Warning! This article contains spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.
"Because this isn't a war, Carmilla. It's a suicide. His wife's dead and he wants to join her. And he wants to take all of us with him. We're all gonna die! All of us!"
Godbrand (ゴッドブランド,Goddoburando?) is a character appearing in Netflix's Castlevania animated series. He was one of Dracula's generals; a viking vampire that loves hunting, killing, having sex and "turning humans into boats".[1] He was introduced in Season 2, where he played a prominent antagonistic role.
Godbrand is a viking vampire who serves as one of Dracula's generals. When Dracula called them to his castle to discuss his war with the human race, Godbrand was excited about the idea of finally "putting the screws" on the "livestock", but became displeased when Dracula announced that the effort would be overseen by his Devil Forgemasters, Hector and Isaac, wondering why Dracula favored humans over his fellow kind for the invasion. When the two humans were going to speak with Dracula, Godbrand complained about Dracula wanting to meet his own "kind", prompting the two to return remarks about his behavior. As they walked away, Godbrand called them bigots, claiming that it was what he was supposed to do as a viking.
Godbrand later informed Carmilla of the meeting, and later brought back one of Isaac's demons after it died arriving at Dracula's castle. He wondered why the Forgemaster was whipping himself and learned that he did so as a form of discipline. In a subsequent meeting about their forces, Godbrand believed that the Arges was lost, prompting Carmilla to state that they should have focused on Braila instead. Godbrand asked why, and she stated that they could cut off escape from Wallachia if they did so. Dracula believed that as a port city, they should be careful due to running water, prompting a conversation between him, the Forgemasters and Carmilla if water was dangerous to vampires.
Worried about his commander's plans, Godbrand later confronted Dracula and asked what would be done to compensate the vampires, as he did not want to feed off animal blood. Dracula simply stated that he and the others would be taken care of before intimidating him, calling him out on his attempt to look big despite being small. Later, he met with Carmilla and privately agreed that Dracula's war was actually a suicide mission.
While resting, Godbrand dreamt about killing humans, only to be massively disappointed when he woke and was given pig blood to consume. He later led his fellow generals into raiding a nearby human village and feasting on the inhabitants, prompting Dracula to suspect that the war council were plotting against him. Godbrand would later approach Isaac and attempted to convince him to abandon Dracula. As he turned his back, believing that Isaac would support him, Isaac instead attacked him, staking his dagger into Godbrand's chest and killing him.
Carmilla would later try to look for Godbrand, though she was surprised when her subordinates could not find him, knowing that he was too boisterous to remain hidden. Given her conversations with him, it is likely that Godbrand would have supported Carmilla's coup.
Appearance[]
Godbrand is a muscular vampire with red hair and pointy ears, a trait of his vampiric form. Although he wears some type of armor with gold trims, his upper chest and one of his shoulders are partially exposed.
Personality[]
"Little Godbrand. Little vampire. Little parasite. Little boat weevil who delights in making noise and pretending he is important and dangerous."
Godbrand is a big-mouthed viking who enjoys the pleasures of raiders. These pleasures include raiding human villages, killing, drinking blood, drinking beer, having sex, and making boats.
Godbrand imagines himself as a brutally strong warrior that others bow down to in respect of his might. In truth, he will brashly state his desires but will quickly bow down and become deferential when faced with power or authority. His weak nature is on display when he questions Dracula, speaks with Carmilla, and even in his interactions with Hector and Isaac. Godbrand only lives up to his delusions of grandeur when hunting humans that are physically weaker than himself.
He considers humans to be no more than unthinking livestock. He was initially very excited by Dracula's war, seeing it as a way to reorganize the human race into becoming a larder for the vampires. His prejudice extends to being commanded by humans, but he will still defer to his human leaders if he senses that angering them is a bad idea.
Despite his brashness, he is surprisingly thoughtful in certain respects and very attuned to the feelings of his fellow vampire generals. He accurately observed that Dracula's war was uncoordinated and demonstrated that he respects organized warfare. He also saw the possible long-term effects of the war, realizing that killing all humanity would end his species' food supply and that they would be best served by organizing humanity into pens for consumption. For these reasons, he does not agree with Dracula's ways of plotting the war and sides with Carmilla's intentions of betrayal.
Godbrand was the biggest proponent of the vampire generals' majority interest. For this reason, he was very influential among the vampire generals, connecting with them and commanding them during human hunts.
However, the fact remains that Godbrand is brash, outspoken, and socially careless, traits which ultimately cost him his life. He will voice his desires and opinions freely first and consider if this was a bad idea later.
Godbrand nearly angered Dracula to the point of killing him by not heeding his growing irritation at his continuous questioning of the human genocide. He is later killed by Isaac when attempting to convince him to switch sides. He told Isaac of his intentions to betray Dracula without taking the time to assess if he would be onboard with the idea, leaving his guard down afterward before confirming if Isaac accepted his proposal.
Powers and abilities[]
"Godbrand is a viking vampire that loves nothing more than the thrill of the hunt. His passions include killing, having sex and turning humans into boats."
— Godbrand's profile description
In battle, Godbrand wields a sword and an axe. Being a vampire, he has supernatural abilities and powers which include superhuman strength, speed and agility.
"Ah, blood! I've dreamed of my legendary life, and now I am thirsty, *** your eyes, man, bring me blood and beer!" ("Broken Mast")
"We are the generals of the court of Vlad Dracula Tepes and we deserve a proper *** drink. The maps say there's a town twenty miles away from here. They will never see us coming and *** them if they do. Tonight we feed." ("Broken Mast")
"I'm saying, it may be time for the old man to sit in his study and let the rest of us take care of this for him. Do it right. Set up livestock pens and pursue the war properly. Without him." ("Broken Mast")
"It's not betrayal. Unless the old man decides to be difficult about it." ("Broken Mast")
Official sketch by Isaak Ramos, visual developer of the show.
Model sheet.
Model for Season 2.
Expression models for Season 2.
Early concept design of Godbrand, later reused for one of his men in "Broken Mast".
Godbrand early concept arts.
Godbrand concept art.
Godbrand's viking crew model.
Viking Crew A model sheet.
Viking Crew C model sheet.
Viking Crew E model sheet.
Other[]
Godbrand's stats.
Trivia[]
Even though his profile states that one of Godbrand's passions includes "turning humans into boats", it's never revealed if this is just a metaphor or if it's meant in a literal sense.
Godbrand's physical appearance seems to be based on his voice actor, Peter Stormare.
The name "Godbrand" is a variation of a Norwegian name which is sometimes spelled Gudbrand. The name literally means "God blaze". The most famous wearer of the this name was Chief Gudbrandr, who resisted Christianity in Norway in the 11th century. The Norwegian valley Gudbrandsdalen is named after him.
The name could probably also be a reference to Dio Brando, a character from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga/anime. "God-" translates to Italian as Dio; "-brand" could be italicized as the surname Brando. This wouldn't be the first time Castlevania makes a reference to this series.
An early design of Godbrand showed him fatter, with gray hair and beard, and wearing a fur shoulder pad. This design would be reused for one of Godbrand's men in "Broken Mast"; he can be seen at the beginning of the episode, when Godbrand remembers his past as a viking vampire warrior.
This character reappears in "The Endings", still with the same design, as an unnamed enemy during the attack on Dracula's castle.
Godbrand dislikes pig's blood because, according to him, it gives him diarrhea.
Warning! This article contains spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.
