Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

Kirby of the Stars Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
Japanese promotional poster
星のカービィ (Hoshi no Kābī)
Genre	Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Anime television series
Directed by	Sōji Yoshikawa
Produced by	Satoru Iwata Taihei Yamanashi Seiichi Hirano Takeyuki Okazaki
Written by	Soji Yoshikawa
Music by	Akira Miyagawa
Studio	Warpstar, Inc.
Licensed by	AUS: Magna Pacific (DVD) NA: 4Kids Entertainment (TV) FUNimation Entertainment (VHS/DVD) CA:  Nelvana Limited CH:  Horng En Culture
Original network	Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting (2001-2003) Tokyo Broadcasting System (2007-2009) Kids Station Tokyo MX
English network	NA: Fox Box (2002-2005) 4Kids TV (2005-2008) The CW4Kids (2009) UK: Pop
Original run	October 6, 2001 – August 9, 2009
Episodes	101 in 3 seasons

Kirby of the Stars (星のカービィ, Hoshi no Kābī) 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.

The series, which takes place on the planet Pop Star, focuses on the adventures of the title character Kirby, who fights off monsters to the village's well-being.

In Japan, the series aired on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Co., Ltd., and aired in North America on 4Kids TV under the name Kirby: Right Back at Ya! The series has since been released in other languages, including Bulgarian, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Serbian, Korean, Tagalog, Russian, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. .

Plot

Thousands of years ago, a being known as Nightmare appeared and created a company called Holy Nightmare/NightMare Enterprises, otherwise known as N.M.E. It was in truth a front for his great armies of monsters, which he used to take over much of the universe. They devastated countless 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 demon beasts outnumbered them, and killed most. However, everyone is quite surprised when Kirby's ship crashes close to Cappy Town (Pupupu Village in the original version). They find he's tiny, round, pink, and a child, unlike Tiff's desire of a strong knight. Despite his hardly warrior-like characteristics, he is quick to save anyone who is in danger. He is soon befriended by the siblings Tiff and Tuff, along with their servants Fololo and Falala.

The ruler of Dream Land, King Dedede, is jealous and suspicious of Kirby from the start. He and his sidekick Escargoon constantly try to get rid of Kirby with demon beasts provided by the company for a high fee, though Escargoon shows a great deal more reservation and morals. However, these attempts usually fail because of Kirby's natural abilities. Just as in the games, Kirby can inhale enemies and gain their powers, transforming into forms such as Fire Kirby with the ability to spit flames, or Sword Kirby to literally slice foes into pieces.

Kirby grows and becomes stronger before his final battle with Nightmare. It is slow paced, and mostly light-hearted with some darker themes running throughout. Though it's somewhat episodic, because of some story-arcs it is best to watch in order. In the end when Kirby and Tiff face Nightmare which is in a dream Tiff throws the Warp Star at Kirby, who swallows it and becomes Star Kirby. Star Kirby has the Star Rod which is Nightmare's sole weakness and so Nightmare gets defeated by Kirby's Star Rod!

Kirby is only based on the game series, taking characters and concepts rather than copying any of the games word-for-word. It is to be taken as an alternate universe, having no direct connection to the game storyline. Being mainly self-contained, it can be easier for those unfamiliar with the game series to understand.

Production

Producer Soji Yoshikawa speaks in length about the challenges faced by the creators of the Kirby anime. He expressed concern as most video game to anime adaptations don't go well, but as time went on, he says he began to see a character with strength, and felt it could be successful.

Two of the main challenges were set by Kirby's creator Masahiro Sakurai. He said there were to be no humans, and Kirby must not speak. Yoshikawa says in his interview how difficult it was to have a main character who does not speak, as well as coming up with entirely unique settings and characters. Kirby is unusual in that it has no humans in the cast. He likens it to the Finnish series The Moomins, which was quite popular in Japan.

Pilot anime

To celebrate the release of Kirby Air Ride in Japan, a special Kirby DVD was released with a popular video gaming magazine. It had clips from episodes and different games, and also a short 'pilot anime' that seems to be an early form of the show. No information was given about it, and it was not narrated with any voice acting. It was done in a mix of 3D computer graphics and 2D animation, much like the current series.

It first shows Kirby in space, sleeping on his Warp Star which then crashes down onto a planet (presumably Pop Star). A young, yellow skinned girl in a tiara who resembles who would later be named Fumu (and even later be named Tiff) is the first to find him. The two soon become friends, but Dedede, likely to be the princess' angry father, also appears. He tries to get rid of Kirby with a series of weapons and pranks reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote, but each plot fails or backfires, leaving Kirby unharmed. Kirby then gives him a hot dog on a fork, completely unaware of what was going on, causing Dedede to start crying.

At the end, dark clouds appear along with animated versions of many Kirby game enemies, such as Dark Matter, Ice Dragon and Meta Knight. But Kirby quickly goes into battle, inhaling them to gain their powers. Though he doesn't gain his signature hats as with the current anime, he does gain their abilities. This is what happens in games like the original Kirby's Adventure, Kirby's Dream Land 2, Kirby's Dream Land 3, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, and Kirby Mass Attack. Kirby defeats them all, and he, Dedede, and Tiff are happy. All of a sudden, Nightmare appears and attacks the trio with an electric shock. Kirby wakes up on his Warp Star, only to find that his adventure was all a strange dream.

Game differences

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 only uses them as a basis, rather than following them exactly.

However, a little publicized fact is 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 Magazine, 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."

One of the largest differences from the games is how Kirby is changed to be a legendary Star Warrior fated to save Pop Star. In the games, he isn't described as being any kind of special soldier, nor are there any legends associated with him. (Star Warriors are a concept unique to the anime.)

Although it has always been hinted that Kirby is young, Kirby's age is lowered even more so he is only a baby, likely to act as an explanation for why he doesn't talk as Sakurai mandated. While many characters from the games appear, they are often changed slightly to better fit in.

Another major difference is how Dedede and Meta Knight lose certain abilities in the anime. Meta Knight is never shown with wings (although in the original test pilot [see above] he was shown as an enemy and has his wings) or flying abilities, and he is never seen without his mask on. Dedede is unable to float or inhale.

Another difference is the names Lololo and Lalala being replaced with Fololo and Falala in the english dub even though the english dub names weren't used in any of the games.

4Kids adaptation

The English dub often removed any visible text

The anime is a children's anime, targeted at young Japanese children from kindergarten to middle school. When adapted by 4Kids Productions and dubbed into English for North America, the anime was edited: content that was deemed inappropriate for American and Canadian audiences, including guns and alcoholic beverages, ended up cut out completely and some had to be changed to other non-offensive imagery. Some of the visible text, whether it was English, Japanese, or even gibberish, still had to be digitally removed. However, direct references to Japanese foods or culture (such as onigiri) were not removed, but rewritten for context. However, the Galaxy Soldier Army subplot was removed entirely, and all soldiers are referred to as Star Warriors.

The Japanese score was completely replaced with original music. The original Japanese score played a mass variety of music to fit the individual moods of each scene (relaxed, heroic, comedic, etc.), while the dub score songs still did fit the individual moods of each scene but in their own way, (The Mike Kirby scenes however played a song that reflected on how terrible Kirby's singing was rather than the song Kirby was singing). Some of the original sound effects were retained, while some of them were replaced with a new sound effect when, for instance, a sound effect could not be retained. Some of the sound effects in the original version were already in 4Kids' sound library.

A few of the characters' personalities, relationships, and speech patterns were changed for the English dub. For example, Meta Knight speaks using a Spanish accent to compliment his Zorro-like qualities; and King Dedede speaks using a Southern American dialect, while he originally spoke proper Japanese (albeit having a verbal tic, ending all sentences with "zoy"). Makiko Ōmoto's performance of Kirby is the only voice that was preserved in the English dub.

Some episodes aired differently from their original order, sometimes to put a holiday-themed episode closer to that holiday, or to advertise the latest merchandise products. For example, "A Novel Approach," which parodied the Harry Potter books, was aired in conjunction with one of the real books' release. One large and controversial move took episodes 96 and 97, "Crisis of the Warp Star" from the end of the series and aired them toward the middle to advertise the Kirby Air Ride game for the Nintendo GameCube. The episodes were placed in the original order for the Kirby: Fright to the Finish!! DVD of the final episodes.

Michael Haigney originally stated in an interview that the Fox Network would not let it air the episode "A Dental Dilemma" because it shows dentists in a bad light and could scare children (although it was meant to encourage children to brush their teeth and go to a dentist if they thought they had a cavity). This applied to all other countries that used the 4Kids dub as well. The episode did eventually get dubbed, but it was aired under a third season, along with some other episodes in the line-up.

Broadcast history

In Japan, the series has aired on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Co., Ltd. since October 6, 2001. It was licensed in North America by 4Kids Entertainment under the title Kirby: Right Back at Ya! and seen on 4Kids TV (formerly known as FoxBox). The North American version of the anime was distributed by 20th Century Fox, Nelvana Enterprises, and HAL Laboratory, Inc. It ended in Japan in 2003 with 100 episodes, and the series finished airing in late 2006 in the US.

The series began rebroadcasting in Japan on June 28, 2007 on the Tokyo Metropolitan Television station, then on June 21, 2008 in the US, Saturday mornings at 11am EST on 4Kids TV, and ended along with all other 4Kids TV shows on December 27, 2008. On June 6, 2009, Kirby, along with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward, rebroadcast in the US again, and aired at 7:30am EST on The CW4Kids. The series used to be seen on 4Kids's video on demand service and on www.4Kids.tv. However, the show was removed from the 4Kids TV website on October 2009. A moderator on the 4Kids forums states that 4Kids no longer holds the license. Since May 21, 2009, the Tokyo MX website has stated that the show has been removed from the air.

Since 2009, the series was available for streaming via the Everyone's Theater Channel for the Wii in Japan only, with each episode worth 100 Wii Points, but on April 30, 2012, Nintendo terminated broadcast of the Wii no Ma channel. On June 23, 2011, the show has made a comeback to Europe and Australian audiences on the Wii, for the first time as the Kirby TV Channel, which expired on December 15, 2011. This service also returns in April 2012, however, the same episodes will be available, rather than the other half. A special CG animated episode, titled "Take it Down!! The Crustation Demon Beast Ebizou" (倒せ!!甲殻魔獣エビゾウ, Taose!! Kōkaku Majū Ebizō) was released for the Wii no Ma service in Japan in August 2009. A stereoscopic 3D version of the episode was dubbed by 4Kids and streamed internationally in two parts on the Nintendo 3DS' Nintendo Video service during January and February 2012, under the title "Kirby 3D". With the release of Kirby's Dream Collection for Kirby's 20th anniversary, three complete episodes are available to watch on the Wii via that disc.

Characters

Main Article: see List of Kirby characters

Kirby

Main article: Kirby (character)

Kirby (カービィ, Kābī) is a young Star Warrior. He is spoken of in legend as Kirby of the Stars, because a Star Warrior's ship is designed to go wherever demon beasts are. Kirby's ship detected the creatures Dedede was ordering and he was awakened 200 years before schedule. Due to this early awakening he is still only a child.

Despite this, he readily fights for his friends. During battle, he shows great 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.

He does not speak much, only saying "poyo". Certain characters such as Kine and Meta Knight have acted as if they understand him and Kirby uses it quite expressively. 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 shouts out his attack names (Of course much of what he says is removed entirely in the English dub). Like Pikachu from Pokémon, Kirby also retains his original Japanese voice for the dubbed version, and is notable for being the only character who does so. However the dubbed version does also include some additional voice work for Kirby which was not present in the original Japanese.

Kirby often shows that he understands language- he simply doesn't have the motivation to reproduce it himself, though he has the ability. It was stated by Meta Knight that Kirby should have slept in his starship for 200 years, and because he was 'born' too early, he lacks knowledge and training.

The official explanation of why Kirby doesn't speak was that his creator Masahiro Sakurai did not want him to. Characters who don't speak are often created that way to be seen as more endearing and easier to relate to. There is also the "window for the gamer" factor- this is expressed more in Link of the Legend of Zelda series, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. Soji Yoshikawa cited examples such as Snoopy and the like, but said it was rather difficult to have a main character who didn't speak.

Tiff and Tuff

File:Tiff.jpg

Tiff

Main article: List of Kirby characters § Tiff and Tuff

Tiff (フーム, Fumu) is daughter of the Cabinet Minister, she has 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 short-tempered and definitely speaks her mind on things, especially when she thinks King Dedede is up to no good. Tiff is the only one who can summon Kirby's Warp Star when he is in danger. Meta Knight said that Kirby cannot keep it safe himself, so she can control it because she truly cares for him. She was not sure if Kirby was a real hero at first, but he quickly proved her wrong. They have a sort of mother/child or brother/sister relationship, and she's the character who most often treats him like the child he is, carrying him and holding his hand to lead him places. Tiff is voiced by Sayuri Yoshida in the Japanese version and by Kerry Williams in the 4Kids dub.

File:Tuff from the episode "Flower Power".jpg

Tuff

Tuff (ブン, Bun) is Tiff's little brother. He is in many ways her complete opposite, preferring to play outside rather than read books. He can be quite a troublemaker, even when he's really trying to help. Impetuous and always getting into mischief, such as pulling pranks and cracking jokes. He is now friends with Kirby, even though he gets jealous of him sometimes. He is voiced by Rika Komatsu in the Japanese version and by Kayzie Rogers in the 4Kids dub.

Meta Knight

Main article: Meta Knight

Meta Knight (メタナイト, Meta Naito)　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, and one of the only ones to survive the war with Nightmare. He is called the pride of the Galaxy Soldier Army, and is greatly respected. He carries the sacred sword Galaxia, which only a select few can wield.

Meta Knight appears as a sort of mentor, helping Kirby and others- though only when he absolutely has to. He is a rather strange person with many odd quirks. He has a habit of stating the obvious and appearing seemingly from nowhere, helping Kirby and his friends in times of need. He commonly stands on top of things: tables, statues, trees, rocks, etc. (Some have theorized he does it to compensate for his height.)

In the original, his voice actor is serious, with occasional random English thrown in, possibly in reference to Meta Knight being similar to English knights, with honor and valor. In the dub, he has a Spanish accent, possibly as reference to Zorro. He is the second strongest Star Warrior in the universe.

Meta Knight is the voiced by Atsushi Kisaichi in the Japanese Version and by Eric Stuart in the 4Kids dub.

King Dedede

Main article: List of Kirby characters § King Dedede

Kirby's archnemesis who seeks to destroy Kirby by any cost. He has ruled Dream Land for 300 years (Or, so he claims), and is still going strong, but is not regarded actually as a King. 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, despite the fact that he also threatens the children. He's actually harmless for the most part, but his intense dislike of Kirby compels him to purchase demon beasts from HolyNightMare Co. and cause mayhem for the people of Dream Land.

He loves buying new 'toys' and acts like a spoiled child, despite his age. He is often 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.

Escargoon

Main article: List of Kirby characters § Escargoon

Escargoon (エスカルゴン, Esukarugon), an anthropomorphic snail, lived with his mother on a farm before leaving to make it big. But despite the fact Escargoon is well educated, knowing a great deal about chemistry and electronics (even writing a book on botany), he’s been working for Dedede for many years as an assistant and punching bag. But it seems that he truly cares for the king and is always concerned for his welfare, despite the abuse he receives from him on a daily basis.

While Escargoon usually goes along with what Dedede wants and helps him with his schemes, he may actually be a nice guy at heart who only acts mean because he wants Dedede's approval.

He speaks politely in the original, in a sort of exaggerated way, but the dub made him far more openly sarcastic. His voice in the 4Kids dub is modeled after Paul Lynde. His name is a pun on both the foodstuff escargot and, in the dubbed version, the derogatory epithet "goon".

Customer Service

As the public face of Nightmare Enterprises, he handles much of the company's sales (and advertising) from the center of Nightmare's Fortress. In both the Japanese and English versions he can be quite sarcastic, and enjoys finding ways to make things difficult for King Dedede, although he is much more subtle about it in the original. In the English dub, he went through a drastic personality change; his persona is more that of the stereotypical "slimy used-car salesman," using a large amount of slang. In the original, his image is that of a polite Japanese salesperson, using a large amount of honorific language (even when he insults customers like Dedede). The English dub makes it seem like he wants nothing more but to defraud or swindle Dedede for every money amount he has, rather than actually helping him.

Much like Nightmare, Customer Service's full form is only seen in the final episodes, in which it is revealed that he only has top and a midsection. His midsection ends in two round-ish feet, and he is only a bit taller than Kirby. (For the entire series, save for episodes 64 and 100 though it's hard to notice, he is only shown from the waist up.)

His name is never mentioned in the dub, but the official English website lists his name as "Salesguy." He is voiced in the English dub by Dan Green.

Nightmare

Main article: List of Kirby characters § Nightmare

The main antagonist of the series and the president of Nightmare Enterprises. Nightmare only appears in the shadows for most of the series, his full form is only seen at the very end of the penultimate episode, and in the series finale. Very little is known about him or his origins, but as his name suggests, he is a living dream. He thrives on suffering, creating demon beasts to sell in his company and use in his armies to continue his conquest of the universe in order to bring himself more power. He also gives off the illusion of being invincible, since he can open his cloak and suck all attacks into the area where his stomach and chest should be.

Nightmare is most often referred to in the dub as eNeMeE (a pun on the word "enemy"). However, as he first appears in Kirby's Adventure in 1993 with the name Nightmare; this name is the most accurate.

Episodes

Main article: List of Kirby: Right Back at Ya! episodes

Theme Songs

Japanese

Openings:

• "Kirby * March" (カービィ★マーチ) (Episodes 1-71)
• "Kirby!" (カービィ!) (Episodes 72-100; Also used in the Japanese version of Donkey Konga)

Endings:

• "Kihon wa maru" (きほんはまる) (Episodes 1-71)
• "Kirby * Step!" (カービィ☆ステップ!) (Episodes 72-100)

English

• "Kirby Theme (Kirby Kirby Kirby!)" (Also used in the American version of Donkey Konga)

DVD

All North American DVD releases of Kirby: Right Back at Ya! were licensed by Funimation Entertainment.

• Kirby: Right Back at Ya! Volume 1: Kirby Comes to Cappytown (November 12, 2002)
• Kirby: Right Back at Ya! Volume 2: A Dark and Stormy Knight (January 7, 2003)
• Kirby: Right Back At Ya! Volume 3: Kirby's Egg-Cellent Adventure (November 4, 2003)
• Kirby: Fright to the Finish!! (June 14, 2005)
• Kirby's Adventures in Cappytown (February 19, 2008)
• Kirby: Cappy New Year & Other Kirby Adventures (December 9, 2008)

On May 6, 2010, the first 26 episodes were released on DVD in complete season format in Taiwan.

Reception

The dub as been claimed to be "a stab at educational value, but really all about fighting monsters" and "More pandering kiddy fluff from the Fox Box".

External links

• Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Company page about Hoshi no Kirby
• Kirby: Right Back at Ya! at IMDb
• Kirby: Right Back at Ya! at TV.com
• Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Kirby's Rainbow Resort Anime Section