Taranza

Overview

Taranza is a character in the Kirby franchise who made his debut in Kirby: Triple Deluxe as the secondary antagonist responsible for kidnapping King Dedede, which leads to Kirby going on an adventure to rescue him. Taranza is a skilled wizard, known as "The Master of Puppetry," although he is shown to be a bit clumsy. Though he is an antagonist for the majority of his debut, it's been said that Taranza was bewitched by his master and former friend or possible lover, Queen Sectonia, and redeems himself in the game's climax by helping Kirby defeat Sectonia during the final battle. He lives in Floralia, a kingdom in the skies above Dream Land.

History

“Sectonia and Taranza were once good friends, but Sectonia became obsessed with vanity and delusions of grandeur. It wasn't long before her heart went evil, turning her into the power-hungry monarch she is today.”
― VS Queen Sectonia DX Pause Screen description • Kirby: Triple Deluxe

“But how exactly did Queen Sectonia actually get her hands on the mirror? Well, her underling Taranza stole it from the Mirror World, and gave it as tribute to his beauty-obsessed queen! Sadly, it was gazing into the mirror day after day that led to her mind being twisted towards tyranny by its power.”
― Satoshi Ishida • Kirby: Triple Deluxe Miiverse, post of May, 8, 2015

Prior to the events of his debut in Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Taranza and Queen Sectionia close friends, and perhaps maybe even lovers. In this time, Sectonia was known as Joronia, and was the same species as Taranza himself. Knowing that his queen was obsessed with beauty, he thought it would be a good idea to gift her with a mirror, and no mirror was quite as divine as the Dimension Mirror from Kirby & The Amazing Mirror. Little did he know, that this would be the biggest mistake of his life. As Joronia gazed into the mirror day after day, her vanity became twisted and her heart grew corrupted. No longer being satisfied with her current form, Joronia would abandon her old name and body to become Queen Sectonia.

“The evil queen who bewitched Taranza is motivated by beauty and world domination.”
― VS Queen Sectonia Pause Screen description • Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Using magic, the evil queen bewitched Taranza into becoming her submissive underling and saw him as nothing more than that. When the People of the Sky rebelled against their tyrannical ruler by sending a seed to the world below in hopes of summoning a hero, Taranza saw through their plan and tried to intervene by kidnapping the "hero of the lower world" first, but mistakenly kidnapped King Dedede instead of Kirby, leading to Kirby pursuing him across Floralia in order to rescue and reunite with his friend. Taranza would try to deter Kirby by making bosses face him through various acts, with Kirby triumphing over all of them. When Kirby finally reaches the final stage of Royal Road, Taranza uses his magic to force Dedede into battling Kirby as Masked Dedede, literally pulling his strings as if he were a puppet, confident in his victory believing that he has the hero of the lower world on his side. When Kirby is victorious once again, Taranza is in utter shock and disbelief over his failure before realizing that he has kidnapped the wrong target all along. After his realization, he calls for his queen to help, only for her to betray him for his failure, seeing him as useless and blasting him away from her palace. As in Kirby games, almost everyone who's been possessed, brainwashed, or corrupted returns to normal after having it literally beaten out of them (with King Dedede being a prime example), it's likely that this was the moment that brought him back to his senses. Reluctant to turn against the person he holds dear but aware that it's for the greater good, Taranza helps Kirby put an end to Sectonia once and for all and save the day. But although he, Kirby, Dedede, and the People of the Sky manage to enjoy the sight of the Dreamstalk in full bloom after the day is saved, Taranza is still left grieving over Joronia, possibly feeling guilty not only for her corruption, but also all the harm she caused that he is indirectly responsible for. In his appearance Kirby Star Allies, he still hasn't let go of his old friend.

“This clumsy smarty-pants stumbled his way here from the heights of Kirby: Triple Deluxe. He's a lonely insect on a journey in search of a queen, and he's one of your new Dream Friends!”
― Taranza's Dream Friend Pause Screen description • Kirby: Star Allies"No doubt. A miracle will happen for sure!"
Hoping for a true miracle, the boy with silver hair from Kirby: Triple Deluxe is making a bid for the altar. Deep in his heart, he already knows the outcome. But if he could just reach that bright light…
― Guest Star Taranza: To Meet That Flower Pause Screen description • Kirby: Star Allies

Although these games take place in an alternate universe, Taranza also appears in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe and Super Kirby Clash, being the main antagonist in the former due to being under the influence of Black Mirror, and is returned to his normal and friendly state after it is destroyed, while in the latter, plays a smaller role, being fought out of a small misunderstanding.