Rick Addison

''This article is about the character Rick Addison from the Rance Series. For information about the Rick Addison featured in the game Mamatoto, see Rick Addison (Mamatoto).''

About
Rick Addison is the commander of the Leazas Red Corps.

He is the strongest Swordsman in Leazas, and, since the death of Thoma Lipton, recognized as the strongest man on the continent. He is known across the land for his fearful strength, he has been nicknamed the "Red Reaper of Leazas" by his enemies.

The kanji 忠 written on his helmet means "loyalty". Underneath that helmet is a surprisingly boyish and shy face.

Personality and Appearance
Rick is generally a very polite and kind young man, but when he enters the battlefield he becomes a cold and merciless warrior, to the point of being compared to death itself by his enemies. According to Rance, when fighting, Rick always has a smile on his face.

Despite his immense talent, Rick has a very low opinion of himself and believes that he was appointed General of the Red Corps only because of the untimely death of the previous General and it certainly doesn't help that other people think the same thing.

He has great love for the sword, and admires anyone that can proficiently wield a blade. He has a very profound respect for Rance and his ability to use a sword.

Despite the fact that Rance doesn't like many men, he and Rick are very good friends. When referring to Rick, Rance has said "He's no trouble, he doesn't try to seduce my girls and he doesn't object to my choices." Likewise, Rick holds Rance in a very high regard due to his exceptional swordsmanship and skill at making decisions in the heat of the moment. During the events of Kichikuou Rance, he is one of the only people in attendance of Rance and Lia's wedding who expresses complete approval of Rance becoming King of Leazas, later stating that he believes Rance "was always meant to be a king."



Rick does have a great weakness: underneath his helmet, he has a very young and feminine face. Without his helmet he has no confidence, and gets scared of monsters and ghosts. When wearing his helmet, Rick throws away all insecurity and fear. Luckily for him, this secret is only shared by few, and it is not known outside of Leazas.

Abilities
Rick has a level cap of 70 and a current level of 55, making him one of the strongest humans on the continent. He's widely known as the "Red Reaper of Leazas" and is currently considered a strong candidate to the world's strongest man.



On the battlefield, Rick delivers incredibly fast attacks, even astounding Rance with the sheer speed of his strikes. Rick wields an enchanted blade named Byroad, passed down through the generations of Red Corps commanders. Because Rick is a level 2 swordsman, he can use a unique special attack. Rick's special move is called "By La Way", an attack that consists of three lightning-fast swings in a triangular shape. Rick is capable of destroying entire armies with this attack alone and it's what gave him his fame and title. Rance has stated that he doesn't like fighting with Rick because to be able to stand his ground against him requires "too much effort", but their strength is more or less equal at present.



As of Rance IX, Rick is capable of using the attack without the Byroad, albeit with much less power.

Despite not possessing a leadership skill Rick is a competent leader capable of inspiring great hope his subordinates, though his leading skills are unimpressive when compared to someone like Barres Province, who would be perfectly capable of defeating Rick if it came down to a battle of armies.

The only opponents that have been seen defeating Rick since he became the General of the Red Corps are the former General of the Helman 3rd Army, Minerva Margaret, the golem apostle of Dark Lord Satella, Isis and the villainous Tousho Dio Calmis. In Minerva's case, however, she was specifically shown to have cheated in order to win, though she is also shown to have gotten the upper hand on him several times while conventionally fighting him.

In-Game
For more in depth gameplay information of each game refer to:
 * Rance IV
 * Kichikuou Rance
 * Rance 03
 * Rance VI
 * Rance Quest
 * Rance IX

Personal History
GI0990 - Rick is born to a small farming community in Leazas.



GI1006 - Rick, yearning for knighthood, enters the 32nd Leazas Parapara Tournament at the age of 16. He's eliminated in the first round by future Blue Corps second in command Kinkaid Brambla, but his potential is noticed by the commander of the Red Corps, Alto Hanbra. Hanbra takes Rick in as his son and begins training him.

GI1015 - At 25 years old, Rick becomes the 13th commander of the Leazas Red Corps, the youngest commander in history. In this year he repels an advanced Helman force by himself. The battle is known as the Conflict at the Parapara Fort and earns him the nickname of the "Red Reaper".

LP0002 - Rick fights against Helman in the invasion against Leazas, but he is defeated and hypnotized by Dark Lord Ithere. He is later released by Rance and joins the Leazas Liberation Army, where he largely contributes in the war to free Leazas and, at the end of the conflict, in the battle against the Dark Lords. Months later, he joins the Rance Rescue Team in the expedition to Ylapu, where he aids him in his problematic situation to get out of the floating island.

LP0003 Kichikuou Rance (WHAT IF) - Rick is one of the few close friends who attends Rance and Lia's wedding. He expresses absolute approval of Rance becoming King due to his skills as a swordsman and as a leader. He is later used as a mediator to establish an alliance between Leazas and the Patton Faction due to his past with Patton, Hubert and Freak. Leila Grecni may also admit her feelings for Rick, causing them to begin dating.

LP0004 - Princess Lia of Leazas allows Rick to help Rance in Zeth.



LP0005 - Rick is considered as a candidate to be sent to aid Rance in JAPAN, however he is rejected due to Rance specifying that he wanted a female commander. He seems to have become closer to Leila around this time as Maria notes that she sees the two of them "spending a lot of time together".

LP0006 - Rick is sent as a reinforcement of Leazas to assist the Patton Faction with their revolution effort in Helman along with Tillday Sharp. Due to his infamy within the country, he momentarily gives both his armor and sword to Leila while traveling in disguise.

Trivia

 * Rick is an incredibly popular male character, consistently scoring high on character polls to the point where his brief cameo appearance was enough to secure the 2nd spot in Rance Quest's male character poll.
 * When Milacle Tou made her "dream party", made up of the strongest males in The Continent, she didn't even consider Rick because she claimed that a man with such a low spirit and self-confidence is not worthwhile. However she did mention that he would make a great gatekeeper in her future country because of his admirable strength.
 * He dislikes sweet potatoes, possibly due to having to eat them constantly while growing up on a farm.
 * His daily training regiment consists of fighting five of his strongest knights at once, an exercise that is considered absurdly intensive by even other highly skilled swordsmen.
 * Rick is one of the few male characters who has managed to befriend Rance.
 * In his debut in Rance III, Rick was simply a standard Leazas soldier with a slightly altered design, and received little characterization. He proved to be surprisingly popular, however, and was fully established and consolidated as a character in Rance IV.
 * Rick's name is a reference to the mobile suit model RMS-099 Rick Dias from the anime series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. This reference is furthered by his signature armor, which closely resembles the custom red-colored version of the suit that is piloted by the character Quattro Bajeena throughout the series. Additionally, Rick himself bears a striking resemblance to Quattro physically, particularly when in his civilian attire.
 * Furthermore, Rick's design in Rance IX is largely based of the character Camus from Fire Emblem, more specifically, his design from Mystery of the Emblem and Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher).
 * Rick's character may be partially derived from the 19th century American Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage. The main protagonist of the novel is a young soldier who desires to receive a wound on the battlefield to use as a "red badge of courage" to counteract his cowardice. As a timid young soldier who obtains great courage when wearing the helmet of the Red Corps General, Rick presents a more literal version of the protagonist's dream.