Super Mario-kun Special Selection
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| Super Mario-kun Special Selection | |
|---|---|
| |
| Publisher | Shogakukan |
| Label | Coro Coro Comics |
| Artist(s) | Yukio Sawada |
| Release date |  April 28, 2023[1] |
| << List of volumes >> | |
Super Mario-kun Special Selection is the second collection of "best of" chapters from Yukio Sawada's Super Mario-kun, after Super Mario Manga Mania. It includes single chapters (called "stages") from other volumes based on various games. The stages are split into three sections: "Early Coro Coro Comic series reprint", which includes reprints of some chapters from the Super Mario World arc from the very first volumes; "Episodes carefully selected by Mr. Sawada", a collection of three episodes chosen by the author; and "Treasured episodes not included in the comics", three brand new chapters that were never published in both the Coro Coro Comic magazine or in the volumes. A fourth section, "Special message from the superstars", has the other mangaka at Coro Coro complimenting Yukio Sawada for his milestones with the series, followed by a special thanks from Sawada himself which includes a honorable mentions of chapters that did not made the cut for this compilation.
Part 1[edit]
Stage 1[edit]
- See also: Super Mario-kun Volume 1 § Stage 5
The chapter is preceded by an abridged version of Stage 1: Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach have come to enjoy a vacation on the beach of Yoshi's Island. While the two brothers are playing with a Frog Suit, the two realize that Peach has disappeared. A nearby radio informs them that Bowser has kidnapped her and they go to her rescue. On their way, the duo finds a giant egg and, in a clumsy attempt to cook it, Mario cracks it open, hatching a dinosaur: Yoshi. Yoshi presents himself and asks to join them to help him fight off Bowser, who has taken over his island and stole his eggs. While the brothers think about it, an army of Goombas arrive and Yoshi eats them all, securing himself a place in the heroes' party. Then a Super Koopa arrives and Mario crushes him, obtaining his Cape Feather and turning into Caped Mario.
A strong wind is blowing on Donut Plains as each one of the heroes is attempting to keep themselves warm: Mario is warming himself with a Fire Flower, Yoshi is carrying many stoves and heaters, while Luigi complains of the lack of strength of his friends, only to reveal many thermal bags in his overalls. Their path comes to a halt when they arrive at a cold river. Mario proposes to follow the river until they find a way to cross it, but two Flying Goombas push the three into the river.
Getting used to the freezing cold water, the trio decides to swim to the other side. On their way, they notice a Rip Van Fish and, to avoid waking it up, Mario asks his friend to swim slowly, but Yoshi drops a fart and wakes the fish up. The Rip Van Fish calls his friends, multiple other Rip Van Fishes and an Urchin, to give the three a lesson, but Yoshi eats them all (but spits out the Urchin due to its spikes).
Luigi finds a key and Yoshi explains that, putting it in a keyhole, will open a secret passage to another area. Mario finds the hole and places the key. However, as he turns the key, he discovers that he put it into a Porcupuffer's anus. Furious, the spiky fish attacks the trio, which attempts to escape from its sharp fangs and spikes. Having found a hiding spot behind a rock, Yoshi starts to have stomachache and, because of the fish he ate, lays a big egg. From the egg, a multitude of Fire Flowers come out and latch themselves to Mario.
The Porcupuffer finds them and invites them to come out and fight. Mario is powered-up by the Fire Flowers and becomes Fireball Mario and, covered in flames, flies straight towards the fish and punches it, making it explode. The real keyhole is found and Mario flies into it while grabbing his friends, burning them in the process. The heroes are teleported to the surface, where the cold wind has stopped, much to the dismay of the burnt Luigi and Yoshi.
Stage 2[edit]
- See also: Super Mario-kun Volume 1 § Stage 1
Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach are enjoying a vacation on Yoshi's Island. On the beach, Mario pulls a prank on Luigi by pretending to drown. Luigi runs to the rescue, only to realize that Mario is wearing a Frog Suit. Mario awaits joyfully for the arrival of Peach in a bikini, but a Goomba with Peach's wig arrives instead. The Goomba places a small Bowser toy speaker, from which Bowser himself explains to Mario and Luigi that he kidnapped Peach and now has a new legion by his side. Mario, enraged, is about to punch the toy speaker, but Bowser informs him that, by doing so, the speaker will explode, so Mario sends his punch into Luigi's face. Right after, the toy explodes anyway, having served its purpose.
After recovering from the explosion, the Mario Bros. begin their journey to Bowser's Castle to save Peach. On their way, the two find an injured dinosaur. Mario, wearing his doctor clothing, treats the dinosaur with a giant Capsule, which he hardly manages to swallow. Cured, the dinosaur presents himself as Yoshi and explains that Bowser conquered Dinosaur Land with the help of his minions and kids, then stole his eggs to use as hostages. The Mario Bros. promise to save the eggs in their journey as well and continue on their way.
The brothers are attacked by two Super Koopas. Mario tries to use his fire power, but since he had not used it in a long time, he cannot shoot a fireball. To help, Luigi plugs a gas tank into his bottom, charging him and helping him burn the first Super Koopa, which disappears, leaving behind a Cape Feather. Mario grabs it and becomes Cape Mario, but does not know how to use his new cape. Mario tests the cape on the second Super Koopa: first he tries to use the cape for magic tricks, then he wraps it on the enemy to make a teru teru bōzu. Furious, the Super Koopa charges at Mario, but with a jump, he avoids the attack and learns that the cape makes him fly, while the Super Koopa crashes on the rock behind him. Mario continues his travel by flying, followed by Luigi, upset that he does not have a cape to fly as well.
The two meet another dinosaur, a Dino-Torch, and mistake it for a friend of Yoshi. Mario is burned and his cape no longer works, but Luigi tapes the Dino-Torch's mouth, impeding the fire breath, but not the hot smoke that comes from behind the Dino-Torch. Running away, the brothers face a Chargin' Chuck armed with a giant football. Mario tries to catch the ball, but ends up being crushed by it as it is too large. Luigi grabs Mario, turns him into a ball, and launches him at the Chargin' Chuck, but with a shoulder tackle, it shoves Mario down a cliff.
Immediately after, Yoshi dives to save Mario and grabs him, but then realizes that he had not come up with a plan to survive the fall. He spots a blue-shelled Koopa Troopa on a ledge and eats it, while Mario watches in fear, not knowing why he is "having his last meal". Meanwhile, Luigi is looking down the cliff while the Chargin' Chuck is preparing to toss him down as well. Right at that moment, Mario, riding Winged Yoshi, emerges from the abyss. The Chargin' Chuck prepares an attack to send all of them down, but Mario and Yoshi, with a combined fire attack, fry the Chargin' Chuck (and Luigi), defeating it. Mario welcomes Yoshi into the party and continues their journey together to save Dinosaur Land and Peach. Meanwhile, Bowser is spying on them and wishes Mario good luck for the obstacles they will have to face.
Stage 3[edit]
- See also: Super Mario-kun Volume 1 § Stage 4
At Bowser's Castle, Bowser is flirting with Peach, offering her a wedding ring that not only she does not want, but does not fit her, being so large to be used as a hula-hoop. Peach yells at him that she will never marry him and that Mario will save her. Bowser decides to fix this problem and calls his wizard, Kamek. Kamek appears while he is trying to bend a spoon with his mind, after 3,000 years of failure. Bowser is not happy with this, but the wizard assures his king that he is just warming up and shows him his powerful magic by transforming Bowser's head into a kappa's. Upset, Bowser sends Kamek to Donut Plains to stop Mario and his friends.
Kamek appears in front of Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi, presenting himself with a song. Mario does not take him seriously, but Kamek casts a spell on some Rotating Blocks, making Goombas out of them. With no issues, Mario fries them, followed by Yoshi eating them, then attempts to burn Kamek as well, but he is frozen by an ice spell. Yoshi, using his fire breath, melts the ice. Kamek then enchants a pile of blocks and creates Burokkun, a giant golem made out of blocks. The trio starts to run away in fear, only to realize that Burokkun cannot move.
The heroes laugh at this failure of a spell, but Kamek pushes the block monster, which topples on top of the trio, apparently crushing them. Kamek dances from the joy of managing to defeat Mario, despite him and his friends safe in a hole, though still trapped under Burokkun. Yoshi starts eating the blocks slowly and, in one of them, finds a Super Star. Riding it, the trio breach out from Burokkun and then strike Kamek, defeating him with the Star's sparks. The trio is about to continue their journey, but Kamek casts one last spell and transforms their heads, including the Star's, into Kappa's, much to Bowser's amusement.
Stage 4[edit]
- See also: Super Mario-kun Volume 3 § Stage 11
After reaching the beach, Mario, Luigi and Yoshi see the Valley of Bowser entrance emerging from the sea, but before they can devise a plan to reach the cave, from the entrance, a giant tongue catches them and slurps them inside, where they fall unconscious.
Part 1[edit]
Mario wakes up tied with his friends and hung by a Fishin' Lakitu statue in Bowser's throne room. Bowser lowers them in a tank filled with Urchins. The Urchins' spikes cut the ropes and the three run, but curiously, Bowser is not at all worried of their escape. The trio reaches the first hall of doors: in the first door, a Bowser face on a spring pops out, scaring them; in the second door, Mario and his friends face against a bunch of Viruses that Mario defeats with cape twirls; in the third door, the trio finds a UFO that Mario recognizes as the one seen in Muda Kingdom.
Indeed, all the enemies from Super Mario Land come out. Via a TV screen, Bowser informs them that he recently made a deal with Tatanga and rented his minions. Luigi tries to defeat them by using the shell of a black Koopa. Mario attempts to warn him, but the Bombshell Koopa explodes in their faces. Mario finds a Super Star in a ? Block. Bowser's Minions are worried (and upset for the irresponsible Super Star placement), but Bowser is still calm, making a necklace out of 1UP Hearts for Peach.
Inside the fourth door, Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi find themselves in a flood room, where Dragonzamasu and Tamao stand guard. The two bosses have the upper hand until they are blinded by the light reflecting on Mario's bald head. Taking advantage of this, Mario blows into Dragonzamasu's snout until he pops like a balloon, while Yoshi burns Tamao with his fire breath, making a sunny-side-up egg out of it.
The trio proceeds to the next set of rooms. In room number 5, Mario finds a troop of Tokotokos and Batadons, led by Hiyoihoi. The boss tosses a Ganchan at Mario, but Yoshi eats it and Mario launches it like a bowling ball against the Moai. Furious, Hiyoihoi orders his minions to group together in a ball formation. Mario tries to defeat them with a cape twirl, but he fails and is defeated. A package arrived from Princess Daisy. Inside, Mario finds his broken Marine Pop. Luigi tries to fix it by using every item in their possession. In the end, the Yoshi Wings repair the submarine and give it the ability to fly.
Bowser is now worried and orders his minions, via speaker, to destroy the Marine Pop, but it is too strong for them and they are destroyed instead. Flying for the castle, Mario and his friends reach the last and dark room. Inside, they find Peach tied and hung on the ceiling. Rescuing her, the Marine Pop flies out from the castle and the Valley of Bowser. Bowser makes a sigh of relief: his plan worked just fine.
Part 2[edit]
Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Peach reach the shores of Yoshi's Island and celebrate: the adventure is over. Suddenly, Bowser jumps on top of the Valley of Bowser entrance and makes it fly. Mario and Luigi prepare to defend the Princess, but Peach hits them with a rock. Something is wrong and, in front of everyone's eyes, Peach reveals that they never rescued the real Princess Peach, but a disguised King Totomesu: the real Peach never left her chambers and never noticed Mario's arrival.
Bowser lets Totomesu do whatever he wants to the heroes, but after burning them with two fire breaths, Hiyoihoi and the Moai arrive and start arguing and fighting with Totomesu to see who can defeat Mario. With the two bosses busy, Mario and his friends give all the attention to Bowser and his flying cavern. Mario avoids some Bullet Bills shot at him, but the tongue of the cave defeats him and launches him into space.
Mario lands on something, which is revealed to be the Star World. The Star habitants of the planet offer their assistance to help Mario defeat Bowser. Mario returns to Earth and is invested with the power of the Stars. Bowser tries to defeat him again with the tongue of the cavern, but Mario grabs it and starts to twirl it, then releases the grip and sends Bowser and the entrance into space. As soon as he is done, Mario notices that Luigi and Yoshi are missing: while spinning, Luigi and Yoshi were slammed on the cave entrance and were sent to space with it.
Part 2[edit]
Stage 5[edit]
- See also: Super Mario-kun Volume 23 § Stage 1
Stage 6[edit]
- See also: Super Mario-kun Volume 38 § Stage 8
Stage 7[edit]
- See also: Super Mario-kun Volume 19 § Stage 3
As armies collide, a chaotic battle ensues. King Bob-omb takes on multiple enemies at once, but is eventually damaged by a Bullet Bill. Yoshi proceeds to eat many of the enemies, but is then bitten himself by a Chain Chomp, who in turn is eaten by Dorrie who is being ridden by the Whomp King. With the minor enemies dealt with, the Whomp King urges them to proceed to the top of the mountain to challenge Bowser.
Wiggler, equipped with new tread-style feet, gives Mario and Yoshi a ride, leaving Luigi behind. As they ascend, a Lakitu dumps a basket of Banana Peels in their path, making Wiggler spin-out. They are immediately attacked by a fleet of Snufits and Spindrifts. Mario draws the Spindrifts into the Snufits' line of fire, but Wiggler enters a cocoon after spinning-out, giving the others no escape route from the airborne attack.
Suddenly, the cocoon opens and Wiggler emerges as a Flutter, who goes into a blind rage and begins decimating Bowser's army. With Flutter on their side, the tide turns in Mario's favor. As they approach Bowser, however, he surrounds himself with powerful stone enemies, including Thwomps and Eyeroks, and claims that Mario cannot break through his stone defenses. However, Mario's army becomes metal after using Mario's Power Stars to acquire green blocks and easily destroys the stone enemies and rescues Peach. The metal power wears off before they can deal with Bowser, but he is still outnumbered and facing certain defeat.
Bowser suddenly apologizes and starts crying. But Mario assures him that he fought well and that they had a nice fight, and offers him a handshake. When Bowser accepts the handshake, he squeezes Mario's hand too hard on purpose and they start bickering again. In the end, Peach makes cake for everyone while Mario and Bowser tug on each other's faces and hair.
Part 3[edit]
Stage 8[edit]
Stage 9[edit]
Stage 10[edit]
Part 4[edit]
Afterword[edit]
あとがきにかえて (In place of an afterword)
Gallery[edit]
Post of Yukio Sawada hinting at the release of a follow-up of Super Mario Manga Mania
Inside cover art
History of Super Mario-kun (1991-2023)
Table of contents
"Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars at the door"; from Coro Coro Comics issue of February 1996
"4th grade"; from Coro Coro Comics issue of April 1991
"Celebrating over 4 million copies of comics"; from Coro Coro Comics issue of January 2000
Colored paper gallery
Colored paper gallery
Side art of Boos
Colored paper gallery
Colored paper gallery
Colored paper gallery
Side art of Mario
Colored paper gallery
Side art of Mario
Colored paper gallery
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | スーパーマリオくんスペシャルセレクション[1] Sūpā Mario-kun Supesharu Serekushon |
Super Mario-kun Special Selection | |
| Super Mario-kun Special Selection[2] | - |
References[edit]
- ^ a b スーパーマリオくん スペシャルセレクション. Shogakukan. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
- ^ Super Mario-kun Special Selection, back cover.
