On Deviantart, I've been posting theories that Bowser, my most favourite Mario character, isn't really a bad guy, and recently, I got a rather rude comment from some jackass who claimed my arguments are invalid because how Bowser is supposedly portrayed in the games.

*sigh* Why can't people respect others opinions? I'm entitled to believe what I want to believe about Bowser, and even if he does bad things for most part, that doesn't necessarily mean he's incapable of being a good guy on certain occasions. I don't even give a damn what is canon or not.

I just think it's farfetched to say things like "Bowser's pure evil! He actually wants to kill Peach and destroy the world! He wants the koopalings to grow up into 'sneaky, two-faced, cheating illiterates' like him! Blah, blah, blah, blah..." enough! That really ticks me off, especially when they have the nerve to quote a line from the cartoon version of Bowser (aka King Koopa), whose villainy is exaggerated there since he was the antagonist in Super Mario World and there was no other well-established villain at the time.

Not trying to boast here, I feel as if I know Bowser very much as the character. I've read all about him, played the Mario games, looked deeply into his background, and I can safely say that he is not an evil villain. While he may be antagonistic towards Mario and Luigi, let's look at some instances which proves Bowser's innocence.

Bowser has a large number of followers, ranging from Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Bob-ombs, and so on and so forth. They all admire the Koopa King and look up to him as a magnificent leader, which he desires from his followers to do so. His very presence emits an aura of confidence, ambition, loyalty, and encouragement. Bowser is very confident with himself, he sees himself as a great and outstanding Koopa and knows that all his followers support him with utmost devotion. He is ambitious as he greatly desires to make Princess Peach his queen so that they can rule both kingdoms, he shows back loyalty to his followers and even encourages them to do their duties. Many examples of these are evident in several Mario games, especially the Mario and Luigi series.

More example of his loyalty and encouragement is shown in the ending of Super Mario Sunshine, where Bowser and Bowser Jr. are sitting alone and he was feeling remorseful for lying to his son about Princess Peach being his mom (it's still a mystery where he and the Koopalings came from). When Bowser Jr. declares that he wants to fight Mario again, Bowser said with delight "That's my boy, well put son!" Definitely loyal and encouraging.

Of course, he does have his shortcomings, like any other character, especially THE GOOD GUYS! He tends to be prideful, arrogant, and self-centred, and that is expected from a character like him. He's proud to be strong, proud to be a king, and proud to be a ruler. He also tends to be melodramatic, being a hot-head and all that stuff, which is essentially, BEING EMOTIONAL! Emotions are also part of the sensitive trait, which unfortunately many fans fail to acknowledge when it comes to Bowser's character.

Speaking of sensitivity, Bowser, being the proud Koopa, is very clever to hide his emotions. He clearly doesn't want his followers to see his sensitive side, since this is something not many expect from a guy like him. Whenever he orders his minions to leave him alone, it is quite clear that he is about to let out his true emotions, and he felt that the others would interpret it as a form of weakness when he should be the big, powerful, iron-clad leader. Not to mention his fiery personality, which is fitting enough as he's a Koopa who breathes fire, making him a dragon-turtle of sorts.

It is quite obvious that Bowser's actions are not because he's evil, but because he's frustrated that he gets defeated by two mere plumbers. He's a character who is very proud of his status, desires to win Peach's heart, but the failures are practically dents and scars to his pride. The symbolism of the lion as the king of the jungle.

So, to sum up Bowser's personality, he is charismatic, strong-willed, proud, sensitive, temperamental, tends to be rash with his decisions and pursuits, but he is also loyal, encouraging, cares for his followers and family, and strives to keep his kingdom in an orderly fashion. To me, that sounds nothing like what a truly evil villain does. In all seriousness, Nintendo should really explore more on Bowser's character development, because there is PLENTY of potential for Bowser becoming a possible good guy.

And to all those who would say "But he's evil in the DiC cartoons!", there's a BIG difference between King Koopa and Bowser, even if they're both the same character. King Koopa is partially based on Bowser, but he's also based on Wart, given the fact that The Super Mario Bros Super Show takes a lot more from Super Mario Bros 2 than the original Super Mario Bros. Little is known about Wart's character, except for the fact that he enslaved the world of Subcon. Don't forget the fact that Super Mario Bros. 2 was also based on the Japanese-only game Doki Doki Panic, which features characters from a Japanese TV show.

That's all I gotta say for this rant. I hope many of you will read this and take further considerations on what kind of character Bowser is, because he's more than just this typical villain that kidnaps a princess every game, and it really angers me that some fans portray and say stuff like "Look out! Bowser is dangerous! He's full of hatred! He's a cruel, cold-hearted, bloodthirsty, maniacal, insidious, sadistic, psychopathic, malicious, murderous monster!" based on the fact that he's the most prominent adversary for Nintendo's biggest mascot.

Take care, everyone, and I'll see you all next time.