I wouldn't say she got so much hate persay, she was hated at first, but most learned to like her when they saw how she played and the unique way they designed the character. And with the amazing amount of artwork created for her, even more than MegaMan (Yeah, Villager and Wii Fit Trainer are, somehow, getting bigger amounts of attention than MegaMan. How? I have no idea, but...it's happening.)
On the subject of K.Rool, I'm sure his design is really similar, it only looks like he's only wearing a bigger crown and his snout looks a little more plump and short, other than that, it looks pretty much the same. Maybe his cape has a pattern on it like his outfit in Super Mario Sluggers, but I'm sure they wouldn't change K.Rool.
Wait...this is Retro Studios we're talking here...what if they created...Meta K.Rool?!
Also:
This is probably fake, but it's interesting none-the-less.