Ricardo (Kinnikuman)

dMp Ricardo and Kid Muscle

Ricardo (ヒカルド) is a fictional character from Yudetamago's manga and anime series Ultimate Muscle (Kinnikuman Nisei). He is voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa (Takumi Yamazaki in earlier appearances). This article covers both Ricardo, Submission Artist and Ricardo, Lord of Darkness.

About

Classification: Akugyo Choujin
Homeland: Brazil
Height: 213 cm
Weight: 148 kg
Choujin Kyoudo: 1,180,000 Power
Trademark Techniques: Torture Slash, Zuffara, Aranha Clutch
Trainer: Pashango
First Appearance: Manga Chapter 120 (Submission Artist), Manga Chapter 174 (Lord of Darkness), Anime Episode ?

Born an Akugyō Chōjin, he was raised as a Seigi Chōjin Submission Artist in Brazil. His teacher, Pashango, discovered his evil past and attempted to kill Ricardo, but failed and ultimately lost his own life. So Ricardo continued to live under the guise of the Submission Artist, which is a very Robin Mask-looking choujin, with similar tights and a vest like Robin's armor and a helmet with a tinted visor over the face. Ricardo gained popularity in Brazil and eventually entered Brazil's preliminary tournament to be a Choujin Olympic representative. Ricardo's brutal style of fighting was not revered, as many other choujin fought in the same manner, which sheds quite a bit of light on just how nasty heroes can be towards one-another when it comes to glory. He defeats the Matenrō in this form during the first round of the actual tournament.

When his overbody eventually cracks open, his dMp roots are revealed and he turns into the "Lord of Darkness", a jaguar/piranha chojin who gleefully ignores the concepts of rules and mercy. At the Chōjin Olympics he is seconded by his friends Gazeman (ガンキュー Gankyū) and Pelé (ペレ). He defeats Jade in the quarter-finals, and then proceeds to lose to Mantarou in a semifinal match that involves a large, wooden structure covered with razor-sharp blades ("Punishment X", manga) or a similar device that confers electric shocks ("Electrolix", anime). Ricardo's policy in battle is simply to win. He has no desire to align himself with either good or evil choujin. Along with that, he seems to find deathmatches quite appealing, as he continued his attack on Jade even after the towel is thrown in. This don't lose, battle to the death, free agent kind of style seems to reflect properties from all three different factions of Akugyo Choujin. He has yet to make a second appearance.

Techniques

Torture Slash (トーチャースラッシュ): Ricardo starts out by catching his opponent in a double-underhook and then jumps up as if to suplex them. Instead of compling the throw, Ricardo waits until he is upside down, stops the throw technique and hooks his feet behind his opponents ankles while maintaining the double-underhook. At this point, the opponents arms and legs are stretched down towards the ground, forcing their head up facing the sky. Ricardo then finishes the technique by dropping to the ground on the back of his head and neck, splitting the opponents legs outward and forcing their shoulders to bend to the limit of breaking. Ricardo is sure to land on his head to focus the force of the impact, instead of landing on his back and spreading it out. When applied correctly, Ricardo can tear his opponent in half vertically and split their back open horizontally.
Zuffara (ズッファーラ): The Zuffara is one of Ricardo's trademark submission holds. It starts out with Ricardo jumping onto the hands of a face-down opponent so that he is facing their feet (left foot on right hand and vice versa). Ricardo then grabs his opponent's legs and crosses them with one ankle over the other (he can either catch the legs after they kick up from his jump or grab them from the ground). From there Ricardo arches his back towards the opponent's while bending his knees accordingly and pulling his arms back so as to bend the opponent's back away from him and pull their legs toward him, stressing the stomach, chest, back, and legs.
Aranha Clutch (アラーニャクラッチ): The Aranha Clutch is another submission hold in Ricardo's arsenal. With this hold, Ricard starts in face-to-face with the opponent and in front of, but slightly to the side of his opponent. Ricardo then takes hold of the opponent's near arm and jumps up to shoulder height, where he proceeds to place his opponent in a front triangle choke. Using the momentum of the jump, Ricardo lunges forward, arching the opponent's back, who is still standing while this is going on. To finish the move, Ricardo grabs the opponent's far arm with his hands and pulls it behind their back and up towards himself, applying pressure to both arms, the back, and the neck.
Iguazu Lock (イグアス・ロック): The Iguazu Lock is one of Ricardo's deadliest submission holds, since a stubborn opponent could lose his life by not forfeiting the match. This move starts out with Ricardo standing behind a face-up opponent on the mat. Ricardo quickly lays himself over the opponent with his left hand reaching past the left side of their head, under their left shoulder, and grabbing their wrist. Meanwhile, he places his left leg under the opponent's right leg and moves his left foot over the opponent's left ankle. Ricardo is now partially on his back and partially on his left side. To finish the locking part of this move, Ricardo maneuvers his right leg up against the inside of the opponent's right ankle and grabs the opponent's right foot with his right hand. If the opponent chooses not to give up, Ricardo can then thrust his legs outward and pull his right arm back. This can either cause one or both of the opponent's legs to break or, more seriously, split his body from the groin to the lower abdomen (much like the Torture Slash).
Piranhian Brace (ピラニアン・ブレス): Ricardo only uses this technique in his Lord of Darkness form. Ricardo removes the spiked bracelet that he wears on his left arm and uses it to either harm his opponent, latch onto his opponent, or perform other techniques, like the Tempest Coil.
Piranhian Jaw (ピラニアン・ジョー): Ricardo, Lord of Darkness, opens his mouth wide and bites down on his opponent.
Tempest Coil (テンペスト・コイル): Using his Piranhian Brace, Ricardo destroys the rubber on the ropes and then clasps the brace around all three. From there he spins his head, causing the brace to spin and wind the ropes into a giant spring.
Punishment Flip (パニッシュメント・フィリップ): Used in his Punishment X Deathmatch with Mantaro, Ricardo did a hand-stand on the Punishment X (a large wooden X in the middle of the ring covered in blades) while Mantaro jumped towards him. Then Ricardo fell behind it, bending the Punishment X. Finally he released it, flinging it right at Mantaro.
Punishment Stinger (バニッシュメント・スティンガー): This technique was also used against Mantaro in the Punishment X ring. After throwing Mantaro into the air, Ricardo jumped up after him and caught the Punishment X with his Piranhian Brace, bringing the Punishment X right into Mantaro.
Double Deadly Blade Burial (剣殺二重葬,, Kensatsu Nijuu-sou): After hitting Mantaro with the Punishment Stinger, Ricardo released the Punishment X from his Piranhian Brace so that it fell and let Mantaro rise off it only enough to fall right back onto it, making one move hit Mantaro with the blades twice. It is called the Murder By Blades: Dual Burial in the English Dub.
Figure Tempest Coil (フィギュアーテンペスト・コイル): Ricardo releases his Piranhian Brace and wraps his opponent up in the chain, preventing any movement on their part.
Boiling Lariat (ボイリング・ラリアット): With his opponent falling face-first to the mat, Ricardo goes after them and performs a lariat while he himself is horizontal.
Colbart Hill (コルバートの丘,, Korubāto no Oka): Ricardo removes his Piranhian Brace and flings it into the mat. Then, while his opponent falls toward the ring, Ricardo pulls on the chain attached to the brace, bringing the mat to a point for his opponent to fall onto.

Story

Prehistory

Ricardo was trained by a master Choujin submission artist by the name of Pashango in Brazil. Pashango, however, found out that Ricardo used to be a part of the d. M.p. during a sparring session which led to Ricardo killing him with his Torture Slash and passing it off as an accident to his fellow students Hugo, Silva, and Hitōdé. Unbeknownst to Ricardo, Silva stuck around while the others sought medical attention for their fallen teacher only to see Ricardo stomp Pashango's corpse to be sure of his death.

Choujin Olympics: The Resurrection

In the Choujin Olympics, Ricardo debuted during Brazil's preliminary tournament, where he is seen defeating his foe with general ease. He doesn't show up again until the 3-legged race, in which he finishes 5th, which is pretty good since he had a normal human partner and no clear cut advantage of his own (like Ilioukhine's flight or Jade's Red Rain of Berlin).

In the first round of the tournament Ricardo takes part in the first fight of the "B Block," pitting him against The Matenrō. He starts out a bit slow, taking several hits from The Matenrō and even getting hit by the Skyscraper Powerbomb a few times. It is at that point that Ricardo reveals that his neck has been trained to take large amounts of force and weight. The Matenrō is not discouraged, but eventually finds himself in an armbar and loses his left hand to it. Ricardo wastes no time setting up The Matenro in his finishing technique, the Torture Slash. After hooking his arms he jumps up high and starts to throw The Matenrō behind him. However, instead of letting go, Ricardo hooks his legs and prepares to descend to the mat while holding The Matenrō upside down. Since Ricardo is on the bottom of this techniques, everyone assumes the worst for him, but his sturdy neck comes through and, upon impact, The Matenrō is split vertically from his pelvis to his abdomen and also horizontally across his back. Jade notices that a piece of Ricardo's mask breaks off during the fight and something else lurks beneath it.[1]

Next, Ricardo is put up against Jade, who was lucky enough to be seeded into his quarter-final position. The match starts out clean enough with Jade striking Ricardo from a distance and Ricardo going for tackles to apply his submission techniques. Ricardo quickly catches Jade in a standing triangle choke, which he then follows up with an armlock, forming his signature technique the Aranha Clutch. Jade is then reminded of the hellish training he went through as a child and is able to escape the hold. He slips his arm out of the triangle choke, pushes Ricardo's legs off his own neck, and reverses the armlock with one of his own, proceeding to slam Ricardo head-first into the mat. It is at this point that Ricardo's overbody starts to crack and reveal his true form. A swift kick shatters part of Ricardo's mask and an arm bar removes his false left arm, causing a spike on the now visible Piranhian Brace to stab through Jade's hand. Ricardo then swiftly uses the Piranhian Brace to send Jade into the air and perform a german suplex on him, following that up with a cross heel hold. Ricardo's overbody finishes crumbling while he uses that hold, but Jade is able to roll out of it and try for a knee drop. Ricardo quickly catches Jade's knee in his Piranhian Jaw, following up with a body slam onto the Colbart Hill. Brocken Jr. then makes the horrific discovery that Ricardo has "dMp" along his left arm and that he is truly an Akugyo Choujin. Ricardo claims that he was born evil, but after being trained by Pashango, he became good and now fights for justice. He is then accepted as a Seigi Choujin, but Jade still doesn't trust him after hearing how Ricardo felt no compassion for his parents' deaths. Jade angrily attacks with the Red Rain of Berlin, catching Ricardo with a small cut on the abdomen and then another across his legs. Jade then mounts Ricardo and goes for the face, but Brocken Jr. has Jade stop briefly. Ricardo wraps the Piranhian Brace's chain around Jade's wrist. He then moves behind Jade and wraps the chain around his neck as well. When Jade attempts to get free, Ricardo suplexes him with the chain still wrapped around Jade's wrist and neck. This leads to Ricardo having a flashback from when Pashango discovered his evil, true form and tried to attack him. Ricardo retaliated with the Torture Slash, accidentally killing his teacher, and then forgot that he even did it. Back in the present, Ricardo jumps from the top rope to catch Jade with his Piranhian Jaw, but Jade counters with a dropkick and a piledriver. It seems to work, but then Jade finds that Ricardo used his fangs to stop the impact. Ricardo then starts a psychological attack on Jade by saying that Brocken Jr. must give Jade advice for him to win, so Jade rejects any further advice from his teacher and starts to unleash a flurry of kicks. Ricardo counters them and catches Jade in a mount and starts punching Jade relentlessly. Jade tries the Red Rain of Berlin once more, but Ricardo evades it and gets Jade into a mounted triangle choke. Jade tries to roll out, but fails, giving Ricardo the opportunity to break Jade's arm by bending his elbow in the wrong direction. With Jade's right arm broken, Ricardo makes the Tempest Coil with a section of ring ropes, but Jade isn't ready to lose yet and continues fighting. Ricardo is forced to slam Jade with a water wheel drop and perform the Iquazu Lock, breaking Jade's right leg. Ricardo then jackhammers Jade onto the Tempest Coil and jumps up after him to perform the Torture Slash. In mid-move, Rinko throws in Jade's towel, but Ricardo finishes the move anyway, even though he saw the towel. Ricardo then defends his actions by stating that he didn't see the towel and may actually believe it himself, since he is convinced that he isn't evil any more.[2] Ricardo advances to the semi-finals to face Mantaro Kinniku (Kid Muscle). He mainly has the upper hand because of his superior training and the x in the middle of the ring until Mantaro regains his confidence because of Jade helping him. He loses his determination to win against Mantaro after his fellow student reveals that he actually murdered Pashango. Ricardo loses his confidence because of the fact he isn't a seigi choujin for not totally believing he will win the match and didn't break Mantaro's determination of winning. In desperation Richardo brutaly attacks Kid Muscle and sits him up for the torture slash but Mantaro breaks out of it. Mantaro then Muscle Millineums Richardo. After being defeated he sees his parents who applaud him for lasting this long against Mantaro and remind him to stay on the evil path. Richardo then leaves to train alone to win against Mantaro.[3]

Career Information

Profile

Laugh (Submission Artist): Kekeke~ (ケケケ～)
Laugh (Lord of Darkness): Figyu~, Figyu~ (フィギュ～、フィギュ～)

Nicknames

Submission Artist (関節技（サブミッション）アーティスト)
Lord of Darkness (暗黒の主（ロード・オブ・ダークネス）)
Multiple Choujin (多重人格（マルチプル）超人)

Win/Loss Record (Singles)

O Master Pashango (Torture Slash)
O Drag Slave (Iguazu Lock)
O The Matenrō (Torture Slash)
O Jade (Torture Slash)
X Mantaro Kinniku (Muscle Millennium)

References

1.Ultimate Muscle volume 17 2.Ultimate Muscle volume 18 3.Ultimate Muscle volume 19