King Dedede

" “ He's usually so carefree, perhaps a teeny-tiny bit lazy... But when it matters most, our leader always does his royal duty. Long live King Dedede! ” ― Minion Waddle Dee about King Dedede, Kirby and the Forgotten Land"

King Dedede is a main character in the Kirby series. He's the self-made king of Dream Land and is often described as Kirby's "royal nemesis" or "destined rival," although he is simply just a competitive friend at this point, who, despite his debut as a greedy self-serving tyrant, grew into one of Kirby's closest allies, accompanying him on many adventures.

Why He's a Great King

 * 1) A common misconception amongst those whose only exposure to the Kirby series is through Super Smash Bros. and the anime, is that Dedede is the main antagonist of the series, but that interpretation of his character is demonstrably false and untrue.
 * 2) * Instead of looking mean and threatening, he's designed to appear round and cute (or "shaped like a friend" if you prefer).
 * 3) * After his antagonistic role in the first game, he never regressed back to his old ways and instead becoming more and more heroic, unlike Bowser, whose very rare alliances with the heroes are only temporary, and immediately returns to his old habits the moment his partnerships loses its purpose.
 * 4) *When looking at his actions in the first game, it can be argued that Dedede was never even evil to begin with. Sure, stealing all the food in Dream Land made him an antagonist, but it was moreso an act of shortsighted selfishness rather than outright cruelty, and upon learning the error of his ways, he started improving himself as soon as the second game, Kirby's Adventure.
 * 5) While he is usually fought as a boss, that doesn't make him a villain. In Kirby's Adventure for example, he only stole the Star Rod to prevent Nightmare from haunting all of Dream Land. Every Dedede battle after that has been either him being controlled by the true villain or a simple friendly competition with nothing at stake (like the Gourmet Race in Kirby Super Star).
 * 6) *Dedede is often mistaken for an anti-hero, but this is false: anti-heroes lack conventional heroic qualities, such as idealism, courage, and morality, and will only do good when they have something to gain from it (TL, DR, a description that fits Wario better). This isn't the case with Triple D, as he has grown to become genuinely righteous and responsible, putting the needs and safety of others before himself on multiple occasions.
 * 7) Ever since officially ending their grudge once and for all in Kirby Super Star Ultra 's Revenge of the King, he is seen to be on friendly terms with Kirby, happily joining him on many adventures and even saving each other's lives. Many official artwork and books set in the games' world also depict him as one of Kirby's closest friends, and as previously said above, most of the battles he has with Kirby out of his own volition are just friendly competitions.
 * 8) *Dedede's relationship wit h Kirby is actually pretty similar to that of a big brother's. He may tease, compete, and be a little jealous of him from time to time, but at the end of the day, he cares for the kid and has a lot in common with him (such as their optimistic carefree and gluttonous personalities). When Kirby tumbles down the stairs in the good ending of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Dedede is concerned for his safety, in the title screen of Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Dedede will try to amuse Kirby with a silly face, and according to a figurine description in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Dedede was crestfallen without Kirby when he first arrived in the New World. It's adorable.
 * 9) *In Kirby Super Star Ultra 's Revenge of the King, Dedede gives Kirby a hammer in order to have a fair match as equals (much like Meta Knight usually does). According to various pause descriptions for the Hammer ability, Kirby has kept that same hammer since then and inherited it, and in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Dedede even gives Kirby an upgrade for the Hammer ability. The fact that Dedede trusts Kirby with his hand-me-downs is extremely wholesome.
 * 10) In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Dedede gets to be one of the main playable characters who willingly and happily joins Kirby on his adventure. Going back to comparisons with Bowser, every time the Koopa King teams up with Mario and friends, it's because he's been usurped by the new villain on the block and has no one left to turn to, and he won't stop reminding you that he's a villain even after he's joined your party. This isn't the case with Dedede. The reason they went on their adventure is purely because they wanted to help Magolor repair his ship, and Dedede didn't hesitate to go along with it, because helping those in need is just what a good king does. Sure, Magolor turned out to be a deceptive egg, but none of them knew that.
 * 11) To reflect his growth, his title has been changed from "Self-Proclaimed King" to "Self-Made King," shifting the meaning from "he's not even a real king, that's just what he calls himself" to "worthy of his title and respect."
 * 12) Unlike his anime counterpart, Dedede doesn't rule through cruelty and oppression, but through sheer charisma. His Waddle Dees follow him purely out of respect and admiration and will continue to stay by his side even when given the opportunity to abandon him, which can be seen in Kirby Super Star Ultra 's Revenge of the King. In turn, Dedede also cares for his minions just as much as they care for him, earning their aforementioned respect and admiration. Many examples include:
 * 13) *Instead of constantly pushing them around, he can be seen peacefully playing chess and gazing at the sky with them in the intros of Kirby: Planet Robobot and Kirby Star Allies, respectively.
 * 14) * In Kirby Super Star Ultra 's Revenge of the King, when Kirby is nearing the final battle, Dedede considers sending Bandana Waddle Dee to fight him, but instead chooses to spare him, and even apologizes for even considering the option, knowing that his loyal servant would likely get harmed.
 * 15) *In Kirby and the Forgotte n Land, his most recent outing, Dedede volunteers to hold of the Beast Pack, allowing Kirby to escort his Waddle Dees to safety. This isn't just an act of selflessness, but also one of self-sacrifice (of course, he does make it out alive).
 * 16) While he may look like a big baggy oaf (mostly because of his chunky physiognomy), he's actually a hardworking and dedicated fighter, who trained as hard as he can in order to compete with Kirby, according to trophy descriptions in the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * 17) According to the boss description of Dedede Clone in Kirby: 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 (Star Dream).
 * 18) *In Kirby: Triple Deluxe 's Dededetour mode, Dedede is capable of defeating Dark Meta Knight, which is notable as this is something that even the real Meta Knight couldn't do in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror. While the events of this mode are non-canonical, it is still meant to show what Dedede is capable of accomplishing if he wanted to.
 * 19) He's more intelligent than most give him credit for. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl's story mode Subspace Emissary, he planned ahead to counter Tabuu by creating special badges that restore his fellow fighters even after everyone has been turned into trophies, and it actually worked. As previously mentioned, Dedede plays chess with his Waddle Dees. In the official steampunk alternate universe, Kirby's Dreamy Gear, Dedede is an engineer, and while non-canon, the fact that this is considered a fitting role for him may explain the many mechs he's used and operated over the years.
 * 20) *While on the topic of Subspace, there is a scene where Dedede chooses to give up his own badge for Princess Peach/Zelda, giving us another example of his selflessness.
 * 21) His will is even growing strong enough to fight back being manipulated by the true villains, even if by a little bit. For example: Before the battle against "Forgo Dedede" begins, he can be seen trying to remove the mask that's controlling him.
 * 22) He 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, accompanied with countless amazing remixes of his iconic theme, while also evolving and adding onto his old moves.
 * 23) Despite how poorly the anime adaptation (Kirby Right Back at Ya!) does at faithfully portraying his character (further explanation in UKQ#1), he is, at least, an entertaining villain in it, partly thanks to his VAs' performances as him there, with many of Ted Lewis' lines being heavily quoted among the internet.
 * 24) If you're looking for media outside of the games that represents his character faithfully, might I suggest the official Japan-only Kirby novels, which can all be read (fan-translated) here. While the early novels' characterization of Dedede may be more similar to his anime incarnation, as he intentionally goes out of his way to cause trouble for Kirby, and the anime's design of his castle is on the cover of the first novel, later entries become more in-line with the games, especially the one based on Kirby's Return to Dream Land, which can be read here, as that one in particular has Shinya Kumazaki, the current Kirby series director, heavily contributing to it, even having his commentary included. Dedede even gets his own story where he stars as the main character, which can be read here.
 * 25) Shinya Kumazaki, the current series director and one responsible for its hidden stories and extended lore, has mentioned many times that Kirby's Adventure is his favorite game in the series and the one that changed his perception on how videogames of this type even work. The reveal of Dedede actually having heroic intentions stuck with him and led to becoming his favorite character. Kumazaki would go on to direct Kirby's Return to Dream Land, which would redefine the series in many ways going forward, and if Dedede never drew his interest towards it in the first place, the Kirby series could have likely ceased to exist after Sakurai left.

Unkingly Qualities

 * 1) His anime counterpart was represented as a cruel, sadistic, and abusive dictator who outright says that "the suffering of others is the most amusing thing there is". Not only that, but he rarely uses his hammer in battle, instead relying on monsters to "clobber that there Kirby", said monsters being provided by Nightmare Enterprises, a company owned by the entity Dedede literally tried to heroically stop in Kirby's Adventure.
 * 2) * As cartoons are far more easily accessible than video games (at least during the time the show was on air), this is the version of Dedede that is more commonly remembered, meaning that the anime's depiction of him is largely to blame for the character's undeserved reputation as a "villain".
 * 3) *While he might have been more caring in "Prediction Predicament" and "D'Preciation Day" (which is when he admits he doesn't actually wish for Kirby to die, by the way), he instantly regresses back into being a tyrant in the next episode.
 * 4) *Even in the final moments of the last episode in the series, he still whines about not being able to order monsters and cause mayhem anymore, showing that he hasn't learned a thing.
 * 5) His characterization was also done poorly in Kirby Battle Royale: he was hellbent on humiliating Kirby and rigged the entire tournament against him, instead of trying to succeed over him fair and square, like in Revenge of the King.

Trivia

 * The symbol on the back of his robe is actually a very simplified version of a ✌️-sign.
 * 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.
 * If you pay close attention to the games Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Kirby: Planet Robobot and Kirby and the Forgotten Land, you'll notice some extremely fortunate coincidences (especially considering that Dedede is heavily involved in those games in one way or another):
 * Kirby: Triple Deluxes title can be interpreted as 3D, and it also released on the 3DS'.
 * The Kirby: Triple Deluxe subgame Dedede's Drum Dash involves the king himself. Acronymized, it spells DDD.
 * Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the very first 3D Kirby game, and Dedede's name has 3 'De's.
 * In Kirby: Planet Robobot, Susie's Dedede Clone uses a Tri-Dimensional Cannon, 'Tri-Dimensional' also being another play on "3D" and "Dedede".

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