There Will Be Brawl



""None of us are the heroes we're supposed to be...""

- Police Chief Link

In short: Super Smash Bros. meets Sin City as well as Watchmen and Silence of the Lambs (but, oddly enough, not There Will Be Blood).

There Will Be Brawl is a webseries that was eventually hosted by The Escapist and was directed by Matthew Mercer. Featuring live actors, it takes the most famous characters from Nintendo's library and puts them in a situation far removed from the bright and cheery childhood games we remember. The plot follows Luigi, who is now a jaded drug dealer trying to make ends meet in the seedy underworld of the Mushroom Kingdom for both himself and his brother. As the plot thickens and new dangers arise, Luigi searches for a reason to keep fighting for a city that seems beyond salvation.

Despite the overall dark tone of the series, it mostly averts Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy by having an engaging plot, good writing and acting, as well as some clever Mythology Gags from all over the Nintendo universe. In addition, the sheer effort put into the costumes, make-up and production design impresses to no end, even though some costumes that required a little extra creativity involved (Kirby, Fox, Dedede etc) can be a tad distracting at first, you can generally get too immersed in the story to notice after a while. The series seemingly aims to be a Deconstruction of Nintendo franchises in general, but often ends up as more of an Affectionate Parody of the plots and mechanics from the respective games.

After the series ended they announced plans of a DVD, but that seems to have gone into Development Hell.

The complete series can be found here.

"Waluigi: During a conversation between Mario and Wario about a recent murder - "Tennis?""
 * A Day in the Limelight: Episode 8 focuses completely on, ironically, Mario. Luigi and his other allies don't even appear on screen, besides in flashbacks.
 * American Kirby Is Hardcore: Sweet Jesus.
 * And Your Little Dog, Too:
 * Also a Homage to the infamous "horse head" scene of The Godfather.
 * Annoying Arrows: shoots Ganondorf twice in the shoulder, to no effect whatsoever.
 * Anti-Villain: King Dedede. He may be a corrupt, hedonistic mafia don with his flippers in all kinds of illegal doings, but he really wants to end the violence and, of the four mob bosses, stands the best chance of doing so.
 * Basically, he manages to be the closest to a Reasonable Authority Figure that Luigi and his friends have encountered during the series, as he genuinely wants to help find the Serial Killer and is the one person with powerful enough connections and resources to accomplish it.
 * Bowser --
 * Anyone Can Die: In the end, there are more dead Brawl characters than there were characters in Super Smash Bros Melee. Let's run down the body count in roughly chronological order, shall we? Phew!
 * Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other:
 * In a platonic, brotherly sense, Mario's talk with Luigi when they break into Lakitu's house. "There are two Super Mario Brothers."
 * Marth when he hears that Ike's condition is worsening. When his help is required, he just decides he's off duty and takes off, obviously to the hospital.
 * Ax Crazy: The Ice Climbers.
 * More like Hammer Crazy, amirite?
 * Back-to-Back Badasses: The former even being there counted as his Heel Face Turn, while the latter had one two episodes prior.
 * Badass: Mario. In Episode 6, he fights three rabid attack Yoshis with his bare hands then rides one of them around. A little on the Ax Crazy side, but Badass nonetheless. He also beats Donkey Kong so brutally in a fight that most assumed he was dead until it was confirmed that he was merely hospitalized.
 * Actually most characters are badass in the series, given it's a dark parody of a fighting game.
 * Badass Boast:
 * Badass Longcoat: Luigi is never seen without his unbuttoned Greatcoat,.
 * Bad Cop, Incompetent Cop
 * Bar Brawl: Between Mario and Donkey Kong over Pauline.
 * Berserk Button: Never, ever, call Mario a plumber if you value your teeth at all.
 * Fox doesn't much appreciate being called "furry".
 * Better to Die Than Be Killed:.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Wario
 * Big Bad:
 * Big Damn Heroes:
 * And how.
 * And then
 * Big No:, after.
 * Also after.
 * And, right before
 * Bittersweet Ending: The Mushroom Kingdom is on the road to rebuilding, but so many have died,
 * Breather Episode: Between Episode 4 and 5, and consists of gag reels from the Mushroom Kingdom news station.
 * Long time fans were actually disappointed by this, as the breather episode was assembled from clips of four gag reels that have been on the series' official site since before the show moved to The Escapist, meaning it was nothing new to them.
 * Another one's come out between 7 and 8. This one isn't Filler, though, as Episode 8 came out almost immediately after.
 * The Cameo: Out of the main brawlers, Pikachu, Lucario, ROB, and Young and Toon Link are relegated to walk-on roles. There are also the assist trophies, Issac and Cyborg Ninja.
 * Lots of minor or lesser-known Nintendo characters make cameo appearances throughout the series, they can be seen in the characters page.
 * There's even the Excite Bike pilot assisting in the prison break in Episode 8.
 * Canon Immigrant: Referenced in a running Mythology Gag: Snake, Cyborg Ninja and Sonic are cast as bums living in an immigrant slum.
 * Casting Gag: Matthew Mercer (AKA Ganondorf) and Joellen Elam (AKA Zelda) were dating while There Will Be Brawl was filmed..
 * Cheerful Child: Red, the Pokémon trainer. He takes care of the Pokémon after is killed. Unique in that he's one of the only non-Gray characters, being simply Good..
 * Ness and Lucas too.
 * Link counted as one as a child. Then Hyrule got royally fucked.
 * Chekhov's Gun / Chekhov's Boomerang:
 * Chekhov's Gunman:
 * Children Are Innocent: forms the Arc Words in Episode 4, and appear throughout the story.
 * Chekhov's Gunman:
 * Children Are Innocent: forms the Arc Words in Episode 4, and appear throughout the story.

"Fox: More like...Crazy Hand!"
 * Deconstructed when
 * Subverted in a way that could make Mohiro Kitoh proud in the endgame, where
 * Considering how dark the series is, it would not be surprising if the creators were inspired by his works.
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Young Link and Toon Link were reduced to just one character, Pre-police Link, who only showed up in a photo of Link in his earlier days ("played" by stock-pictures of the world's most famous Young Link cosplayer) and a doodle Zelda apparently drew some years ago. Otherwise they are completely absent from the plot and not even mentioned by name.
 * Pikachu and Lucario end up showing up in a single fight early in the series and don't show up for the rest of it, though it's implied Red still takes care of them.
 * Combat Tentacles:
 * Companion Cube: The Sandbag and ROB, to Captain Olimar at least.
 * Consulting a Convicted Killer: Kirby is re-imagined as an Expy of Hannibal Lecter, presenting him as an imprisoned cannibalistic serial killer that is consulted in the hope of solving other murders going on.
 * Cosmic Horror: Bowser makes the out as these. The demons that were forgotten by everyone.
 * Which makes much more sense in the final episode,
 * Crapsack World: See the introduction at the top of this page.
 * Creepy Child:
 * Cryptic Conversation: When Luigi meets Olimar/End of Days, he seems to spout a bunch of nonsense and generic doomsday prophecies.
 * Cult: Olimar leads a cult centered around Master Hand.

""Come back sometime, and maybe you can... show me your moves.""
 * If you want to get really technical, Fox is actually correct: the hand on Olimar's little shrine is a left hand. Master Hand is the right hand, Crazy Hand is the left.
 * Creator Cameo: Zach Grafton and Matthew Mercer make several small cameos as Toads, policemen, and cultists.
 * Da Chief: Link is in charge of the police force of the Mushroom Kingdom, and he's not afraid to remind you about it either. (This has been strained recently: either he's becoming an alcoholic or has always been one.)
 * Darker and Edgier: And How!
 * Dead Little Sister: It's stated in Episode 7 that Daisy used to be Luigi's girlfriend, but was killed by Kirby.
 * Deconstruction Crossover: Using the pre-existing Super Smash Bros. Massive Multiplayer Crossover.
 * Despair Event Horizon: motivation in Episode 10 appears to more or less boil down to "how can heroes possibly go on when evil like  exists?" The same applies to villains. See Even Evil Has Standards below.
 * Despair Speech: Ganondorf gets a pretty epic one near the end.
 * : The final scene of the series strongly implies
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?:
 * Dies Wide Open:
 * Disney Death:
 * Damsel in Distress:
 * Dramatic Shattering: Luigi, despite being The Stoic for most of the series, vents his frustration by chucking a glass against a wall in Episode 3, cutting out the background music.
 * Dramatic Unmask: In Episode 10 what looks like umasks himself to show he is  This is pure Nightmare Fuel.
 * Drowning My Sorrows: Both Mario brothers have a tendency to do this at times, Mario more so than Luigi. So does Link, as we see when he interrogates Luigi.
 * Dual Wield: In the final episode, Marth wields Ike's old sword as well as his own, while Fox takes up Wolf's blaster. While facing both of the aforementioned, Nana beats down Popo and takes his hammer.
 * Eldritch Abomination: The Oldest Ones,
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Kirby may be a murderer and cannibal, but he won't stand for another inmate attacking Peach when she visits the prison.
 * Mostly an homage to The Silence of the Lambs. In that version, Hannibal gets revenge on the inmate who by.
 * Ermine Cape Effect: Zelda appears in a business suit, but Hyrule's been absorbed by the Mushroom Kingdom so she's not really a princess anymore. Princess Peach on the other hand is always wearing her classic pink dress and crown, even when having sex.
 * Evil Is Not a Toy: You'd think that Ganondorf would be above this sort of thing but
 * Evil Sorcerer: Ganondorf.
 * Executive Meddling: The last episode was due to come out December 18. Allegedly, this was at the insistence of The Escapist. The people behind TWBB had intended to release it on Christmas Day.
 * And then that release date got delayed because Matthew Mercer, one of the show's creators/actors/editors, suffered literal Creator Breakdown scrambling to finish it by that date.
 * Eye Beams/Eye Scream:
 * Fallen Hero: Mario was on the border for awhile, but after, he's crossed into outright Anti-Hero territory. That's not to say that most of the cast aren't Anti Heroes to begin with though.
 * As of Episode 6,.
 * Link also fits, he's enormously bitter and depressed, and has resorted to heavy alcoholism.
 * Faux Action Girl: Samus.
 * Lampshaded when Samus is suspected of being the murderer,, and this is interpreted as her trying to get the others killed.
 * Family-Unfriendly Death: HOLY SHIT. To give a few:
 * Film Noir
 * Flamboyant Gay: Captain Falcon and Pit
 * Faux Action Girl: Samus.
 * Lampshaded when Samus is suspected of being the murderer,, and this is interpreted as her trying to get the others killed.
 * Family-Unfriendly Death: HOLY SHIT. To give a few:
 * Film Noir
 * Flamboyant Gay: Captain Falcon and Pit
 * Flamboyant Gay: Captain Falcon and Pit


 * Foreshadowing- In episode 8, Zelda appears to break up a fight between Mario and Link, and the 2 men start arguing about princesses, to which Mario responds: "That bitch will be the death of you!",
 * gives one too.

"Saki: That might be something you want to look into! You're gonna be single soon, anyway, right...!?"
 * Gainax Ending: Wait, What the... What!?
 * reads credits*
 * Glory Days: An underlying theme of the series.
 * Go-Karting with Bowser: Compared to the present, the Glory Days were seen as an honorable competition, especially by Luigi, Ganondorf,
 * The Good, the Bad, and The Evil: Red and Luigi are Good; Link and the remaining mob bosses are Bad; Kirby and  are completely batshit evil incarnate.
 * Link isn't really bad at all, in fact most of his goals have fairly good intentions
 * Grey and Grey Morality: Very few characters are clear-cut good or evil in TWBB. Red is the only completely Good characters, while only Kirby, Olimar, and the Ice Climbers are clear-cut Evil. Kirby himself is explicitly stated to be the reason everything fell apart--he taught the people to fear and it broke Mushroom Kingdom culture in half. Peach is the exact opposite--she's been explicitly stated to be the one thing holding the whole place together.
 * The finale reveals that
 * Heel Face Door Slam:
 * Heroic Neutral: Captain Falcon.
 * Heroic Sacrifice:.
 * As of Episode 10,
 * Hey, It's That Guy!: Vork is Waluigi.
 * Anime fans will likely recognize Wario's actor as Kyle Hebert, which certainly explains the inherent hamminess of the character.
 * Of course. Who-a da hell do you think-a he is!?
 * Hilarious in Hindsight: It is mentioned that in the news extras hosted by Lakitu that Mario nearly beat Tom Nook to death. Now, PETA is complaining that Mario is skinning Tanukis and wearing their skin.
 * : Both in terms of Ensemble Darkhorse and its original intent.
 * It's amusing how much more often that trope is used when the man himself is in the work in question.
 * Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Samus, of all people, but she uses her position (not that kind of position...) to gather information, and is a very handy source of connections for Luigi.
 * Hope Spot: In the final episode,
 * Hotter and Sexier: There are at least two sex scenes in the first episode alone.
 * Howl of Sorrow: Wolf does this
 * Human Sacrifice:
 * Hypocritical Humor: Saki speculates about whether Sheik is a woman or "one of those androgynous girlie dudes."
 * Hypocritical Humor: Saki speculates about whether Sheik is a woman or "one of those androgynous girlie dudes."
 * Hypocritical Humor: Saki speculates about whether Sheik is a woman or "one of those androgynous girlie dudes."
 * Hypocritical Humor: Saki speculates about whether Sheik is a woman or "one of those androgynous girlie dudes."

"So, uh... was I any good?"
 * I Need a Freaking Drink: Link in Episode 7. He doesn't bother with the line and has more than one source of ready alcohol on hand...
 * Kent Brockman News: Channel 8 Lakitu News. Not so much in the main storyline (where it provides mainly background exposition), but the Breather Episode(s) play it for laughs.
 * Kill the Cutie:
 * Large Ham: Wario all the way, but also Ganondorf has some hammy antics. No wonder both of them stole the episodes they first appeared in.
 * Captain Falcon cranks the hamminess Up to Eleven in his appearance in Episode 7.
 * He most certainly gets away with it. Watch this clip to find out why.
 * Leave Him to Me: and
 * Libation for the Dead:
 * Licking the Blade: Nana does this with a bloodied hammer.
 * Light Flicker Teleportation
 * Love Triangle: Between Mario, Luigi, and Peach.
 * Zelda, Link and
 * The Man Behind the Man:
 * Or
 * Manly Gay/Seme: Captain Falcon
 * Meaningful Funeral/Lonely Funeral:.
 * Mind Screw: The series leaves constant clues in reference to the identity of the butcher, to the point that in Episode 9 we're led to believe So in Episode 10
 * Not even Wild Mass Guessing had the killer pegged, such was the insanity.
 * Depending on how strict or loose you are in deciding which ones count, there were somewhere around sixteen "___ is the killer" or "___ did it" Wild Mass Guessing threads, and not a single one of them got it.
 * Mind you, the hints were there. Probably not enough to guess ahead of time, but hindsight makes this Fridge Brilliance.
 * Mob War: Between Bowser, Ganondorf, King Dedede, and Mewtwo. and then
 * The Mole:, who sells the main characters out to the corrupt police force.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Samus, as noted above.
 * More Teeth Than the Osmond Family: Kirby.
 * My God, What Have I Done?: After Zelda at the end of episode 9, episode 10 opens with her crying in the bathroom.
 * Mythology Gag: Too many to list here, but one of the most memorable ones involves the identities of the serial killer's first victims: Pichu, Roy, and . (They were playable in Melee, but weren't included in Brawl.)
 * Dr Mario is also brought up as Mario's failed medical practice.
 * In the final episode, when Mario is suiting up, his doctor outfit is hanging next to his cape
 * In episode 3, when Mario and Luigi are arguing, just after Luigi notices the pills Mario took, Mario pins Luigi against the wall, and you'll notice a poster for
 * The pills themselves are from Dr. Mario.
 * 2 subtle ones, but pretty awesome. Luigi drinks from one of those Potion Flasks you got in Super Mario Bros. 2, and Snake's ongoing love affair with his cardboard box.
 * When Luigi unlocks his apartment door in episode 1, he uses a key from Super Mario Bros. 2, then one of those floating mask enemies appears behind him.
 * Blink-and-you'll-miss-it, there are two Zelda ones in a row. Link hurls his flask at Navi after one too many Hey Listens, and then in the next shot pulls another from his pocket. Multiple bottles, indeed
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
 * Not Even Bothering with the Accent
 * Not Me This Time: Who's the butcher and/or kidnapper? Bowser? Ganondorf? Everyone takes turns applying this, so we have no idea.
 * Not Quite Dead:
 * Not So Harmless: Also,
 * Old Shame: Mario very nearly goes berserk when the addled Waluigi says at his arrival, "It's Mario... It's a Mario party!"
 * Also, any mention of plumbers, for both Mario Brothers. Luigi is rather annoyed, but it's Mario's Berserk Button.
 * One Last Smoke: In a form; the last thing does is  What's even worse is that
 * The Oner: In the finale, the scene where Mario  is shot without any breaks. A particularly impressive bit of work, considering the both the low-budget style of the series and the relatively complex fighting that ensues.
 * One-Scene Wonder: Bowser.
 * One-Woman Wail: Or in this case, One-Pokémon Trainer Wail.
 * Red does it again.
 * Pet the Dog: Wario looks after his mentally handicapped brother, Waluigi. Of course, he later had Waluigi
 * Police Brutality: Ike and Marth go from a recurring Those Two Guys duo to outright Jerkasses when they pick on a couple of homeless characters in Episode 4. The brutality gets worse from there.
 * Posthumous Character:.
 * Private Eye Monologue: Luigi's not a private eye, but his speeches narrate a good deal of the story in a similar fashion. Lampshaded by Bowser. "So you're a private dick now?"
 * Reality Subtext: The kiss between is a bit funny when you know that the actors who play them are dating in real life.
 * Redemption Equals Death: Both
 * Red Herring: The characters don't notice or mention it at all, but there's a brilliant one directed toward the viewers in the form of
 * Another one:.
 * And yet another one, one that was believed far more frequently: . It doesn't help that.
 * Brilliantly, Kirby actually chastises Luigi for this and hints that he’s on the wrong track. Near everyone ignored this as Kirby just playing mind games.
 * Rousing Speech: Mario's "take back the kingdom" speech in Episode
 * Schedule Slip: Arguably justified due to financial troubles.
 * And the fact that Matt Mercer almost killed himself working on the finale.
 * Screams Like a Little Girl: Both Saki and Isaac. A Crowning Moment of Funny to go with an aforementioned Crowning Moment of Awesome.
 * Seeker Archetype: Luigi.
 * Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Mario is the manly man, Luigi is more sensitive.
 * Shout-Out: "Clever bitches..."
 * Who watches the Game & Watch? Not to mention a figure in a trenchcoat walking around the city constantly delivering an inner monologue and the shadows left by a Falcon Punch.
 * "Fuck it! We'll do it live!"
 * "Well, Excuse Me, Princess!!"
 * Little Mac gets his bike stolen.
 * Isaac proclaims "we'll use force if necessary", "Force" being an oft used technique in the game he's from.
 * When Waluigi debuts, he's strumming a tennis racket and vocalizing the opening bars of Duelling Banjos.
 * Ike: "You'll get no sympathy from me."
 * And similarly, but much, much creepier - Kirby: "Hiiiiiii..."
 * At one point, Olimar's followers chant "Blood for the Blood God!"
 * Luigi tells Mario: "There isn't a world for heroes, no more!"
 * Kirby is basically an Expy of Hannibal Lecter.
 * Show Within a Show: Mushroom Kingdom News
 * Shut UP, Hannibal: By the time they meet in Episode 10, Luigi is in no mood whatsoever to put up with another one of Hannibal Lectures.
 * Twice, in fact. Once to Olimar "Cut the crazy.", and once to the above "I've had enough! Of your HEADGAMES!"
 * Sibling Yin-Yang: Luigi is the smart one, and generally keeps a cool head. Mario is much more comfortable with a "hands-on approach", and has a pretty violent temper when pushed.
 * Sinister Scraping Sound
 * Soundtrack Dissonance: Considering the circumstances, it was almost an unintentional Video Will.
 * Ike: "You'll get no sympathy from me."
 * And similarly, but much, much creepier - Kirby: "Hiiiiiii..."
 * At one point, Olimar's followers chant "Blood for the Blood God!"
 * Luigi tells Mario: "There isn't a world for heroes, no more!"
 * Kirby is basically an Expy of Hannibal Lecter.
 * Show Within a Show: Mushroom Kingdom News
 * Shut UP, Hannibal: By the time they meet in Episode 10, Luigi is in no mood whatsoever to put up with another one of Hannibal Lectures.
 * Twice, in fact. Once to Olimar "Cut the crazy.", and once to the above "I've had enough! Of your HEADGAMES!"
 * Sibling Yin-Yang: Luigi is the smart one, and generally keeps a cool head. Mario is much more comfortable with a "hands-on approach", and has a pretty violent temper when pushed.
 * Sinister Scraping Sound
 * Soundtrack Dissonance: Considering the circumstances, it was almost an unintentional Video Will.


 * Stealth Pun: The music playing in Captain Falcon's gay bar? It's a remix of Rainbow Road.
 * Invisible to Gaydar: Fire Emblem Tellius Ike and Marth. Unlike Captain Falcon and Pit, they could easily pass for Heterosexual Life Partners, if it wasn't for a few lines. The dancing together in a gay bar was sort of a hint too.
 * Take That: Sonic and Snake, the two non-Nintendo characters in the SSB series, are depicted as homeless and crippled, living in boxes in a back alley. The living arrangements, as noted above, are a reference to their Canon Immigrant status. The handicaps, on the other hand, are pure Take That.
 * There's another Take That in the first episode to nothing else but the Wii itself, with Luigi passing by a poster promoting Wii Fit while narrating: "Things aren't the same anymore."
 * Arguably the entire story could be considered to contain an underlying Take That against Nintendo's recent policies in marketing and game development. The Neglectful Precursors themes, the abandonment of the old "heroes and villains" dichotomy... perhaps a statement about Nintendo's apparent abandonment of old fan-favorite game styles to push for the non-gamer market?
 * This is heavily implied by End of Days in the final episode when he mentions how the Nintendo Building is a monument to those who had long abandoned them. Makes you wonder why
 * This one is kind of a stealth Take That: Meta-Knight, who in Brawl is widely considered to be the best character in the game to the point of being a game-breaker, This could possibly be a Take That to people who prefer to use Meta-Knight in tournament play.
 * "Take That!" Kiss: grossed out some people. Most people agree that the  is squick, though.
 * Taking the Bullet:
 * Taking You with Me:
 * Talking to Himself: Matthew Mercer does the voices of both Kirby and Meta Knight. He also plays Ganondorf.
 * Kinda lampshaded in the final episode, where
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Meta Knight seems to be this way with Kirby, seemingly dedicating his life to keeping guard over him. And then when Kirby escapes, Meta Knight responds to it by saying to Luigi; "He's mine... At last." before proceeding to fight him.
 * Mario seemed pretty angry after learning that Bowser was already dead before he had a chance to fight him personally.
 * The Twink/Uke: Pit.
 * The Voiceless: The Ice Climbers (well, Popo technically has one speaking line in Episode 7),.
 * Those Two Guys: Marth and Ike, and after they get promoted to main characters, Isaac and Saki,.
 * Third Line, Some Waiting: How the plot eventually ties together.
 * Plot A: Luigi attempts to rescue Peach and salvage what's left of the kingdom, by finding and defeating the butcher.
 * Plot B: Mario is tired of how things have fallen after the glory days, and raises an army of allies to lash out at those he deems responsible.
 * Plot C: The chaos of the power void caused by the disintegrating mob balance, disappearance of the ruling princess, and power grabbing of the police force (Zelda, Link)
 * Plot D: the ever-present, yet seldom active, threat of the Butcher.
 * Throwing the Fight: Dedede tells Mac that he's going down in the third round.
 * Title Drop: In Episode 4 by Luigi, Episode 5 by King Dedede, Episode 8 by Olimar, and Episode 9 by.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: In Episode 4, Ike swats one of Sonic's trademark chili dogs out of his hands.
 * Trophy Room: A nightmare-inducing example in Episode 10.
 * Tyke Bomb:
 * Verbal Tic: Samus uses her preferred term of endearment, "sugar," at such a preposterous frequency that it qualifies.
 * Villainous Breakdown: Ganondorf, once he realizes
 * Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: The phrase is used explicitly by Link to Zelda. The trope also applies, although to a much more extreme extent.
 * Wham! Episode: Most episodes have their own varying degrees of whamness, but Episode 9 takes the cake.
 * Took the cake. Then the final episode came along...
 * Where Everybody Knows Your Flame: Tingle owns a place like this. Don't even bother acting surprised.
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: Red is either blissfully ignorant or in deep denial of the fact that Mushroom Kingdom has degenerated into a Wretched Hive.
 * Wild Mass Guessing: Fan speculation as to who the killer is.
 * Wretched Hive: The Mushroom Kingdom. If you're not an Obstructive Bureaucrat, then you're a petty criminal or in the pockets of The Mafia. Or sometimes all three.
 * Unless you're Red. Or maybe Leaf, but she's such a minor character it's kind of irrelevant.
 * Even Red worked for the Mafia, he was just unaware that he did.
 * He was probably aware but didn't care, he mostly did deliveries and took care of the pokemon. Considering they were used in cockfight-like fights it was probably desperately needed.
 * Fighting rings? No, the pocket monsters just play rough sometimes.
 * X Meets Y: Sin City meets Super Smash Bros. (with a bit of Silence of the Lambs thrown in for good measure via Kirby).
 * X Meets Y: Sin City meets Super Smash Bros. (with a bit of Silence of the Lambs thrown in for good measure via Kirby).