Goldsmith Amshel



The first of Diva's chevaliers. Amshel (Anshel in the manga and novels) was the brother of the first Joel, who discovered the mummified body of Saya and Diva's mother. Strangely enough it was Amshel who inadvertently re-awaked the two Queens. Once the two eggs had been removed from her body he tried unsuccessfully to cut them open. In doing so his blade slipped and cut his finger, and the blood dripping onto the two cuccoons caused a reaction which eventually resulted in Saya and Diva hatching.

After the death of the first Joel, Amshel naturally took charge of creating subsequent Chevaliers and chiropterans - the first being Solomon, a distant relative and member of the Goldsmith family.

How Amshel became a chevalier is unknown, but his chiropteran form is not seen until the penultimate episode. Like Hagi he is the only one of Diva's chevaliers with six limbs - two arms, two legs and two wings.

Anime
Amshel Goldsmith was the assistant of the original Joel Goldshmidt, and was responsible for bringing Diva food and taking care of her basic needs while she was locked in the tower. In 1883, after Diva's release from the tower, Diva spares Amshel during her murder spree and turns him into a chevalier. Amshel refers to her as his "little treasure", later revealing that he was completely obsessed with Diva, which he feels is the "ultimate form" of love for her. He once tells Saya that he wished she hadn't freed Diva because then Diva would still be his and his alone.

Amshel is generally seen as the leader of Diva's chevaliers and is the head of Cinq Flèches. Despite referring to his fellow chevaliers as his brothers, he seems unaffected when Karl dies and grows increasingly disgusted with Solomon's love for Saya and orders his execution. He also ordered the death of Diva's third chevalier, Martin Bormann, who is only seen in photograph form in the series. After Saya's awakening, Amshel initially tried to bring her to their side. In Russia, he killed the Red Shield contact Liza and took her place during a train ride to Ekaterinburg. He reveals to Saya her true nature as a chiropteran and that she is killing her own kind with her sword. When Saya remains determined to fight and kill Diva, he decides she must be exterminated.

After a fight with Hagi above New York City, Amshel was impaled on the Chrysler Building and struck by lightning. He was presumed dead, but reappeared in a half human-half chiroptera form and tries to attack Saya again. Hagi stabs him with Saya's blood-covered sword, crystallizing him, moments before the opera house collapses on top of them both.

Manga Verison
In the manga, he's still the same as ever. In fact, the only difference is that he has no desire to continue the chiroptean species, as he told Solomon. He doesn't make the chevaliers because there aren't that many. He doesn't care if Saya or Diva continue their species, since he wants Diva all to himself. He also has more control of Diva and is the only one she'll really listen to. Like other versions of him, he is more possessive of her than the other chevaliers, as in the end he loses his sanity when he realizes Diva's gone.

Another example is in the manga Adagio, he seemed very displeased when Diva made the Prince Alexei her new chevalier. He even took great pleasure knowing Alexei had failed to return (after being killed to protect Diva).

Abilities
Amshel is Diva's first and most powerful chevalier. Being a chevalier, Amshel possesses abilities that include superhuman strength and speed. He is faster and stronger than the average chevalier, having easily caught Saya's arm and crushed it when she attacked; his power is shown again when he saved Diva from being stabbed when Solomon threw a dagger at her. Amshel is the only chiropteran besides Diva to display the ability to transform into another person, impersonating Liza numerous times and Diva in the last episode. It is implied that the more powerful chevalier, like a chiroptera queen's first chevalier, are capable of telekinesis to a certain degree. It is seen in only three characters throughout the show, Amshel, Nathan and also Diva. Saya's chevalier Haji, however, does not seem to have this capability and it could be a trait passed down through a specific queen. It is more than likely that Saya and Haji simply do not drink enough blood or rely on their chiropteran instincts enough to sustain the ability.

He is also noted for his ability to impersonate people well enough to fool others. For example, near the series finale he was able to impersonate Diva, making Haji assume it was really her. Amshel has also demonstrated several powers that the common chiropterans and chevaliers do not possess. One of them is the ability to exhale a blast of energy (it is unknown whether these are really energy attacks, but the novels state that these are electric attacks.) Also, in the series finale he tranformed into a winged monstrous chiropteran to battle with Hagi across the skies of New York City. In this form Amshel has inhuman durability, as he survived getting impaled on top of the Chrysler building and getting struck by lightning whilst impaled. However, he finally meets his demise after getting stabbed by Haji with Saya's katana while her blood was on it.

Reception
Amshel is considered the only truly evil character in Blood+. Unlike all the other characters (including Diva herself) the viewers/readers are never given a reason to pity or sympathise with him. It would seem the only motivation for his actions is his own twisted scientific curiosity, performing whatever actions are necessary to further his own goals. He creates the Schiff, seemingly without the knowledge of his brother chevalier, although James did not seemed surprised about their appearance, indicating that maybe it was only Solomon who did not know about their creation. Once Solomon pledged himself to Saya, Amshel attacked him and seemed to have the upper hand in the battle until Nathan stopped them.

Amshel also appears to be somewhat perverted. He repeatedly allows Diva to refer to him as "Father" and later partly confesses to having sex with her to determine whether or not she could have children. His desires also extend to humans - whilst in the form of Liza, he asks Riku (prior to becoming Saya's chevalier) to have a bath with him, then later tells Hagi he was jealous of him as he was to be Saya's and Diva's 'bridegroom'. Towards the end of the series, he removes his ring, to which he had claimed was a family heirloom and that he never takes off, and places it between a mannequin's breasts. This possibly is symbolizing that this is the final showdown between to two chevalier or simply that whilst he changes forms the ring might break.

Diva
Even before becoming her chevalier, Amshel had a deep obsession with Diva, later confessing to Saya that he wished she hadn't released her, because then she would still be his and his alone. This relationship however does not last, and by the end of the series he has lost interest in her completely, now turning his attention to her two children.

Saya
Like all of Diva's chevaliers (with the exception of James) Amshel initially tried to persuade her to join their side. Once it became apparent she never would never join their cause he decided to kill her.

Solomon
Solomon is Amshel's closest blood relative, whom he trusts the most and uses him as an assassin. Even after switching to Red Shields, one of the few moments of softness we see from Amshel is the moment of Solomon's death.

Karl
Like James, Amshel has no true interest in Karl, often leaving him out of important matters or provoking him. Amshel does not seem to do this for fun - he gives Karl his new arm after a long absence - but out of indifference.

James
Amshel appears to have complete trust in James and orders him to carry out his most important missions

Nathan
Initially Amshel seems one of the few chevaliers who is not irritated by Nathan's flamboyancy, but the tables soon turn. Nathan openly threatens Amshel, who remains strangely quiet.