The top cartouche phonetically reads "Ma-ri-o", and the bottom cartouche means "Beloved friends, dear rivals".
The design of Bowser is based on the legendary dragon turtle from Chinese mythology, a chimeric creature with the body of a turtle and the head of a dragon. Later period ukiyo-e artists such Utagawa Kuniyoshi often depicted such monsters and anthropomorphic creatures in their fantastical woodblock prints. Jed now brings this millennia-old motif full circle by merging 19th century Japanese woodblocks with 20th century video games.
