Hubert Lipton

About
Hubert Lipton is the current Commander-in-Chief of the Helman Army, the son of Thoma Lipton, one of the strongest Humans to have ever lived, and the best friend and trusted right hand of Patton Misnarge.

Hubert was born toward the end of the Gi Era to Thoma Lipton and an unknown mother. Due to Thoma's promise to protect Patton after the death of Paelina Misnarge, Patton and Hubert were raised together essentially as brothers and formed a lasting, unbreakable friendship. During this time, Hubert also met and befriended Hunty Kalar, Patton's guardian, and Aristoles Calm, a young archery prodigy who was also taken under Thoma's wing. The three of them usually played together and formed a very solid and long-lasting friendship.

Throughout his childhood, Hubert maintained a rather massive complex about not living up to his father's legacy. As a result, he devoted himself to constant training in order to meet his father's expectations and achieved knighthood at the incredibly young age of 11, but was still dissatisfied with himself as his friends continued to outperform him. As a present for becoming a knight, Hubert was given the sword Shiranui by his father, which he had found while exploring a dungeon in JAPAN. Though he was honored to receive the weapon, Hubert felt that he was unfit to wield something of its caliber.

By his twenties, Hubert had rose to the rank of Lieutenant General of the Helman 2nd Army and served under his friend Aristoles at Fort Banra at the border between Helman and the Monster Realm. During this time, the succession war between Patton and his younger half sister Sheila Helman had been brought to a boiling point. Though Hubert continued to support Patton as the rightful heir, the pressure brought on from the conflict, along with the manipulations of the recently appointed Prime Minister Stessel Romanov, led to Patton losing all the ambition he previously possessed, causing him to become a delinquent and distancing himself from Hubert. When news spread that both Patton and Thoma had died during the 7th Helman-Leazas War, Hubert was saddened by his father and friend's supposed deaths but also felt conflicted over their rash decision to suddenly attempt to occupy the enemy nation.

A few months following the incident, during the events of Rance IV, Hubert was recruited as a member of the Ylapu City exploration team led by aristocrat Bitch Golch, along with Dens Blau, Io Ishtar and Merim Tser. Despite being Bitch's subordinate, Hubert made no attempt at hiding his hatred of him, going against any orders that he disagreed with, such as rescuing Shizuka Masou from his clutches when he attempted to have his way with her. During this time, Hubert formed a close relationship with Dens, who encouraged him to open up about his depression over the deaths of his loved ones as well as his dissatisfaction with the sudden shifts in Helman's government.

After Bitch activated Toushin Upsilon, Hubert narrowly escaped the ensuing massacre due to Dens sacrificing his life for him and a sudden rescue by Freak Paraffin, who informed him of the Holy Magic Sect, the dangers of Upsilon. Agreeing to assist Freak in destroying the Toushin, Hubert formed a shaky alliance with Rance and his party, who had come into conflict with Hubert and his allies several times throughout their time on Ylapu, and the group worked together to bring down the godly war machine. Hubert and Freak eventually separated from the group in order to battle the corrupt Tousho Dio Calmis, but proved to be too weak to defeat the powerful metallic warrior. Miraculously, the two were saved by Hunty, who, through a combination of entering a pseudo-dragon form and utilizing Shiranui's full power, defeated Calmis. The three managed to narrowly escape from the collapsing island with the help of the dragon Cantel. Following this event, the wounded Hubert was reunited with his best friend Patton, who had survived his supposed death. Patton had drastically changed since Hubert had last seen him, and now vowed to become stronger in order to remove the corruption that had plagued Helman. Impressed by his friend's growth and unwilling to return to the oppressive Helman Empire, Hubert agreed to assist Patton in overthrowing Stessel's regime, leading to the formation of the Patton Faction, a group driven to restore the nation to its former glory by eradicating the corrupt individuals who currently controlled it.

Not long after reuniting with Patton, Hubert assisted Hunty in carrying out a secret test to determine just how much stronger his friend's training had made him. Hunty informed Patton of the existence of a mysterious tower in the middle of the Kalar Forest that was said to be immensely tall and filled with countless treasures, traps and powerful monsters, knowing that he would instantly be driven to seek it out. Disguising himself as "The Black Knight", one of the tower's supposed guardians, Hubert confronted Patton in direct combat on its 40th floor. As Patton was unaware of his opponent's true identity, he attacked Hubert with every ounce of his power, and emerged victorious from their fight. Before Patton was able to fully finish him off, however, Hubert was saved by Hunty, who had disguised herself as "The Great Mage Bande" and teleported him to a higher floor. Hubert challenged Patton once again on the tower's 100th floor, this time assisted by Hunty, but was once again defeated. Following Patton's victory, Hubert and Hunty revealed themselves to him and commended him for how greatly he had improved himself in such a short amount of time.

During the years LP0004 and LP0005, Hubert remained on the outskirts of Helman alongside Freak in order to covertly gather the resources necessary to create a rebel army while Patton roamed The Continent to further his training and scout strong individuals to assist their cause. Throughout this period, Hunty utilized her teleportation ability to quickly relay information between Hubert and Patton, allowing them to maintain contact despite the great distance between them. Hubert was briefly mentioned by Patton during the events of Rance VI, where he listed him as one of the strongest individuals in all of Helman to Rance. Rance thought to himself that Hubert's name sounded familiar after hearing it, but quickly brushed it off as a coincidence.

At the beginning of the year LP0006, Hubert and Freak had nearly finished the preparations necessary to launch an attack on Helman with their forces, which they had dubbed the Helman Revolutionary Army, when Patton returned from his journey across the world. Patton revealed that during his travels he had encountered and fought alongside Rance and, after witnessing the seemingly impossible things the warrior was capable of performing firsthand, announced that he intended to make have him assist in leading the revolution. While Hubert heavily opposed Patton's decision to place so much trust in Rance, who had no ties to their cause and who he remembered as being violent and crude, he eventually relented to his friend's judgement.

During the events of Rance IX, Hubert served as an extremely important figure throughout the Helman Revolution. Hubert acted as both the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Army as a whole and as a member of Rance's elite special operations team the Outlaws. While traveling with the Outlaws, Hubert clashed with Rance frequently, objecting whenever the brutal warrior announced one of his countless hasty and poorly-planned decisions. Despite this, Hubert himself was equally as guilty of acting rashly throughout the war, performing several dangerous solo missions behind enemy lines such as rescuing the Helman Councilmen Shitakku Ruso and Suba Goya from their imprisonment in the city of Cossack. During these missions, Hubert fully intended to sacrifice his own life in order to accomplish his goals, believing himself to be expendable relative to the rest of the members of the revolution. Through a combination of his own excellent skill and sheer luck, however, Hubert successfully emerged from each of these near-death encounters alive and well, earning him praise and recognition from his companions.

Shortly prior to the Revolutionary Army's assault on Lang Bau, the capital of Helman, Stessel learned that the Outlaws were in possession of the box containing the soul of M.M Rune he required to complete his master plan. In a last ditch effort to reclaim the box, Stessel sent Bastet, one of the most powerful tousho ever created and his personal bodyguard, to attack the group and take it back to him. Bastet's overwhelming strength, defense and fighting ability proved to be too much for the Outlaws to handle, resulting in Freak being fatally wounded. Freak's death allowed for Hubert to tap into a level of rage that he had never previously attained, causing Shiranui to reach the height of its power and allowing him to penetrate Bastet's armor, which had been cracked slightly by Freak's final attack, ending Bastet's life and shattering Shiranui. Hubert continued to play a significant role in each of the major battles that followed, accompanying Patton, Rance and Sheila in their battle against Minerva Margaret to reclaim the throne of Helman and fighting alongside the rest of the Outlaws to defeat the rampaging Toushin MM in the depths of the Imperial Palace after accidentally awakening it.

Following the destruction of toushin MM and the revolution's success, Hubert happily watched as Patton was crowned Emperor of Helman. After Patton declared the dissolution of the nation's empirical system and Sheila was elected president of the newly formed Helman Republic, Hubert was appointed commander-in-chief of the nation's military and, like his father before him, general of the Third Army. Shortly before Patton and Hunty left the country to travel in search of the remaining traces of the Holy Magic Sect, Hubert bid them both farewell, promising to look after both Sheila and Helman in exchange for their eventual return. Hubert then began to assist in the long and gradual process of restoring the damages done to Helman by the revolution, noting that after spending so much time organizing and fighting in a military campaign he was unused to working as a bureaucrat, causing him to be playfully mocked by his colleague Rolex Gadras.

Hubert plays a very similar role in the non-canonical Kichikuou Rance, serving as one of the primary members of the Patton Faction alongside Patton, Hunty and Freak. The week after Leazas enters war with Helman, the Patton Faction will take control over the city of Sudori 17. Noticing that their goals align with each other, the group will attempt to enter into an alliance with Leazas by meeting secretly with Rick Addison, who had encountered all of them at various points in the past, and asking him to request for Rance to have an audience with them. If Rance meets with the group, he will agree to assist with their revolution under the condition that Helman become a subordinate nation to Leazas afterwards, forcing the four of them to become commanders in Leazas' forces. If Freya Idun is recruited by Rance to serve as a Ninja for Leazas during this time, she will take an interest in Hubert and occasionally assist him in battle. Should this happen enough times, Freya will seduce Hubert in his room and the two will enter into a casual sexual relationship.

Alternatively, should Rance refuse an alliance with the Patton Faction and conquer Helman without them, the group will declare war against Leazas. As an enemy, Hubert, like the rest of the secondary members of the Patton Faction, will never be killed in battle when his army is destroyed. This means that he will continue to assist in the attacks against Leazas every turn until Patton himself is defeated in combat.

Personality and Appearance
Like most Helmanian men, Hubert is quite tall, standing at 197cm. He has long red hair that is slicked back across his forehead and prominent eyebrows that greatly resemble his father's. He is noted to be quite handsome, as both Ho Raga and Freya Idun express interest in him during Kichikuou Rance. Throughout Rance IX, he is forced to wear a fake mustache to hide his identity while moving around Helman. When wearing the fake mustache he is frequently noted to look much older than he actually is, with several characters mistaking him for a middle-aged man, much to his annoyance.

Hubert possesses a rather laid back and sarcastic personality, exuding a great amount of confidence due to his mellow attitude and dry wit. Despite this, Hubert tends to be much more serious than the other members of the Patton Faction, likely due to his own insecurity over being too weak to support them. His general reservedness brings a much needed stabilizing quality to the generally reckless group and makes him a valuable asset to the team. Hubert has been the best friend of Prince Patton Misnarge since childhood, and has loyally supported him throughout their lives. Though Hubert recognizes Patton as his lord, he does not treat him any differently than he would a person of common birth, and mentions multiple times that his loyalty is out of friendship, not servitude. In return, Patton treats Hubert as an equal and deeply trusts and respects his opinions. The two are frequently described as being as close as brothers, and they often engage in playful banter and teasing with each other, even during tense situations. Hubert's loyalty to Patton overpowers his loyalty to his own country, and is what allowed him to turn his back on Helman to assist his friend in his rebellion against it. Following Stessel's defeat, Patton entrusted Hubert with protecting his beloved younger half sister Sheila during her efforts to rebuild Helman, further showing the depth of their bond.

Since childhood, Hubert has struggled to find his own identity outside of the shadow of his father Thoma. While Hubert deeply respected his father, he was constantly worried about meeting his expectations, causing him to work tirelessly to become a knight comparable to him. Despite this, Thoma felt nothing but pride towards his son, and trusted him with the protection of Patton following his death. Though Hubert was saddened by his father's death, he believed that Thoma had no regrets in his final moments, as it was always his greatest wish to fall in battle against a worthy opponent, causing him to not hold any grudges against Rance for being said opponent.

Hubert held a deep respect for Freak Paraffin, who he viewed as both a friend and a mentor. Their relationship was comparable to that of a grandson and his grandfather, as they were capable of casually joking around with each other while still showing strong love and affection. Following Freak's death at the hands of Tousho Bastet, Hubert was thrown into an incredible rage, allowing him to awaken Shiranui's true power for the first and last time.

Hubert had a very close friendship with his teammate and subordinate Dens Blau. Despite Hubert's attempts to hide it, Dens recognized his emotional stress during the mission, which had followed the apparent deaths of his father and Patton, his best friend since childhood. Dens encouraged Hubert to open up about his conflicted feelings regarding the state of Helman and provided him with emotional support throughout their time together. In return, Hubert referred to Dens as his partner and treated him as his equal despite Hubert's higher military standing.

Of everyone in the Patton Faction, Hubert is the only member who is doubtful of Rance, disliking his manic and brutish nature and often struggling to keep him in line. Nonetheless, Hubert is willing to work alongside him due to his trust in Patton's confidence in Rance's abilities. During a private discussion with Sanada Tourin, Hubert admitted that he was somewhat envious of Rance's free-spirited lifestyle, and revealed that, had he not felt obligated to follow in his father's footsteps and become a knight, he would have chosen to live as an adventurer like him. Rance is generally indifferent to Hubert, to the point of forgetting his name throughout the Helman Revolution. Rather than remember his name, Rance chose to give Hubert the nickname "Red Beard" due to the fake mustache he wore throughout the war. Rance came to rely on Hubert's mustache as a means of identifying him so heavily that he was unable to recognize him when he wasn't wearing it, and demanded that he continued to wear it, claiming that his face was too forgettable otherwise.

Abilities
Befitting the son of the strongest man in the world, Hubert is an extremely talented individual, possessing both a very high Level Cap of 60 and several versatile skills. He is recognized as a very powerful warrior by all of his allies, with Patton going so far as to name him alongside the likes of his father and Rolex Gadras, the famed Demon Swordsman of Helman, when asked who he believed the strongest person in his country to be, and even Rance expressing stunned disbelief at his strength following his victory against tousho Bastet.

Hubert is exceptionally skilled in swordplay, to the point of earning praise from the likes of Rick Addison for his ability. His fighting style is an even mix of strong offensive attacks and firm defensive protection, allowing him to effectively serve as both a warrior and a guard. Beyond his abilities as a swordsman, Hubert also possesses skill in archery and cow-riding, and is competent at military organization and leadership, further increasing his versatility. Despite these many talents, however, Hubert lacks a single area which he completely excels at, causing him to be overshadowed by the extraordinary people he is surrounded by, resulting in him developing a sense of inadequacy.



For most of the series, Hubert wielded Shiranui, a katana found by his father at the bottom of a dungeon in JAPAN that was capable of increasing in power based on the user's fighting spirit, surpassing even the likes of Chaos and Nikkou at its maximum power. Shiranui's power was hampered considerably by Hubert's lack of confidence in himself, however, as his refusal to accept himself as a worthy wielder prevented him from unleashing its full potential. Nonetheless, Shiranui's sharpness and Hubert's skill with a sword allowed for him to still be very effective in combat. Following Shiranui's destruction after the defeat of Bastet, Hubert began wielding a sword known as Homura which, while significantly weaker than Shiranui, is still a quality blade of above average strength, allowing him to remain a formidable fighter.

In-Game
For more in depth gameplay information for each of this character's appearances refer to:
 * Hubert Lipton/Rance IV
 * Hubert Lipton/Kichikuou Rance
 * Hubert Lipton/Rance IX

Trivia

 * Hubert holds the record for the youngest Helmanian to ever achieve knighthood, becoming a knight at the tender age of 11.
 * Hubert suffers from katsaridaphobia, more commonly known as a fear of cockroaches.
 * In his initial design, Hubert was intended to be a very serious and dutiful knight who always wore a helmet and obediently served under Bitch Golch. The helmet was removed from his design after TADA pointed out that it would be difficult for him to emote with his face completely covered. The removal of Hubert's helmet resulted in his character being rewritten to be a more sarcastic and rebellious person who did not strictly adhere to military protocol. Following this personality change, Hubert was made the son of Thoma Lipton due to Purin, his character designer, finding the idea of him being the son of his country's greatest soldier attempting to escape from his father's shadow by rebelling to be interesting. After being made into Thoma's son, it was decided that Hubert would be the best friend of Patton Misnarge, Thoma's student, causing his role to be greatly expanded.
 * Hubert is one of the few major recurring characters in the Rance Series to wear a different outfit in every single one of his appearances, wearing light armor throughout Rance IV, a slightly altered version of standard Helman knight armor in Kichikuou Rance and JAPANese-style armor in Rance IX.
 * Hubert bears a strong physical resemblance to the character Alexander and, by proxy, several other similarly-designed characters. This is referenced in Rance IX, where Rance mistakenly refers to him as Bernard Seramite, a character who also strongly resembles Alexander. Additionally, Hubert's own design was largely recycled into the character of Barbazza Lonbrau in the game Mamatoto, which is also referenced in Rance IX by having him wear a fake mustache and JAPANese armor, causing him to appear nearly identical to Barbazza.
 * Hubert came in 3rd place in the "Males" category of the Rance IX Popularity Poll, making him one of the most popular male characters in the Rance Series.