is a fictional character and the main
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of the
''Kirby'' series of
video games owned by
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
and
HAL Laboratory. He first appeared in ''
Kirby's Dream Land'' (1992), a
platform game for the
Game Boy. Since then, Kirby has starred in over 40 games, ranging from
action platformers to
puzzle
A puzzle is a game, Problem solving, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (Disentanglement puzzle, or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at th ...
,
racing, and even
pinball, and has been featured as a playable character in every installment of the ''
Super Smash Bros.
''Super Smash Bros.'' is a Crossover (fiction), crossover fighting game series published by Nintendo. The series was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who has directed every game in the series. The series is known for its unique gameplay objectiv ...
'' series (1999-present). He has also starred in his own
anime and manga series. Since 1999, he has been voiced by
Makiko Ohmoto.
Kirby is well known for his ability to inhale objects and creatures to gain their powers, as well as his ability to float by expanding his body. He uses these abilities to rescue various lands, including his homeworld of Planet Popstar, from evil forces and antagonists, such as Dark Matter or Nightmare. On these adventures, he often crosses paths with his rivals,
King Dedede and
Meta Knight, though Meta Knight can be seen as a hero, depending on the game. Kirby has been described as one of the most legendary video game characters of all time by ''
PC World''. In virtually all his appearances, Kirby is depicted as cheerful, innocent and food-loving; however, he becomes fearless, bold, and clever in the face of danger.
Concept and creation
Kirby was created by
Masahiro Sakurai
is a Japanese video game director and game designer best known as the creator of the '' Kirby'' and ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. Apart from his work on those series, he also led the design of '' Meteos'' in 2005 and directed '' Kid Icarus: U ...
as the
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
of the 1992 game ''Kirby's Dream Land'' (1992). The character's design was intended to serve as placeholder graphics for the game's original protagonist in early development and thus was given a simplistic ball-like appearance. Sakurai switched to the placeholder design for the final character design when he believed that it served the character better.
The character was known as during development until the name "Kirby" was chosen from a draft list of potential names.
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he i ...
stated that "Kirby" was chosen in honor of American lawyer
John Kirby, who defended Nintendo in the ''
Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd.
''Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd.'' was a 1983 legal case heard by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by Judge Robert W. Sweet. In their complaint, Universal Studios alleged that Nintendo's ...
'' case in 1984 and that the harsh-sounding name contrasted amusingly with the character's cute appearance.
Kirby appears white in ''Kirby's Dream Land'' (1992) due to the
grayscale
In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a grayscale image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample representing only an ''amount'' of light; that is, it carries only intensity information. Graysc ...
palette of the Game Boy system. Sakurai intended the character to be pink, though Miyamoto had originally thought the character to be yellow. Kirby does appear white in the game's North American promotional materials and artwork to reflect the character's in-game appearance.
Miyamoto's color choice was repurposed for the second player character in ''
Kirby's Dream Course'' (1994), and since ''
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land'' (2002) has been the default color for a second player Kirby in the ''
Kirby
Kirby may refer to:
Buildings
* Kirby Building, a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, United States
* Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house near Corby, Northamptonshire, England
* Kirby House (disambiguation), various houses in England and the Unit ...
'' and ''
Super Smash Bros.
''Super Smash Bros.'' is a Crossover (fiction), crossover fighting game series published by Nintendo. The series was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who has directed every game in the series. The series is known for its unique gameplay objectiv ...
'' series.
In North America, Kirby consistently appears in artwork with a more striking, bolder expression than in Japan, where his expression is more relaxed. Nintendo has said that the more battle-ready appearance appeals to a wider audience in North America.
Characteristics
Physical appearance
Kirby has a pink, spherical, body with small stubby arms and large red feet (not shoes). His eyes are a distinctive oval shape and are white (eye shine) at the top, black in the center and dark blue on the bottom (all black in early games) with rosy cheek-blushes near his eyes. His body is soft and flexible, allowing him to stretch or flatten and adopt different shapes, open his mouth very wide to inhale foes, or inflate himself with air and fly. He is 20 cm (about 8 in) tall.
Originally in ''
Kirby's Dream Course'' (1994) and recurring in several games starting with ''
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land'' (2002), different colored Kirbys appear as other players in multi-player games. In the case of ''
Kirby & the Amazing Mirror
''Kirby & The Amazing Mirror'' is a 2004 platform video game developed by HAL Laboratory, Flagship and Dimps and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. The seventh mainline ''Kirby'' entry, the game is notable for being the only insta ...
'' (2004), they are the result of Kirby being divided into four by Dark Meta Knight.
Personality
Kirby hails from the distant Planet Popstar, where he lives in a dome-shaped house in the country of Dream Land.
He has a positive attitude, and frequently helps to save Dream Land through the use of his unique powers. His age is never directly stated,
although he is referred to as a "little boy" in the English manual for ''Kirby's Dream Land'' (1992), described as a baby with a projected 200 years until adulthood in the anime, and was referred to as being a "jolly fellow" in ''
Kirby Super Star
''Kirby Super Star'', released as ''Kirby's Fun Pak'' in PAL regions, is an anthology platform video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1996. It is part of the '' Kirby'' se ...
''.
Kirby is cheerful and innocent. He eagerly assists those in need of help and readily attempts to befriends others upon first meeting them, a
naïvety
Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may b ...
that may leave Kirby to be taken by surprise or betrayed.
He is often depicted with a voracious appetite. The games (first stated in the English manual for ''Kirby's Dream Land 2'' (1995)) describes his favorite food as Maxim
Tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word , ...
es, a healing item in the franchise that restores all health in most games. Some games such as ''
Kirby: Squeak Squad'' (2006) and ''
Kirby's Dream Buffet
''Kirby's Dream Buffet'' is a party video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is a spin-off game in the ''Kirby'' series. The game was released digitally on August 17, 2022.
Gameplay
''Kirby ...
'' (2022) have shown Kirby to have a strong fondness of
strawberries
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid species of the genus ''Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The f ...
and strawberry
shortcake
Shortcake generally refers to a dessert with a crumbly scone like texture. There is multiple variations of shortcake most of which are usually served with fruit and cream, one of the most popular being strawberry shortcake which is typically se ...
.
In the anime, his favorite food is instead stated to be
watermelon
Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 var ...
s. His other hobbies include singing (although he is
tone-deaf), fishing, napping, and drawing (done in a very childlike style). Kirby is mildly
entomophobic
Entomophobia sometimes known as Insectophobia is a specific phobia characterized by an excessive or unrealistic fear of one or more classes of insect, and classified as a phobia by the DSM-5. More specific cases includes arachnophobia (fear of spi ...
, as he does not like
caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larva, larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterfly, butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawfly ...
s.
Abilities
Kirby's main ability, Copy, consists of inhaling enemies and objects and spitting them out with incredible force. Both his mouth and body expand to allow him to inhale things much larger than himself. However, there is a limit to what he can inhale; excessively large or heavy foes like
bosses can resist Kirby's inhale. Against these opponents Kirby must find smaller characters to use as ammo or intercept his opponent's attacks and send them back at them. ''Kirby Super Star'' (1996) greatly expanded on the concept of Copy Abilities from ''Kirby's Adventure'' (1993). Originally Kirby just obtained one move from a Copy Ability which replaced his Inhale but ''Kirby Super Star'' introduced multiple fighting techniques for each ability with their own controls. Additionally while ''Kirby's Adventure'' didn't have Kirby's appearance drastically change when he had a Copy Ability, aside from his color changing to orange or snow white, or wielding a weapon for abilities like ''Sword'' or ''Hammer''. ''Kirby Super Star'' gave each Copy Ability its own costume, such as a fiery crown for Fire Kirby or a floppy green cap that resembles
Link's for Sword Kirby. Near the end of games, Kirby may access a "Last Battle Ability", wherein Kirby utilizes a special often magical weapon to defeat the final boss (ex. the Star Rod in ''
Kirby's Adventure
''Kirby's Adventure'' is a 1993 platform game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It is the second game in the ''Kirby'' series after ''Kirby's Dream Land'' (1992) on the Game Boy ...
'' (1993), Ribbon's Crystal in ''
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards'' (2000), Landia in ''
Kirby's Return to Dream Land
(released as ''Kirby's Adventure Wii'' in PAL regions) is a 2011 platform video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the ninth mainline installment and the twenty-second game in the '' Kirby'' series. W ...
'' (2011)).
In ''Kirby Super Star'' (1996), Kirby can sacrifice his current Copy Ability to create a 'Helper', an allied version of the enemy Kirby typically gets that ability from. The new Helper could be controlled by the game or a second player. This feature has not yet been included in later Kirby games, although it was included in ''Kirby Super Star''s remake, ''Kirby Super Star Ultra'' (2008) and was intended to return in the cancelled GameCube Kirby game which would have had Kirby able to make up to four helpers at once. ''
Kirby Star Allies
''Kirby Star Allies'' is a 2018 platform video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. The twelfth mainline installment in the '' Kirby'' series, the player controls Kirby in his quest to prevent a ...
'' (2018) has a similar mechanic where after being struck by a pink heart that fell from the sky, Kirby becomes able to create small pink hearts known as Friend Hearts which allow him to make friends with an enemy. This also causes the befriended enemy to change colors, presumably to aid the player in distinguishing enemies from friends. The maximum amount of friends Kirby can make is about three. To make another friend, Kirby will have to chose to "un-friend" one of his allies, which will make it disappear in replacement for the new ally.
Following the introduction of Copy in ''Kirby's Adventure'' (1993),
the ''Kirby'' games have introduced over sixty Copy Abilities (the largest roster of which was in Star Allies, at 28). The series has regularly included new game mechanics unique to titles that alter, differ from, or outright replace Kirby's ability to copy enemies.
* In ''
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards'' (2000), the "Power Combo" allows Kirby to hold two Copy Abilities at once, mixing identical ones for a stronger version or combining different ones for a whole new ability (ex. Spark and Cutter abilities combine to create a double-sided
lightsaber
A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout the ''Star Wars'' franchise. A typical lightsaber is depicted as a luminescent plasma blade about in length emitted from a metal hilt around in length. First introduced in the or ...
.)
* In both ''
Kirby: Canvas Curse'' (2005) and ''
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
''Kirby and the Rainbow Curse'', known in PAL regions as ''Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush'', is a platforming video game in the ''Kirby'' series, developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for Wii U. The title, which is a follow-up ...
'' (2015), Kirby is a continuously rolling ball that can be directed on strokes of paint/ropes of clay drawn with the stylus of the Nintendo DS/Wii U respectively.
* In ''
Kirby's Epic Yarn
''Kirby's Epic Yarn'' is a platform video game developed by Good-Feel and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is an installment of the ''Kirby'' series and was released in October 2010 in Japan and North America and in February 2011 in Austr ...
'' (2010), Kirby is turned into an outline of yarn, leaving his hollow body unable to inhale. Instead Kirby is able to use a "yarn-whip" to unravel enemies or transform into simple objects, requiring "Metamortex Patches" to become more complex "Metamortex Transformations".
Similar transformations with clay are also seen in ''
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
''Kirby and the Rainbow Curse'', known in PAL regions as ''Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush'', is a platforming video game in the ''Kirby'' series, developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for Wii U. The title, which is a follow-up ...
''.
In the rerelease ''
Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn'' (2019), Kirby may use Ravel Abilities: power ups that recreate Copy Abilities using craft materials.
* In ''
Kirby Mass Attack'' (2011), Kirby is cursed into being unable to inhale or copy enemies and can exist as up to ten small, weaker versions of himself. Directed or thrown using the Nintendo DS' stylus, the Kirbys defeat enemies by ganging up and pummeling them.
* In ''
Kirby's Return to Dream Land
(released as ''Kirby's Adventure Wii'' in PAL regions) is a 2011 platform video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the ninth mainline installment and the twenty-second game in the '' Kirby'' series. W ...
'' (2011), Kirby can use much more powerful, albeit temporary, versions of Copy Abilities by inhaling and swallowing special kinds of enemies surrounded with a multicolored aura; these abilities are known as Super Abilities. One example is the Grand Hammer, which grants Kirby the usage of a much larger version of the hammer granted by the normal Hammer ability which can produce shockwaves.
* In ''
Kirby: Planet Robobot'' (2016), Kirby steals "Robobot Armor": a mech suit from an invading robot army. The Robobot Armor works in conjunction with Kirby's Copy ability, (ex. wielding buzzsaws when ridden by Cutter Kirby), as well as providing tools to surpass unique obstacles.
* In ''
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
is a 2022 platform video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the thirteenth mainline installment in the ''Kirby'' series, as well as the first game in the series in full 3D, excluding spin ...
'' (2022), Kirby gains a new ability: his extremely elastic skin allows him to inhale large objects and take on their shape; this ability is referred to as "Mouthful Mode". During this state, Kirby is able to control whatever he inhaled as if he was the object himself; for example, when Kirby inhales a
car
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
, he is able to make it drive around, or in the case of a
light bulb
An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the so ...
, make it turn on and off at will.
In addition, Kirby's copy abilities are able to be upgraded to be made more powerful. For example, once fully upgraded, Kirby's fire ability becomes Dragon Fire, which allowed him to shoot further and glide briefly in mid-air.
In the ''
Super Smash Bros.
''Super Smash Bros.'' is a Crossover (fiction), crossover fighting game series published by Nintendo. The series was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who has directed every game in the series. The series is known for its unique gameplay objectiv ...
'' series, Kirby's Copy works distinctly different from how it does in the ''Kirby'' series with a unique arsenal of Copy Abilities. Without an ability, Kirby can use attacks from different abilities (ex. Cutter's Final Cutter, Hammer's Hammer Flip, Stone's Stone Change). Kirby obtains an ability by inhaling another member of the roster, acquiring an ability themed around the character and possessing some of the fighter's move set. Unlike enemies in the ''Kirby'' game, fighters swallowed by Kirby do not disappear, instead reappearing outside Kirby. In ''
Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' (2008), Kirby's Final Smash is his Cook ability from ''Kirby Super Star'' (1996)/''Kirby Super Star Ultra'' (2008), which cooks opponents, items and more.
In ''
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
and (colloquially and collectively referred to as ''Super Smash Bros. 4'' or ''Smash 4'') is a group of two 2014 crossover fighting video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS ...
'' (2014) and ''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' (2018), Kirby's Final Smash is an Ultra Sword attack from ''Return to Dream Land'' (2011).
Species
Although never explored in great detail in the series, Kirby is not the only member of his kind. Along with the different colored Kirbys in many games' multiplayers, similar looking characters are seen in the ending of ''Kirby's Dream Land'' (1992), and its remake ''Spring Breeze'' in ''Kirby Super Star'' (1996). Meta Knight and Galacta Knight, both of whom bear a close resemblance to Kirby without their masks, are often hinted to be of the same species as Kirby.
In general, members of the species all look similar, but sometimes have different colored skin, eyes, and feet. The second player character of ''
Kirby's Dream Course'' (1994) is a yellow Kirby named Keeby with the same abilities as Kirby in the game. While it is not confirmed that the second player Kirby from ''
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land'' (2002) onward is Keeby, ''
Kirby's Dream Buffet
''Kirby's Dream Buffet'' is a party video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is a spin-off game in the ''Kirby'' series. The game was released digitally on August 17, 2022.
Gameplay
''Kirby ...
'' (2022) names the yellow color customization "Keeby Yellow".
The second player character of ''
Kirby's Epic Yarn
''Kirby's Epic Yarn'' is a platform video game developed by Good-Feel and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is an installment of the ''Kirby'' series and was released in October 2010 in Japan and North America and in February 2011 in Austr ...
'' (2010), Prince Fluff, is a Kirby-like character from a planet made of sewing material. Unlike Kirby, Prince Fluff cannot inhale or copy enemies (which Kirby has also lost the ability to do after being turned into yarn) or use Ravel Abilities (equivalent to Copy Abilities added in ''
Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn'' (2019)).
Later Kirby games have hinted on a much more drastic possibility of what life-form Kirby truly is. In ''Kirby Star Allies'' (2018), it is suggested repeatedly through pause-screen descriptions and visual references that Kirby is a positive reincarnation of a powerful entity known as Void; the true main antagonist of ''Kirby Star Allies'' and the overarching antagonist of the ''Kirby'' series, who is implied to have created Zero; the true main antagonist from ''Kirby's Dream Land 3'' (1997) and ''Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards'' (2000), and by extension, the Dark Matter race; reoccurring antagonists in the ''Kirby'' series. This further suggests a connection between Kirby's species and Dark Matter.
No official term exists for them other than Kirby's species. They are commonly referred to as 'Kirbys' and is the name of both the species and character. As a name, however, 'Kirby' refers to only one character. In the English manual of ''
Kirby & the Amazing Mirror
''Kirby & The Amazing Mirror'' is a 2004 platform video game developed by HAL Laboratory, Flagship and Dimps and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. The seventh mainline ''Kirby'' entry, the game is notable for being the only insta ...
'' (2004), the term 'Kirbys' is used at points, to illustrate the feature of having four differently colored versions of Kirby active in the game simultaneously, although in this situation the four "Kirbys" are four pieces of Kirby rather than four individual Kirby-like beings. Another common term is 'Dream Landers', a term used in the instruction manual for ''Kirby's Adventure'' (1992).
This term, however, also refers to anyone who lives in Dream Land, including characters like King Dedede. The biography of Kirby in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' (2008) says Kirby is a
citizen
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
of Dream Land. Sometimes the term 'puff' or 'puffball' is used in official materials to refer to Kirby's round shape, though this does not necessarily indicate the name of his species.
Gender
While the English manual for ''Kirby's Dream Land'' (1992) refers to Kirby as a "little boy", the Japanese ''Kirby'' encyclopedia ''Hoshi no Kābī Pupupu Taizen: 20th Anniversary'' (星のカービィプププ大全 : 20th Anniversary) lists Kirby's gender as "unknown".
Kirby's creator, Masahiro Sakurai, wrote Kirby's profile which also lists the character's gender as "unknown" and once jokingly stated that Kirby may actually be female. Likewise, Kirby's voice actress,
Makiko Ohmoto, stated that Kirby's gender is unknown and explained that she performs the character just as "Kirby" without caring about the character's gender, rather than as a man or a woman.
Appearances
Main series
Kirby's main media form are games, as he is the star and protagonist of the Nintendo owned series named after him. Most ''Kirby'' games are
platform games in which Kirby fights enemies, solves puzzles, and challenges bosses. Each game typically adds a new twist or change to Kirby's abilities that the levels of the game emphasize, such as combining power ups in ''Kirby 64'' or Super Abilities in ''Return to Dream Land''. Most games involve Kirby saving a world or even universe from a dark, evil force of some kind. Typical ''Kirby'' games have a powerful being, such as Dark Matter or Nightmare, controlling or corrupting a secondary villain.
The series has 36 games currently, with the first being ''
Kirby's Dream Land'' in 1992 and the latest being ''
Kirby's Dream Buffet
''Kirby's Dream Buffet'' is a party video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is a spin-off game in the ''Kirby'' series. The game was released digitally on August 17, 2022.
Gameplay
''Kirby ...
'' in 2022. Although most are platform games, some spin-offs have included pinball, fighting, racing, and puzzle games.
''Super Smash Bros.'' series
Kirby appears in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series of games as a playable character, which is also created by Masahiro Sakurai. He is the sole ''Kirby'' series representative in ''
Super Smash Bros.
''Super Smash Bros.'' is a crossover fighting game series published by Nintendo. The series was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who has directed every game in the series. The series is known for its unique gameplay objective which differs from ...
'' (1999) and ''
Super Smash Bros. Melee
''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' is a 2001 crossover fighting video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the second installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. It features characters from Nintendo ...
'' (2001), and has been one of three (the others being Meta Knight and King Dedede) as of ''
Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' (2008). He reprises his role as a playable character in ''
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
and (colloquially and collectively referred to as ''Super Smash Bros. 4'' or ''Smash 4'') is a group of two 2014 crossover fighting video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS ...
'' (2014) and ''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' (2018), the latter of which features him playing a starring role in the "World of Light" story mode in which he survives Galeem's massacre of all of the other fighters.
Anime
Kirby appears in his own
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
titled ''Kirby: Right Back at Ya!'', (Japanese: 星のカービィ ''Hoshi no Kābī'') in Japan. The series was licensed in
North America by
4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (formerly known as Leisure Concepts, Inc. and later known as 4Licensing Corporation) was an American licensing company. The company was previously also a film and television production company that produced English- dub ...
and the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
company
Nelvana
Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Found ...
, and produced by Warpstar Inc., a company formed between a joint investment between Nintendo and
HAL Laboratory. It aired on
4Kids TV
4Kids TV (often stylized as 4K!DSTV and formerly known as FoxBox from September 14, 2002 to January 15, 2005) was an American television programming block and Internet-based video on demand children's network operated by 4Kids Entertainment. ...
, via
Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting
is a regional radio and television service serving Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is majorly owned by the '' Chunichi Shimbun''. Its radio service is affiliated with the Japan Radio Network (JRN) and its television service affiliated ...
(since 2001 which has done 100 episodes).
The anime series is set in its own universe independent of the games and offers its own take on the setting and characters, however, Kirby's creator, Masahiro Sakurai, was greatly involved in its creation, so it did not stray far from his vision of how Kirby should be. The anime contains darker themes not yet introduced in the games (such as war and death) while still maintaining the cheerful and surreal themes the games are known for.
In the anime Kirby's origin and backstory are explored much more deeply than in the games. Kirby is a legendary Star Warrior who, according to legend, is fated to save Pop Star from destruction, but he was awoken from his slumber 200 years too early by mistake and as such has many baby or childlike qualities. Because of his age, he is still getting the hang of his powers and depends even more on the help of his friends to pull through tough situations. It is also implied that Kirby was originally a creation of the ancient evil entity called
Nightmare
A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of d ...
but refused to follow his evil orders and was discarded into the depths of space.
Kirby's Warpstar is also expanded upon, as in the games it is a mode of transportation, but here the Warpstar is also the source of his power. As he's too young to keep it safe for himself, Tiff takes it upon herself to keep the Warpstar safe.
Though Sakurai instructed that Kirby not speak in full sentences (citing the ''
Peanuts
''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...
'' character
Snoopy
Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. He can also be found in all of the ''Peanuts'' films and television specials. Since his debut on October 4, 1950, Snoopy has become one of the most recog ...
) he did allow him to use a small vocabulary including a catch phrase "Poyo" and the names of various attacks and characters.
Prior to this Kirby was also in a short educational video that was released exclusively in Japan in 1994, designed to teach
Kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subse ...
to young children. The feature was not animated, but contained illustrations and was bundled with a similar video featuring
Mario
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the '' Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his c ...
and
Wario
is a fictional character in Nintendo's ''Mario'' series, designed as an arch-rival to Mario. He first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy game '' Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins'' as the main antagonist and final boss. His name is a portmanteau ...
.
Manga and comics
Kirby also stars in several
manga
Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...
adaptations, which have been drawn by over 20
manga artist
A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan.
Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...
s. The longest running series, ''
Kirby of the Stars: The Story of Dedede Who Lives in Pupupu'', was serialized in ''
CoroCoro Comic
is a Japanese monthly manga magazine published by Shogakukan, established on May 15, 1977. Its main target is elementary school-aged boys, younger than the readers of shōnen manga, shōnen manga. Several of its properties, like ''Doraemon'' and ...
'' from 1994 to 2006, which has been compiled into 25
tankōbon
is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or m ...
volumes, with over 10 million copies being printed. It continued serialization in ''CoroCoro Aniki'' in 2017.
Viz Media
VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
originally planned to release the manga in English in September 2010, but it was pushed back and eventually cancelled. The series was later published as a "best-of" collection, which also features new chapters from its continued serialization, and was published in English as ''Kirby Manga Mania'' by Viz Media.
The German
Club Nintendo
Club Nintendo was a customer loyalty program provided by Nintendo. The loyalty program was free to join and provided rewards in exchange for consumer feedback and loyalty to purchasing official Nintendo products. Members of Club Nintendo earned ...
magazine (2002-2015) often featured comics starring various Nintendo characters, including Kirby. In his comics, Kirby is reimagined as a detective and King Dedede as his sidekick. These comics were promotions for Kirby games that were released in Germany at the time including ''
Kirby's Dream Course'' (1994), ''
Kirby's Avalanche'' (1995), and ''
Kirby's Dream Land 2
''Kirby's Dream Land 2'' is a side-scrolling platforming video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld video game console. It was released in Japan on March 21, 1995, in North America on May 1, 19 ...
'' (1995).
Reception
Since he first appeared in ''Kirby's Dream Land'' (1992), Kirby has received positive reception. ''
Nintendo Power
''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Nint ...
'' listed Kirby as their 19th favourite hero, commenting that he does not get the respect that he deserves. Kirby ranked second on
GameDaily
GameDaily (GD) was a video game journalism website based in the United States.
It was launched in 1995 by entrepreneur Mark Friedler under the name Gigex and focused on free game demo downloads. The site changed its business model from a flat fe ...
's Top 10 ''Super Smash Bros.'' characters list. They also included him in their "Pretty in Pink Video Game Characters" article.
GamesRadar
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites '' Total Film'', ''SFX'', '' Edge'' and ''Comput ...
listed Kirby as one of the most lovable blobs, calling him one of the cutest things to appear in a Nintendo game, yet also describing the way he defeats his enemies as "horrific." He ranked sixth on
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...
's top 10 veteran ''Super Smash Bros.'' characters, described as the "pinkest badass ever made". An issue of the webcomic
VG Cats
''VG Cats'' (short for ''Video Game Cats''["All About the Site"](_blank)
''VG Cats''["Internet pro ...]
depicts Kirby in 100 forms from both video games and other forms of media, such as characters from ''
The Legend of Zelda
''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-releas ...
'', ''
Metal Gear
is a series of techno-thriller stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear (video game), Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX, MSX home computers. The player often takes control ...
'' and ''
Gundam
is a Japanese military fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with '' Mo ...
''. In 2011, Cheat Code Central ranked Ninja Kirby as the ninth top ninja in video games.
UGO Networks
UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States.
History
The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...
listed Kirby on their list of "The Cutest Video Game Characters", stating "it's easy to get on board with someone who will eat anything." In 2009,
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
chose him as one of the characters to compete in their poll for the title of "All Time Greatest Game Hero". In a 2010 ''
Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the ...
'' poll, Kirby was voted by readers as the 12th most popular video game character. The 2011 ''
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' lists Kirby as the 18th most popular video game character. In 2012,
GamesRadar
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites '' Total Film'', ''SFX'', '' Edge'' and ''Comput ...
ranked him as the 40th "most memorable, influential, and badass" protagonist in games, saying "
you don’t think a pink blob can be tough, then you clearly haven’t seen Kirby in action". Jeremy Parish of
Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed '' polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two t ...
ranked 73 fighters from ''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' "from garbage to glorious", listing Kirby third and stated that "he’s probably the single most consistent character in the Nintendo mascot lineup... And his “copy power” makes him unpredictably fun to play as in Smash." Gavin Jasper of ''
Den of Geek
''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine.
History
''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...
'' ranked Kirby as first of ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' characters, stating that "Kirby is the glue holding Smash together."
See also
*
List of Kirby characters
This is a list of characters from the Kirby franchise. These characters are featured in video games and other types of media from the franchise. Many characters have been introduced into the Kirby franchise spanning across multiple decades.
Ma ...
**
King Dedede
**
Meta Knight
References
External links
Kirby's Official U.S. homepageKirby on Play.Nintendo.comThe Evolution of Kirby
{{Authority control
Child characters in anime and manga
Child characters in video games
Child superheroes
Extraterrestrial characters in video games
Extraterrestrial superheroes
Fictional amorphous creatures
Fictional characters with absorption or parasitic abilities
Fictional characters with dimensional travel abilities
Fictional characters with elemental and environmental abilities
Fictional characters with superhuman strength
Fictional humanoids
Fictional infants
Fictional invertebrates
Fictional roboticists
Fictional space pilots
Kirby (series) characters
Male characters in video games
Nintendo protagonists
Shapeshifter characters in video games
Silent protagonists
Super Smash Bros. fighters
Video game characters introduced in 1992
Video game mascots