#the koopalings are adopted hypothesis

[lore-of-the-mushroom-kingdom]

There Might Have Been No Koopaling Retcon?

In a previous post I talked about how the Koopalings were originally meant to be Bowser's Kids, and that this was retconned. However, upon further examination it seems the Koopalings since the start might have never been intended to be Bowser's children.

Okay so in the Japanese Manual of Super Mario Bros. 3's manual they are called Kokuppa 7 Kyōdai, meaning 7 Little Bowser Siblings. Notice how that doesn't say Bowser's kids, let's move on.

In the Japanese manual they are called Kokuppa 7 Ninshū meaning Team of 7 Little Bowsers. Again, not outright saying they are his kids.

So here's the thing, kuppa is Bowser's Japanese name, but also more than likely the name of his whole species. Similar to how Goomba can be named Goomba, but it's also the name of their species. So with that being said the little of 7 little Bowser/Koopa Siblings begins to make sense. Keep in mind Koopa Troopas or Common Koopas are called Nokonoko in Japan instead of Kuppa. The Japanese said wasn't saying they were Bowser's 7 children, it was saying that's their species name. Heck if the English side didn't give them their names they would have probably all just been called Bowsers.

So what's going on here? It's probably a localization problem based on misunderstanding the Japanese text and or adding to it. This is not uncommon especially back in the day. I intend to cover some examples in the future which I will link here. So if anything the the Team of 7 Little Bowsers were not intended to be his children, but the localization team added it in.

This naming is even seen in Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga with them being called Kokuppa-gundan, aka Little Bowser Corps.

This naming could also explain Koopa Kid or his proper name Minikuppa, he is a species of Mini Bowsers, or if we were to say it in English Boss Koopas. Also showing this hypothesis to be wrong, and a hypothesis in this post to be correct. But..... In the manual it Morton and Larry call Bowser oyaji, which apparently means father. However, it can also mean boss, or old man. But Bowser does say ore-sama no musuko-tachi meaning my sons or my children.

[lore-of-the-mushroom-kingdom]

The Koopalings Are Not Bowser's Children

So I realize I have not made a post addressing the Koopalings and their status, only ever referring to it in passing. So as we know the Koopalings in the manuals were called Bowser's Kids, and that this led to external media such as the Super Mario Adventures comic and Super Mario Bros. 3 show depicting him as his kids.

While this was the original intention this was retconned and the Koopalings went from being Bowser's kids to his commanders. Note: There might have never been a retcon to begin with, however they still aren't his kids. I made another post going into detail on why this is. In a Gameinfomer titled Mario's Creators Answer Burning Questions About The Series interview when asked "In Super Mario Bros. 3, the Koopalings were supposed to be Bowser's children. But there's also Bowser Jr. Are they all his kids, and are they all from different mothers? Is Bowser Jr. a Koopaling?" Miyamoto responded with the following "Our current story is that the seven Koopalings are not Bowser's children. Bowser's only child is Bowser Jr., and we do not know who the mother is."

While many people have come to the conclusion that they are still his kids and they are just adopted, this isn't accurate. First off the intent is that they aren't his kids anymore, and you are still someone's kid if you are adopted.

The next part is the simple fact that they are never called his kids in any newer media. On the official website for NSMBWD they are only referred to as "leaders of Bowser's Troops." In cards they aren't called his children either.

The Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia outside of lifted text from old manuals which the Encyclopedia even notes, the Koopalings are never called his kids.

There is also the fact in game they are never called his kids, nor any implication they are adopted.

There is also the fact that they are too old to be his kids, and could even be as old as Bowser if not close to his age. In Color Splash Roy talks about attending night school or in other words he's in college. "I guess I'll just have to hope Lord Bowser can defeat you…" "Yeah, I know what irony is. BOOM. Knowledge is power, so I started going to night school."

There is the fact that the Koopalings only ever refer to Bowser by titles such as Lord Bowser and never father or stepdad, and they do the same for BJ calling him Lord Junior. They never talk about Jr being their brother, they talk about how he will be their boss one day, and they are even called his friends. "That punk will eventually be our boss!" "All right, Lord Junior.. We'll be facing off against Shy Guys in this next battle." "Well, he is Bowser's kid. There were bound to be some speed bumps." "They say that helicopter parenting doesn't work anyway. Just let 'em run wild!"

When Bowser asks them to watch over Junior they don't watch over him like older siblings, and even refer to it as being a form of parenting. They even directly refer to him as Bowser's Kid. There is also the fact Bowser beat up Iggy after making fun of Junior in front of Bowser. With all that being said, the Koopalings are not Bowser's kids but rather his underlings.

[lore-of-the-mushroom-kingdom]

Note: There was never a retcon to begin with, however they still aren't his kids. I made another post going into detail on why this is.

The Koopaling Retcon

So I realize I have not made a post addressing the Koopalings and their status, only ever referring to it in passing. So as we know the Koopalings in the manuals were called Bowser's Kids, and that this led to external media such as the Super Mario Adventures comic and Super Mario Bros 3 show depicting him as his kids.

While this was the original intention this was retconned and the Koopalings went from being Bowser's kids to his commanders. In a Gameinfomer titled Mario's Creators Answer Burning Questions About The Series interview when asked "In Super Mario Bros. 3, the Koopalings were supposed to be Bowser's children. But there's also Bowser Jr. Are they all his kids, and are they all from different mothers? Is Bowser Jr. a Koopaling?" Miyamoto responded with the following "Our current story is that the seven Koopalings are not Bowser's children. Bowser's only child is Bowser Jr., and we do not know who the mother is."

While many people have come to the conclusion that they are still his kids and they are just adopted, this isn't accurate. First off the intent is that they aren't his kids anymore, and you are still someone's kid if you are adopted.

The next part is the simple fact that they are never called his kids in any newer media. On the official website for NSMBD they are only referred to as "leaders of Bowser's Troops." In cards they aren't called his children either.

The Encyclopedia outside of lifted text from old manuals which the Encyclopedia even notes, the Koopalings are never called his kids.

There is also the fact in game they are never called his kids, nor any implication they are adopted.

There is also the fact that they are too old to be his kids, and could even be as old as Bowser if not close to his age. In Color Splash Roy talks about attending night school or in other words he's in college.

There is the fact that the Koopalings only ever refer to Bowser by titles such as Lord Bowser and never father or stepdad, and they do the same for BJ calling him Lord Junior. They never talk about Jr being their brother, they talk about how he will be their boss one day, and they are even called his friends.

When Bowser asks them to watch over Junior they don't watch over him like older siblings, and even refer to it as being a form of parenting. They even directly refer to him as Bowser's Kid. There is also the fact Bowser beat up Iggy after making fun of Junior in front of Bowser. With all that being said, the Koopalings are not Bowser's kids but rather his underlings.