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Waddle Dee (novel character)

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Waddle Dee
Light Novel Waddle Dee Artwork.png
Artwork of Waddle Dee from the Kirby novel series
Details
First appearance Kirby and the Dangerous Gourmet Mansion?!
Last appearance Kirby: The Dream Onsen is a Good Hot Spring♪
Role Protagonist
Other appearance(s) his video game counterpart
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This article is about Waddle Dee as a character in the novels. For Waddle Dees in a more general context, see Waddle Dee.

Waddle Dee, also called Bandana Waddle Dee in later volumes, is one of the four primary protagonists of the Kirby novel series, alongside Kirby, King Dedede, and Meta Knight. He resides in Castle Dedede, where he serves as King Dedede's most loyal servant. He usually ends up being the primary victim of the king's abusiveness when he is in a bad mood and is often blamed for whatever it is setting him off. He is also best friends with Kirby, unbeknownst to Dedede.

Characteristics[edit]

King Dedede's subordinate, and Kirby's friend. He's timid, but smart and reliable.
— Unofficial translation of Waddle Dee's description

In terms of outward appearance, Waddle Dee is identical to his game counterparts; orange with a tan face and blush, along with yellow feet. Originally, this particular Waddle Dee was the only one seen in the novels, matching with how most enemies within the novels are treated as singular characters rather than species. However, in Kirby's Decisive Battle! Battle Royale!!, the Kirby Printer is used to create a surplus of Waddle Dees for King Dedede's benefit, bringing up their numbers to levels comparable with the games. As a result, the original Waddle Dee begins wearing a blue bandana to distinguish himself, making him more analogous to Bandana Waddle Dee. From that point forward, he is both referred to as simply "Waddle Dee" and "Bandana Waddle Dee", with the characters usually using the former, and the narrator the latter. The other Waddle Dees see him and respect him as their leader, calling him "Bandana-senpai".

Like the Waddle Dees in the games, he is generally peaceful and nonconfrontational. Additionally, he is a hard worker and will make the utmost efforts to appease those around him without complaint, especially when asked to do a task directly. He will obey any command given to him, unless it is immoral or involves harming his friends or others in general, in which case he will try to find some other way to see it through. His main flaw is his lack of self-confidence. Because of his timid and feeble nature, when threatened or pushed hard enough to do something, he will submit to almost anyone, even if he soundly disagrees with them.

Waddle Dee is fairly intelligent and good at problem-solving, though he rarely speaks his ideas aloud to others, especially given how King Dedede often completely ignores him and his opinions. Despite Dedede's ignorant and often abusive behavior, Waddle Dee is very loyal to him and continues to serve him through thick and thin. Kirby is his best friend, which places him between a rock and a hard place a lot of the time, due to Kirby and King Dedede's tendency to get along poorly with each other.

Waddle Dee is also shown to be good at cooking, and he also enjoys making food for others, in particular Kirby and King Dedede.

Relationships[edit]

In general, Waddle Dee is friendly and often willing to open up and help when someone is in need. He doesn't have many friends, though he is loyal to the few he does have and will stick by them whenever possible.

  • Kirby - Waddle Dee is the best of friends with Kirby, and usually goes to him when he needs help or when he simply wants to talk or participate in an activity. He tries his best to keep Kirby in-line, but the puffball often ignores much of what Waddle Dee has to say to him, unless it regards food, often leading him to go along with whatever the puffball is doing.
  • King Dedede - Waddle Dee serves under King Dedede as his loyal subordinate and servant, always trying his best to appease him and even growing very anxious over his safety at times. However, his unwavering loyalty is usually disregarded by Dedede and he is often unnecessarily blamed by Dedede for problems and pushed around, leading him to follow along with whatever Dedede is doing most of the time, as with Kirby.
  • Meta Knight - Waddle Dee is somewhat intimidated by Meta Knight, but respects him and will do what he requests of him without question. There is not much of a strong connection that Waddle Dee has with Meta Knight, but the knight is the most respectful out of his general circle of friends. When Waddle Dee shares his ideas aloud, Meta Knight, unlike Kirby and King Dedede, will take Waddle Dee's ideas into genuine thought and encourages him to voice them more often.

Volume appearances[edit]

The following is a complete list of every appearance Waddle Dee has made in the Kirby novel series, along with the role he plays and its details in the plot of each volume:

Waddle Dee's appearances in the Kirby novel series  
Volume Image Role Role details Notes
Kirby and the Dangerous Gourmet Mansion?! V1 Illustration 4.png Tetartagonist In this volume, after learning that both Kirby and King Dedede wish to attend a celebration held by the new arrival to Dream LandMrs. Parfaitski—to take part in a feast, Waddle Dee attempts to help them get into it informally, since they didn't receive formal invitations. While doing so, he jumps back and forth between the two sides of King Dedede and Kirby without letting Dedede know he is also helping Kirby to appease both, but to avoid causing trouble as well. After trial and error, Kirby and King Dedede finally find a way to attend with Meta Knight, who received an invitation, but Waddle Dee cannot attend with them. Later on however, Kirby comes back for Waddle Dee, since the celebration is now open to everyone after an adventure unbeknownst to Waddle Dee, and the four enjoy the rest of the celebration together.
Kirby and the Big Panic in Gloomy Woods! V2 Waddle Dee Illustration.png Tetartagonist In this volume, Waddle Dee, along with Kirby, investigate Dedede's whereabouts after catching him eating at Chef Kawasaki's restaurant while it's closed, and after learning later on that he impersonated Kirby to accompany a group of shady siblings in their goal to set off after rumored fruits. Extremely anxious, Waddle Dee heads off to find him with Kirby and Meta Knight. Once they are found, Dedede is caught red-handed and retreats from the scene. Worried just the same, Waddle Dee fears for the king's safety as the group helps to harvest the fruits. Dedede eventually confronts the group again and causes chaos, despite Waddle Dee's attempts to calm him down. In the end, a thief nearly gets away with stealing the source object of the fruits' ripening, but Waddle Dee stays back as his three friends manage to put a stop to it and bring things back to normal.
Kirby Meets the Squeak Squad! V3 Waddle Dee Illustration.png Deuteragonist In this volume, Waddle Dee and Kirby discover an egg in an old temple. The mother bird, Acti Blade, trusts them to take care of it for ten days at Castle Dedede while she heals an injury of hers. They keep the egg in Waddle Dee's room, where the Squeaks break in to twice to try to steal the egg. While Kirby fends them off each time, Waddle Dee watches while off to the side, because he cannot fight well. When he returns to the temple with Kirby and King Dedede to return the egg, the Squeaks capture Waddle Dee, and they all fall through a trap door while making their getaway. Meta Knight, who had been working with the Squeaks, explains the whole misunderstanding to Waddle Dee, because he knew Waddle Dee would be willing to listen when Kirby and Dedede had refused to before. When Kirby and Dedede catch up, various dangers appear throughout the underground area, which everyone else deals with while Waddle Dee watches. At the end, after Acti Blade flies them all out of the temple, both Daroach and Meta Knight finally get to explain their true intentions to everyone else, which were not malicious at all.
Kirby: Meta Knight and the Puppet Princess V4 Illustration 12.png Supporting character In this volume, Waddle Dee and Kirby cross paths with Meta Knight on their way to Chef Kawasaki's restaurant. There, they find out that Princess Marona, the princess of the sweets-filled planet Chiffon Star, has gone missing. After asking King Dedede's permission, Waddle Dee, Kirby, and Dedede get to tag along with Meta Knight on his mission to find the princess. While Kirby and Dedede are only focused on all the sweets they can eat, Waddle Dee cooperates with Meta Knight when asking around for clues. The group finds out that the princess was manipulated by Baron Gallic, a villain who uses his powerful Malice Stone to control people. When they first meet Baron Gallic, Waddle Dee falls under the stone's control, and starts calling himself "Dark Waddle Dee, Prince of Darkness". He tries to attack Meta Knight, but immediately comes back to his senses when he sees his cherished best friend, Kirby. Later in the story, when Meta Knight sets out to invade Baron Gallic's hideout, he convinces Waddle Dee and King Dedede to stay at the castle to help prepare King Merengue XIII's birthday party. This is the first novel where Waddle Dee does not have a major role in the plot.
Kirby: Big Race in Pupupu Land! V5 Illustration 16.png Tritagonist In this volume, a big race is organized in Dream Land to be broadcasted on TV. Waddle Dee is reluctant to be in it, but King Dedede orders him to race anyway. Waddle Dee trains with Kirby, and gets tired out easily. The race begins with a glass maze, where Waddle Dee gets knocked out by bumping into a wall, only for Kirby to carry him through. After everyone else chooses their vehicles, Waddle Dee is stuck with the incredibly slow Wheelie Scooter, which he is content with. Throughout the race, Waddle Dee peacefully lags behind in last, and arrives at each challenge when it is already finished. Each time, he worries about being disqualified, and the cleanup staff feels bad for him, so they let him pass after doing a small version of the challenge. When a scream is heard in the forest, everybody except Waddle Dee goes over to investigate, which allows him to unknowingly pass by everyone. After the contestants get back to racing, Waddle Dee gets overwhelmed by all the noise behind him, and speeds up. He crosses the finish line first and wins the race, much to the dismay of everyone except Kirby, who congratulates him.
Kirby Clash Team Unite! V9 Waddle Dee Illustration.png
Kirby: Big Trouble in Patch Land! V13 Bandana Waddle Dee illustration.png Tertiary supporting character In this volume, Bandana Waddle Dee first appears in Castle Dedede, as he notices some Waddle Dees look off: he realizes they are made of yarn and they capture him. Yin-Yarn then shows up and tells him his plan to conquer Dream Land, and Bandana Waddle Dee hopes his king will not fall for his tricks. He only appears again at the end of the story, reuniting with the others right after Dream Land is saved, and after King Dedede freed him and the other Waddle Dees. He suggests Kirby to celebrate the happy ending with a party, which is done shortly after. This volume is an adaptation of Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn, although Bandana Waddle Dee never appeared in that game.
Kirby: Save the Rainbow Islands! V14 Waddle Dee Illustration.png Supporting character In this volume, Kirby plans to invite Waddle Dee for a picnic once the weather improves. Waddle Dee stays with Pick and Mine while the others go to help Pirika. The next day, Waddle Dee and Kirby go to the beach. Waddle Dee wishes that he could have gone to the adventure and asks Kirby for details, but Kirby tells him that it is a secret. His disappointment fades when he looks in awe at the return of the Rainbow Bridges.
Kirby and the Search for the Dreamy Gears! V16 Waddle Dee Illustration.png Tetartagonist In this volume, Waddle Dee is a mechanic in President Dedede's factory. In the beginning of the story, he tells Kirby the news about the missing gears of the ancient machine and the prize money for finding them. He tells Kirby about his wish, tasting chocolate, and hopes that the machine can fulfill it. Both Waddle Dee and Kirby agree to help Magolor in finding the gears and search for the gear in the field. During their search, Waddle Dee suggests to Kirby that they should follow in the direction where Kirby's Star Compass glows more, which helps them find it. Waddle Dee finds the smaller ancient writing on the plate in the photo of the ancient machine, and after deciphering it, he learns that its meaning is "I hate chocolate", which makes him realize the true function of the ancient machine. He and Kirby plan that Waddle Dee should purposefully be taken hostage by Hugo, so they can give him the gears unsuspiciously. He is kidnapped by Hugo and warns him about the dangers of the machine, but Hugo does not listen. After the ancient machine turns all the diamonds into chocolate, Waddle Dee fulfills his wish and tastes it, becoming teary from how delicious it is. This story takes place in an alternate universe.
Kirby: Uproar at the Kirby Café?! V18 Bandana Waddle Dee Illustration.jpg Tritagonist In this volume, Bandana Waddle Dee finds out that King Dedede is no longer ill and is asked to bring breakfast. Waddle Dee joins Kirby in collecting Whispy's fruits by carrying the heavy basket. At first, Whispy Woods doesn't want to aloow a servant of Dedede to help, but to not anger Kirby, he lets him help. Waddle Dee joins offers to help with the new café, creating blueprints for furniture which he and Kirby build. When Dedede hears the news about the café, he calls Waddle Dee and tells him that he has been slacking off, even though he did all his chores. Dedede gets the idea of building a competitor café and forces Bandana Waddle Dee to join the staff. Dedede orders him to gather anyone he can to the staff. Bandana Waddle Dee asks Burning Leo and Chilly to join, they both refuse at first, but then agree after he offers that he would let them eat any dessert he will make. Bandana Waddle Dee is concerned about all the changes Dedede makes in his plan for the café but is afraid to disobey. Waddle Dee comes to the Kirby Café to tell them about the cooking competition and Chef Kawasaki accepts the challenge. The illness of Whispy Woods saddens Bandana Waddle Dee, yet King Dedede laughs about it, causing him the leave the room. After feeling guilty, Dedede calls Waddle Dee and they go to visit Whispy, which makes him happy again. King Dedede sends Waddle Dee to find the medicine that cured him. He cannot join the quest for the Green Spider Grass since it is too dangerous for him, but he offers to make launch for Kirby and Dedede if they work together. Waddle Dee and the Dedede Café lose the first round and win the second. For the last round, he asks Moonja for help, and they make a matcha mousse, which Dedede at first doesn't like, but gets convinced. The competition ends in a tie and Waddle Dee asks him if he can work for the Kirby Café. Dedede doesn't want to let him but when Chef Kawasaki shows them an omurice shaped like Waddle Dee, it excites Waddle Dee and convinces Dedede to let him work there.

Trivia[edit]

  • Waddle Dee is one of the three characters who appears in every volume of the novel series. The other two are Kirby and Meta Knight.

Gallery[edit]

Artwork[edit]

Illustrations[edit]