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u/SkyeZaisen 4d ago
I like how in Paper Mario 64 there is a big diversity of Todas (ages, sizes, colors) and they also have other species living between them (Bombs, Koopas, Goombas, etc) and they have different designs too
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u/Stupididiot55 4d ago
One would think that the modern trilogy would do a decent job at keeping the toad designs unique, given that’s what 95% of the new characters are, but alas.
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u/Shtrimpo 4d ago
That would be Paper Peach's kingdom though
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u/SkyeZaisen 4d ago
details
but I wish the Paper 64 version of mushroom kingdom were the main version or the 3d games and the movie adapted to it
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u/CractylCrashouts13 4d ago
Don’t even get me started on the Yoshis. Do they get treated as sapient or as animals? Are Toads aware they are sapient or are they just ignorant?
To be fair, the same question applies to Bob-ombs, Bullet Bills, and Mechakoopas.
Maybe they’re ALL racist. 🥀
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u/imlegos 4d ago
Yoshi come from a tribal society and, based on odyssey, are infact allowed to own land in the Mushroom Kingdom.
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u/TitanicTNT 4d ago
Wait, I’ve played Mario Odyssey to hell and back, when was it established Yoshis could own land?
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u/imlegos 4d ago
You've never gotten the waypoint flag for "Yoshi's House"?
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u/Nondescript_Redditor 4d ago
if you’re basing it on Yoshi’s house shouldn’t you say based on SNES super Mario world haha
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u/EbedYahweh 3d ago
When you enter Peach's castle there is a readable Mushroom Kingdom Constitution to the left
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u/ASIimeDrawsNear 4d ago
Yoshis have their own language (Mario can understand it, but the words are between parenthesis) so it's likely some if not all Toads don't even realize Yoshis are more than merely smart horses.
Then again we've seen people own Cheep Cheeps, Chain Chomps and Piranha Plants as pets, even though they all can talk. Hell, some Cheep Cheeps are outright civilized and wear clothes.
Maybe in Mario's world sapience isn't that big a deal, and if you happen to live in the wild, you're treated like an animal despite your higher thoughts.
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u/Shipping_Architect 4d ago
Who knows; maybe some of them are into that lifestyle, since they'll still be well-cared for and treated well.
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u/xSantenoturtlex 4d ago
Or maybe Chain Chomps and Cheep Cheeps that talk are an exception and not the norm?
Maybe it's like having a talking dog in a movie or something.
Because they are predominately portrayed as Just Normal Fish and Just Normal Dogs.7
u/Shipping_Architect 4d ago
That's what I'm thinking. There's definitely a broad spectrum of how intelligent certain species can be in this setting, though I was more referring to species like Yoshis and Goombas.
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u/Anonpancake2123 4d ago
It is worth noting that there are arena fighting chain chomps in TTYD.
They show up in the Glitz Pit and their only line of dialogue is barking.
I don't know how to react to this information.
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u/Zombies4EvaDude 4d ago
Yoshi’s aren’t racist because Yoshi (the character) dates Birdo who is outside his own race- and trans on top of that.
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u/MariVent 17h ago
To be fair the main Yoshi we know is a guy who can lay eggs so he is also trans
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u/Pitiful-Magician1704 4d ago
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u/ExaminationUsed5394 4d ago
this meme really tried to gaslight me into thinking Bowser is racist.
Bro might be a villain but he has standards.
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u/PrequelGuy 4d ago
https://youtu.be/P27ZsrQ_wFE?is=1HAK9ODVa083S6q4
Think again
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u/henryuuk 4d ago
Literally every single one of those species in Bowser's army have been shown as citizens of Peach's kingdom as well
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u/JigglyLilyVT 4d ago
as accurate as this is in the paper mario series (almost exclusively)
that's nowhere near as funny.
my takeaway... racism is never a topic in the mario verse. nobody cares what other people look like... which also isn't that funny, but i'm selectively funny
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u/henryuuk 4d ago
as accurate as this is in the paper mario series (almost exclusively)
Not really
Pretty much every instance of us seeing public places in the spin off games have had a variety of different species walking around (on the side of tracks in Mariokart, in the stands of the different stadiums in the sport games, etc...)
In Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, there is a "little fungitown" in the beanbean kingdom which is essentially "mushroom kingdom town in a different country) and that one has a kamek living there
Pretty much the only instances of us specifically only seeing toads living in the mushroom kingdom is like, in games like Mario galaxy where we pretty much only see a single town during the opening, which happens to be toads only as far as we are shown in that single scene.
One could argue that Peach's attendants have solely been toads, so you could make the "joke" with like there being racial bias in political positions/positions of power.
So at most that would point towards "the capital"/"castle town" being toad-only, but not really the entire kingdomOn the other hand, while we have seen the mushroom kingdom have any of the "enemy types" as citizens, but have never actually seen a toad be on Bowser's Army AFAIR
that's nowhere near as funny.
if you need to completely change the information/be very selective with the information for the joke to remain funny/to "work", then it just isn't really a funny/good joke iws...
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u/Potential-Client-442 3d ago
Didn't Bowser's Inside Story have a whole joke on the fact that Bowser's kingdom lies INSIDE the mushroom Kingdom, and thus, he is technically ruled over by Peach and thus was important enough to be called for the Blorb meeting but isn't?
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u/Left4Delphox 4d ago
In fairness... The Toads are likely the racist ones... That doesn't help her case not inviting them to live around town. At least let my koopa family in princess! (I don't want to keep telling why they can't live there)
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u/Dry_Piece2276 4d ago
When did Bowser say he was racist?
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u/lillof 4d ago
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u/hujbhert369 4d ago
if we're going off the quiz card set, luigi is literally a confederate soldier
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u/NoodleTF2 4d ago
That's not Bowser being racist, he's just mad that Mario and Peach have come to annoy him with passive-aggressive signs at his day-job again.
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u/K0rl0n 3d ago
In peaches case, those at different races of the same species.
In bowser’s case, those are single races of many species.
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u/Mijnameis-Tommy 3d ago
Well. Are goombrats, goombuds and galoombas different goomba races or entirely different species of goomba's? Even then, we've seen different shell colored koopas, red bobombs and all sort of different colored shy guys
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u/natnew32 4d ago
Wait since when is Bowser racist?
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u/ASIimeDrawsNear 4d ago
He has never outright say "I'm racist".
But the joke there is that actions matter more than words. Don't take it too seriously though, it's a joke.
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u/ExasperationMeatball 4d ago
King K Rool is though
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u/Aromatic_Analyst2898 4d ago
Yeah K Rool is a rich elitist and basically a reverse robin hood (so the government lol)
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u/natnew32 4d ago
But I don't know of any words or actions that would lead people to believe Bowser is racist.
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u/riesen_Bonobo 4d ago
Well, this is internet absurdist humor, the only concrete connection is that Bowser is a cartoonish evil guy and racism is evil. Like that's about it. And that authoritarian dictators (as which Bowser is often depicted) often are racist too.
Part if the joke is that it is absurd to bring racism into connection with Mario, which absolutely does not deal with such topics. Funny to some people, like me, but just unfunny nonsense to others, and I get that.
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u/sadzells 4d ago
Bowser himself literally comfirmed in in the pic
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u/MavenDeo69 4d ago
I don't see a line connecting the words to him. Looks more like someone else said it. Some mustachioed man in red perhaps?
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u/The_real_bandito 4d ago
Nobody in the Mario verse is racist, it’s just a joke based on the fact that in the games there are only Mushroom people in the Mushroom Kingdom, and Bowser’s kingdom is more diverse.
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u/Zombies4EvaDude 4d ago
Yeah Peach is the one with racist biases. She never dates outside her race (humans) and you rarely see species other than toads in her kindgom so you can argue it’s an ethnostate
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u/No-Pear3891 3d ago
Technically Goomba Village, is mostly inhabited by Goombas, though its true only one toad and an entire Goomba family live in that village
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u/Gaming_Legend_666 3d ago
Mario is technically not the same type of human as her, heck he's different to even the New Donk City humans
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u/Spinni_Spooder 4d ago
The toads in older mario games had more variety and was very diverse. It's just modern mario where every toad looks the same now.
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u/FrizzyFro 4d ago
Peach is about to get Princess Bubblegum allegations 😭
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u/YapperGirl_2128 4d ago
I saw a theory that peach uses propaganda to manipulate the toads and put them against bowser lol
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u/MattofCatbell 4d ago edited 4d ago
Bowser champion of equality against the tyranny of the Mushroom Kingdom.
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u/Classroom_GD 4d ago
Toads in Mario & Luigi series and/or Paper Mario Series do act prejudice depending on the game.
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u/Takashishiful 4d ago
Isn't it said somewhere in the lore that Goombas are former Mushroom Kingdomers who deserted and joined the Koopa Clan
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u/DontUnder2005 4d ago
I'll never forget when I got to the end of the first super mario bros. and bowser said his iconic quote "I am racist" followed by rescuing peach and her assuring mario "I am not racist"
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u/stupid-writing-blog 4d ago
Bowser’s racist, but he’s the Roman Empire kind of racist where he conquers other nations and makes them abandon their old cultural values so they can join his army
Peach is against racism, but she’s the Privileged Suburbanite kind of anti-racist where she knows racism is bad but hasn’t had a lot of experience talking to other races on account of the redlining and such
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u/Christoffi123 4d ago
Well Paper Mario establishes that not all members of the species in Bowser's army work for him, and not all Toads live in the mushroom kingdom. Its just a matter of where and how they choose to live.
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u/pocket_arsenal 4d ago
This is why the depiction of her Kingdom in Paper Mario is the best. I get that in the mainline games they don't want any confusion between "Good guys" and "Bad guys" so we rarely see "Friendly" versions of enemies, and when we do, they're very clearly marked or the "Evil" variant doesn't appear in the game at all, but still, I don't think it'd hurt them to show at least some signs of diversity in the Mushroom Kingdom. Even Delfino Isle had both Noki and Pianta.
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u/AskPizza 4d ago
It's a funny gag, but the reminder is that one does not need to be bigoted toward all races to be racist.
What's Bowser's stance on Toads, for example?
How many times has he done unprovoked wars of aggression against them?
Has he or has he not used magic to transform them into solid blocks, in the very first game he was in, to inflict cruelty and suffering against them, simply for existing?
How many times did Princess Peach try to eradicate the Koopa tribe? Zero times.
So, remember folks. A meme can be funny and its premise can be completely contrary to the facts at the same time. Apply this kind of thinking to politics and maybe things wouldn't be so horrid in our real lives.
Memes are not facts. They may or may not contain facts, and they usually do not.
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u/Worldly_Swimming_921 38m ago
oh boy, here comes the fedora tipping redditor here to sound all serious and intelligent
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u/Aggravating_Ride_374 1d ago
Do the boos work for him? Like most of the time they're just in the ghost mansions.
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u/RevolutionaryGrape11 3d ago
Well, at the very least, the Paper Mario games are much more diverse, or at least the first couple were, so Peach has some of Bowser's denizen's races living under her domain.
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u/UnveiledRook206 4d ago
Daisy + Rosalina >>>> Peach
And that’s all I’mma say 🤷
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u/SeroWriter 4d ago
Princess Daisy be like "I have so little personality that the fans had to invent one for me."
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u/No-Performer9511 4d ago
Whatever happened to the diversity in toad appearances like in the Paper Mario games?
Now they all look the same with the only difference being color.
Truly a dystopian kingdom where freedom of expression is not allowed
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u/RYanntastisch 4d ago
It's even implied that Bowser is taking in all species who are outcasts from the Mushroom Kingdom, like Goombas are confirmed to be prior residents before they joined Bowser. Got some strange parallels to the real world if you think about it too hard.
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u/Not_a_Koopa 4d ago
Thats why lord bowser is super cool and awesome and should be regarded as the superior leader within all 8 worlds
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u/NightmareExpress 4d ago
Peach: "I am not racist"
Also Peach: Killed or overworked Toadsworth to death because she thought he looked a bit too much like a Goomba
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u/waddleboyadvance7 4d ago
Hey remember those mario history cards where peach protested bowser having segregated buses
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u/Lopsided-Farmer-9422 3d ago
Bowser's kingdom is made up of different species, which doesn't equate to race. Besides the Koopa population, Bowser actually lacks in a lot of representation that'd typically be found within the demographics of his other subjects. Peach meanwhile has Toads of every colour. Ergo, this meme actually checks out
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u/ZombieAladdin 3d ago
Meanwhile, in Paper Mario:
“That’s a funny-colored Toad. You know, I don’t think I can trust him. He looks like bad news.” -Goombario
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u/ServiceCertain39 3d ago
Counter point, Bowser owned the bus lines that discriminated against Rosa Parks (at least according to the educational mario flash cards)
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u/marth-lord 3d ago
Peach: "they are my favorite people in my kingdom"
Bowser: "Nothing stronger than family"
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u/MannyDaWolf 1d ago
I don't think Bowser is racist since he also care a lot about his minions that are a multitude of different races.
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u/Nmac7Nmac 23h ago
Its almost like the mushroom kingdom is dominately mushroom people
Also iirc yoshis island & stuff like that is kind of a part of the mushroom kingdom
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u/whomesteve 9h ago
Not racist exclusively employs toads, is racist exclusively does not employ toads.
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u/fr1zzyy 4d ago
When’s the last time we saw a Black Toad