Recap / SM G4s Mario Bloopers War Of The Fat Italians 2022

WOTFI 2022 is finally here... This marks the end of the Lawsuit Arc and also a turning point for SMG4, Mario, Meggy, and friends.

The trial of SMG4 vs. Nintendo begins. But, when things quickly go off the rails, the trial takes a different turn; the Glitch characters and the Nintendo characters must compete in various challenges to determine if the former will be allowed to stay in the Mushroom Kingdom. Will SMG4 and his gang be able to win out and send Lawyer Kong packing?

The final episode of the Lawsuit Arc.

Tropes:

• Animation Bump: Like with the final battles of other recent arcs, the rap battle is incredibly well animated, with smooth movements and proper lip syncing.
• Artistic License – Law: Where to even START? Of course, since the trial is one giant homage to Ace Attorney, itself a satire of Japan's legal system, this is to be expected. Nonetheless, some things stand out (stuff the A.A. series gets right)…
  • The parties to the trial are in the wrong order – since Nintendo is bringing suit, it should be listed first and SMG4 second.
  • The trial opens with Meggy's argument, but in a real trial the plaintiff (in this case Nintendo via Lawyer Kong) presents its case first.
  • Lawyer Kong breaks procedure by objecting to Meggy's defense on spurious grounds in the wrong part of the trial. "He's still Mario though!" is a counter-argument, not grounds for objection. Kirby should have overruled him. Yes, Meggy also crossed the line by getting into a shouting match with Kong and then attacking him, but her complaint about being interrupted during direct was valid.
  • A "Parody Contract" isn't a real thing – the real thing is a counterclaim in the form of a brief citing Fair Use statutes and case law, then using the trial to prove SMG4 falls under an exemption (Meggy to her credit seems to be building a decent case before things go off the rails). Not exactly riveting viewing compared to a cool rap battle.
  • During the bridge of "Objection!", Luigi – at this point under Lawyer Kong's control and supporting Nintendo's case – accidentally gives lyric-testimony that undercuts his own side. Pointing out how stupid and nonsensical the show is typically strengthens a parody defense.
  • Finally and notably, Meggy should not even be allowed to present SMG4's case before the Court since she's not a licensed attorney/barrister (just "in training"). Lawyer Kong correctly points this out, but she's all they've got and Kirby really wants this trial, so…
• Artifact Title: Like the past two WOTFIs, other characters participate in SMG4 and Mario's titular war.
• Bittersweet Ending: From a meta standpoint. The trial is won and SMG4's channel lives to see another day, with Lawyer Kong simply giving up and returning to his original form of the SMG4 version of Funky Kong. But Miyamoto has one condition for letting SMG4 go: he can no longer look like Mario. Wanting to stay with his friends, he accepts, and his appearance, along with those of SMG3, Bob, and Boopkins are changed to original models, which Boopkins admits will take some getting used to.
• Black Comedy Cannibalism: During a mushroom eating challenge, Shroomy refuses to eat any mushrooms, before trying just one and loving it, and then begins to shovel them into his mouth. Cue Toad looking on in horror.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: All the Nintendo IPs get brainwashed by Lawyer Kong into opposing SMG4 and the original characters in the war and rap battle. Mario manages to break free before the rap to support his friends, however, while their victory frees the rest.
• The Cameo: During the rap battle, various dead SMG4 characters briefly appear as ghostly images during Melony's line – Desti, SMG0, Terrence, and Axol.
• Canon Character All Along: After accepting his loss and making a Heel–Face Turn, Lawyer Kong turns out to be the SMG4 version of Funky Kong, who had appeared in episodes before this arc ever started.
• Chest Monster: During his Snipe Hunt, Boopkins finds a chest in a cave on his quest. To his shock, it grows a body and tries to eat him.
• Defeat Equals Explosion: The Super DMCA explodes after Judge Kirby declares SMG4 not guilty, defeating Lawyer Kong.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: After encountering legal troubles, and even DYING, SMG4 and his friends are revived, and are able to win the trial, saving the channel and returning life to normal. Though it takes some getting used to, SMG4, Bob, and Boopkins also starting warming up to their new bodies.
  • Mario stands out in this case. After going through so much grief and heartache, even temporarily losing his personality, memories, and friends, he fights to get them back and win the trial, allowing him to keep all of his friends and return to his ordinary life.
• Excuse Plot: The whole trial aspect, while a more justified setup than 2021's WOTFI, is still a very loose setup for this year's War of the Fat Italians. Lawyer Kong even Lampshades this, stating a series of weird competition between eccentric characters has nothing to do with law.
• Forced Transformation: SMG4 and SMG3 (by proxy) are forced to take on new appearances, by order of Miyamoto as his one condition for sparing SMG4 and his friends. Miyamoto also forces Bob and Fishy Boopkins to change, as he's tired of seeing YouTube comments on videos featuring Spikes and Garos constantly bringing them up.
• Grand Finale: For the fourth time, a WOTFI is used to cap off a major arc.
• Gratuitous Rap: There's not really any reason for the rap at the end to take place. Kirby merely pulls out a radio, queues up some music, and says it's time for the closing statement. Meggy makes the decision to turn said closing statement into a rap battle. Of course with Lawyer Kong voiced by a text-to-speech modelled after the DK Rap voice and Kirby already leaning heavily into Rule of Cool, it was inevitable.
• I Banged Your Mom: Whimpu's response to the best ship contest is to announce that the best ship is himself and Bowser's mum, shocking Bowser into defeat.
  Whimpu: Yo Mama!
• I'm Not a Hero, I'm...: Said word-for-word by Mario during the Rap Segment, by pointing out that he's completely different from the Mario used by Nintendo.
  Mario: What you gonna do? I'm not your Hero. I'm just a Dumbass with an IQ of Zero!
• Mirror Match: One of the challenges leads Melony to this, getting into a fight with her doppelganger over a bed, while Toad and his doppelganger drink coffee as they watch.
• Nothing Is the Same Anymore: Similar to Meggy and Saiko getting new designs, SMG4, SMG3, Fishy Boopkins, and Bob each get a design overhaul.
• Racial Transformation: Miyamoto's contract gives SMG4 and SMG3 new bodies, turning them from fat Italians to Asian Australians.
  SMG3: "AHH! I'M ASIAN!"
• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: After Mario's turn in the Dream Buffet challenge, SMG4 jumps off a ledge.
  • Lawyer Kong all but says this outright after he loses the case.
• Secret Test of Character: The trial was Miyamoto's way of determining whether or not he could trust SMG4, which the latter fortunately passes.
• Shout-Out: The video's thumbnail is directly based on the main artwork for Dual Destinies, with SMG4 standing in for Phoenix Wright, Mario for Apollo Justice, Meggy for Athena Cykes, and Lawyer Kong for Simon Blackquill.
  • Meggy and Lawyer Kong bobbing their heads to the music is a direct reference to the style of Ben Magnum's animated music videos, specifically The Turntable Turnabout – Money, itself an Ace Attorney parody.
• Shows Damage: During the rap battle, as Meggy and the gang progressively shut down Lawyer Kong's arguments, the Super DMCA starts to become increasingly cracked and damaged before finally exploding after Kirby rules in favor of SMG4.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: The rap battle sees Meggy, Mario, and SMG4 systematically dismantle Lawyer Kong's case against the channel:
  • First, Lawyer Kong argues that the Glitchy Gang have done nothing but cause chaos and mayhem. Meggy counters by recounting how the gang's saved the world at least four times now, as well as pointing out Lawyer Kong's hypocrisy given the violent and underhanded tactics he himself has used throughout the arc.
  • Next, the brainwashed Nintendo characters vent their frustrations about working with the channel. Each of their complaints are effectively countered (with SMG3 straight up telling Bob to shut up when the latter claims that the channel cares only about the money).
  • Finally, Lawyer Kong pulls out his trump card: Claiming that the channel using Mario as it does in itself constitutes copyright infringement. Meggy counters with the parody contract, backing it up by showing how much of a dumbass SMG4 Mario is compared to his canon counterpart.
• Suddenly Speaking: Karen has a fully voiced line during the rap as opposed to the Femscout's voice clips. Coincidentally, she shares a voice actress with Meggy.
• Take That!: Boopkins and Melony's challenge to find the One Piece contains a swipe at the length of the aforementioned series. After 145,229 episodes of not finding the treasure, reducing the entire crew to bones and giving Boopkins a Time-Passage Beard, the challenge ends in a stalemate.
  Boopkins: (weakly) "Have we found the One Piece yet...?"
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Mario, SMG4, and Meggy call out Lawyer Kong while rapping after he took everything from them.
• Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: In-universe and discussed. During the song, Fishy Boopkins under Lawyer Kong's control sings about how all the arcs "always give [him] depression", mirroring the fan criticism that the arcs can get needlessly angsty. Melony then counters that the tragedies they go through help them "develop, love, and grow!"
• True Companions: Mario at the end starts crying, relieved that the whole mess has been resolved since he couldn't bear a world without his friends.
• Wham Episode: SMG4, SMG3, Boopkins, and Bob have now joined Meggy and Saiko in getting a redesign after years of the audience getting to know their old ones.
• Wham Line: Miyamoto's one condition for letting SMG4 and pals go.
  Shigeru Miyamoto: YOU CAN'T LOOK LIKE MARIO!!
• Wins by Doing Absolutely Nothing:
  • Meggy wins the "who can do homework the fastest" challenge before it even begins because her competition is Mario.
  • Inverted in the "who can be the least funny" challenge between SMG3 and Luigi. SMG3 is so desperately unfunny that Luigi having an attack of stage fight is considered comic gold by comparison, netting SMG3 a very unwanted win.
• Your Head Asplode: Happens to Sora when he looks in on the Kirby lore challenge. And given how convoluted his own series’ lore is, that’s really saying something.