King Dedede (anime character): Difference between revisions

{{Featured}}{{title font|#F9D275|#EF1209}}{{Infobox-AnimeCharacter

|image=[[File:Anime King Dedede Artwork.png|250px]]

|caption=Artwork of '''King Dedede''' from ''[[Kirby: Right Back at Ya!]]''.

|other=[[King Dedede|his video game counterpart]]<br>[[King Dedede (novel character)|his novel counterpart]]

'''King Dedede''' is one of the principal characters and supporting villains of the anime series ''[[Kirby: Right Back at Ya!]]''. He is a large blue portly bird-like man who proclaims himself the king of [[Dream Land (anime)|Dream Land]] and resides with his court in [[Castle Dedede]]. He claims jurisdiction and authority over the people of [[Cappy Town]], but they often ignore him in this regard. This behavior prompts Dedede to try and force their attention by calling [[monster]]s into Dream Land using the [[Night Mare Enterprises]] monster delivery system, though placing him in perpetual debt to N.M.E. in the process while his monsters are bested by [[Kirby (anime character)|Kirby]].

King Dedede is voiced by Ted Lewis in the English dub of the show and by Kenichi Ogata in the original Japanese version. In the Japanese version, he often ends his sentences with "zoi", which does not actually mean anything.

==Physical appearance==

King Dedede appears mainly the same as he does in the games; with a large, round belly, blue body and eyes, yellow feet, defined arms, a beak, a red robe, a gilded hat topped with a puffball, and an ''[[wikipedia:obi (sash)|obi]]'' across his belly, which in this instance, is slightly wider to cover up more of his waist. He does not wear the beige kimono that King Dedede from the game series wears in later installments. King Dedede is also not typically seen with his hammer, though he can pull it out whenever he gets sufficiently angry. As expected in a cartoon series, King Dedede is quite expressive, though this usually manifests in outrage or gloating.

King Dedede is defined by his vanity, selfishness, greed, and ignorance. Nearly every problem in Dream Land is caused by him in some form or another, as he pursues his whims and ambitions to the detriment of his subjects' well-being. Despite his well-known intemperance, King Dedede manages to hold on to a vast fortune which he uses to maintain his castle and purchase equipment and monsters from [[Night Mare Enterprises]], though it is strongly implied that he would go bankrupt if he were ever forced to pay his debt to N.M.E. in full. King Dedede's attention is often focused on efforts to get rid of [[Kirby (anime character)|Kirby]] however he can, as Dedede is intensely jealous of the pink [[Star Warrior]] and continually outraged at the puffball often foiling his plans to ruin Dream Land in one way or another. However, due to his incompetence, he always ends up failing either partially or completely at whatever scheme he is pursuing.

*[[Kirby (anime character)|Kirby]] - Kirby is the primary target of King Dedede's ire throughout the series, as the king constantly tries to dispatch monsters from N.M.E. to get rid of him. It becomes clear throughout the series that the main reason for this is because King Dedede is intensely jealous of Kirby's power and relationships, and sometimes, even he is moved by Kirby's carefree child-like nature. Kirby in return does not mind King Dedede much, despite being attacked by him constantly.

*[[Meta Knight (anime character)|Meta Knight]] - King Dedede views Meta Knight as an incompetent soldier due to his perceived inability to deal with Kirby, and as such, often disregards him. Meta Knight in return has no respect for the king, but enjoys his ability to operate under the king's radar.

*[[Waddle Dee (anime character)|Waddle Dees]] - Despite the king's cruelty, the Waddle Dees of the castle work tirelessly to tend to his every need in exchange for having a place to live. King Dedede comes to realize their importance after he sells them all off to help pay his debt to [[Night Mare Enterprises]] in the episode [[Waddle While You Work]].

*[[Cappy (anime)|Residents of]] [[Cappy Town]] - The inhabitants of Cappy Town are always wary of King Dedede's abusive behavior and openly defy him on many occasions despite his threats. Instead of their supposed king, Cappy Town's people consult with the great [[Kabu (anime character)|Kabu]] for leadership and guidance.

{{main|King Dedede (anime character)/filmography}}

King Dedede appears in all 100 main episodes of ''Kirby: Right Back at Ya!'', along with the [[Kirby of the Stars Pilot]] and [[Kirby 3D]]. For a full list of his appearances and role in each one, see [[King Dedede (anime character)/filmography|this page]].

*In the Japanese version of [[Curio's Curious Discovery]], Escargoon mentions that King Dedede "has been on the throne for 300 years and is the 17,052nd king of [[Dream Land (anime)|Dream Land]]", though this claim is very dubious.

**If this were true, it would mean that not only can Dedede's species live for hundreds of years, but the Kingdom of Dream Land itself would be around five million years old.

*King Dedede fancies himself a golfer, and can often be seen "practicing" using his hammer, though this usually just serves as an excuse to whack other characters instead, notably Escargoon.

*In the Japanese version of the anime, it is repeatedly mentioned that King Dedede uses his own currency, "deden" (a parody of yen, the Japanese standard currency), which is used for all of his transactions with Night Mare Enterprises. The currency is mentioned less often in the English dub, and its name is variably translated as "dede-dollars" or "D-bills".

[[Category:Villains]]