Howdy (まいどくん) is a lower-class, joke-loving hamster. He has a rather quirky sense of humour and a strong friendship/rivalry with Dexter, mostly competing with him to win the heart of Pashmina. He is a tidy, hard-working wise-cracker, with an innate gift for finance. Never without his shop apron, he can spruce up a room in minutes and never miss a chance to amuse with one-liners along the way.
Character
Owned by Goldie. He speaks with a Kansai dialect in the Japanese version, and a Southern American accent in the English version. He and Dexter are long-time best friends, but often fight over the affections of Pashmina, whom they both have a crush on.
In Hannah is in Love!, Howdy is a childhood friend of Hannah.
Howdy lives in a convenience store with his owner, Goldie Houston, and her son Zack Houston. They also have a bird named Tattles. Howdy is seen pulling out trusty objects for any need, notably a broom and an abacus, which aren't shown after season four. Howdy is never seen with his eyes open.
Howdy is known for cracking terrible jokes and puns at every opportunity. Ironically, most of the few times he is laughed at is when he isn't trying to be funny (and the Ham-Hams take it as a joke instead). Dexter is always the one to scold Howdy for his jokes, probably to poke at him due to their rivalry.
Friendships
Dexter
Howdy and Dexter are frenemies who fight over Pashmina, Howdy's “bad jokes”, and sometimes for no apparent reason. Dexter can be petty about scolding Howdy, but they are still friends, as shown in The Reconciliation! and My Best Friend; and protect each other if either is in trouble. Their owners, Goldie and Curtis, reflect their friendship, fighting sometimes for the sake of rivalry, but at the end of the day are still best friends. They are also neighbours.
Hannah
Howdy's long-time friend from the south. In her debut episode, Hannah is in Love! she seems more interested in the "sophisticated" Dexter than in Howdy, and even uses Howdy to find out if Dexter feels the same way about her.
Relationships
Pashmina
Howdy and Dexter are constantly fighting to win the affections of Pashmina, who usually ignores them or just doesn't notice. When she does notice, though, she often gets irritated by their arguing. Pashmina doesn't like either of them back, but they still continue to fight (mostly through Seasons 1-4, after which, it seems to gradually be forgotten).
Notable Episodes
- Pashmina's Present (#22)
- Watching Over Cute Penelope (#34)
- It's Robin-Ham! (#52)
- The Reconciliation! (#64)
- The Little Bandits! (#78)
- Hannah is in Love! (#93)
- Autumn, Mom's Style (#124)
- Zuzuzu, Inside the Dream! (#198)
- My Best Friend (#248)
- A Picnic Date! (#294)
Gallery
- Main article: Howdy/Gallery
Trivia
- Howdy's Japanese name "Maido" means "Hello!" or "Welcome!" in the Kansai dialect, which Howdy is known for speaking within the original dub.
- Howdy (alongside Hannah) seems to intentionally resemble an Asian stereotype, with squinty eyes and buck teeth, which may explain why he was changed to be Southern in the English dub, as the design would be deemed far more offensive outside of Japan.
- Many of Howdy's puns in Japan had visual gags to accompany them. As the jokes were generally completely changed in other languages, the visuals were often skipped in dubbed releases.