Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, known in Japan as , is an anime series based on Nintendo's Kirby franchise.

The series was produced by Warpstar Inc., a company formed between a joint investment between Nintendo and HAL Laboratory, Inc.. There are currently 100 episodes.

In Japan, the series has aired on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Co., Ltd. since October 6, 2001. It is currently licensed in North America by 4Kids Entertainment under the title Kirby: Right Back at Ya! and was seen on 4Kids TV (formerly known as FoxBox). The show is distributed by 20th Century Fox, Nelvana Enterprises, and HAL Laboratory, Inc.

The series has since been released in other languages, including Chinese, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese.

Story

Tens of thousands of years ago, a being known as Nightmare appeared and created the Holy Nightmare Corporation. (Nightmare Enterprises in the dub (or N.M.E) It was in fact a front for his great armies of demon beasts, which he used to take over much of the universe, devastating entire planets. But there were those who stood to combat his evil, in the form of the Star Warriors and the Galaxy Soldier Army. They fought for many thousands of years, but Nightmare's demons outnumbered them, and killed all but a few.

The story tells how this great evil threatens the peaceful country of Pupupuland (Dreamland). It seems Popstar could be Nightmare's next target. But the people are told a legendary hero will come to save them. The Star Warrior, Kirby of the Stars.

However, everyone is quite surprised when Kirby's ship crashes close to Pupu Village (Cappytown), to find he's small, pink, and only a baby! But he's quickly befriended by siblings Fumu (Tiff) and Bun (Tuff) and their servants Lololo (Fololo), and Lalala (Falala).

King Dedede is jealous and suspicious of Kirby from the start, and he and his sidekick Dr. Escargon (Escargoon), constantly try to get rid of- or sometimes outright kill- Kirby with demon beasts provided by Nightmare. (For a high fee.) However, these attempts usually fail because of Kirby's natural abilities- just as in the games, Kirby can inhale enemies and gain their powers.

The series is slow paced, mostly light-hearted with some darker themes running through it. Though it's somewhat episodic, because of some story-arcs it's best to watch in order. It mainly deals with the day-to-day trials Kirby faces, and how he grows and becomes stronger before his final battle with Nightmare.

Main characters

Kirby is a young Star Warrior. He is spoken of in legend as Kirby of the Stars, perhaps the only one who can defeat Nightmare. However, Kirby himself is a creation of Nightmare, but he was considered a failure. No one knows for sure what happened, or how Kirby ended up in his starship. Because a Star Warrior’s ship is designed to go wherever demon beasts are, Kirby was awakened 200 years before he was scheduled to. Because of this, he is still only a baby.

Thankfully, he can still fight. During battle he shows amazing skill, though he needs a little help sometimes.

Otherwise, Kirby is like any other child, though with a much larger appetite. He loves to play and sleep, and can be utterly fascinated by even the most mundane things. He has a strong spirit, and loves to help people - sometimes even his enemies. He even demonstrates a maternal side on occasion.

Since Kirby is only a baby, naturally he does not speak. Although it's theorized that his "Poyo's" are a language in and of themself, as certain characters like Kine and Meta Knight have acted as if they understood it, and Kirby uses it quite expressively. Everyone else can only go by his tone and body language. Occasionally he speaks their language, his favorite word being 'suika' (Japanese for watermelon) or repeating snippets people have said. He also commonly announces his own copy abilities or shout out his attack names. (Of course much of what he says is removed entirely in the English dub.)

He understands language- he simply doesn't have the motivation to reproduce it himself, though he has the ability to. Human children typically begin using more complex speech around the age of two- however, before they can actually speak they can understand far more than they can produce. Kirby follows this pattern. It was said that Kirby was to have slept for 200 years- perhaps until he had reached maturity. If it's meant to take that long for him to grow up, then it would be expected for him to learn at a slower rate as well.

And of course, there is the official explanation of why Kirby doesn't speak- for one, his creator Masahiro Sakurai didn't want him to. This might be releated to how characters who don't speak are sometimes seen as more endearing and easier to relate to. There's also the "window for the gamer" factor; this is expressed more in Link of the Legend of Zelda series, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. The supervisor Yoshikawa Souji cited examples such as Snoopy and the like, but said it was rather difficult to have a main character who didn't speak.

The daughter of the Cabinet Minister, she's lived in Dedede's castle her entire life. She's very intelligent for her age, with much of her interest being in the environment: Her favorite subject is marine biology. She can also be very bad-tempered and definitely speaks her mind on things, especially when she thinks King Dedede is up to no good.

She wasn't sure if Kirby was a real hero at first, but he quickly proved her wrong. She probably cares for him the most, and they have a sort of mother/child or brother/sister relationship.

Fumu is known as Tiff in the dubbed version.

Bun (Tuff): Fumu's little brother, he is in many ways her complete opposite, preferring to play outside rather than read books. Bun can be quite a troublemaker, even when he's really trying to help. Impetuous and always getting into mischief, he is now friends with Kirby even though he gets jealous of him sometimes.

Bun is known as Tuff in the dubbed English version.

King Dedede: He’s ruled Pupupuland for 300 years, (supposedly) and is still going strong. Despite the fact Dedede is greedy, scheming, and even outright sadistic, even going as far as to say that people’s suffering amuses him, no one has ever tried to dethrone him. He's actually harmless for the most part. However, his intense dislike of Kirby compels to purchase demon beasts from Holy Nightmare Corporation/Nightmare Enterprises.

He loves ordering new 'toys'; he acts like a spoiled child despite his age. He's jealous of the attention Kirby gets, and while at first he even wanted to kill Kirby, later he focuses more on trying to kick him out or just make him look bad. Of course he has a kinder, gentler side, but it only shows in the most extreme of circumstances.

King Dedede speaks with a Midwestern U.S. accent in the American version of the show.

Dr. Escargon (Escargoon): Escargon lived with his mother on a farm before leaving to make it big. But despite the fact Escargon is well educated, knowing much about chemistry and electronics (and even writing a book on botany), he’s been working for Dedede for many years as an assistant and punching bag. It seems that he truly cares for the king, despite the abuse he gets. While Escargon usually goes along with what Dedede wants, and helps him with his schemes, Escargon may be a nice guy at heart, who acts mean because he wants Dedede's approval.

Escargon always speaks politely in the original, in a sort of exaggerated way, but the dub made him far more sarcastic.

Dr Escargon is known as Escargoon in the dubbed English version.

Meta Knight works for Dedede as well, along with his followers Sword Knight and Blade Knight. However, it is revealed that Meta Knight is a Star Warrior like Kirby, one of the few ones to survive. He is called the pride of the Galaxy Soldier Army, and is greatly respected. He carries the Sacred Sword Galaxia, which only few can wield.

Meta Knight appears as a sort of mentor, helping Kirby and others- though only when he absolutely has to. He can really be a strange person with many odd quirks. He has a habit of appearing seemingly from nowhere, and he will always be standing on top of things: tables, statues, trees, rocks, etc. (Some have theorized he does it to compensate for his height.) In some ways he parodies the usual cliché of stoic, mysterious characters, but still manages to be a serious character with a lot of depth.

In the games Meta Knight will often have his cape blowing in the wind generally but in the anime he generally keeps it firmly wrapped around him.

List of Guest Characters

Lola/Fofa - A Demon Beast made by Nightmare, he was split into two creatures by KittariHattari/Slice n' Splice, thus Lololo/Fololo and Lalala/Falala were born.
Cook Oosoka/Chef Shiitake - Oosoka is a world famous chef who is Kawasaki's mentor. He is very stern, especially with him, but does try to help him out every now and then. (He was the demon Popon in disguise when he first appeared.)
Robot Puppy - A robotic toy dog manufactured by Holy Nightmare that Fumu's family bought for Kirby. It self-destructed in the end, leaving Kirby without it.
Knuckle Joe - A very powerful martial artist who once looked for a Star Warrior who killed his dad. He thought it was Kirby at first, but was proven wrong in the end by Meta Knight. Now he fights on Kirby's side. One of the only guest characters to get more than one appearance, aside from Cook Oosoka. He later returns along with Silica, Sir Arthur and his knights, all of which pilot three Destrayaas, to help Kirby and co. challenge Nightmare.
Knuckle Joe's Father - A currently dead, legendary Star Warrior who is Knuckle Joe's dad. He was killed by Meta Knight while he was controlled by Nightmare when Joe himself was only a child, but his love for his son prevented him from completely surrendering to Nightmare. His locket, which Meta Knight later gave to Joe, later gave Joe more power, giving him enough power to destroy the rebuilt Powered Masher.
Chilly - A snowman created from the Ice Dragon's snow. Tried to kill Kirby at first, but helped him out in the end. After the Ice Dragon was defeated, all the snow it brought to Pupupu Land melted away, and so did Chilly, making Kirby very sad, since Chilly was a friend of Kirby anyway like the robot puppy from before. Chilly is an enemy in various Kirby games.
Princess Rona - Rona is a princess who came to Pupu Village. She was disguised as Commander Vee so she could have fun, while the real Vee disguised herself as Rona herself. After siding with Kirby in his fight against Susshi, her grandfather came to pick both her and Vee up.
Commander Vee - She's Rona's bodyguard who disguised herself as the princess herself.
Dakonyo/Kit Cosmos - Dakonyo is a soldier through and through. Always considering himself a sergeant of the Galaxy Soldier Army, he was found living on an island by Kirby and his friends. When they went back to Pupu Village, Dakonyo chose to stay, later returning to help Kirby and co. battle Nightmare.
Benikage - A ninja-in-training who is just a beginner. He's a sweet little kid. His curiosity almost gets him killed when he challenges Yamikage, but Kirby helps out in the end.
Yamikage - A member of Holy Nightmare who betrayed the Galaxy Soldier Army. After Kirby defeats him in his Ninja mode after Benikage's curiosity almost gets him killed when he challenges him, Yamikage retreats, vowing he will return. Appears in the two-part "Chocolate Capsule Demon!" episode as a mini-figure.
Dr. Escargon's mom - A caring mother who is Escargon's mom. She always loves her son no matter what, even if he isn't king of Pupu Village.
Lovely - A pretty flower born in front of Whispy Woods who can be considered a femme fatale. After being mutated by Holy Nightmare, she tries to steal Whispy's life force, but is free from Nightmare's dark influence after receiving enough damage from Cutter Kirby's attacks. Afterwards, she promises to Whispy that she will return for him someday and she does, producing lots of non-evil Lovelies for him to look after in the future. She is an enemy in Kirby Super Star and an opponent in Kirby Super Star Stacker, a.k.a. Kirby no Kira Kira Kids in Japanese.
Baby Galbo - A baby Galbo that Kirby babysat. When he got scorched by the big Galbo's flames, Kirby thought he was done for, but in the end, Kirby was happy to see that the baby Galbo had flame-proof skin. Sadly, even though the baby Galbo survived, he never appeared again.
Aliens - These three aliens mistook Pupupu Land for a trash dumpster thanks to Nightmare and dumped trash all over the place. After Kirby defeats Fire Lion, the aliens return to apologize for what they did and clean up all of Pupupu Land.
Rowlin - The famous author of the book Pappy Pottey and the Fool's Stone. She was impersonated by the demon Broom King. She parodies the famous author, J.K. Rowling.
Amon - A sheep who didn't want to follow the flock. After being struck by magical lightning, he came to believe that he was no longer a sheep but a wolf. He lead a revolt but the sheep he was leading were too sheep-ish, so after Kirby to fight on, he went searching for sheep who feel the same way he does. His name is based on Egyptian mythology.
Acore - A friend of Whispy Woods who has lived for exactly 800 years. Dedede believed that he was the source of life in Whispy Woods and tried to cut him down, but was stopped in the end.
Tourists - A whole flock of tourists sent by Holy Nightmare for a tour of Pupupu Land. After Kirby defeats Fire Jelly/Flame Feeder, they all think the trip was a bore except when they met Kirby.
Fire Dedede - A cartoon character created by King Dedede for his very own anime where he was the star and Kirby looked like the bad guy. The very first episode of Dedede's anime was based on the very first episode of the Kirby of the Stars anime itself. The cartoon Dedede sucked up the cartoon Kirby's fire and became Fire Dedede.
Kihaano/Sir Gallant the Valiant Knight - A crazy old man who thinks he's a knight and thinks that Pupu Village's fortune teller, Mabel, is Princess Raia. In truth, he reads way too many comic books! Based on Don Quixote.
Princess Raia - A princess that Kihaano sent away to protect her in comic books. She looks a lot like Mabel, who Kihaano mistakes for her.
Scarfy - The ever-so-adorable enemies from many Kirby games, starting with Kirby's Dream Land. They meow like cats, eat like dogs, and multiply like bunnies. Just don't feed them with the bones they come with, or they'll turn nasty!
Silica/Sirica - A very popular character with as much popularity as Knuckle Joe. She is a skilled fighter with her five-in-one weapon, which appears to be manufactured by Holy Nightmare. Once tried to steal Galaxia from Meta Knight, now she fights on Kirby's side. Later returns along with Knuckle Joe, Sir Arthur and his knights to help Kirby and co. battle Nightmare.
Garlude - Sirica's mother, and a member of the GSA. She was killed by the demon Kirisakin, though Meta Knight tried to save her.
Pengi - A tribe of penguins who brought winter to Pupupu Land. They aren't really evil, just looking for a place to live. Eventually they were run off by the heat. They are enemies in various Kirby games.
Captain Kick & Lord James Coleet - Pirates who were believed to be Tokkori's ancestors. Lord James Coleet was a parrot who belonged to Captain Kick. Interestingly enough, everyone thought that it was true that Lord James Coleet was Tokkori's ancestor since he looked like Tokkori anyway.
Child and Parent Whales - A pair of whales who were separated from each other. Fumu thought the Child Whale was the Parent Whale looking for her baby, but was proved wrong in the end when the real Parent Whale, who was much larger and wore an island on her back, appeared. Before the Parent Whale appeared, King Dedede used some parts to turn the whale into a submarine-like weapon, after which when the Parent Whale appeared, the Child Whale got rid of the parts Dedede placed on the whale to turn him submarine-like.
Twin Nuts - Also known as the twin sisters of the South Seas. They were kidnapped by Nightmare and sent to King Dedede, thus leading Mosugaba to come find and save them when he listened to their song.
Mosugaba - A giant butterfly parodying the Kaiju Mothra. He started out as a caterpillar, and after crossing the ocean and getting to Castle Dedede to save the Twin Nuts, who were kidnapped by Nightmare and sent to Dedede, he slowly transformed into a butterfly. He is calmed down by the Twin Nuts' song and takes them both home.
Robo-Escargon/Escar-Droid - A robot that looks like Dr. Escargon. He built it so he could lessen the heavy workout Dedede was giving him. When he was given a heart, he later transformed into two different forms, his final form being blasted to pieces by Bomb Kirby, leaving Escargon to sleep on a piece he left behind.
Bonkers - He used to live in the jungles until a circus crew captured him. When he saw one of the clowns watching an episode of Kirby, he got inspired to meet Kirby in person, so he set out to find him. Bonkers is very polite and wants to find Kirby so he can train with him to be a Star Warrior just like him. Dedede eventually has Holy Nightmare turn him into a demon, but things turn out okay of course, and Bonkers leaves to train on his own. He is a mini-boss in various Kirby games.
Mr. Chip - A very nice teacher who is in contract with Nightmare. He is a smart Cappy, who is smarter than even Fumu herself! He is a reference to the novel Goodbye, Mr. Chips.
Cook Nagoya/Chef Nagoya - An old classmate, friend, and rival of Kawasaki's who went to cooking school with him. He is also a student of Cook Oosoka. Everyone in Pupu Village thought he was a health inspector at first, and Dedede later set up a cook-off competition between him and Kawasaki.
Crowmon - Crowmon is the leader of a flock of crows who was happy to take care of the trash for King Dedede, except there wasn't enough food for him nor his army. He later found and drank some of Dr. Eskargon's Demon Beast serums which caused him to mutate. He kidnapped Dynababy and was defeated and reverted back to normal by both Wing Kirby and Dynablade, after which he apologized for what he did.
Otakings - In the English dub, they're known as Biggie, Bony, and Sleepy. King Dedede hired them to make a better version of the anime that was made long ago where he was the star and Kirby looked like the bad guy, but they thought Fumu would make a better star, so they created a human-looking Fumu named Bouncy Fumu and made her own anime instead.
Bouncy Fumu - A human-looking character that parodies Fumu herself that was created by the Otakings and made as the star of her own anime series.
Owalt Desney/Dis Walney - A character who is a famous animator. His first appearance has him as the demon Anige in disguise. He is the creator of famous cartoon character "Mackey Mouse". Owalt Desney is based on the famous Walt Disney, and Mackey Mouse is based on Disney's official mascot, Mickey Mouse.
Steppenwolf - A legendary biker whose true identity is none other than Pupu Village's mailman, Mosu/Melman. He took down Fang and reminded Gus about what Biking is really about. His name is based on the rock band, Steppenwolf.
Phan Phan - An elephant who escaped from Holy Nightmare and befriended Kirby. He was hypnotized by Hittei, but after Throw Kirby defeated him, Phan Phan was free and decided to live in Whispy Woods from now on. He is a mini-boss in Nightmare in Dream Land and Kirby and the Amazing Mirror.
Sir Arthur, Sir Falspar, Sir Noisurat, & Sir Dragato - Four knights who teamed up with Knuckle Joe and Silica to help Kirby and the gang take on Nightmare. Previously appeared in the two-part "Chocolate Capsule Demon!" episode as mini-figures.
Kine - A fish that will do anything for the love of Fumu. He doesn't realize that this leads him into shady plots with King Dedede.

Satire and Parody

While a great many video game to anime adaptations are created for the sole purpose of merchandising, the creators of Kirby had a very similar goal as they had when creating the games- to create something that could be enjoyed by anyone. The director described his vision for the show as a 'Life Drama'.

The show is rife with references to popular culture, history, current events and classic literature. Many episodes deal with what was current news and politics in Japan, from issues to North Korea to the very common theme of environmental protection. They even poke fun at American president George W. Bush by having the main villain Dedede make comments about 'Axis of Evil' and 'Weapons of Mass Destruction.'

Old American movies are commonly referenced, including King Kong, Gone with the Wind, Planet of the Apes, Modern Times, newer classics like Jurassic Park, and the works of Alfred Hitchcock such as Psycho and The Birds. Of course classic Japanese movies such as Mothra get their screentime as well, in addition to others that might be more obscure to American audiences.

Books referenced range from the classic Don Quixote to the current hit Harry Potter novels.

One episode's plot strongly references a period of history known as the Chinese Cultural Revolution, except the ones revolting are the Waddle Dees.

(A more complete listing has been compiled at Kirby's Rainbow Resort.)

Episodes

Controversy

There has always been a certain amount of argument in the Kirby fandom over how the anime was made to be quite different from the games. It seems to only use them as a basis, rather then following them exactly- which while a breath of fresh air for many, is an annoyance for others.

However, many people don't realize that the anime was closely supervised by the same people who worked on the games- including Kirby's creator Masahiro Sakurai. In an interview with Famitsu he is quoted as saying "I was considerably involved with the production of the anime. The aim was to create an anime that could be enjoyed by children and parents the same as the games. At first, 'Kirby' began as a game that even a beginner could enjoy. I believe such a spirit was achieved in the anime."

Cast list

Character Name	Voice Actor (Japanese)	Voice Actor (English)
Kirby	Makiko Ōmoto	Makiko Ōmoto
Fumu / Tiff	Sayuri Yoshida	Kerry Williams
Bun / Tuff	Rika Komatsu	Tara Jayne
King Dedede	Kenichi Ogata	Ed Paul
Dr. Escargon / Escargoon	Naoki Tatsuta	Ted Lewis
Meta Knight	Atsushi Kisaichi	Eric Stuart
Customer Service	Banjō Ginga	Dan Green
Sword Knight	Hikaru Tokita	Unknown
Blade Knight	Chiro Kanzaki	Eric Stuart
Nightmare	Banjō Ginga	Andrew Rannels

Theme songs

Japan (Hoshi no Kirby)

Openings

"Kirby March" by Shanchii
"Kirby!" by Hiroko Asakawa

Endings

"Kihon wa Maru" by Shanchii
"Kirby Step!" by KONISHIKI

U.S. (Right Back at Ya!)

Opening

"Kirby Theme (Kirby Kirby Kirby!)" by Norman J. Grossfield and Ralph Shuckett

Ending

"Kirby Theme (Instrumental)" by Ralph Shuckett

External links

Official Kirby Web Site (Requires Flash, opens in a new window)
4Kids TV Kirby: Right Back at Ya! page
Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Company page about Hoshi no Kirby
Kirby: Right Back at Ya! at TV.com
Kirby's Rainbow Resort Anime section

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