Gasper Vladi

Gasper Vladi is one of the male protagonists of High School DxD. He is a cross-dressing male Dhamphir, a half-Vampire half-human, who has the ability to stop time and Rias' first Bishop. Because his powers were uncontrollable prior to the series, he was sealed in the Academy by Rias and was not seen again until Volume 4 of the light novels. He is a first-year student at Kuoh Academy, alongside Koneko and Ravel.

Appearance
Gasper is an androgynous-looking male who is around the same age as Koneko with platinum blonde hair and pinkish-violet eyes. His hair is styled in short bob cut with several small fringes over his forehead, and he has pointed ears.

Unlike the rest of the boys of Kuoh Academy who wear the boys' uniform, Gasper wears the Kuoh Academy girls' school uniform with thigh-high socks, creating a Zettai Ryōiki (Japanese for "absolute territory").

Personality
Originally a coward and a shut-in with a very shy personality, Gasper likes to wear female clothing, claiming that girls' clothes are cute. He also has a penchant for boxes, carrying one with him all the time. When Issei tried to give Gasper confidence, the former gave Gasper a paper bag to put over the latter's face. However, Issei comments that whenever Gasper puts the paper bag on, the latter looks like a molester.

As the series progresses, with Issei and the Gremory group's encouragement, Gasper begins to gain confidence and bravery. When necessary, Gasper has displayed the ability to force down his timid nature, and speak up as a man. On more than one occasion, he has demonstrated extreme courage and loyalty, going so far as to be beaten to unconsciousness in defense of his weakened comrades.

Gasper Balor
While using Forbidden Invade Balor the Beast, Gasper adopts a very different personality. Due to the influence of Balor's personality, this being is both Gasper yet not him, and both Balor yet not Balor. In this form, Gasper is decidedly more aggressive to go with his powers, having darkness devour his opponents either with indifference or pure malice, however, he admits he would never hurt his friends and is still himself to the point he recognizes them as such. He still respectfully calls Issei his senpai and would flat out destroy his enemies if they harm his comrades, such as Issei or Valerie. Gasper's own poor feelings towards the Pure-Blooded Vampires also shines through, with him daring them to show their power against him before proving himself vastly superior to them and eating them..

History
Gasper was born between the Vampire Lord Vladi and a human mother; the latter of whom died shortly after giving birth to Gasper, who was born as a mass of darkness which accidentally cursed his mother and several servants to death. Between the incredible fear of Gasper's true form from the higher ups, his uncontrollable Sacred Gear the Forbidden Balor View, and people's general prejudice towards the half breed, Gasper grew up in isolation and abuse.

He would meet Valerie Tepes and they would often play together; Valerie forcing Gasper to dress up as a girl which would lead to his cross-dressing habit. One day, Gasper worked up the courage to try to escape from the castle with Valerie's help and was shortly thereafter killed by Vampire hunters. Rias Gremory, who was in the area at the time, came upon the boy by chance and taking pity on him reincarnated him as one of her servants using her Bishop Mutation Piece.

When Rias moved to Japan and took her servants with her, she was forced to keep Gasper inside of a sealed room in the Occult Research Club's first floor to contain his power. While Gasper was given the choice to be able to leave at night, due to the circumstances of his past he had developed severe agoraphobia so he chose to remain sealed permanently.

The Red Dragon Emperor's Awakening
Gasper was briefly mentioned in Volume 1 by Rias who claims that he is at a different place, following a different order.

Birth of the Breast Dragon Emperor
Gasper first appears in Volume 4, after Rias was given permission to unseal him (much to his dismay). He then trains with Issei, Xenovia, and Koneko on how to control his Sacred Gear and with Azazel's advice and Saji's help, improve considerably. During the attack by Khaos Brigade on the leaders of the Three Factions, Gasper was captured and used against his will before being saved by Issei and Rias with Issei using his blood to allow Gasper to control his power as the two of them overpower the female Magicians.

In Volume 5 he accompanies Rias back in the Underworld for the Young Devils Gathering. During the Rating Game between Rias and Sona Sitri, Gasper was the first to be defeated after the Sitri Group, tricked Gasper (who was doing reconnaissance by turning into several bats) into gathering all of his bats together in one place, then used garlic on him.

In Volume 6, during Rias and Diodora's scheduled Rating Game, the match was interfered by the sudden appearance of the Khaos Brigade and the revelation of Diodora's alliance, the Gremory group facing Diodora's peerage along the way. He supported Issei and Koneko while they fight against Diodora's pawns who are promoted to Queen. He was last seen, with the other members, cheering Issei and Asia on their three-legged race.

The Heroic Oppai Dragon
In Volume 10, Gasper and Xenovia faced off against Misteeta Sabnock and Ladora Buné during the Rating Game between their masters. When Xenovia's ability to hold Durandal was sealed, Gasper sacrificed himself to buy time and allow the curse to deactivate so Xenovia can defeat them. He and the rest of the Occult Research Club members were later seen peeping at Issei who confessed his love to Rias, congratulating Issei who successfully became Rias' boyfriend.

In Volume 11, Gasper goes to the Grigori headquarters to increase his powers.

He returns in Volume 12, disappointed that he gained nothing until he heard about Issei's death from Georg, causing Gasper to undergo a change where he can create an enormous amount of darkness that devours everything (even the mist created by Dimension Lost), which allowed him to defeat the latter.

The Legend of Oppai Dragon and his Lively Companions
In Volume 14, Gasper receives an order from the Vampire faction to return back home during the negotiation between the Carmilla Faction and the Three Great Powers. Gasper was also shocked to learn that his childhood friend, Valerie Tepes, is now a Longinus possessor. He was later kidnapped by the Khaos Brigade and a group of Stray Magicians after they used a fellow first-year student as a hostage.

In Volume 16, Gasper returns to his birth place to meet up with Rias and Yuuto who were confined in the Tepes Castle. He was then reunited with his childhood friend, Valerie, who became the new "King" of the Tepes Clan, but was greatly saddened to see her mentally broken due to overusing the Longinus, Sephiroth Graal, caused by Marius Tepes. After a tea party with Valerie, Marius appeared and agreed to Gasper's request to "free" Valerie. Gasper later learned the truth to Marius' true purpose and becomes determined to save Valerie. Upon reaching the lowest level of the basement, Gasper was shocked and despaired to see Marius having extracted the Longinus from Valerie as he shares one last conversation before Valerie's "death". Angered and disgusted by Marius and the Vampires that made use of Valerie, Gasper's hidden power awakens as he killed Marius and the Vampires that supported him. When the mass-produced Evil Dragons start attacking, Gasper used his darkness to cover the entire town, devouring the mass-produced Evil Dragons before going to assist Issei who was fighting Euclid Lucifuge. Gasper then attempted to attack Rizevim who gives out a retreat order but to no avail due to Rizevim's ability. After Rizevim and his team left, Gasper carried Valerie with him and had one last conversation with his father. After their return from Romania, Gasper participated in the meeting formation of D×D.

In Volume 17, Gasper and the Occult Research Club, went to the Underworld and participated in the experience day for the school Sona Sitri built located at Auros in the Agares territory. While doing the respective activities assigned to them, Qlippoth managed to surround both Auros and Agreas inside a barrier and announced their intent to attack after a certain period of time. Before the time was up, they reconfirmed their plan and Gasper ended up pairing with Sona Sitri, creating numerous beasts of darkness and sending them to wherever Sona commands.

In Volume 18, Gasper and the other Club members went to Heaven to discuss with Michael about the Christmas project that the alliance is working on. At the end of the meeting, Michael informed them about the deaths of Church officials and the presence of Evil Dragons found at the attacks. Later, Gasper assisted in protecting Heaven from Qlippoth attack, using his monstrous form to fight against a group of Grendel clones along side Akeno, Yuuto and Rossweisse.

Powers & Abilities
Vampire Powers: Being a Dhamphir as well as one with rare Vampire abilities, Gasper has the ability to control bats, and transform into a flock of them, usually using them for reconnaissance. He can also manipulate shadows and darkness, though at present seems unable to wield this with complete control.

Daywalker: Due to being Dhamphir, Gasper is also a Daywalker, allowing him to survive contact with sunlight.

Magic Talent: Befitting of his status as a Bishop, Gasper is shown to have skills and knowledge in magic, excelling in human magic used by Magicians.

Master Hand-to-hand Combatant: Originally unskilled in fighting after gaining Forbidden Invade Balor the Beast Form Gasper started Hand to Hand combat training. The fighting style is heavily influenced by Ise such as charging into battle and fighting head on. However unlike Ise, Gasper can grab or entrap his opponents with his darkness before attacking.

Equipment
Forbidden Balor View : Gasper's Sacred Gear has the ability to stop the time of those he sees but is unable to control it. After drinking Issei's blood, Gasper's control over his vampirie powers increases, and allows him to use his Sacred Gears power through the eyes of the bats.
 * Forbidden Invade Balor the Beast : First used in Volume 12, it creates an enormous amount of darkness that devours everything (including the mist created by Georg's Dimension Lost). While this large area of darkness is active, Gasper can generate twisted monsters to attack opponents, as well as multiple eyes through which he can use Forbidden Balor View, freezing multiple targets at the same time. The Forbidden Invade Balor the Beast is considered to be a Balance Breaker yet different from a Balance Breaker at the same time, and has the potential to make the Forbidden Balor View become the 14th Longinus-grade Sacred Gear. In this form, Gasper's body gets covered by the darkness, and takes the form of a five meter tall monster with a Dragon head, arms with claws and wings growing from the back. It is revealed that the evil Irish God, Balor has part of his consciousness residing in the Sacred Gear.

Quotes

 * 《All of you should be killed. I’ll even devour your souls.》 (Volume 16)
 * I WILL KILL YOU…….! I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU TILL NONE OF YOU ARE LEFT…….! (Volume 12 Life -1)

Trivia

 * Gasper's height is 150 cm. (4 feet 11 inches) and his weight is 40 kg. (88 lbs.), according to the visual book with his data. Which makes him the shortest male character in the series to date.
 * Gasper's family name is a reference to Vlad Tepes, the real-life inspiration for Dracula.
 * When Gasper was hit by Azazel's Gender-Swap Raygun, his appearance remained the same, he simply lost "something important."
 * Gasper has the most success with making contracts out of any of Rias' Peerage by using his computer.
 * Gasper plays the character "Danball Vampire God" (ダンボールヴァンパイア神 Danbōru Vanpaia-gami) in Oppai Dragon.
 * Gasper's status as a Hikikomori, or a recluse, seems to stem from severe agoraphobia, most likely due to the constant neglect from his family.
 * His surname, Vladi, was mistranslated as "Bloody" in the Funimation dub.
 * Gasper's birthday is on March 14. Also known in Japan as White Day.