Waluigi

Expecting a polished entry?

This entry is a work in progress.

About

Waluigi is a character from the Mario video game franchise. Despite having appeared mainly in spinoffs of the franchise, he has gained popularity in the Mario fandom due to his mischievous, cunning nature.

Origin

Waluigi’s first appearance in the Mario franchise was in the Nintendo 64 game Mario Tennis, released in 2000. he was designed to be the Luigi’s rival in the way that Wario is to Mario, with exaggerated physical traits.
His name comes from a pun based on “Warui”, The Japanese word for Bad, and “Ruigi”, since Japan substitutes the letter L for R, which makes his name literally “Bad Luigi”.

Waluigi has also appeared in other Mario spinoffs, such as Mario Kart, Mario Golf, and Mario Party, as well as an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Spread

Waluigi gained popularity in the fandom thanks to his over-the-top appearance and voice. Several Tumblr Ask Blogs have impersonated Waluigi, such as WAAAAAAAH and Ask Waluigi.

On TV Tropes, Waluigi is listed as an example of an Ensemble Darkhorse character; one who becomes very popular despite not being in the main cast.

Waluigi started out as a character solely to mirror Mario & Wario’s rivalry by giving Luigi an enemy and completely lacking a personality beyond being overconfident and narcissistic. Since then, Waluigi has steadily increased in popularity over the years, even earning himself an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an Assist Trophy. The biggest reason he’s so popular is thanks to Brawl in the Family, where the fans of the series were able to see Waluigi in a different (crazier and funnier) look. He also became more of a mischievous trickster with some bits of Tragic Villain and Butt Monkey as more games came out, giving him an overall better characterization other than just being a “rival to Luigi”, got awesome music and stages to his name (particularly Waluigi Pinball in Mario Kart DS), and got more hilarious animations and roles in the games he appeared in. All of this with the Mario series constantly pulling in new fans who didn’t have to deal with his early Scrappy moments, have been responsible for his more positive reception, even if he still is a Base Breaker.

Waluigi Time

A popular quote from Waluigi is “Too Bad, Waluigi Time”, which originates from the Super Smash Bros. Webcomic Brawl In The Family, which shows his crazier side. The quote is often used in the context of Waluigi threads.