Watermelon Felon

Watermelon Felon Kirby is placed in a faux-trial after being framed by King Dedede and Escargoon of committing theft. Details First aired June 22, 2002 March 1, 2003 Episode # 37 Episode # (US) 35 Copy Ability (Abilities) featured Monster(s) featured Character(s) featured Kirby, Tiff, King Dedede, Escargoon

Episode order ← The Kirby Derby - Part II A Novel Approach →

Episode order (US) ← A Recipe for Disaster Escar-Gone →

Watermelon Felon is the 37th (35th in the 4Kids broadcast) episode of the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! series. In this episode, Kirby is filmed by King Dedede and Escargoon and a number of Kirby's exploits in town are edited to make him look like a criminal. This footage is then shown on Channel DDD and followed up with a mock-trial in order to ruin Kirby's reputation with the townsfolk. Tiff tries her best to defend Kirby at the trial, but is overpowered by Dedede's tricks. As Tiff is about to give up, Meta Knight suggests she try a different strategy, and she and the kids distribute newspapers to successfully exonerate Kirby. Dedede counters by printing his own newspaper, but he goes overboard, filling the editions with advertisements. Cappy Town soon becomes fed up with Dedede's propaganda, and retaliate by using Kirby to return all of his newspapers to the castle at once, flooding King Dedede out.

This episode marks the first appearance of Biblio in the anime series, though his role in the episode is very minor.

Characters

The following characters appear in this episode:

Cast of "Watermelon Felon"
Character	Selected quote	Notes
Primary characters
Kirby	"Poyooy..."
Tiff	"Dedede's using his network to smear Kirby's reputation! It's been edited to make him look guilty!"
King Dedede	"With a little creative editin' by Yours Truly, it'll look like Kirby snatched them snacks!"
Escargoon	"WANTED: Kirby! A hardened hoodlum! Our hidden camera caught plenty of eye-popping footage of this gluttonous gangster helping himself to an entire crop of juicy watermelons! In one fell swoop this melon felon laid waste to an entire field, leaving nothing behind but the green part you're not supposed to eat!"
Secondary characters
Biblio	(no dialogue)
Buttercup	"Kawasaki accidentally doubled his batch and offered the extras to Kirby! Oh dear!"
Cappy villagers	"Kirby did all that?!"
Captain Waddle Doo	"Okie dokie, folks! You're free to go home!"
Chef Kawasaki	"I goofed and doubled the recipe! Kirby can help me eat the leftovers!"
Chief Bookem	"...But I saw it on television!"
Doron	"Uh-huh!"
Gangu	(no dialogue)
Gus	"It's like he has no regard for his personal health!"
Hana	"I've never seen anyone eat quite as much as he can!"
Honey	(no dialogue)
Honey's mom	"Oh my goodness! Thank you, Kirby! Here, let me give you a little something."
Iro	(no dialogue)
Lady Like & Sir Ebrum	(no dialogue)	These two appear close together in the only scene they are in.
Mayor Len Blustergas	"It's so nice to read a paper that tells the truth! I'm sticking with the Cappy Town Gazette!"
Melman	*snoozes*
Meta Knight	"You must have faith, Tiff. Otherwise, Kirby is done for."
N.M.E. Sales Guy	"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
Professor Curio	"Well, judging from the evidence, I'd say Kirby's guilty."
Samo	"Is there any real proof?!"
Spikehead	(no dialogue)
Tokkori	"Uh-huh, that's right! Cameras and big bright lights shinin' in the window all night long! I didn't hardly get a wink of sleep!"
Tuff	"I heard Dedede and Escargoon were following Kirby around with a camera hoping to catch him breaking the law!"
Tuggle	"Well it seems to me he hangs out in the snack section an awful lot!"
Waddle Dees	(no dialogue)

Locations

• Dream Land
  • Castle Dedede
  • Cappy Town
    • Kawasaki's
    • Police headquarters
    • Tuggle's grocery store
  • Kirby's House

Plot synopsis

King Dedede and Escargoon review the footage they collected and are about to doctor.

The episode begins out in the countryside in Dream Land, where Kirby can be seen taking a pick from the watermelon patch. As Kirby eats, he is spied on by King Dedede and company from behind a bush. As Kirby finishes eating and heads home, King Dedede and his camera crew follow, leaving a trail of broken watermelon in their wake. They continue to record Kirby as he sleeps in the nest outside his house, with King Dedede insisting on "24-hour survey-ance". The crew of Waddle Dees set up flush-lights outside Kirby's House at night to improve viewing, which disturbs Tokkori's rest. The next morning, Tokkori tells Tiff and Tuff about the incident, though Kirby had managed to sleep soundly through the whole thing. Tuff then corroborates by saying he heard that King Dedede was hoping to catch Kirby breaking the law on film. Tiff is skeptical at first, but then notices from Castle Dedede a glimmer from King Dedede's telescope as he continues to spy on them.

Regardless, Tiff and Tuff believe nothing bad can come from this, since Kirby tends to behave himself. They go to Tuggle's grocery store in Cappy Town as Dedede continues his surveillance. While there, Kirby notices Honey's mother dropping a bag of chips from her cart as she heads to check out, and Kirby grabs it for her. As a reward, she lets him have the chips after purchasing them. Later, Kirby and the kids head to Kawasaki's, where Chef Kawasaki lets Kirby have free leftover dumplings. As the kids comment on Kirby's good luck, King Dedede and Escargoon set to work editing the footage they retrieved to make it look like Kirby stole the things he was given. Soon after, a special news bulletin airs on Channel DDD where Kirby is publicly framed for the alleged crimes. King Dedede's crew then pressures Chief Bookem on tape to promise to apprehend Kirby, but Tiff catches them in the act. After the camera crew leaves, Tiff insists to Chief Bookem that the footage was edited, and Kirby is not guilty of the things shown, but little comes of this. The kids head outside and Tuff tries to remain optimistic about the situation, but they soon find that all of Cappy Town is now afraid of Kirby. Seeing this, Tiff resolves to prove Kirby's innocence on the air.

Tiff comes close to giving up when Meta Knight shows up to reassure her.

Some time later, another Channel DDD show is broadcast, this time featuring Kirby "on trial" in the studio surrounded by an audience of witnesses and testifiers. Tiff steps up first, and levies the charge that Kirby is innocent and that King Dedede and Escargoon doctored the evidence to make him look guilty. Escargoon cuts her off to shill another sponsor, and Tiff accuses them of censoring her, but to little avail. Through a flurry of commercial breaks and cut clips, King Dedede and Escargoon continue to smear Kirby on the show. As the crowd gets rowdy, Kirby ignorantly gets excited. Tiff begins to lose the argument over the fervor of the Cappies, and her statements continue to be cut off by commercial breaks. Tiff then notices that Kawasaki and Honey's mom were not invited to the trial, furthering her frustration. Tiff attempts to retrieve them as witnesses, but Captain Waddle Doo dismisses them before Tiff can get to the waiting room.

Kirby returns all of King Dedede's papers on behalf of the fed-up villagers.

Tiff returns to the trial to find that the crowd is still turning against Kirby, reminiscing on the trouble that has happened since he first arrived in Cappy Town. Tiff makes one more stand to remind everyone of the many times Kirby saved them from monsters, and who brought those monsters in to begin with. To counter, King Dedede and Escargoon have a large wagon of food brought in and placed next to Kirby in order to prove his gluttonous nature as the town jokes about Kirby's appetite. Kirby naturally cannot help himself and proceeds to gobble the whole thing up. He is then shown a massive pile of fruits and vegetables which he inhales, causing the set to become a wreck. Tiff - utterly defeated - resigns and bemoans Kirby's fate. As she sits in the castle grounds, Meta Knight appears to reassure her. As Tiff explains the situation, her fear gets the better of her and she begins to sulk, and Meta Knight leaves her with a small clue, which gives her an idea. That night, Tiff, Tuff, and the Cappy kids distribute newspapers around town which argue Kirby's case. In the morning, the townsfolk read these papers and - without Dedede's influence hanging over them - realize Kirby's innocence.

Meanwhile, Channel DDD makes the claim that Kirby just ate Mayor Len's sheep, splicing scenes from previous episodes including one of Octacon eating the sheep in Kirby Comes to Cappy Town. Escargoon attempts to interview Mayor Len, but he confirms the story is fake and shows him the newspaper. When King Dedede finds out, he counters by issuing his own papers, but he goes way overboard by delivering several in one day, and the Cappy Town residents notice that the bulk of the phone book-sized editions is advertisements and soon grow tired of Dedede's propaganda attempts. That night, King Dedede is suddenly awoken when all of Cappy Town's notable residents storm into his bedroom and demand that King Dedede stop delivering his papers to them. They leave Kirby to punish King Dedede by spitting out all the editorials back at him, flooding him in a torrent of paper that spills out of the castle like a waterfall, taking Dedede and Escargoon with it. Later on, Dedede and Escargoon dispose of the mess by tossing the papers into the Monster Delivery System as the N.M.E. Sales Guy complains and then gets overwhelmed. The episode ends as Kirby and the Cappies watch with relish from a hill overlooking the castle.

Differences between versions

Japanese-exclusive scene from the Dedede air freshener commercial.

• A number of signs and text on other objects are changed between versions. The most notable is the ad for "DDDLAND" in the Japanese version, which is replaced by King Dedede's head in the 4Kids dub.
• In the Japanese version, the air freshener commercial includes a shot with King Dedede in drag on the toilet.
• Several of the commercials shown during Kirby's trial are different in the Japanese version. These include the following:
  • "Escargon Technology" and "Wadol-do foremostcompany" in the Japanese version along with "DDD Loans" in both.
  • "Occasionally pure-white Dedede soap", "occasionally super-cheap Dedede electricity", "often-clogged Dedede toilets", and "always soggy Dedede soba noodles" in the Japanese version versus "Dedede shower scrub", "Dedede airlines", "Dedede savings", and "Dedede aftershave" in the 4Kids version.
• In the Japanese version, the scene where the Waddle Dees are delivering Dedede's newspaper have a few additional shots, including of the papers coming off the presses.

Dialogue differences

• In the Japanese version, Professor Curio did not imply that Kirby was guilty when he first spoke in the debate, but merely said that it was possible he was if there was evidence.
• In the Japanese version, the watermelon farmer said that his crops were ruined by the trampling, and did not incorrectly assert that Kirby had eaten all of his watermelons.
• In the Japanese version, when Chef Kawasaki and Honey's mom are let out of the studio before they can appear on set, they blame Fumu for lying to them about getting to be on T.V.
• In the Japanese version, Fumu pleads to Meta Knight to defend Kirby from King Dedede with his sword if necessary.
• In the 4Kids version, the part where the N.M.E. Sales Guy asks King Dedede to stop using the delivery system is cut. Instead, Dedede explains that he has to get rid of his newspapers somehow.

Trivia

• The "DDDLAND" sponsor shown on Channel DDD is a reference to Disneyland.
• It is unclear how Dedede managed to get the footage of Octacon eating the sheep from episode 1.
• The Japanese version refers to the Channel DDD programming driving the events of this episode as デデデワイド, or "DededeWide". Japanese commercial broadcasters often have a weekday morning or afternoon infotainment show in their lineup, similar to the "breakfast television" or "morning" shows in English-speaking countries. Japan refers to such shows with the wasei eigo term of ワイドショー ("wide show") due to their coverage of a wide range of topics, including news.
  • The misleading editing, intrusive commercial breaks, and sensationalized tone of the DededeWide programming embodies a sharp criticism of loose journalistic practices on "wide shows".
  • At the time of the production and broadcast of this episode in Japan, public opinion around news-oriented "wide shows" had plummeted due to a 1996 revelation that producers on a TBS "wide show" had failed to protect one of their sources, leading to the murder of said source and his family in 1989. The so-called "TBS Video Problem" was serious enough for the lead announcer of TBS's News 23 to say on air that 「TBSは今日、死んだに等しいと思います」 ("TBS, as of today, is as good as dead to me") and threaten to resign from TBS. The repercussions extended across all of Japanese commercial broadcasting, leading to avoidance of the term "wide show" for 「情報番組」 ("informational shows") during much of the 2000s, when Kirby: Right Back at Ya! aired. TBS itself ceased "wide show" programming within months of the revelations, and would not produce any programming referred to by the term "wide show" until 2015.
  • Note that in Japan, Kirby: Right Back at Ya! aired on CBC and other TBS network affiliates, the very same network whose reputation suffered so much due to the "TBS Video Problem".

Gallery

• 

  Kirby is filmed eating watermelons.

• 

  King Dedede and Escargoon stalk Kirby with filming equipment.

• 

  Bright flush lights are installed around Kirby's House at night to remove his privacy.

• 

  Tiff, Tuff, and Tokkori discuss King Dedede's scheme.

• 

  Kirby returns a bag of potato chips to Honey's mom.

• 

  Kirby is treated to the leftover dumplings at Kawasaki's.

• 

  Escargoon interviews the watermelon farmer as part of the plot to frame Kirby.

• 

  The Channel DDD crew infiltrate the police headquarters for a live interview.

• 

  The Cappies shutter themselves at the sight of Kirby and his friends.

• 

  Tiff is interrupted during the trial by a commercial break.

• 

  Kirby becomes excited at the commotion in the Cappy crowd, unaware of the situation he is in.

• 

  The doctored footage is shown again at the trial.

• 

  Captain Waddle Doo sends Tiff's witnesses away.

• 

  Tiff stands to defend Kirby's reputation.

• 

  Kirby cluelessly demonstrates his voracious appetite in front of the witnesses.

• 

  The stage is in shambles after Kirby inhales another mound of food.

• 

  The kids distributes Tiff's newspaper.

• 

  Mayor Len and Hana read Tiff's newspaper.

• 

  Mayor Len refuses to affirm Escargoon's story during another interview.

• 

  The Waddle Dees distribute King Dedede's rival newspaper.

• 

  King Dedede over-earnestly observes the effect of his newspaper.

• 

  Chef Kawasaki voices his frustration over the phone book-sized papers he is receiving.

• 

  The people of Cappy Town confront King Dedede in his bedroom.

• 

  Castle Dedede is flooded with King Dedede's regurgitated newspapers.

• 

  King Dedede attempts to dispose of the newspapers by throwing them into the Monster Delivery System.

• 

  The final shot of the episode

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	お昼のデデデワイドをつぶせ! Ohiru no Dededewaido o Tsufuse!	Expose DededeWide in the Afternoon! (See also Trivia.)
German	Versteckte Kamera	Hidden Camera