Rick Gladiator (voiced by Takuya Satō), Rick Gladiatol in some translations, is the main character of the Japanese novel and anime "The Ossan Newbie Adventurer" (2024-). Rick is a former clerk at an adventurer's guild who starts off on his adventuring career by enrolling in the adventurer's guild's examinations, despite being 32 years old. He is underestimated due to his age; but people do not know that he was trained by the greatest group of adventurers in the world, making him stronger and more powerful than the average F-rank.
As a zero-to-hero protagonist, Rick took the leap of faith at 30. He resigned from his job as a receptionist and began the toughest training with the strongest party consisting of only S-rank members. He died, literally and figuratively speaking, many times but chose to keep going. He wasn't an overpowered character who either ate a mighty hero's hair to gain powers or got reincarnated as slime, yet he became one of the strongest adventurers.
Rick is characterized by his initial insecurity about his power and skills due to his E-Rank status. However, he possesses an unwavering determination to improve and constantly pushes himself to exceed his limitations. As the series progresses, Rick develops a quiet confidence in his abilities, particularly in his unique time manipulation skills. He has a dry sense of humor and often uses self-deprecating jokes to lighten tense situations. Rick is fiercely loyal to his friends and party members, willing to put himself in harm's way to protect them.
Rick's character might seem cliché to some, but he isn't. His long years of stagnant life and failure to become an adventurer are reasons that make him one of the best-overpowered characters. He might have the advantage today, but Rick did not grow up with these advantages. In the first episode, Rick decides to take the test, hoping to advance to E-rank, unaware that his strength is already beyond most that even the testing equipment could not measure. His cluelessness in the beginning made his character funny.
The humor that Rick's character brings stems from his ignorance of hiw superhuman abilities. It has put him in absurd situations where he has questioned his strength and gets surprised when he beats his opponents. The contrast between his personality and strength creates a lighthearted presence that builds more connections with the audience and results in one of the funniest anime in recent years.
Rick is part of a long tradition of comicly overpowered heroes who break expectations. Saitama, for instance, is similar to Rick because he also has deviated from the traditional trope about overpowered characters through his humor. Frequently, most loved overpowered anime characters are in their 20s; only some are in the same age range as Rick. Also, only some can establish a positive mindset despite all obstacles, like Rick, which can influence those around him.
Rick's character tells the audience that a person can reach their peak past their prime. Being 33 is another factor that qualifies Rick as one of Crunchyroll's best. The recklessness of someone in their 20s differs from those in their 30s. Young people aspiring to be heroes tend to explore and be experimental with their choices because they are still ahead of their lives. On the other hand, Rick did not have options available then to risk his life. Despite all the mockery, he silenced all of it and kept going; he doesn't let his failures define him. Rick Gladiator is not only entertaining, but is an inspiring character.
