermore, following his encounter with the world's strongest person, Reinhard van Astrea, and humiliatingly being forced to flee from the inn before he could even exchange words with the Sword Saint, Garfiel could observe Elsa's phantom looking at him from around every corner, keeping her distance and smiling at him. Despite the eeriness of the situation, the phantom was not real, as Garfiel stated he couldn't smell her scent, and the narration later explained how Elsa's phantom was simply a manifestation of Garfiel's weakness and regrets. Fortunately, thanks to reuniting with his amnesiac mother and meeting his younger brother and sister, some words from Mimi, feeling the effects of Subaru's speech, and witnessing how many people were cheering for him to win during his fight with the undead Eight Arms, Garfiel managed to overcome this, and in doing so, it allowed him to grow to greater heights and become braver.
History
Garfiel was born around fourteen years prior to the start of the story to a father who was a half-beast human and a human mother, therefore, being brought to this world as a Quarter-Beast Human. Eventually, after wandering about, he and Frederica, along with their mother Reala (Reshia), were picked up by Roswaal and given a home in the Sanctuary. Reshia had left her children in Sanctuary to bring back her missing husband.
Garfiel and Frederica lived together until she left when he was around 4 years old and he hadn't seen her since. Growing up with the Ryuzu clones who took care of him like their grandchild, he came to love the people of the Sanctuary. However, after seeing his mother's "death" during the first trial when he was young, he began to fear the outside world, causing him to try and protect the Sanctuary.
At some point, his sister eventually left the Sanctuary as well to find a home for their people for when they brought down the barrier, leaving Garfiel to live with the Ryuzus.
Golden Siblings
Sometime after Subaru’s knighting ceremony, Frederica and Garfiel, who were on an outing in Costuul, discovered a man named Hayden Garo who could manipulate the city's magicreation tools and reported the incident to Costuul’s mayor. With Hayden causing City Hall’s collapse by sending a giant magicreation tool haywire and kidnapping Frederica after she and her brother rescued everyone from the collapsing building, Garfiel and Clind ventured to retrieve her and put the incident to rest while Subaru, Emilia, and Beatrice took care of the haywire Lightbugs in Costuul. Garfiel successfully defeated Hayden, however, he managed to escape before being captured.
Priestella Reconstruction Journal
Following the Battle for Priestella, Garfiel remained behind in the city in order to help in both the healing and reconstruction efforts. During his time here, he was tasked with retrieving the remains of the Witch that was within the catacombs beneath Priestella alongside Ricardo Welkin, Ezzo Cadner, and Liliana Masquerade. Beneath the city, he discovered some ancient texts written on the walls within, which he noticed was the same as Subaru’s home writing. Afterward, after handling the trial before the remains with the assistance of Otto Suwen, they succeeded in retrieving the remains.
Stand by me Pleiades and Missing Child Search
Following the disappearance of Subaru and Rem from the Pleiades Watchtower, the camp members came to retrieve Garfiel and Otto from Priestella with Clind’s assistance. Soon after, the group found themselves in Picoutatte, which they needed to pass through to reach Vollachia. With Otto making peace with Diadora Regundra, they made their way through the Everlasting Darkness with the guidance of the mole humans. However, their travels were interrupted due to Musica wishing to meet with Emilia. After negotiating Petra Leyte, the group was allowed to continue, and they entered Vollachia.
Abilities
Divine Protection (加護 Kago): Garfiel has the Divine Protection of Earth Spirits (地霊の加護, Chirei no Kago). As long as he has his feet on the ground, Garfiel can freely manipulate the sediment under him, manipulating the earth's shape at will. He can cause the earth to cave in with a single step, reduce the effects of Earth Magic, and accelerate the recovery of wounds and stamina. During his fight with Ram and Otto in Arc 4, he used it to create a barrier from ground underneath him to protect himself from Ram's magic. It should also be noted that Garfiel’s view of the ground is anywhere he can plant his feet, and as such, his Divine Protection will work while standing on said “ground”. Apparently, there is also a backlash that would force any human who has the Divine Protection to remove their feet from the ground for a time. However, due to his physique as a demi-human, Garfiel does not feel the backlash, and he can use it continuously. According to Clind, the effect of this Divine Protection is reduced in the miasma-laden Augria Sand Dunes.
Beastification (獣化, Kemonoka): Garfiel can transform himself into a towering, 4-meter-long golden tiger with massive and thick limbs, as well as razor-sharp fangs and claws, which can easily rip a man or even a fully grown earth dragon in two with a single swipe. Naturally, Garfiel's physical strength in his tiger form increases exponentially, although his speed suffers a reduction due to his size increase. When in this form, he can easily deal devastating attacks and decimate entire areas, but with a cost of losing his reason, making him avoid it if possible. He uses this ability when he is pushed to the limit or facing an overwhelming foe, as seen in Arc 5 when he fought the War God. Garfiel is also capable of partial transformation, and he has shown a habit of often transforming only his arms to increase his strength or catch his enemies off guard.
Melee Fighter: Garfiel has a very wild combat-style, which relies on instinct and his superior physique rather than finesse to perform maneuvers only he can do. In addition to his natural strength, Garfiel is able to hone his skills in melee combat over the years despite his isolated upbringing. It was revealed that the secret behind Garfiel's strength is an old book about Reid Astrea. In that book, an unknown person described Reid's training in detail. Garfiel took the training regime to heart and spent his entire childhood training like Reid. Interestingly enough, the training primarily consists of hand-to-hand combat, without any weapons whatsoever. He spent years replicating the training that Astrea put himself through, honing himself into a skilled unarmed combatant whose savage fighting style revolves primarily around instinct and is therefore difficult to analyse. He also made use of the enhanced physiology provided by his blood to his advantage in battle, performing feats that his opponents wouldn't think possible. He frequently partially-transforms into a tiger to deliver heavy hits so as catch people off guard. Due to his wild combat style, Garfiel is frequently seen avoiding certain death in the most unexpected ways possible. His training matched with his power makes him a combative prodigy who, by his early teens, was capable of dueling legendary fighters, such as the Bowel Hunter Elsa Granhiert and Eight-Arms Kurgan. His skill is further improved with guidance from Roswaal L. Mathers, causing someone as dangerous as Olbart Dunkelkenn to take him seriously.
Magic (魔法, Mahō): Garfiel has some decent skill in water magic, though he never uses it for offensive attacks.
- Healing Magic (治癒魔法, Chiyu Mahō): Garfiel summons water mana to heal the wounds of himself and others. Garfiel is quite experienced with healing magic, having been given many chances since joining the Emilia Camp to use it, and his contributions with this magic allowed him to save numerous lives alongside the Blue during following the events in Priestella. As for himself, when combined with his Divine Protection, he can boost his own regenerative capabilities several times over, allowing him to continue fighting.
Demi-Human Physique: Garfiel demonstrates a variety of enhanced physique and physiology due to his demi-human blood.
- Inhuman Physicality: Garfiel is extremely strong. In his normal human form, the physical power displayed by Garfiel far exceed that of an ordinary person. Not only was he unscathed by a bite received from an earth dragon, but he was able to effortlessly perform a suplex on said dragon despite its frame being comparable to a horse's. He's fully capable of stopping a Rock Pig's destructive attack and even lift it up, despite it weighting multiple tons, as well as punching down fully grown trees without much effort. He can also move at speeds greater than an average human, outmaneuvering most foes and easily jumping over trees and multi-story buildings. By the time of Arc 8, he is even capable of causing significant damage to a Dragon as powerful as Mezoreia, and even toss it backwards by the end of its tail.
- Inhuman Durability: Garfiel is incredibly physically tough, a fact that is often combined with the healing aspect of his Divine Protection. He has taken beatings from incredibly powerful fighters such as the Bowel Hunter, the Eight Arms, the Fighting Insect General, the Vicious Old Man, and even the Cloud Dragon, and he has managed to not only stay alive, but he even healed and fought back despite the pain. He was even able to survive igniting himself with fire magic stones during his bout with Kafma, as well as survive and indirect blast from the Divine Dragon's Dragon breath.
- Enhanced Sense of Smell: The potency of his sense of smell is also far greater than a regular human's. He can distinguish the scents of separate individuals from a considerable distance.
Ability to Discern Combat Potential: Due to his inhuman senses, Garfiel developed and honed the ability to read and discern other people's combat abilities and potential, which allows him to somewhat understand who he's going up against, as well as hastily decide how dangerous his foes are. He does so by observing the way people stand, walk, talk, and all-around act. Due to this ability, Garfiel immediately attacked Reinhard with all his might, as soon as he met him–naturally, the strongest attack he could muster was easily countered by the Sword Saint with just one hand. Likewise, he could feel the tremendous difference between beings such as the Cloud Dragon and Divine Dragon. It should be worth mentioning, however, that Garfiel cannot read what abilities a person possesses. Early in Arc 5, Garfiel correctly discerned that the white haired man was an amateur when it came to martial arts. However, he had no idea that the man he considered to not be dangerous had single handedly destroyed a heavily fortified Vollachian city more than a decade prior.
Apostle of Greed (強欲の使徒): Garfiel, after attempting the Trial of the Sanctuary, acquired the mark of the Witch of Greed Echidna, which indicates him as an Apostle of Greed. Because of this title, Garfiel has the ability to command the many clones of Ryuzu Meyer created by Echidna, essentially affording him with a small army should the need arise. The clones follow his orders unquestionably, as they are compelled to do so.
Equipment:
- Twin Shields: Garfiel uses two shields in combat. He's very skilled with them, using them for both offense and defense as they're sturdy enough to withstand devastating blows that would usually shatter his bones or cut off his arms, as well as deliver bone-shattering punches capable of subduing his opponents.
- Glintstone (輝石): When Garfiel was younger, he and his sister Frederica each received a glintstone from their mother, Reshia Tinzel.
- Fire Magic Stones: During his bout with Kafma, Garfiel had these stones on his person, which he used to ignite the insects that were infecting him as well as set his body ablaze.
Trivia
- According to the author, Garfiel's birthday is October 12.
- Garfiel originally learned healing magic as one of the ways to support the residents of the Sanctuary.
- According to Wilhelm, if Kurgan were to be at his full strength, Garfiel would have been promptly killed right away in Arc 5.
- Garfiel was originally meant to have a named chapter in Arc 7. However, with the arc being split, his named chapter was pushed back to a later arc.
- At a talk show with the author held on March 30, 2024, when someone asked who would make up the Nine Divine Generals of Lugunica if it existed, Garfiel was one of the names he listed.
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