King Dedede Artwork ofKing Dedede fromKirby: Right Back at Ya!. Details First episode Kirby Comes to Cappy Town Last episode Kirby 3D Main role Leading character and secondary villain Other appearance(s) his video game counterpart his novel counterpart Voice actor(s) Ted Lewis (English) Kenichi Ogata (Japanese)

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This article is about King Dedede as he appears inKirby: Right Back at Ya!. For King Dedede as he appears in the games, seeKing Dedede.

King Dedede is one of the principal characters and supporting villains of the anime seriesKirby: Right Back at Ya!. He is a large blue portly bird-like man who proclaims himself the king ofDream Land and resides with his court inCastle Dedede. He claims jurisdiction and authority over the people ofCappy Town, but they often ignore him in this regard. This behavior prompts Dedede to try and force their attention by callingmonsters into Dream Land using theNight Mare Enterprises monster delivery system, though placing him in perpetual debt to N.M.E. in the process while his monsters are bested byKirby.

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, but may be a corruption of the Japanese sentence-ending particle "zo", which can make sentences more assertive. This verbal tic is also used whenever King Dedede speaks during the cutscenes ofKirby's Epic Yarn /Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn, and the Japanese version of the"In the Name of Fashion" comic inKirby and the Rainbow Curse.

Physical appearance[edit]

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 anobi across his belly (which is slightly wider in this instance to cover up more of his waist). He does not wear the beige kimono that he wears in later games. 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.

Personality[edit]

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 fromNight 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 ofKirby however he can, as Dedede is intensely jealous of the pinkStar 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.

King Dedede has a short temper, which causes him to regularly abuse his closest assistantEscargoon. Despite this abuse, Escargoon is the only character who is willing to stand close to him under normal circumstances. Dedede is also defined by his bad habits, particularly when it comes to overeating and dental hygiene, which comes to haunt him inA Dental Dilemma. Despite his royal status, he is not above screaming or bawling like a toddler when the situation encourages it. Despite all his bad qualities, King Dedede does have a softer side, which sometimes comes out when greater threats comes to Dream Land; a prime example being inPrediction Predicament - Part II where he decides to build Kirby and the Cappy kids a playground before the world ends.

One of King Dedede's more notable personality traits is his extraordinary ignorance. In several episodes — such asA Novel Approach — it is shown that King Dedede cannot read, which acts as a point of embarrassment for the King, though this is not always a consistent trait of his. He is also shown to be very bad at math, as ineNeMeE Elementary, he cannot solve the equation "1 + 1" without assistance from Escargoon. An explanation for this lack of knowledge appears in the episodeTeacher's Threat, whereMr. Chip examines an X-ray image of King Dedede's head showing there to be no brain inside his skull. Furthermore, in the series' English dub, he speaks with a pronouncedSouthern drawl and has a habit of usingmalapropisms (mistaking similar words) andneologisms (creating new words altogether), which is likely meant to serve as a sign of his inadequate vocabulary.

Relationships[edit]

Due to King Dedede's nature, basically none of the characters he interacts with like him, though due to his status as king, they must respect him as such to some degree. Despite this animosity, King Dedede is sometimes able to have genuine moments of growth with other members of the cast.

• 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.
• Escargoon - Escargoon is King Dedede's most loyal servant, and as such, receives the most amount of abuse directly from the king. Despite his loyalty, Escargoon resents the king in secret, and relishes in any misfortune that comes Dedede's way.
• 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 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 toNight Mare Enterprises in the episodeWaddle While You Work.
• Residents ofCappy 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 greatKabu for leadership and guidance. Despite this, the Cappies are also very often fooled by many of King Dedede's schemes, particularly when he advertises to them usingChannel DDD.
• N.M.E. Sales Guy - King Dedede is tied down byNight Mare Enterprises due to an enormous debt he owes them from all the monsters he ordered. The Sales Guy in particular seeks only to worsen this situation by buttering the king up with new monster deals, with no compassion toward Dedede's predicament, often directly mocking him when the monsters don't perform as Dedede had hoped.

Role inKirby: Right Back at Ya![edit]

Although not serving as the main villain of the show (that role being held byeNeMeE), King Dedede appears in every episode, and in the vast majority of these, serves as Kirby's most direct antagonist. He typically does this by calling inmonsters fromNight Mare Enterprises at great personal expense to try to get rid of Kirby in any way he can think of, which it is later learned he does mainly because he is intensely jealous of Kirby's popularity among the King's subjects. Due in part to Kirby's power (or sheer luck) and his friends, and in part to Dedede's incompetence, these attempts to get rid of Kirby always ultimately fail, and usually (often literally) blow up in the King's face.

When not trying to get rid of Kirby, King Dedede is often the cause of other problems in his kingdom, as he often hatches schemes that are self-serving in nature and cause problems for the kingdom and its subjects, whether that be attempting to bulldozeWhispy Woods Forest in order to build a country club, causing the kingdom to be buried in a sea of trash as a reprisal from N.M.E. for his failure to pay his debts, attempting to directly steal from his people or mind control them usingChannel DDD, or bullying variousCappy Town denizens by trying to undermine their roles, among many other things.

Despite his villainous nature, King Dedede is often shown to be sympathetic, as he suffers greatly as the result of his failed plans and relationships, and sometimes due to sheer dumb luck. Due to his actions, he is also reviled by basically everyone else in the show, not the least of which being his assistant Escargoon. As the show progresses, however, he gradually eases his attempts to attack Kirby, and eventually admits inD'Preciation Day that he has a soft spot for the pink puffball, due to making life in the kingdom more interesting for him. He also has a few genuinely admirable moments, most notably in the episodePrediction Predicament - Part II where, after a change of heart, Dedede charitably builds a playground for the children of Cappy Town. Although he never fully changes into a protagonist, he is effectively neutralized after the events ofFright to the Finish, as his main method of causing mischief by calling monsters from N.M.E is taken from him when the aforementioned company is destroyed.

Filmography[edit]

Main article:King Dedede (anime character)/filmography

King Dedede appears in all 100 main episodes ofKirby: Right Back at Ya!, along with theKirby of the Stars Pilot andKirby 3D. For a full list of his appearances and role in each one, seethis page.

Trivia[edit]

• In the Japanese version ofCurio's Curious Discovery, Escargoon mentions that King Dedede "has been on the throne for 300 years and is the 17,052nd king ofDream 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.
• TheN.M.E. Sales Guy has several nicknames for King Dedede, such as "Triple D", "Three D", "D-Man", "D-Meister", or simply "D".
• King Dedede is one of the five recurring characters who appears in every episode of the main anime series. The other four areKirby,Tiff,Tuff, andEscargoon.
• 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".

Gallery[edit]

Artwork[edit]

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  King Dedede standing with his hammer
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  King Dedede attacking with his hammer
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  King Dedede cheering
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  King Dedede with a scarf
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  King Dedede angrily pointing
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  King Dedede with a cane
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  King Dedede being balanced byParasolKirby
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  A chalk outline of King Dedede's head fromKihon wa Maru
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  King Dedede's head, as seen in Kihon wa Maru
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  Promotional poster showing the main cast of the anime
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  Promotional poster showing various characters
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  Promotional poster in Japan, featuring the main cast in Dream Land
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  Promotional artwork featuring King Dedede
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  Promotional artwork featuring King Dedede
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  Promotional artwork featuring King Dedede
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  Promotional artwork featuring King Dedede
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  Promotional artwork featuring King Dedede
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  Promotional artwork featuring King Dedede
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  Promotional artwork featuring King Dedede
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  Promotional artwork featuring King Dedede
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  Promotional artwork featuring King Dedede
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  Promotional artwork featuring King Dedede
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  Promotional artwork featuring King Dedede
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  Coloring page from promotional Fox Box CD-ROM

Character sheets[edit]

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  Animator sheet showing front and side views
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  Animator sheet showing the back view
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  Animator sheet showing various dynamic poses
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  Animator sheet showing various facial expressions
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  Animator sheet showing eye movement
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  Animator sheet showing mouth movement
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  Animator sheet showing Dedede with his hammer
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  Animator sheet showing even more facial expressions
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  Animator sheet showing theArmored Vehicle (front, side, and angled views)
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  Animator sheet showing the Armored Vehicle (top, bottom, and back views)
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  Height comparison of principal characters (Kirby alongside the court ofCastle Dedede)

Screenshots[edit]

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  King Dedede having a typical dinner at his castle
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  King Dedede attempting to swoon the fakePrincess Rona inA Princess in Dis-Dress
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  King Dedede often bursts out in rage at Escargoon
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  King Dedede often has poor habits, including excessive snacking.
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  King Dedede as he appears to Kirby while overdosed on Gijira Extract
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  King Dedede ordering a monster from the N.M.E. monster catalogue
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  King Dedede and Escargoon embracing before the world ends inPrediction Predicament - Part II
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  King Dedede and Kirby having a sentimental moment inPrediction Predicament - Part II
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  King Dedede and Escargoon often spy on the townsfolk when hatching schemes.
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  King Dedede being tended to by Waddle Dees with fans
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  Oddly-detailed drawing of King Dedede from the cartoon inCartoon Buffoon
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  King Dedede suffering a similar fate as one of hisDedede Dolls inDon't Bank on It
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  King Dedede frequently throws immature fits or tantrums unfitting of a king.
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  King Dedede under the effects ofTogeira's siphoning of his anger
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  King Dedede in a berserk state after Togeira hits its limit
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  King Dedede being attacked by one of his own monsters
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  King Dedede being propped up by his Waddle Dees after getting morbidly obese off of potato chips
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  King Dedede is reduced to begging for hospitality when he sells all of his Waddle Dees.
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  An ungrateful King Dedede is rescued by his Waddle Dees.
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  King Dedede dreaming he is riding fire-breathing dinosaurs
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  King Dedede seeing through one of Escargoon's ruses
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  King Dedede crashes hard during a party broadcast fueled by Pump-Up D.
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  An x-ray showing King Dedede's empty skull
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  King Dedede showing a rare moment of genuine appreciation for Kirby
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  King Dedede possessed by theDemon Frog
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  King Dedede and Escargoon being mind-controlled by eNeMeE

Other[edit]

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  Plushie based off his anime appearance

• Featured pages
• Kirby: Right Back at Ya! characters
• Antagonists