Dire is a very muscular mature man who has chiseled facial features and has light hair and an oversized flattop with a widow's peak.
He wears ample cotton clothes with padded tissue shoulder pads, with fringes of cloth sticking out from his shoulders and ankles. He also wears a leather vest and dark wristbands. He rolls up his sleeves to let his arm in the open.
His design changes significantly in the anime where he loses the leather armor for a simple vest that covers the arm, and instead wears a gorget and metallic shoulder pads. Moreover, the fringes are reduced to a pair of spikes coming out of the shoulder pads.
Color Schemes
The series is known for alternating colors between media, the information presented below may or may not be canon.
Colored MangaPB (PS2)Anime
Skin(Fair)
Hair(Silver)
Eyes(Brown)
Outfit
(Light blue clothes, khaki leather armor, brown belt, black accessories.)
Skin(Tan)
Hair(Lavender)
Eyes(Black)
Outfit
(Violet clothes, black and brown leather armor and accessories.)
Skin(Fair)
Hair(Blond)
Eyes(Gray)
Outfit
(Gray clothes, armor and accessories, dark blue pants.)
Personality
Dire is portrayed as a fierce but honorable Ripple User and fighter. Upon meeting Jonathan, he tests Jonathan's fighting ability at countering an imperfect Thunder Split Attack, and later asks Jonathan that he lets him fight Dio one on one to avenge his friend Will A. Zeppeli. Even in death, Dire is determined, taunting Dio one last time by sending a Ripple-infused rose into the vampire's eye.
Abilities
Dire has shown incredible mastery of the Ripple. He has complete control of his body and its speed, to the point of making afterimages when moving. He manipulates his speed to look slower than he actually is, a technique to make enemies over-confident and eventually lower their guard. He is also able to infuse objects with the Ripple and manages to use it just after being decapitated, with the remaining oxygen in his brain.
Dire jumps at his opponent and does a split with his legs, preventing the opponent from moving their arms. He then attacks his foe's neck with a chop imbued with the Ripple. It's quick enough that Dire is even able to put objects on his opponent without them noticing, as he slips a letter in between Jonathan's shoulder and backpack. This attack's weakness is that it leaves Dire's guard open for a headbutt or another direct attack.
An advanced version of the Thunder Split Attack that covers its weakness by making his arms form a cross. It is described as a perfect technique in both attack and defense, so no one, aside from Dio, has ever defeated it.
The most basic application of the Ripple. Dire attacks with either his limbs or an object imbued with the Ripple. After being decapitated, Dire spits out a rose from his mouth imbued with the Ripple. Its thorn is sharp enough to damage Dio's eye.
Dire first introduced himself after suddenly attacking Jonathan, where Dire used his Thunder Split Attack against him. However, Jonathan countered the move by headbutting him. The Ripple user then revealed that he only attacked Jonathan to test his strength and see if he really was Zeppeli's friend. To prove he came to help, Dire gave Jonathan the letter Zeppeli wrote.[3]
Dire is frozen by Dio
Before Dio Brando and Jonathan had their last fight, Dire fought Dio to avenge Zeppeli. However, even Dire's best attack, the Thunder Cross Split Attack, didn't stand a chance against Dio's Freezing Attack, which completely turned his body into ice and then shattered it. Dire, now only a head, was able to use his last ounce of Ripple energy to shoot a rose into Dio's eye. For that, Dire's head was turned into ice as well and destroyed.
Dire appears as a playable character in 77 Rings Knights Mode, some battles in Extra Battle Mode, and Chapters 19 and 20 after Story Mode is beaten. His moveset consists of mainly normal punches and kicks, with his special Ripple move being Thunder Split Attack. He can also throw Ripple-charged roses and dodge attacks in a similar fashion to how he controlled his body speed in the original story.
Dire appears as a support character in the game's Campaign Mode, where he uses his Thunder Cross Split Attack on the player's opponent, which will reduce their health by 40% if successful. If the player pays an extra energy point, he will instead use Thunder Cross Split Attack, dealing 30% more damage. He is also available as an avatar image and quote for the player's profile in Campaign and Online modes.
Dire appears in Diamond Records as a playable character in both the Action Battle and Tactical Battle game modes. He has two 'Courage' type statues, one 4 star and one 5 star statue.
Dire's moveset in both game modes is comprised of various ripple-based attacks inspired by the anime. As a ripple user, Dire has an advantage over vampires, zombies, and pillar men. Unlike a majority of statues in the game, Dire lacks an unlockable SP skill.
Moveset
Dire's basic attack string is a combination of up to five various attacks comprising of different hand strikes and kicks. In Tactical Battle, this is cut down to only three hits.
Dire puts his hands together and gives himself a temporary attack buff.
Dire throws a rose imbued with the ripple at opponents. In Action Battle, it simply acts as a basic ranged projectile, whereas in Tactical Battle it leaves the attacked opponent with a temporary defense debuff. (Unlockable)
Dire strikes the opponent with his palm and performs an Overdrive against them.
Dire jumps and kicks at the opponent, and the game cuts into a cutscene where Dire performs his signature Thunder Cross Split Attack.
4-star (Courage)
Max LVL Stats:7182 HP/4158 ATK/3591 DEF Max LVL Tree Stats:13482 HP/9108 ATK/6741 DEF
5-star (Courage)
Max LVL Stats:10944 HP/6336 ATK/5472 DEF Max LVL Tree Stats:20544 HP/14736 ATK/10272 DEF