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Richter (リヒテル) is the secondary antagonist of the anime series Tōshō Daimos. He is the prince of the Baam Empire and rightful heir to its throne, although Olban usurped the throne after killing his father, Emperor Leon, as he was too young. He is also Erika's older brother and Kazuya Ryūzaki's archenemy.
He was voiced by the late Osamu Ichikawa, who had previously voiced Great General Garuda and Warchimedes in Chōdenji Robo Combattler V, and Prince Heinel in Voltes V.
Personality[]
Richter is ultimately not an evil person, but often blinded by his desire for vengeance. After his father's death, he is eager to lead the Baam forces to invade Earth in order to avenge him. He cares for Erika a lot, but isn't happy when finding out that she is in love with an Earthling.
Biography[]
Richter was born on Planet Baam to King Leon and his wife, Roji. He was their first child, followed by his sister, Erika. As children, Erika and Richter were close with one another. Richter also mentions growing up with Melvi in his youth. His best friend, however, was a Baam named Aizam who he met while duelling.
At a young age, the palace Richter and his family resided in caught on fire, resulting in the death of Roji. Risking his own life, Richter managed to rescue Erika, who was trapped under falling debris, from the flames. Afterwards, Richter and Erika were raised by their nanny, Margarete, who served as their main maternal parental figure, alongside their father Leon.
Richter and Erika lived peacefully until one day, the sun of Planet Baam, Algol, crashed into a miniature nebulae. The absorption of the antimatter heated Algol to two billion degrees, rendering Planet Baam uninhabitable for the Baam-seijin. Leon ordered for the remaining Baam to be frozen into cryostatis until they could find a new home.
Erika, Richter and Leon before the meeting
Hoping for a planet where the Baam culture could flourish, Leon chose Planet Earth. He travelled from a mighty distance to attend negotiations with the Earthern delegates on the topic of housing a billion Baam-seijin refugees.
At the meeting, Leon, accompanied by Erika, Richter, Georiya and a few Baam soldiers, explained the plight of the Baams to the Earthlings, asking that they allow in their people as refugees. Though most of the human delegates were shocked at the idea of allowing such a large population, the head, Dr. Isamu Ryuzaki, stated that he approved of it and said he would pass on Leon's request to the UN. Leon was overjoyed and stated that he knew that coming to Earth was the right idea. He then declared that as long as everyone chose to come to terms, everlasting peace was possible.
Erika tries to stop Richter from shooting the human delegates
All of a sudden, Leon collapsed after drinking from his cup. Erika was shocked and begged him to get up. Richter was also shocked, and dumped the cup into the nearby fishtank and watched the fish die, confirming his suspicions that the drink was laced with poison. Richter's expression turned to rage and he accused the humans of taking advantage of his father's will for peace. To avenge him, Richter took a gun off one of the Baam soldiers and tried to shoot the human delegates, even though Leon ordered him not to. Knowing that peace would never be possible if Richter killed innocent people, he used his last words to beg Erika to stop her brother before succumbing to the poison. Erika attempted to wrangle the gun out of Richter's hands, but she was ultimately unsuccessful and he managed to shoot Isamu in the chest. As they were pursued by human delegates shooting at them, Richter and his soldiers carried Erika to safety and re-entered their spaceship. They left the meeting to Small Baam, the makeshift planet where the remaining Baam were.
Olban orders Erika and Richter to do whatever they can to make Earth their new home
Since Richter, the true heir to the throne, was too young to rule, Small Balm was headed by Olban, Leon's former advisor. Olban gave Richter the rank of Admiral and ordered him to annihilate the Earthlings as revenge for the demise of King Leon. He told Richter of his plan, to wipe out the Earth so that the Baam-seijin had a new living space after their old planet was destroyed. He also ordered Erika to help him, and she did so by becoming a medic for the army. Also aiding Richter were his generals Raiza and Balbas.
Richter sent waves of ships to terrorize Earth, but Earthern astronaut, Kazuya Ryuzaki, and his friend, Kyōshirō Yuzuki, managed to shoot them down. Kazuya and Kyōshirō were then recalled back to Earth. Frustrated that his forces were destroyed, Richter ordered his soldiers to locate the ship's destination and crush it. Once it was indentified as the Eastern coast of Japan, Richter sent a Mecha Warrior its way. While the Earth Defense Force managed to hold them off, the Mecha Warrior was truly defeated when Kazuya entered the Super Robot Daimos and challenged it to a duel, eventually emerging victorious.
Richter didn't want Erika to join the army, but she disobeyed him and boarded a ship full of Baam soldiers with the intention of treating their injuries. When the ship she was in crash-landed in Japan, she was considered missing by the Baam soldiers. One Baam soldier, full of remorse, informed Richter of this fact. Richter was agape, but then stated that he felt no sympathy for her since she explicitly went against his orders.
Erika's ship crashed and landed in Japan, and she was discovered by Kazuya himself. Though he called out to her to get to safety, she couldn't hear him and collapsed. Kazuya then defeated exited Daimos to tend to her. He instantly fell in love with her, and after she fainted, he took her to a hospital. Kazuya made efforts to visit Erika in the hospital and inquire about her past, but she was unable to answer the latter due to being an amnesiac. Nevertheless, she reciprocated Kazuya's romantic feelings.
Suddenly, Daimovic is hit with a call from Richter of the Baam-seijin, challenging Earth. Hearing Richter's voice jogs Erika's memories and she suddenly remembers her real identity - Princess Erika of the Baam-seijin. She also remembered that the mecha seemed familiar to her because she drew the blueprints of it and presented it to Richter before departing for the war.
Erika's guilt increases upon realizing that the man Richter shot, Isamu Ryuzaki, was Kazuya's father. Erika is horrified and tries at many points to run away from Kazuya, much to his confusion. Erika at one point even fakes her death by falling off a cliff (but surviving thanks to her wings), shocking Kazuya. Eventually Erika's identity as a Baam is exposed to Kazuya, shocking him, and she allows Balbas to take her back to the Undersea Castle. Despite this revelation, Kazuya still loves Erika and seeks to reunite with her.
At the Undersea Castle, while Erika observes a Mecha Warrior duel with Daimos, she cries out for Kazuya's safety. Richter, realizing that Erika fell in love with him, attacks Erika and shames her. Margarete comes to her defense and shields Erika with her body. Eventually, Richter realizes that he is acting maniacal and leaves them be, still angry that his sister fell in love with a human.
Richter's hatred for Earth and the humans colours many of his interactions with his fellow Baam-seijin. He dispatches Gurney Halleck to defeat Kazuya, but once Gurney learns of the empathy Kazuya has towards people regardless if they're human or Baam, he pleads with Richter to stop the war, only to be called a traitor and sentenced to death.
While Erika and Margarete help him escape, when Gurney learns that Raiza planted a bomb in the next Mecha Warrior and was hoping to use it to annihilate the human race, he forces himself into it and flies it away from earth's orbit, sacrificing his life to make sure Kazuya doesn't die. Richter also physically abuses Raiza and calls her useless because her Mecha Warriors repeatedly lose against Daimos. His forces repeatedly purge anyone accused of sympathizing with the humans from the Undersea Castle. He also deems Erika a traitor for loving Kazuya and orders her execution.
On the day of Erika's scheduled execution, some rebels interrupt the process and stage a diversion. Margarete then injects Erika with a serum that causes her to faint, tricking Richter and his goons into thinking she's dead. Margarete lies to Richter and states that she killed her, and while Richter is enraged, Raiza defends Margarete, saying that she did it for Erika's honour. While Raiza was lying in the hopes of buying Margarete's loyalty, Richter believes it.
The "death" of Erika
Even though he considers her a traitor, he decides to hold a funeral for her.
He decides that she should be buried on Earth, near the Daimovic area, which grabs Kazuya's attention. Kazuya meets Richter there, and Richter challenges him to a duel. Erika manages to wake up from the serum, shocking Kazuya, Richter and the rest of the spectators. Seeing Richter duel with Kazuya, Erika stands in front of the former, begging Kazuya not to kill her brother.
The commotion awakens Erika from the serum, shocking Kazuya, Richter and the rest of the spectators. Seeing Richter duel with Kazuya, Erika stands in front of the former, begging Kazuya not to kill her brother. Erika is then abducted by a spaceship.
Erika's "saviour" turns out to be Olban's nephew, Melvi
The spaceship is piloted by none other than Olban's nephew Melvi. He takes her back to the Undersea Castle, but tells Richter that he will marry Erika. Erika is shocked, but refuses to say anything since Melvi is her only hope at staying alive. Richter wants to oppose him, but knows he cannot since Melvi has a higher position than him.
Melvi then confesses to Erika that he knows of her romance with Kazuya and supports it, as do a lot of Baam-seijin, because King Leon would have wanted peace. He informs her of a resistance movement against Richter in New Zealand lead by peace activist Barandock, and orders her to join it, while giving her a ring full of personal information regarding the rebels. Raiza, angered that Melvi humiliated Richter, manages to kill Melvi and make it look like an accident, but Erika escapes to New Zealand. She eventually she lets Kazuya know she's there but says they cannot reunite yet because they must prioritize ending the war, and he agrees.
While Erika is a free woman, Richter subjects Margerete to extreme abuse and has Raiza torture her because he sees her as complicit in Erika's "betrayal". He has her wings cut off and orders her to live as a slave. Margarete is eventually recused by Barandock's rebels and joins Erika in New Zealand. The two assist Barandock's rebel activities and help in any way they can.
Richter's childhood best friend, Aizam, joins the Undersea Castle and begins issuing orders in his place. It turns out Olban, frustrated with Richter's inability to defeat Daimos, sent Aizam to replace him. Aizam, however, has no interest in taking Richter's position and swears loyalty to him instead. He even tells Richter that he will gladly sacrifice his own life for his sake. Aizam actually has his own reasons for entering the battle - he's dying from a disease and wants to die a warrior's death, but he hides this from Richter as he doesn't want him to worry.
However, when he faints from overworking, Richter grows concerned for him and watches over him as he rests in the hospital bed. Aizam's research and improvement (most notably, his discovery of the Aizaron particles that made the Mecha Warriors more powerful), forced the Daimovic to implement great upgrades to Daimos.
Aizam steals a ship and escapes to the battlefield without Richter knowing, but when he's found out, he tells Richter the truth about his illness. After failing to defeat Daimos, Aizam apologizes to Richter for not being able to defeat him and lets the carnage annihilate him. Richter is broken by his best friend's death and orders an assault on Earth to avenge him, worsening human-Baam tensions.
As the stakes of war get higher, Balbas' younger brother Himley, a peace officer on Small Baam, witnesses Georiya's cruelty towards the Baam-seijin civilians. Georiya massacres several of them en masse, including his and Balbas' parents.
Georiya tells Richter the truth
When he tries to warn Olban about this, he overhears him bragging about killing Leon and considering killing Richter because he is outliving his usefulness as an Admiral. Himley, angered about what he just learned, tries to escape to the Undersea Castle and tell Richter, putting Balbas at an odds - he doesn't want to kill his own brother, but he also wants to follow his orders as Richter's general. Richter, on the other hand, offers to hear Himley out, bringing Balbas to tears.
Hearing Himley's story, Richter initially doesn't believe him, but decides to confront Georiya to find out the truth. Knowing he's been found out, Georiya has his spies in the Undersea castle reveal themselves and hold Richter and Balbas at gunpoint, while Himley is shot defending Raiza from them. Having gathered Richter, Raiza and Balbas, Georiya tells them the truth - Olban coveted Leon's position, so he had Georiya pour poison in his cup during the meeting. In addition, while Richter tried to shoot Isamu, the bullet he shot missed and hit the wall - Georiya just took advantage of the ensuing chaos and secretly shot Isamu instead.
Georiya tries to kill the three, but Raiza protests against it and says that she was never loyal to Richter. She states that Richter maltreated her and she has no love for him, and begs to join Georiya's side instead. While Richter and Balbas are shocked, Georiya takes pleasure in this, and makes Raiza prove her loyalty by killing Richter and Balbas. Richter and Balbas are imprisoned in a Mecha Warrior while Raiza takes a command position. She then betrays Georiya and tells Richter that she was on his side all along, lying so that she could rescue him. While the Mecha Warrior explodes, Richter falls into the sea and is rescued by Raiza. Balbas, on the other hand, washes up near the Daimovic base.
Balbas is taken prisoner by the Daimovic crew, amd they ask for his co-operation, but he says he would rather die than ally with the humans. Nevertheless, Kazuya treats him with kindness as if he was a fellow human, bringing him food and ensuring he is treated humanely. When Kazuya leaves the prison room, Balbas is brought to tears because of how unflinchingly kind Kazuya is despite him authorizing many attacks on Earth earlier.
Balbas and Kazuya team up against Georiya's forces
Genta, out of curiousity, enters Balbas's room. Balbas then takes him hostage and threatens to kill him. Kazuya offers himself as a prisoner in exchange, which Balbas agrees to. He flies to a mountain with Kazuya, but on the way the two are shot by Georiya's forces. They decide to team up, and Balbas even uses his own bandage Kazuya's wound. Balbas then tells Kazuya the truth about Olban and how he betrayed Leon and Richter. Kazuya proposes working together with Richter, which makes Balbas happy. He agrees to fly the boy back to Daimovic.
They reach the base but Balbas dies after being shot, and then stabbed multiple times, by Georiya's goons. Though Kazuya is appalled at his bleeding body, Balbas tells him to keep moving forward and forget about him, saying that the fate of a billion Baamites is in his hands. Kazuya is enraged and defeats Georiya's Baamite mecha.
Miwa shoots Raiza
Raiza takes Richter to a secret base she constructed. While tending to his injuries, she suggets appealing to the humans for help, but Richter disagrees, saying there is no way the humans would help them after all the bloodshed they've caused. Raiza tries to appeal to them anyway, asking Kazuya for help. Miwa overhears this and shoots Raiza, causing her to abandon all hope of allying with them. Raiza and Richter escape to Small Balm, where they plan to kill Olban.
Georiya then discovers Erika's base and tells her Olban wants to make her his bride. Erika, worried that the Baam-seijin refugees will die if she doesn't say yes, agrees, to the shock of Kazuya and Margarete. Margarete brings up Olban killed her father, and Kazuya asks her if their love meant nothing, and Erika lies and says that she loves Olban, and departs to Small Baam to marry him. The two are shocked.
Georiya tells Erika that Olban wishes to marry her
Kazuya's heart is broken, but he fights anyway. He befriends two Baam-seijin soldiers, who were taught by propaganda that humans were cruel, but were pleasantly surprised that human doctors tended to their injuries. They offer to take Kazuya to Olban's base.
Near the series finale, Kazuya travels to Small Baam with Kyōshirō, Nana, Shinchiro, Okane, Genta and two Baam-seijin soldiers. Meanwhile, Olban wants Erika to shoot Kazuya to prove that she actually loves him. Erika plans to shoot him with a tranquilizer that had a microfilm in it, explaining that she's planning to kill Olban, but Gildo overhears this and switches it with an actual gun.
When Kazuya and Kyōshirō attempt to rescue Erika, she shoots Kazuya, severely injuring him. Erika then realizes that she had a real gun in her hands and is horrified. She faints, and as Kyōshirō throws his katana at her, Gildo flies and carries her away.
Erika is duped into shooting Kazuya with a real gun
Kyōshirō is angered and feels as if his bias against Erika was justified all along, and takes Kazuya to their ship to heal Kazuya's injuries. Kazuya believes that Erika was evil all along. Gildo's ship attacks the Daimovic ship, and Erika uses the same gun to kill Gildo, saving the Daimovic crew from his attacking mecha. She then flies back to Small Baam.
Once Kazuya's healed, the Daimovic crew enter Small Baam again, where they witness the cruelty of Olban towards his subjects.
Richter and Raiza enter Small Balm through the corpse chute and disguise themselves as priests. While disguised, Richter holds a gun to Georiya's waist and tell him to lead them to control room. Georiya timdly obeys, but once he enters the room, he orders his forces to shoot them. Richter and Raiza shoot them first and Richter manages to corner Georiya, who begs for mercy and claims that he was just following orders. He then tosses a knife at Richter, but Richter grabs the knife and throws it back, killing Georiya for good.
Raiza then alerts Richter to live footage of Olban being led to the wedding. Richter supposedly kills Olban too, but is informed later that it was a body double. Olban discovers Richter and Raiza are on Small Baam and orders his forces to capture them.
Raiza, not wanting Richter to die, flies towards Olban's building and tries to kill him. She comes close, having destroyed the window and ready to fire her gun at him, but misses and is then shot at by Olban's forces. She is humiliated by Olban, who steps on her fingers as she clings to the building, before falling to her death. Richter is heartbroken and tells her corpse he will join her soon. Richter reveals himself to the public, and Olban orders for his execution. Unbeknownst to Olban, due to the fact that he has many enemies on Small Baam thanks to his tyranny, the executioners helped Richter escape.
Erika prepares to marry Olban, readying her gown. Margarete asks her one last time to reconsider but she refuses. Erika tells Margarete she must never see her again and thanks her for raising her as if she was her own daughter. Margarete is confused, but then notices a dagger in Erika's gown. Erika denies it and quickly runs away from her.
Unbeknownst to Margarete, Kyōshirō and Kazuya, Erika secretly plans to kill Olban to avenge her father. On the day of their wedding, Erika attempts to take Olban's life with a dagger, but fails. Margarete applauds her, and asks why she didn't tell her of the plan - she would have helped. She also tries to kill Olban. Olban orders for his men to shoot Erika and Margarete. However, the "priest" officiating the wedding praises Erika, and reveals his true identity - Richter.
The Priest is revealed to be Richter
Olban is shocked, as he was under the assumption he ordered for Richter's execution. Richter replies that the executioners have actually been against Olban all this time because he treats people with cruelty. He tries to kill Olban, but his soldiers block the way, and he fights them off.
Suddenly, Daimos appears on Small Baam, having managed to surpass the security system in it's place. Even though she tried to assassinate him, Olban declares that "he will not let anyone take his flower away" and tries to flee with Erika, while Richter tries to follow him. While Margarete is trying to shield Erika from Olban, one of Olban's soldiers stabs her.
Though she's losing blood, Margarete manages to calls for Kazuya, and he recognizes her. She begs him to save Erika and tells him where she's being held hostage, but Kazuya brings up Erika's betrayal. Margarete tells him the truth - that Erika was set up by Gildo to shoot him and was tricked, restoring his faith in her. Margarete then faints from blood loss, falling off the building and later being shot at by the Mecha Warrior. Her death devastates Kazuya.
Olban holds Erika hostage
Olban holds Erika hostage, while Richter tries to save her. He throws his sword at the room's control panel, which causes the room to set to self-destruct. Olban then abandons Erika while Richter ushers her to safety in the basement of the temple.
Richter later confronts Olban in the final battle to kill him once and for all. Even though Olban threatens to cut off the life support for the frozen Baams, Richter manages to mortally wound him. However, before he dies, Olban reveals that he has a remote-control implant in his heart that if he died, would automatically move Small Baam towards Jupiter, killing all the Baam-seijin in cryostatis.
Erika and Richter aghast at Olban's plan
Olban laughs before passing away, while Erika and Richter try to stop Small Baam from crashing. Erika recognizes the Daimovic crew on Small Baam and insists on the humans helping them, but Richter refuses.
Kazuya tries to stop this by entering the control room to turn off the crash, but along the way, he is shot by many of Olban's automated laser guns, rendering him immobile. Even though he is covered in scars, he still tries to bypass them, for the sake of the innocent Baam-seijin in cryostatis. Richter and Erika watch this, which makes Richter realize that Erika was right about him.
Moved by Kazuya's kindness and realizing that he was wrong about humans all along, Richter braves the automated laser guns, enters the control panel room and manages to prevent the crash, saving the remaining Baam-seijin. His body sustains many injuries along the way. Richter then praises Kazuya, calling him a man amongst men.
Richter saves Kazuya
The Daimovic crew and remaining Baam-seijin cheer, glad that they're safe, but then Richter enters a ship. Believing that Baam and Earth can't be at peace as long as he's still alive since he has too many Earthlings' blood on his hands, Richter commits suicide by setting himself to crash to Jupiter, shocking Erika, Kazuya and the rest of the Daimovic crew. Kazuya yells at him not to die, saying the war is over, and Erika begs him to stop, but Richter bids them farewell. Before he dies, Richter tells Kazuya to look after Erika for him, and that he can only beg for the mercy of the Earthern people. Kazuya tries to stop him, but is too injured to.
Richter's ship crashes into Jupiter, creating a bright light as it explodes. Erika cries watching her brother die.
In other media[]
Books and magazines[]
Richter appears multiple times in the Japanese 月刊OUT magazine series. He appeared on the cover of the February 1980 issue, side by side with Prince Heinel of Voltes V. He would appear on June 1980 issue with the rest of Tadao Nagahama's villains, and again in the March 1981 issue.
Video games[]
He appears in 4th Super Robot Wars, 4th Super Robot Wars S, Super Robot Wars Compact, Super Robot Wars A, Super Robot Wars MX, Super Robot Wars Card Chronicle, 2nd Super Robot Wars Alpha and 3rd Super Robot Wars Alpha.
Quotes[]
| “ | You idiot! Raiza, what a naive idea! You've really lost it, Raiza! Do you think they'll abandon their hatred for us!? Even if we temporarily coo-perated with them, as soon as we guide them back to their home, there is no doubt that they will eradicate our homeland together with Olban! Don't say such things! I will never let the Earthling worms kill the people of Basm! | „ |
| ~ Richter after Raiza suggests co-operating with the humans |
| “ | Erika... I entrust Erika to you! | „ |
| ~ Richter to Kazuya, before heading off to stop Small Baam from crashing into Jupiter |
| “ | Kazuya Ryuzaki! You're a hero who stands out from the crowd! I won't let your courageous deeds go to waste! Eternal glory to your future and the billion people of Planet Baam. | „ |
| ~ Richter praising Kazuya |
| “ | Farewell Erika...Farewell Kazuya Ryuzaki...I killed too many Earthlings to beg forgiveness from the Earthlings who helped Baam...I will judge myself with my own hands! …Farewell… | „ |
| ~ Richter's last words |
Trivia[]
- Richter often uses the first-person pronoun "yo" when he's referring to himself, except when he's around Aizam, to who he used the first-person pronoun "ore".
- Richter's name might be a reference to Charles Francis Richter, a seismologist who developed the world-famous Richter scale that measures the magnitude of earthquakes.
- Similar to how Kazuya is based on Romeo and Erika is based on Juliet, Richter is based on Tybalt, Juliet's cousin. Tybalt opposes Romeo and Juliet's romance and tries to sabotage it.
- However, in the anime, the role of Tybalt is changed from being Juliet's cousin to being her brother.
- Tybalt is noted to be violent, vengeful, short-tempered and ambitious by critics of Romeo and Juliet, which is similar to how Richter acts throughout the series.
- The scene where Richter and Kazuya spar has parallels to the duel between Tybalt and Romeo at the beginning of Act III, though unlike the former, it never comes to fruition as Romeo refuses to fight.
- Tybalt is nicknamed "Prince of the cats", while Richter has a lion motif.
- Richter's name was changed in various dubs of Daimos.
- In the Philippine-English dub, he was known as Ulrich.
- In the Starbirds (American-English) dub, he was known as Roderick.
- In the Italian dub, he was known as Rikiter.
- Richter is the final Tōshō Daimos character to die.
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Richter on the Robot Romance Trilogy Wiki.
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 Villains
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Chōdenji Robo Combattler V Voltes V Tōshō Daimos Other | ||