Ado is a painter that came to Pop Star as a student of art. While at Cloudy Park, she was possessed by a mysterious dark cloud and unwittingly served as the fourth boss in Kirby's Dream Land 3.
Ado is generally weak, and when she fights Kirby herself, she is defeated in just one hit. To make up for this, Ado attacks by creating a wide array of foes that Kirby must contend with beforehand. Most of the things she paints are very simplistic, but are still recognizable enemies from Kirby's past. All of things she paints during the battle are simply various bosses from Kirby's Dream Land 2. She is under the guise of Dark Matter and must be freed from its control after her defeat. Because Ado paints so many foes during the fight, she is perceived as one of the most arduous and time-consuming bosses of the game. As such, Ado is fought late into the game.
Ado is best known for her uncanny resemblance to Adeleine, another green-clad artist who teams up with Kirby in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. This has spurned endless debate by the fans. Either way, neither Ado nor Adeleine have appeared since they debuted in their respective games. This may have been caused by the widespread controversy surrounding the two of them, and may have even been enacted to avoid further confusion.
Games
Kirby's Dream Land 3
Kirby and Coo in Ado's arena.
Ado is the boss of Cloudy Park. During the battle, Ado stands safely behind her large, cloud-constructed canvas and paints enemies to attack Kirby. After Kirby defeats one of her drawings, she will get mad and make another. Her paintings are all old bosses from Kirby's Dream Land 2. They include Ice Dragon, Sweet Stuff, Mr. Shine & Mr. Bright, and Kracko (in that order), none of which spawn enemies/obstacles that grant abilities. After Kirby defeats them all, Ado, in a fit of rage, steps down from her canvas and attacks Kirby. She is defeated in one hit, however. Once Kirby lands just a single slide attack on her, Ado rolls off-screen, signifying Kirby's victory.
If all the Heart Stars are collected for Cloudy Park after the boss battle, Ado will become friendly and paint a happy little drawing whenever Kirby enters her arena. In Boss Butch, the cloudy battlefield becomes gray and stormy.
Kirby's Dream Land 3 (Boss Butch)
Ado makes her last known appearance during the credits alongside the rest of the game's bosses as they socialize with Kirby. The game ends with Ado dashing across the screen as she swiftly ends the game by painting the word "END" in bright colorful letters in the corner of the screen.
Identity
Ado (pictured) has a near-identical design to Adeleine.
In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Kirby meets a young female painter named Adeleine. Not only do Ado and Adeleine share a very similar appearance (both wearing vivid green smocks, dark hair, and a red beret) and mannerisms, but the two also have the same battle tactics, abilities and even background. The two both paint various enemies that Kirby must defeat before they fight themselves. Both artists even paint the same drawing at one point - Ice Dragon. Also adding to the confusion is the fact that Adeleine's Japanese name, Adoreenu, is indeed very close to "Ado". The name box for bosses in Kirby's Dream Land 3 is relatively small; the name Adeleine would have been much too long to fit in anyway, leading some to believe that the name was shortened to "Ado" just to make it fit (just like Whispy Woods is sometimes shortened to just "Whispy"). The two also have minor differences in facial structure and design, such as Ado's hair being in a different style and being a lighter color. However, the discrepancy between designs may have been because of the artistic styles between the two games. The 20th Anniversary Hoshi no Kirby Pupupu Taizen leaves this issue open-ended, although it suggests it is likely that Ado is merely Adeleine's nickname.
Trivia
- Another controversy that surrounded Ado was her gender. In Japan, the Kirby manga refers to Ado as a female, but it is not canon to the game continuity and Ado's gender outside of Japan however was never actually confirmed. It was thought that Ado is bishōnen, a term which literally translates to "beautiful youth" and is used to describe (usually young) males with feminine features which is a common sight to see in Japanese media. The Kirby manga was the closest official supplement that confirmed a gender, though the fanbase liked to suggest otherwise in a way to differentiate the character from Adeleine. The Japanese-exclusive 20th Anniversary Hoshi no Kirby Pupupu Taizen eventually confirmed that Ado is a girl, who came to Pop Star to improve her art skills (just like her later counterpart).
