Judd
| “ | Judd the cat will tell you who won at the end of each match. No kitten! | ” |
— Splatoon official website[1]
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Judd (Japanese: ジャッジくん Jajji-kun) is a cat in Splatoon and Splatoon 2 that plays the role of judge in Multiplayer matches. Unlike other characters, he seems to play a larger role in Splatoon's story that remains a mystery.
Personality and traits
Judd was born with the incredible ability to judge turf area at a glance to separate the winners from the losers. It may look like he is wearing a snazzy cat tuxedo, but that’s actually just the naturally occurring pattern of his fur. He is also a bit lazy, just like most cats, but is much more active during the night. This is shown in Splatfests, where he can be found dancing and saying, "Meow!"
Appearance
As depicted in the Sunken Scrolls, Judd's appearance has changed over time. Judd seems to resemble more of what he currently looks like in the present according to Template:Scroll, but looks much younger and smaller in appearance. In Template:Scroll and Template:Scroll, Judd appears to be much smaller and thinner than his current form. Template:Scroll, which was documented at the end of the Great Turf War, shows that between the time of scrolls #15 and #14, he has recaptured his much "heftier" appearance.
Before Splatoon
According to the Sunken Scrolls, Judd is more than 10,000 years old, as his original human owner is implied to have built a capsule designed to keep Judd cryogenically sealed for 10,000 years. Because of this, Judd was the only land life form that wasn't buried beneath the rising sea levels during the mass extinction at the beginning of the Mollusc Era.
Judd may have been released from cryogenic stasis at around 2,000 years before the events of Splatoon, as there are Sunken Scrolls depicting Judd judging ancient Turf Wars and the Great Turf War.
Splatoon
When he's not judging, he can be found sleeping on a blue crate on the Inkopolis Plaza, although he is said to live in Flounder Heights. The player can talk to Judd and he will give advice as well as a cash bonus depending on the player's online battle vibe, which increases and decreases with wins and losses. He will only give one cash bonus per vibe per stage rotation.
| Meter Level | Flags | Penalty | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chill (NA)[a] Lukewarm (EU/OC)[b] |
0 | 0 |  0
|
| Toasty | 0.5-3 | -0.5 | 100
|
| Smokin' | 3.5-6 | -1 | 300
|
| SO HAWT!! (NA)[a] On Fire! (EU/OC)[b] |
6.5+ | -1.5 | 1,000
|
After the final Splatfest, Callie vs. Marie, Judd began to give out 1 Super Sea Snail per 30 completed online matches, note that these matches can be either Turf Wars or Ranked Battles.[2]
Splatoon 2
Judd returns in Splatoon 2 and once again plays the role of the referee, now joined by Li'l Judd. Judd represents the player's team, called "Good Guys", and Li'l Judd represents the enemy team, called "Bad Guys". When the "Good Guys" win, Judd brandishes a flag in their ink color and Li'l Judd falls down in defeat; the opposite happens when the "Bad Guys" win. He once again takes naps when not judging battles, and can be seen sleeping in Inkopolis Square with Li'l Judd sitting on top of him. Judd and Li'l Judd switch between giving advice, where the player is able to earn a Super Sea Snail from Judd each time they levels up past level 30. In Sunken Scroll 27 in Splatoon 2, it is implied that Li'l Judd is a clone of Judd, created upon reactivating the device that brought him to the future.
Quotes
Advice
Audio
- Judd's voice clips in Splatoon, either of which are used for the "Meow!" at the beginning of a piece of advice.
In the manga series
Judd, like in the game, judges Turf War rounds. His appearance is the same.
Trivia
- Judd's name is derived from the word "judge," as he is the referee for all the battles in Splatoon.
- In Judd's pieces of advice in the North American versions, he includes a large number of puns pertaining to cats.
- The tip of his tail is designed to look like an arrow.
- Along with a handful of birds and insects, Judd is one of the few non-aquatic creatures in the game. As stated in a developers' interview, this is because of the fact that the main characters of Splatoon were originally going to be rabbits; Judd is a leftover from that stage of the game's development.[3]
- Also explained in the interview is the source of Judd's name; apparently, the pattern of his fur came first, and it caused some developers to nickname him ジャッジ, or "Judge", which is his final name in the Japanese version of Splatoon.
- A cat resembling Judd was depicted in an ancient scroll from around 2,000 years ago. Cats generally have a lifespan of fifteen years. It is unknown if this cat is the same as Judd after awakening from cryostasis, or if it is related to the machine Judd laid dormant in, which also has the capability of creating a clone of Judd as revealed in Splatoon 2.
Splatoon
- There was a glitch in which the player could get their money back after purchasing a slot, reroll, or ordered gear from Spyke by talking with Judd after the purchase. It was fixed with the 1.2.0 patch.[4]
- During Splatfest, Judd can be seen dancing around happily on his pillow in Inkopolis Plaza. Instead of the usual "Zzz," he says "Meow!"
- According to Callie and Marie, Judd lives in Flounder Heights and can be seen commuting to and from Inkopolis.
- Cash cannot be given by Judd during a Splatfest, as there is no vibe and it is replaced by Splatfest Power.
Splatoon 2
- Li'l Judd appears to be noticeably larger while judging matches in comparison to Judd than while he is sitting on Judd in Inkopolis Square.
- It is said by Marina that Judd poses for an online art class at Inkblot Art Academy. Japanese dialogue adds that he does this because fluffy creatures like him are so rare.[5]
Gallery
Splatoon
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Judd as he appears in Splatoon.
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Official art of Judd.
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Transparent version.
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Judd's dance before revealing the winner of a battle.
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Judd judging ink coverage.
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Judd declaring a knockout win for a Ranked Battle. (Click to animate)
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Judd appearing in a comic panel.
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Judd sleeping in Inkopolis Plaza.
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Judd's feet.
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Still of Judd dancing during a Splatfest.
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Animated GIF.
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Judd judges a round of Turf Wars.
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Judd performing his judging duties in the earliest depiction of a Turf War.
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Judd declaring the end of the Great Turf War in result of the Inklings' victory over the Octarians.
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Judd with Squidbeak Splatoon.
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Judd with his unnamed human owner in an article dated at least 12,000 years prior to the events in Splatoon.
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Judd being cryogenically frozen by his human master for his survival in preparation for the rising sea levels that inevitably flood the Earth.
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Official animation of Judd and the Squid Sisters, from a promo video for Splatfests.
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Concept art of Judd.
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Concept art the .52 Gal, with a small charm of Judd hanging from it.
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Judd in celebratory art for Splatoon having sold one million copies.
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He also appears in the art for Europe alone reaching one million copies sold.
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Japanese promo for Splatoon-themed stamps for the instant messaging app LINE, including one of Judd.
Splatoon 2
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Judd waving a flag with Li'l Judd.
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A match where Judd has lost.
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Animation of Li'l Judd on top of a sleeping Judd.
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Dialog icon (also shown in the Inkopolis Square map)
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Sunken Scroll 26, showing Judd's capsule being accidentally unplugged.
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Sunken Scroll 27, indicating the origins of Li'l Judd.
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A mem cake with Judd and Li'l Judd (upper left) in a promo for Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion.
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Judd and Li'l Judd wearing bows for the result of the Hello Kitty vs. Cinnamoroll Splatfest.
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The same thing for the My Melody vs. Pompompurin Splatfest.
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A picture of Judd with Marina from when she first met Pearl, shared in Marina's chat room.
Names in other languages
Notes
References
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