#hippopo

Name: Hippopo

Debut: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Hehe... popo... that means butt! I don’t think that’s what they were going for here, since Hippopo is the Japanese name too, but now you know another term for “butt” if you didn’t already!

Hippos are already incredibly wacky on their own. I only recently learned that they can’t actually swim! They just walk on the bottom of the water! That seems like a big oversight on evolution’s part, but they manage just fine with it, so I guess it’s ok!

Hippopo, though? It gets even wackier! First, there’s the tail. It gets a thicker tail. That’s not actually very wacky, but it is there, and I am pointing it out, and there is nothing you can do about it.

Next, the first properly wacky thing: the little dude on top! What is that? I don’t know! But it’s my friend. I know it’s bad not to know much about someone you call a friend, but I can’t help it! This is the highest quality image of Hippopo available, so this is as much as I can see. I want to say it’s maybe... a snake or something? Yes, I know it’s holding a spear. Goombas can hold things. It’s Homestar Runner rules.

The other wacky thing is those ears! This hippo’s got elephant style ears. They’ve got their pachyderms mixed up! Did you know that “pachyderm” as a taxonomic group is actually obsolete? Pachyderms as we know them are just a bunch of unrelated animals that evolved thick, tough skin on their own. Elephants are far more closely related to rock hyraxes than they are to hippos, and I think that is delightful.

But elephant ears weren’t my first thought here... I can’t help but see Hippopo’s ears as a beetle’s elytra! Which is kind of ironic, because I tend to always see Bugzzy’s elytra as ears. It’s come full circle... I think? I don’t know! I’m too confused to think about it any further.

So in conclusion, yes, those are ears on Hippopo. They are NOT beetle wing covers, and they are NOT raised like that to allow for the true wings to move, allowing Hippopo to fly. Got it?

Don’t just think that spa’s are for adults only. Babies enjoy them too! This is Hippopo Babyspa. 6th June 2014 marks the opening of their third branch, Setia Walk Mall (First in Damansara, second in Great Eastern Mall). Lucky enough to live near Puchong to bring our little Aelinor to her first ever spa. Situated at Ground floor of Setia Walk Mall, this is not a place to miss if you have kids…

It’s my own character based on Dau Do Tung Tang authored by Pham Thuy Mai Thy