Happy Mask Salesman

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The bizarre man known as the Happy Mask Salesman first appeared in Ocarina of Time, offering to let Link work for him as a Happy Mask Salesman. After selling all the masks, Link receives the Mask of Truth, allowing him to understand what the Gossip Stones say.

In Majora's Mask, the Happy Mask Salesman played a major role, as it was his mask, dubbed Majora's Mask, that the Skull Kid had stolen and was planning to use to destroy Termina. Asking the transformed Link for help and returning him to his original form, he teaches the hero the Song of Healing, one of the songs used several times throughout the game. When Link finally returns the mask to him, he simply vanishes. The Happy Mask Salesman is best known for his volatile temper, his wacky theme tune (which is in fact a remix of the Song of Healing) and his eerie ability to change position without moving. This may just be lazy animating or, as some believe, to further enhance the character's strange, surreal appearance. This character is widely considered to be one of the more unnerving characters in the series, partly because no one knows his reasons for wanting Majora's Mask back so badly. In a particular scene, the Happy Mask Salesman plays on a massive organ that appears seemingly out of nowhere. This organ is used to teach Link (still in his Deku Scrub form) the Song of Healing. This scene is considered by many fans to be one of the more comical scenes in the Zelda series.

His most recent appearance was in Oracle of Ages. He owns a shop on the outskirts of Lynna Town, and is very hungry, and will give you the Doggy Mask in exchange for something to eat, namely the Tasty Meat from the Tokay cook.

His origins are unknown, as he may either be from Hyrule or the parallel universe Termina, and it is never established which. A theory is that he, a supposed Ocarina of Time Character, does not have a Termina double, he and his seeming passion for masks spawns from Termina as a native. He was introduced in Ocarina of Time when he gives you the Keaton mask from his shop in Hyrule, but he also knows how to travel from Hyrule to Termina, which could mean that he is native to either land, or possibly somewhere else.

Near the end of Majora's Mask, Link travels to the moon and meets kids who resemble the mask salesman. One of them even hints that all of them are destined to become mask salesmen. This adds many questions to the origin of the Mask Salesman.

Manga
The Happy Mask Salesman is quite different in the manga. Though he appears exactly the same as in the game at first, towards the final battle with Majora's Mask, he is shown saying something far more sinister than previously seen of him:

"Heh heh... Looks like they're after the little demon (Skull Kid). But this is when the real action begins! Once they bring me back that mask, I will no longer have a purpose in this world. I will scurry away quickly then! Heh heh heh heh..." - credit to [1] for translation.

After the battle, the Happy Mask Man appears before Link (still wearing the Fierce Deity Mask) to take his mask. However, the mask that Link is wearing causes the hero to strike the Mask Man down. With this, the mysterious man picks up Majora's Mask and fades away laughing.

One of the more disturbing features of the Happy Mask Man is that he never stops smiling at any point. (However, if you do not have enough money to repay him for a sold mask in Ocarina of Time, his eyes will turn red and his expression turns to one of insane rage, before he essentially kicks you out of the store.He also frowns for a short period of time during his "rage" scene in Majora's mask.)

Character Inspiration
Some people believe that the Happy Mask Man is, to a degree, based on Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the Zelda series. This is due to the Happy Mask Mans hair and constant smile. But in game play most people say that the Happy Mask Salesman is either insane...or not from this realm.

Trivia

 * He has a Super Mario Mask on the back of his pack
 * He has an Elvis Presley Mask on the back of his pack
 * He has a Darth Maul mask on the back of his pack (most likely a coincidence, the movie Darth Maul was in wasn't out at the time of release)
 * In the popular Zelda fan-film, Legend of Link, The Happy Mask Man wears only black and doesn't seem so happy. He also carries a Health Mask, a Death Mask, a Spanish sombrero, and a Santa Claus hat.
 * In Legend of Link, The Happy Mask Man sells his masks for 20 Rupees each. He says he is president of the Happy Mask Corporation, Where Happy Masks make happy people.