King Dedede

"“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 Dee about King Dedede, King Dedede’s Great Escape Strategy (translated by deafeninggardenerpanda)"

King Dedede is a main character in the Kirby series. He's the self-made king of Dream Land and is said to be Kirby's "destined rival", being usually fought as a boss. Despite that, he's actually one of the series' many heroes.

Why He's a Great King

 * 1) Dedede is unique amongst Nintendo villains for 2 reasons:
 * 2) * Instead of looking mean and threatening, he's designed to appear cute and hug-inducing (or "shaped like a friend" if you prefer), which earned him many comparisons with Santa Claus;
 * 3) * After his villainous role in the first game, he never regressed back to his old ways and instead becoming more and more heroic, unlike Bowser, who occasionally teams up with Mario and goes back to being evil after their partnership ends.
 * 4) While he is usually an antagonist, that doesn't mean he's 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).
 * 5) *Dedede is often mistaken for an anti-hero, but this is false: anti-heroes lack conventional heroic qualities, such as idealism, courage, and morality. This isn't the case with Triple D, as he has grown to be genuinely righteous and responsible.
 * 6) *When looking at his actions in the first game, it can be argued that he was never even evil to begin with. Sure, stealing all the food in Dream Land made him an antagonist, but he didn't do it with the intention of starving everyone else. He was just selfish, greedy, and too shortsighted to consider what consequences his actions may cause, and upon learning the error of his ways, he started bettering himself as soon as the second game, which is the previously mentioned Kirby's Adventure.
 * 7) He has a lot of cool and iconic boss battles across the series' history, each with an amazing remix of his iconic theme song their own creative twist that makes every fight feel fresh, while also evolving and adding onto his old moves.
 * 8) 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.
 * 9) For a rival to Kirby, he's quite trusting and generous to him:
 * 10) * According to the hammer description in Kirby Star Allies, Kirby has kept that hammer since their duel in Kirby Super Star Ultra and inherited it, and in Forgotten Land, Dedede even gives Kirby an upgrade for the Hammer ability.
 * 11) * Also, the fact that he goes all Meta Knight on Kirby in Revenge of the King and gives him a hammer so they can fight as equals is extremely wholesome.
 * 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.
 * 13) *Dedede also cares for his minions as much as they care for him. 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. In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, his most recent outing, it's shown that he cares for his Waddle Dees to the point of self-sacrifice.
 * 14) While he may look like a big baggy oaf (mostly because of his chunky physiognomy), he's actually a very hardworking and dedicated fighter, with some proofs being the fact that he has a boxing ring in his castle and how he trained as hard as he could after his first loss to Kirby according to trophy descriptions in the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * 15) 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).
 * 16) *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.
 * 17) Despite not being known for being any sort of genius, he can show some nice smarts. 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.
 * 18) * While on the topic of Subspace, there is a scene where Dedede chooses to give up his own badge for Princess Peach/Zelda, another example of Dedede's selflessness.
 * 19) 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.
 * 20) Despite how evil he is in Kirby Right Back at Ya!, he still manages to be great fun, in part thanks to his VAs' performances as him there.
 * 21) According to Shinya Kumazaki (the current Kirby series director), the thing that drew him towards the series in the first place is the reveal of Dedede actually being a hero in Kirby's Adventure, which means that the character indirectly gave us all the great games with great stories we have today.

Unkingly Qualities

 * 1) His anime counterpart was represented as a cruel and abusive dictator who orders monsters to get the job done for him, because he's too much of an incompetent weakling to get the job done himself. not only that, but he rarely uses his hammer in battle. He even beats his Waddle Dees up for fun and sells them without remorse for a quick buck.
 * 2) *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.
 * 3) *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.
 * 4) 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'.
 * One of the Sub-Games in Kirby: Triple Deluxe stars Dedede himself, and is named Dedede's Drum Dash. Acronymized, it spells DDD.
 * Forgotten Land is the very first 3D Kirby game, and Dedede's name has 3 'De's.
 * In Planet Robobot, Susie's Dedede Clone uses a Tri-Dimensional Cannon, 'Tri-Dimensional' also being another play on "3D" and "Dedede".
 * Shinya Kumazaki 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 being a good guy stuck with him and led to becoming his favorite character.

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