Editing Waluigi (section)

== Concept and creation ==
[[File:Charles Martinet Photo Op GalaxyCon Raleigh 2023 (cropped 2).jpg|upright|thumb|left|alt=Headshot of Charles Martinet |[[Charles Martinet]] voiced Waluigi from his debut in 2000 to 2022.]]
Waluigi was created during the development of the game ''[[Mario Tennis]]'' to serve as the bitter rival to [[Luigi]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Craddock |first=Ryan |date=2020-07-22 |title=Waluigi First Graced Us With His Presence 20 Years Ago |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/07/waluigi_first_graced_us_with_his_presence_20_years_ago |access-date=2024-01-16 |website=Nintendo Life |language=en-GB |archive-date=January 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116182243/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/07/waluigi_first_graced_us_with_his_presence_20_years_ago |url-status=live }}</ref> He was originally introduced as [[Wario]]'s younger brother in the [[Nintendo of America|American version]] of the game.<ref name=NintendoOfAmerica>{{Cite web |title=Mario Tennis 64: Introducing Waluigi |date=June 20, 2000 |url=http://www.nintendo.com/n64/mariotennis/waluigi.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000620005215/http://www.nintendo.com/n64/mariotennis/waluigi.html |archive-date=June 20, 2000 |publisher=[[Nintendo#Nintendo of America|Nintendo of America]]|quote=His name is Waluigi, and the only person who's pleased to meet him is his big brother, Wario.}}</ref><ref name=TheGamer>{{Cite web |title=15 Facts You Didn't Know About Waluigi |url=https://www.thegamer.com/creepy-brother-facts-you-didnt-know-about-waluigi/ |website=TheGamer|last=Strauss|first=Daniel|date=September 30, 2017|quote=Certain Nintendo of Europe sources such as Wario's Warehouse or the Mario Kart DS website suggest that they are siblings, with the Prima guide for Mario Tennis outright stating that Waluigi is 'Wario's little brother.}}</ref> His character design was created by Fumihide Aoki.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Dustin |date=2023-12-01 |title=After 19 years, Waluigi's creator reveals his unused designs for the evil Wapeach in Mario Tennis |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/after-19-years-waluigis-creator-reveals-his-unused-designs-for-the-evil-wapeach-in-mario-tennis/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=GamesRadar+ |language=en |archive-date=January 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115091342/https://www.gamesradar.com/after-19-years-waluigis-creator-reveals-his-unused-designs-for-the-evil-wapeach-in-mario-tennis/ |url-status=live }}</ref> His name is a [[portmanteau]] of Luigi's name and the Japanese adjective {{Nihongo|''warui''|悪い}} meaning "bad"; hence, a "bad Luigi".<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 29, 2010 |title=IGN: Waluigi |url=http://stars.ign.com/objects/963/963111.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605155209/http://stars.ign.com/objects/963/963111.html |archive-date=June 5, 2010 |access-date=June 12, 2010 |publisher=[[IGN]]}}</ref>

Waluigi was conceived as a sidekick for Wario to team up with in the doubles matches of ''Mario Tennis''. In an interview with ''[[Nintendo Dream]]'', Shugo Takahashi said that he initially asked Nintendo to create a new character but was given instruction to develop a character at [[Camelot Software Planning|Camelot]]. The character's name was agreed from the beginning before his design was finalised. Initially the idea was to change one letter to make him similar to Wario, but Takahashi said that as a bad version of Luigi, he was named Waluigi. An early idea for the symbol on Waluigi's hat was a W, but as this was the same as Wario, it was changed to the letters W and L. [[Yōichi Kotabe]], who supervised the character at Nintendo, decided that this should be an upside down L as an inversion of Luigi, just as the letter W in Wario is an upside down letter M for Mario. Waluigi's appearance was designed to be lean to create a balanced team combination with the stoutness of Wario. Camelot took inspiration from Boyacky and Tonzura from the Doronbo Gang in the ''[[Yatterman]]'' series. His purple colouring was chosen to create a balance of colours alongside those of the other characters in the game and his moustache created in the shape of the letter L. Takahashi said that Waluigi was characterised as the rival of Luigi, with them having a similar relationship to Mario and Wario.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-21 |title=ワルイージ誕生秘話（2008年 9月号より） |url=https://www.ndw.jp/waluigi-interview-221021/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Nintendo DREAM WEB |language=ja |archive-date=December 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205215921/https://www.ndw.jp/waluigi-interview-221021/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Upon his debut in ''Mario Tennis'', Waluigi was voiced by [[Charles Martinet]], who continued to voice the character until stepping back from recording character voices in 2023 to take on a new role as Mario Ambassador at Nintendo.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Winslow |first=Levi |date=2023-08-21 |title=Longtime Mario Voice Actor Charles Martinet 'Stepping Back' From Role |url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2023/08/longtime-mario-voice-actor-charles-martinent-stepping-back-from-role/ |access-date=2024-01-18 |website=Kotaku Australia |language=en-AU |archive-date=January 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118134825/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2023/08/longtime-mario-voice-actor-charles-martinent-stepping-back-from-role/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Waluigi's appearance in ''[[Super Mario Strikers]]'' gained attention for a celebratory taunt that became known as the "Crotch chop". The taunt involves the character thrusting his hips forward while gesturing towards his crotch. Despite looking like the letter V, Waluigi's chop using both hands was supposed to represent the W in his name. The game's director, Mike Inglehart, said that the development team at [[Next Level Games]] wanted to make Waluigi "a bit edgier than Wario" and explore his character. He thought that Waluigi's character was about blaming others, whereas Wario was about self-loathing. Inglehart said that when it was presented to Nintendo "nobody batted an eye" so he was surprised that the taunt was allowed to remain in the game without question.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hagues |first=Alana |date=2022-03-16 |title=Random: "Nobody Batted An Eye" At Waluigi's 'Crotch Chop' In Super Mario Strikers |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/03/random-nobody-batted-an-eye-at-waluigis-crotch-chop-in-super-mario-strikers |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=Nintendo Life |language=en-GB |archive-date=January 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117191506/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/03/random-nobody-batted-an-eye-at-waluigis-crotch-chop-in-super-mario-strikers |url-status=live }}</ref>