"Strength, Power", Akita Inu

this dog has pecs and there's nothing you can do about it

Riki is by far my favorite Ginga character. Like, spanning the entire franchise's wealth of great characters, he continues to warm my heart the most. I've said before that this is because he's never had the chance to "be ruined" by the commonly seen negative character development in the franchise's later installations. Because he dies at the end of the first story. Lmao. This dog IS machismo, no toxicity to be found in him. He is bold, powerful, proud, just, and eternally respectful to his troops. Anyone who's read the manga knows about his subtle little smile, the one he directs at his men. I love this dog, dude. I wanted to BE Riki as a child. I still kinda do.

I know the fandom leans towards Riki's anime colors, probably because they've managed to be more iconic then his other designs. But purebred brown and yellow Akitas simply do not exist, at least not with coloration as intense as Anime Riki's. So he gets to be a boring red Akita, but with big dog muscles and a LOT of scars. They're less anime-y here because I couldn't justify making them too stylized. This is what he'd look like just before the final battle against The Big Bad Bear, hence why he's littered with trophies of battles past won.