King Dedede

"'Sing when you want to sing, dance when you want to dance! Everyday, have fun and enjoy life! That’s what it means to be a Great King!' - King Dedede, King Dedede’s Great Escape Strategy""'The great king can lazily enjoy himself because Dream Land is at peace. Everyone in Dream Land doesn’t always respect him that much. Because it’s normal for everyone to be at peace. But when hard times arise, or if there’s trouble, King Dedede rises up to the forefront for everyone and protects them. When that happens, everyone finally realizes how strong King Dedede is. But when it becomes peaceful again, they forget. The times when King Dedede is lazy are the times when everyone in Dream Land is at their happiest. That’s why I have a lot of respect for the lazy King Dedede.' - Bandana Waddle Dee on why he's such a loyal follower of King Dedede, King Dedede’s Great Escape Strategy"King Dedede (デデデ大王 Great King Dedede) is a portly, blue, penguin-like creature who wields a hammer and proclaims himself king of Dream Land. He is a recurring character who serves as Kirby's "arch frenemy" and is usually fought as a boss. Though he often engages in trouble-making, mostly involving stealing other people's food, he has performed noble deeds as well, such as trying to seal away Nightmare, helping Kirby battle Queen Sectonia, and accompanying Kirby in several of his adventures. Because of this, he is considered a protagonist. King Dedede lives in a castle atop a mountain with a retinue of Waddle Dees acting as his servants.

Having debuted in the series' first installment, Kirby's Dream Land, King Dedede is arguably the most recognizable character from the Kirby series behind the pink hero himself. He has appeared in one form or another in nearly every game in the series, and he even stars in his own side game, Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe. In older games, he was seldom playable, but this changed starting with Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, with the king being playable in many of his subsequent appearances.

Why He's Dededelightful

 * 1) For one, his character design is nearly perfect. He rocks the RBY color scheme and is a delightful combination of circles and rounded triangles. If you’ve never drawn him before, I recommend it. He’s a character that is actually really FUN to draw. Just like Kirby! He is also wonderfully animated with numerous cartoonish and goofy expressions that make up his silly personality. The Great King also holds the record for most redesigns across the entire series' history. While the inconsistency may seem like a bad quality for some, a lot of these designs are all good in their own way and give a lot of variety for fan artists.
 * 2) Unlike Nintendo's other king bosses, Dedede has had actual character growth. In his debut, he did a legitimately villainous thing by robbing the inhabitants of Dream Land of their food and sparkling stars, but after being taken down a peg by Kirby, his character starts to take a different direction.  In Kirby's Adventure, he was simply trying to protecting Dream Land from the outside threat, he didn’t want any recognition for his actions, he simply was doing what was right. Kirby didn’t even want to listen to what he had to say, but it didn’t make Dedede stop what he was doing simply because he didn’t get the praise for his heroics.   In Kirby 64 his motivation for going on the Crystal Shards hunt was purely because he was worried for safety of the kids. He had no other reason to join other than that.   In Return to Dream Land he was the first one to notice the Lor Starcutter crashing and offered Magolor his help, even though he didn’t offer anything in return. He was just helping out a stranger, because he thought it was right thing to do.   In Triple Deluxe he was involved into whole Sectonia incident essentially against his will, and yet, not expecting ANY sort of recognition he was basically the main reason why Kirby succeeded at saving the day.   In Star Allies, his motivation is cemented in words. He wants to bring peace to Dream Land, simply put. Nothing more or less. English localization adds bit of him “wanting to clean up his reputation” which might seem a bit self-serving, but that was nonexistent in Japanese original. And finally, in Forgotten Land, King Dedede selflessness is on full display once he's freed from being brainwashed, by putting the safety of Kirby and the Waddle Dees above his own, which is very unlike the villain most people assume him to be. Dedede might have started as a selfish jerk, but he's changed into a better person worthy of being called a "Great King". And the best part is that he did it all on his own! Kirby might have snapped him out of his behavior in the first game, but every righteous decision Dedede makes after that is his own.
 * 3) *Dedede is often called an anti-hero, but this is false. Anti-hero is defined as a protagonist who lacks conventional heroic qualities, such as idealism, courage, and morality. A good example of this is Wario: He’s not a villain for many years at this point and he does good things sometimes, but the difference is WHY he’s doing them. He does them not out of goodness of his heart, but because it usually aligns with his primary goals, which are more often than not are completely self-serving. He might save people, he might save the world, but only if it benefits him, if it helps him get more rich. He has some standards, but ultimately, when he does the right thing only when it’s beneficial to him (with extremely rare exceptions, such as his sentimental attachment to his pet hen).  As proven above, Dedede doesn’t fall under same criteria, since he does things for others more than he does for himself. Therefore, Dedede isn't a villain or anti-hero, he's just a hero. Same as Kirby.
 * 4) *Part of what makes Dedede's redemption so great, is that he really was a villain. Most redeemed antagonists were antagonistic in the first place because of circumstances outside of their control. A good example would be Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender: He did bad things, but it's hard to blame him when you know Ozai's the real monster. But with Dedede, he actively chose to steal all the food in Dream Land with zero outside influence. That was his mistake. But then, he realized his faults afterwards, and worked hard to better himself. No blaming society, just owning up to his own mistakes.
 * 5) He has an interesting relationship with Kirby. They are very similar people at their core, both are fairly happy-go-lucky, gluttonous, love peace and quiet, fairly blunt and straightforward, prone to impulsive decisions, but also charismatic leaders that attract a lot of people that genuinely admire them. The fact that they compete so much is fairly obvious, they are on another wave of understanding between each other compared to everyone else Kirby or Dedede interacts with. Dedede understands Kirby the best and vice-versa. They are two sides of the same coin. This is why they do silly gourmet races and test each other’s strength so often. They are only people to each other they genuinely recognize as rivals. Meta Knight also sees Kirby as his rival, but Kirby doesn’t feel the same way towards him. Meta Knight is kinda this weird dude that is very distant but loves challenging you on occasion. and Kirby would never go out of his way to fight Meta Knight unless he’s caught up in the moment. While Dedede is very simple to understand but this is also why Kirby almost always accept his challenges without hesitation. According to one of Dedede's figurine descriptions from Forgotten Land, Dedede considers him and Kirby to be "Destined Rivals", and is even upset when he couldn't find him when he first arrived in the new world. Dedede enjoys having Kirby in his life, and wouldn't have it any other way.
 * 6) *In Super Star Ultra 's "Revenge of the King", Dedede offers Kirby his hammer before the final battle. Ever since then, pause descriptions for the Hammer ability in Return to Dream Land, Triple Deluxe, and Planet Robobot all either alluded or straight up said that it's Dedede's hammer on loan. According to Star Allies ' description, Kirby has kept that hammer since that duel. and inherited it. In Forgotten Land, Dedede even gives Kirby an upgrade for the Hammer ability.
 * 7) *Many people view Dedede as "the Bowser of the Kirby series", but a better and more accurate comparison would be Knuckles the Echidna. Both start out as antagonists in their debut games, but quickly goes through a redemption arc and becomes one of the main protagonists.  Despite their redemption, both have a trope that forces them to be “bad guys” for the sake of having a boss fight with them. That being Knuckles being tricked by Eggman time and time again and Dedede being possessed/controlled.
 * 8) Dedede tries to seem more threatening/aloof than he actually is, but he’s bad at it. It’s quite clear he cares a lot about the people he's close to. This is easily see n in his many adorable interac tions with Kirby & friends during Kirby 64 ' s cutscenes, Super Star Ultra's "Revenge of the King" where he spares Bandana Dee from facing Kirby, even more interactions in Mie Takase's official Kirby novels, the ending picture you get after beating "Guest Star ???? Star Allies Go!" as him in Star Allies, and Forgotten Land where he saves a Waddle Dee as previously mentioned above. Another thing in Forgotten Land, if you keep talking to Minion Waddle Dee in Waddle Dee Town, you’ll get different dialogues. In one of them, he says King Dedede is still a bit upset and jealous that Kirby was going out rescuing his Waddle Dees while he was stuck being controlled. So, not only does this King care deeply about his Dees, he feels bad he wasn't able to do more to help them.
 * 9) Despite how most may see him, Dedede isn't just some lazy oaf. Even before Kirby came into the picture, he had an arena in his castle specifically for himself, implying that he's an active fighter, and after being bested by Kirby for the first time, Dedede underwent serious training in order to match his abilities. According to the boss description of Dedede Clone in Planet Robobot, King Dedede is even considered to be one of the strongest beings on Planet Popstar, which is very impressive, especially considering the context that the descriptions in the game are actually being narrated by a super computer. But if you think that means Dedede's just brawn and no brains, think again! Dedede has been shown to be an intelligent and capable leader on multiple occasions. In Kirby's Adventure and Squeak Squad, Dedede had already defeated and imprisoned the main villain before Kirby arrived. And in Super Smash Bros. Brawl's story mode "Subspace Emissary", he created special badges restore his fellow fighters even after everyone has been turned into trophies, and it actually worked!
 * 10) Again, in Forgotten Land, he sacrificed himself to ensure that no Dee was left behind, so he clearly cares about his servants, and the feeling is mutual. During the credits of Super Star Ultra 's "Revenge of the King", Dedede walks alone in shame, after being bested by Kirby yet again... except, he ISN'T alone. He gets accompanied by all of his loyal Waddle Dees, who choose to stay by his side, no matter how many times he gets humiliated. They're not forced to do his bidding, they follow him because they genuinely admire him. Dedede rarely ever seems to demand much of them outside of food. In the opening of Planet Robobot, he is seen playing chess with one of his Dees, and in the opening of Star Allies, he is seen gazing at the sky with one of them. It pretty sweet actually.
 * 11) Kirby is a strange being, with many strange abilities. He has demonstrated his immense power on many occasions and is even hailed one of the strongest fictional characters of all time in many online circles, however, the same can be said for King Dedede. In Kirby's Pinball Land, Dedede can shoot lightning out of his hands, and in Forgotten Land, he can freeze things with a giant pillar and set things on fire with his punches. In Star Allies, he can suddenly become abnormally swole, and before you argue that it was only a temporary effect from the Jamba Heart, Meta Knight gets to keep his duplication ability in Kirby Fighters 2, and Dedede swinging around humongous pillars like nothing in Forgotten Land implies that the effects of the Jamba Heart may still be lingering. Outside of supernatural abilities, Dedede also has a mysterious power amplifying mask. Yes. The mask isn't just a thing that makes him more intimidating, it actually gives him more power. It has been stated in Kirby Battle Royale, and by Shinya Kumazaki himself. What could be the source of the mask's power? Well, if you take a closer look, the mask bears a resemblance to Dark Mind, a past Kirby final boss. If you believe this is a stretch, look no further than King D-Mind from Team Kirby Clash Deluxe and Super Kirby Clash, which is enough to prove that the connection between Dedede and Dark Mind is clearly intentional. It would also explain why Dedede and Bandana Dee seemed reluctant to resort to using it in Super Star Ultra 's "Revenge of the King", and why Taranza (who also has connections of the Dimension Mirror) would have it in his possession in Triple Deluxe.
 * 12) Has a lot of cool and iconic boss battles across the series' history, each with their own creative twist that makes every fight feel fresh, while also evolving and adding onto his old moves. For example, ever since Triple Deluxe, the inhale attack of King Dedede (including his other forms) has got a significantly increased range, and has been titled ビッグバンすいこみ (Big Bang Inhale, Big Bang being the Japanese name of Hypernova) in the Japanese version.
 * 13) *Also, each battle is accompanied with an amazing boss theme. The Great King's theme is very iconic and has had countless remixes and variations across the series' history. Every single arrangement related to King Dedede from 1992 to 2020 can be heard down below in the Videos section.
 * 14) *The arenas for his fights are also very iconic. In Super Star and Super Star Ultra ' s "Spring Breeze", Dedede is faced in a boxing ring, with tons of watchers. You get the sense that this must be a huge event in Dream Land, when even the famous Mario has traveled from the Mushroom Kingdom to see this duel. But in Super Star Ultra ' s "Revenge of the King", the final battle against Masked Dedede takes place in an electric cage match, with Bandanna Waddle Dee as the only viewer. It tells you that this battle isn't about food or glory, but instead it's personal.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) In the non-canonical anime (Right Back At Ya!), Dedede was represented as a primary antagonist: jerky and abusive dictator, who orders monsters to get the job done for him, because he's too incompetent himself.  Much more people seen the show than actually play the games, which resulted in this version of the character to become more known among casual audiences.

Videos
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Trivia

 * He or his likeness has appeared in every game in the series except Kirby & The Amazing Mirror. As such, he is the most recurring major character of the series besides Kirby and Waddle Dee.
 * King Dedede is currently voiced by Shinya Kumazaki, the current series director for Kirby, and in the Super Smash Bros series, King Dedede is voiced by Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of both Kirby and Smash.