Sidon (The Legend of Zelda)

Sidon bears the typical fantastical design traits of the Zora, being a humanoid character with features that resemble a fish. He is primarily red or dark pink in colour, with a tail fin sprouting from the top of his head.[2] Eiji Aonuma has commented on his design: "Actually, the initial colour of Prince Sidon's body was blue, but since he's meant to be Mipha's brother, he obviously wouldn't have looked like a sibling. That's why we gave him a pink-ish colour".[1] Artist Yuko Miyakawa said in development notes that he had been asked to create the character as "a passionate, dignified and powerful character with a stronger physique than other Zora" and based his design on a hammerhead shark.[3] As a member of the Zora race, Sidon is taller than the average Hyrulean, but he is also tall by Zora standards. Due to the slow age rate of the Zora, Sidon is a young man with an age of 135 years.[4] Like the other Zora, Sidon wears little clothing, but his attire does feature several items that reflect his status as prince of the Zora, such as his scarf, epaulettes, bracelets, and belt.[5]

Sidon is voiced in English by James D. Mortellaro in Breath of the Wild and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.[6][7] He is voiced by Kosuke Onishi in Japanese.[8]

Sidon is the prince of the amphibious Zora and a strong leader of his people. He is also the best swimmer of his race. His friendly, brave and optimistic personality is reflected in his tendency to strike poses during gameplay. He has also been noted for his muscular physique and his gleaming white smile, which have resulted in many fans treating him like a heart-throb.[9] His affable personality means that he is well liked by the Zora people.[10] Sidon is the son of King Dorephan, the ruler of Zora's Domain, which means that he is the next in line as ruler.[5] He displays a great deal of respect for his older sister, Mipha, which provides an emotional element to his storyline.[11] They share a deep bond, which is expressed in one of The Champion's Ballad cutscenes for Breath of the Wild in which Mipha helps baby Sidon to glide up a waterfall in Zora's Domain and tells him, "I believe in you".[12] He sometimes displays moments of grief during gameplay when the death of his sister is mentioned in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.[13]

Sidon plays a major role in the gameplay of Breath of the Wild as a supportive character to Link. When Link reaches Zora's Domain in Breath of the Wild, he is greeted by Sidon, who holds Link in high regard. Sidon is a friendly ally to Link in his quest to defeat Waterblight Ganon and gain control of Divine Beast Vah Ruta. He provides words of encouragement to Link in gameplay, such as "I believe in you, Link!"[14] Before Link can enter Divine Beast Vah Ruta, he rides on the back of Sidon to be transported along the surface of the water in Zora's Domain in order to reach the Divine Beast.[15] After Link gains control of Vah Ruta, Sidon expresses his gratitude and admiration for Link.[16] Sidon also appears in a cutscene in The Champion's Ballad, the second DLC pack for Breath of the Wild. The cutscene takes the form of a flashback in the storyline, which depicts Sidon as a baby with his sister Mipha.[17] In the storyline of Breath of the Wild, the player learns that Mipha is one of the four Champions who helps Zelda and Link to fight against Calamity Ganon 100 years earlier, but loses her life during the battle. In the present day, Sidon is depicted bowing his head in mourning at night while standing before her memorial statue in Zora's Domain.[12]

Sidon returns as a playable character in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. During battle, he wields the Zora spear, a weapon that is also used by his sister, Mipha.[18] He can also wield two Ceremonial Tridents and manipulate water to create a powerful attack on surrounding enemies.[19] During gameplay he moves around by riding on a shark created out of water. He can also propel bombs by hitting them with his trident.[20] The storyline takes place 100 years before the events in Breath of the Wild when Calamity Ganon launches an attack on Hyrule. After Zelda's small Guardian Terrako travels back to the past through a time portal, Zelda must gather allies to help defeat Ganon.[21] The storyline involves a cutscene in which Sidon arrives from the future to heroically defend Mipha against Waterblight Ganon while declaring that she will not be taken from him again. The scene reflects upon the tragedy of Mipha's death in the separate timeline, the strength of their bond and the tragedy of the brother and sister never again being together.[22]

Sidon returns in Tears of the Kingdom[23] as the Sage of Water. He now possesses the ability to wrap Link in an orb of water which, when Link brandishes a sword or other weapon, creates a wave of water. Between the events of this installment and the previous game, Sidon is revealed to have a fiancée named Yona. Shortly after the Upheaval, the event that causes the Sky Islands to appear at the beginning of Tears of the Kingdom, "Zelda" appears to King Dorephan, using a sludge monster called Mucktorok to pollute Zora's Domain. Link and Sidon head to the Water Temple to defeat Mucktorok, after which Sidon receives a "Secret Stone" from the ancient Sage of Water. Upon their return, King Dorephan decides to abdicate the throne and passes the crown onto Sidon, which he reluctantly accepts.

Due to Sidon's popularity, he has been the subject of numerous works of fan art, tweets and memes that have centred around his sexual attractiveness.[29][30] Susanna Polo for Polygon commented about how his appeal was made apparent to her due to the amount of fanart and screenshots of him on sites like Twitter and Tumblr.[17] In many fan fictions and fandoms, he enters a relationship with Link, the male protagonist of the series. The ship is often called Sidlink. The reason why it became so popular can be found in the way Sidon interacts with Link in the game, which is friendly and encouraging, especially in conversations.[31] Following the reveal of Yona, Sidon's fiancée from Tears of the Kingdom, response has been mixed with many insisting that the character either remain a bachelor or be in love with Link.[32][33]