Joel Goldschmidt VI

Joel Goldschmidt VI (Joel Goldschmidt the Sixth) is the current head of Red Shield and a descendant of the original Joel who found Saya and Diva.

Background
Following the tragedy at The Zoo, every man in his family who bears the name Joel must live and fight against the chiropteran throughout their life until they are no longer a threat to rectify the actions of the very first Joel. His "diary", once owned by his ancestor has been passed down in the family for generations and contains a record of all of the Red Shield's activities since its formation as well as all known information on Saya, Diva, the chevaliers and the chiropterans. Joel became the head of the Red Shield in 2002 after his father the fifth Joel passed away. Joel primarily works in the background, trusting his operatives to handle the day-to-day work while he supports them.

Appearance
Joel appears to be a man in his mid-late twenties, and like the Goldsmiths, is of French origin. He has short, brown hair, dark blue eyes, and fair skin. For much of the series, he is seen sporting a navy blue suit with a pinstripe button-down and red tie. Despite his heritage and his position as head of Red Shield, he is mostly shown with a smiling face, displaying his kind-hearted and generous nature.

Personality
Joel has a cheerful personality. When Saya and David asked Joel whether did he regret succeed the name Joel, Joel remains positive and look towards the brighter side. Unlike in the anime, Joel is shown to have a more serious personality in the manga.

David
David and Joel appears to have a close relationship in Red Shield. In the manga, David is shown to be protective towards Joel. When Joel is bound to a wheelchair, David is burden by guilt for not being able to protect him from being hit by Karl's projectile.

Kai
In the anime, Kai and Joel talks briefly when Kai is pushing Joel out of Glay's house so that Lewis could sent him back. Kai doesn't show any hatred towards Joel for Riku's death. And express that he will keep on fighting until Saya returns and states that he will not let anyone becomes a victim for the chiropterans. Kai's words reminded Joel about his duty as the head of Red Shield.

Aston Collins
Collins joins the Red Shield through Joel's father recommendation. In the manga, Joel is displeased when Collins sees Riku as nothing but a sample for his research.

Riku
In the anime, after Riku transformation, Joel give Riku some of his old clothes.

Becoming the head of Red Shield
After Joel's father passed away, Joel the sixth took over the duties of the Red Shield left by his father.

After the destruction of Red Shield HQ
When Diva and Karl attack the Red Shield HQ, Joel was wounded after being hit by Karl projectile at his spine and was left paralyzed from waist down. A year later, Joel visit Lewis and Kai at Glay's house and bring Kai some ammo to fight against the chiropteran.

Reforming back Red Shield
After David recovers emotionally from the destruction of the headquarters, Joel told David that he wants to reform back Red Shield to support those who are willing to fight against the chiropteran.

After the Feud Ends
A month later after Red Shield have eliminated all the chiropteran around the world caused by delta 67, Joel come to Okinawa with Lewis and the others and attend the welcome party at the OMORO before Saya went to her 30 years hibernation.

Manga Plot
Much like the anime, Joel plays a similar role in the manga. Not too long after being first introduced, he visits the unconscious and converted Riku with Kai. However, when Kai notices Joel's arrival after a brief exchange between them, he attacks and threatens the older man with a shard of broken glass. Lewis rushes to Julia and David, urging them to help Joel. When they arrive, Kai orders them to stay back otherwise he'll slice Joel's throat and demands to know the truth about Saya. Immediately, Joel reveals a pen drive and asks if that was what Kai was looking for and and tells him it contained everything about Red Shield, Saya, and the Chiropterans. Explaining that it was "Joel's Diary, he takes Kai along with Julia, David, and Lewis to another part of the Red Shield HQ ship.

On the way, Joel warns him of how disclosing the contents of the diary to a civilian would be bad for his position as head of Red Shield and worries he will be judged by his operatives. He further states that by Kai helping himself to this information, he is invading Saya's privacy as she wished to never reveal her past and wonders if the young man will take responsibility for his actions. Kai says he will and Joel inserts the drive into a computer where a flashback of The Zoo follows after.

Once Kai has finally taken in everything, Joel tells Kai of Saya's wish to kill herself after she's taken Diva's life and those of every Chiropteran. When the ship was ambushed by Diva and her Chevaliers, Joel appeared in a helicopter, urging everyone to evacuate. Kai protests, saying that he won't leave Riku behind to which Joel admits that he was kidnapped by Solomon, and Julia was horribly injured while trying to check up on him. Following the aftermath of the destruction of Red Shield, Joel has taken refuge in New York with the other operatives, including Kai where they discuss Saya and her crucial role to eliminating all Chiropterans. Kai, despite feeling that Red Shield's motives were wrong, he agrees that they all want the same goals, though Joel confesses that without her, Red Shield is meaningless. At the end of the manga, he is shown at the celebration that was held at Omoro for Saya's return to Okinawa.

Trivia

 * The name Joel comes from one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, and can be translated from Hebrew to "Jehovah is God".
 * Joel's appearance bears a strong resemblance to the first Joel during his younger days. In the manga, the Joel living in 1972 from the Vietnam flashback looks no different than the current Joel.
 * In the manga, Joel address Kai and Riku with honorifics.