Axel (アクセル,
Akuseru?), who utilizes a pair of
chakram, as well as
fire with the Assassin Nobodies under his control,
[4] appears in both
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and
Kingdom Hearts II. He is also referred to as "Flurry of Dancing Flames" (おどる火の風,
Odoru Hi no Kaze?). Axel can create walls of fire or throw his weapons. Nomura designed Axel on a similar concept as
Reno from
Final Fantasy VII. Nomura wanted to see what it would be like to have a similar character in a different world and role.
[5] Axel is voiced by
Keiji Fujiwara in
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and the Japanese version of
Kingdom Hearts II, while he is voiced by
Quinton Flynn in the English version of
Kingdom Hearts II.
[12][22]In
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Axel pretends to join
with Larxene and Marluxia in their plan to seize control of the
Organization. To gain their trust, he assassinates Vexen when ordered
by Marluxia.
[19][21]He later attempts to derail the plans by setting Naminé free so that
she can reveal to Sora the truth about how she manipulated his memory.
Eventually, Axel confronts Marluxia, prepared to destroy him. Marluxia
uses Naminé as a shield to keep Axel at bay, though Axel resolves to go
through her. When Sora makes a sudden appearance, Marluxia vanishes
with Naminé, leaving Sora to fight Axel. Sora defeats Axel, after which
he states the existence of their relation before vanishing. After
Marluxia is defeated by Sora, Axel enlists the aid of the
Riku Replica to get rid of Zexion in Castle Oblivion's basement levels.
In
Kingdom Hearts II, Axel attempts to rescue Roxas from DiZ's virtual Twilight Town. In
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mixit was shown that he received orders to bring back or kill Roxas.
Despite Axel's efforts, Roxas merges with Sora. Later, acting
separately from the Organization, Axel kidnaps Kairi to bait Sora to
him. However, Saïx takes her away so the Organization can use her to
fuel Sora's anger. During a visit to Twilight Town, Saïx warns Sora
that Axel desires to turn him into a Heartless. Axel appears after the
Heartless invasion of Hollow Bastion to Sora, and informs him that
Organization XIII has been using him to get hearts. He then apologizes
for getting Kairi involved. Axel later finds Sora in a pathway to the
World That Never Was and chooses to fight Nobodies with him. The
numbers get overwhelming and Axel performs a
suicide attack to save Sora. Fading away, Axel apologizes for kidnapping Kairi and asks Sora to rescue her.
[23]When asked what he was trying to do, Axel admits he wanted to see
Roxas, who made him feel like he had a heart, and Sora made him feel
the same way.
[24] With the last of his strength, Axel opens an entrance to the World That Never Was