Puniper
| Puniper | |
|---|---|
 Artwork fromPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door | |
| Species | Puni |
| First appearance | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004) |
| Latest appearance | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024) |
- “Don't get a swelled head! This doesn't mean I'll accept you as our leader...”
- —Puniper,Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Puniper is a particularly largePuni that lives inthe Great Tree inPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. He doubtsMario's skills as a hero at first, but later joins him to defeat theX-Nauts after thePuni elder tells him to. He is shown to be stubborn, skeptical and initially unwilling to recognize Punio as future leader of the Punies. Puniper's name is a portmanteau of "Puni" and "Juniper".
History[edit]
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]
During the invasion of the Great Tree by the X-Nauts, afterPunio left to find help, the Punies were imprisoned by the X-Nauts because they would not tell them where theEmerald Star was located. Puniper, who himself did not even know what theCrystal Stars were, managed to evade their capture and hide in the entrance room of the Great Tree alongside a few other Punies. When Mario and Punio enter the tree and defeat two X-Naut soldiers, Punio calls for the Punies to reveal themselves and tells them he is planning to save the Great Tree from the X-Nauts with Mario's help. Puniper is skeptical of Mario and doubtful that Punio can lead the Punies to success, so like the other Punies, he refuses to join Mario.
Later on, Mario and Punio return to the entrace of the Great Tree, having saved thePuni elder. Puniper still refuses to join Mario and tells Punio he will still not accept him as a leader, even though he managed to save the elder. To this the elder scolds him and tells him to join Mario, after which he quickly changes his attitude and joins Mario together with 9 other Punies. Through the remainder ofChapter 2, he follows Mario alongside the other Punies, helping him to solve puzzles and defeat theJabbis. During Intermission 2, he can be found alongside the other Punies, wishing Mario good luck on his adventure.
During theBowser section of Intermission 3 he reacts in a scared manner, calling Bowser "big and bad".
General information[edit]
Physical appearance[edit]
Puniper has an orange bulb on his antenna and, unlike the other Punies, his pupils are drawn as stripes instead of dots. He is much larger than the other Punies and seems to have visible cheeks.
Personality[edit]
Puniper is stubborn and quite skeptical. He has a negative attitude and is initially disrespectfull of Punio, who is meant to be the future elder of the Great Tree. He is shown to be afraid of the X-Nauts, Bowser and to some extend the Puni Elder, who he seems to respect deeply. Puniper also seems to care about Petuni.
Tattles[edit]
- That's Puniper of the Punies. He sure is big for a Puni. Too bad his head is big, too!
- That's Puniper of the Punies. He's a little bigger than the others, obviously. So maybe he can help us reach that special area... Hee hee! Just kidding. His only special power is complaining, I think.
- That's Puniper of the Punies. This guy just needs to stop whining and do what's right. I mean, he's huge! When you got a big bod, you gotta step up and take charge!
Gallery[edit]
Puniper questioning Punio's trust in Mario.
The Puni elder calling out Puniper for his stubbornness.
Puniper and the other Punies with the Emerald Star in the remake.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | プニタ[1] Punita | From "Puni" and「た」(-ta), usually used for masculine name ending | |
| Chinese | 普尼搭[2][3] Pǔnídā | Transliteration of the Japanese name | |
| Dutch | Maxini[4] | From the name "Max" and "mini" orIni ("Puni"). "Max" may also allude to his larger body shape. | |
| French | Pounibo[5][6] | FromPouni ("Puni") and possiblybeau ("beautiful") or the male name "Thibaut" | |
| German | Bubulas[7] | Bubu ("Puni") and the name "Nicolas" | |
| Italian | Fufurio[8] | Portmanteau ofFufino ("Puni") and the male name "Furio" | |
| Korean | 말랑욱[9] Mallang'uk | Portmanteau of "말랑" (Mallang, "Puni") and the Korean masculine name ending "욱" (uk) | |
| Spanish | Punilio[10][11] | From "Puni" and the male name "Emilio" |
References[edit]
- ^「プニ族の プニタよ」–Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch).Nintendo Co. (Japanese).
- ^"这是普尼族的普尼塔哦。" –Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch).Nintendo (Hong Kong) (Simplified Chinese).
- ^「他是普尼族的普尼塔喔。」–Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch).Nintendo (Hong Kong) (Traditional Chinese).
- ^"Dat is Maxini van de Ini's." –Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch).Nintendo of Europe (Dutch).
- ^« C'est Pounibo de la Tribu Pouni. » –Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch).Nintendo of America (Canadian French).
- ^« Pounibo, de la Tribu Pouni. » –Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch).Nintendo of Europe (French).
- ^„Das ist Bubulas, ein Bubu.“ –Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch).Nintendo of Europe (German).
- ^«È Fufurio.» –Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch).Nintendo of Europe (Italian).
- ^"말랑족 말랑욱이야" –Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch).Nintendo of Korea (Korean).
- ^"Es Punilio, un Puni que necesita dejar de quejarse y poner de su parte." –Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch).Nintendo of America (Latin American Spanish).
- ^«Es Punilio, un puni antipático y gruñón que se cree el ombligo del mundo.» –Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch).Nintendo of Europe (European Spanish).
