Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, known in Japan as Hoshi no Kirby (星のカービィ, Hoshi no Kābī, lit. "Kirby of the Stars"), 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.[1]
The show is about the adventures Kirby has with his friends after he crash lands on the planet Pop Star, in the country of Dream Land. Kirby is actually a legendary Star Warrior destined to save the planet from destruction by the evil Nightmare. The greedy ruler of Dream Land, King Dedede, orders up fearsome monsters from Nightmare's company, Nightmare Enterprises. He uses them to attack Kirby and the people of Dream Land, but Kirby uses his signature abilities to inhale and copy an enemy's power to save the day.
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 timeline. Being mainly self-contained, it can be easier for those unfamiliar with the game series to understand it.
The series is rife with satire and parody, some of it self-referential in nature. Homages to old movies are common, as are references to modern popular culture, politics and news events, so adults as well as children can find aspects they can relate to and enjoy.
Tens of thousands of years ago, a being known as Nightmare appeared and created a company called Nightmare Enterprises. 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 monsters outnumbered them, and killed all but a few.
The story tells how this great evil threatens the peaceful country of Dream Land on the planet Pop Star. It seems Pop Star 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 Cappytown (Pupu Village). They find he's tiny, round, pink, and only a baby! 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, or sometimes outright kill Kirby with creatures and machines 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, transforming into forms such as Fire Kirby with the ability to spit flames, or Sword Kirby to literally slice foes into pieces.
The series deals with the day-to-day trials Kirby faces, and how he 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. [3]
Development
Producer Soji Yoshikawa speaks in length about the challenges faced by the creators of the Kirby anime. [4] He expressed worry 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.
The series boasts very smooth animation that combines 3DCG with traditional 2D drawings. Because of this, the animators were able to use a much higher framerate than most TV anime, anywhere from 1.5-3X more on average. (About 10,000 frames are used in each episode, compared to the 4000-5000 used by most TV anime.) That along with the character designs gives the series a feeling more like an American-style cartoon.
The main concern was to have as much movement as possible, as Japanese animation has come to rely on shortcuts to reduce production costs. The success becomes apparent upon watching, as the character animations are fluid and there is a low incidence of stock footage or still frame. Despite being such a long series, there is also no degradation of the animation quality towards the end.
Nintendo had big plans for releasing the series in the US, putting $10 million dollars into an advertising campaign to make Kirby "the next Pikachu".[5] Kirby has enjoyed high levels of popularity and financial success in Japan, selling a wide range of merchandise, but Nintendo's efforts in the US appear to have failed, judging by comparatively lackluster reviews and TV ratings[6] the series received there. The official websites spoke much about Kirby toys and other merchandise, but almost nothing was actually released outside of the DVDs. It is unknown if Kirby merely doesn't appeal to the average US consumer, if poor localization of the series is to blame, or some other combination of factors is to blame.
Kirby is a young Star Warrior. He is spoken of in legend as Kirby of the Stars. However, Kirby himself is a creation of Nightmare- but he was considered a failure. No one knows for sure what happened afterwards, or how Kirby ended up in the starship that he crashes on Pop Star in. Because a Star Warrior's ship is designed to go wherever monsters are, Kirby's ship detected the creatures Dedede was ordering and he was awakened 200 years before schedule. Because of this, he is still only a baby.[7]
Despite this, he can still fight and will readily protect his friends. 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 he does not speak much, only saying a nonsense word "poyo." (Although certain characters such as Kine and Meta Knight have acted as if they understand him, 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 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.
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
File:Fumuandbun.jpgTwo of the main characters and Kirby's biggest supporters, Tiff and her brother Tuff
The 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 very bad-tempered and definitely speaks her mind on things, especially when she thinks King Dedede is up to no good. The English dub Tiff is pretty much like her original counterpart,only except the English dub has her shouting alot more than she does in the original.
Tiff is the only one who can summon Kirby's Warpstar 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'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, he is now friends with Kirby, even though he gets jealous of him sometimes.
He’s ruled Pupupuland for 300 years (so he claims), 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, but his intense dislike of Kirby compels to purchase monsters from Nightmare Enterprises and cause mayhem for the people of Dream Land.
He loves buying new 'toys' and 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. (like in the De-appreciation-day episode where he played a prank on Kirby which blew him up which made Dedede upset that he thought he almost killed Kirby)
King Dedede speaks with a Midwestern U.S. accent in the American version of the show like Foghorn Leghorn from Looney Tunes
Escargoon, an anthropomorphicsnail, lived with his mother on a farm before leaving to make it big. But despite the fact Escargon 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.
Escargoon speaks politely in the original, in a sort of exaggerated way, but the dub made him far more openly sarcastic.
His name is a pun on both the foodstuff escargot and, in the dubbed version, the derogatory epithet "goon".
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 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 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, but in the anime he generally keeps it firmly wrapped around him.
The main antagonist of the series and the president of Nightmare Enterprises (NME). Nightmare only appears in the shadows for most of the series, his full form only seen in the series finale. Very little is known about him or his origins, but as his name suggests, he is a dream. He thrives on suffering, creating monsters to sell in his company and use in his armies to continue his conquest of the universe in order to bring himself more power.
Nightmare is most often referred to in the dub as 'eNeMeE' (pronounced 'enemy'). However, as he first appears in Kirby's Adventure in 1993 with the name Nightmare, this name is the most accurate.
Customer Service
As the public face of NME, 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. In the English dub, 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 rip-off or swindle Dedede for every cent he has, rather than actually helping him.
He is never given a name in the English dub, but the official site calls him the 'N.M.E. Frontman', or just 'Frontman' and a common fan nickname is 'Salesguy'.
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 mid-section. His mid-section ends in two round-ish feet, and he is only a bit taller than Kirby. (For the entire series, save for the last episode, he is only shown from the waist up.)
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 "DeDeDestruction"'. [8]
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- which while a breath of fresh air for many, is an annoyance for others.
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."[9]
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.)
Kirby's age is changed 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.
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 no 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 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.
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 Kirby's Dreamland 2, Kirby's Dreamland 3, and Kirby 64. Kirby defeats them all, and he, Dedede, and the girl are happy. All of a sudden, a looming figure similar to 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 dream.
Changes made in the 4Kids Version
As with the majority of other 4kids productions, there were several changes made to the English-language versions of Kirby: Right Back at Ya! which have attracted critical reaction among Kirby fans.
Plot
Some plot aspects are changed or removed entirely. The Star Warriors are kept in both versions, but the dub removes all mention of the Galaxy Soldier Army and instead calls nearly every soldier a Star Warrior. The GSA is originally a more prominent and common group while Star Warriors are considered legendary and far more rare. [10]
Other details are changed, such as certain character relationships, personalities and motivations.
Scenes considered inappropriate for children are cut, such as Kirby accidentally firing a gun in Episode Two, or working in a bar. Some scenes with higher-than-usual violence levels are cut, as is a scene in a later episode that depicts Dedede burning books. Also, scenes with bathroom humor were cut. The scene when Bibli, the owner of the town's bookstore, is using the restroom in episode 96 is removed. Other scenes that do not appear to contain offensive material were cut for unknown reasons. (Though it may be because of time constraints, as US TV shows have to show more commercial breaks.)
Music and Sound
As with all their other properties, 4Kids replaced all the background music of the series with synthesized themes they create (even recycling tracks from their other anime dubs). Many Kirby fans (including Anime fans in general) criticize their music replacements as sounding too generic and not fitting the themes of the shows they use them in. The Japanese version has original music and remixed versions of songs from the Kirby games like 'Castle Lololo' and 'Green Greens' from Kirby's Dream Land for the original Game Boy.
Even all the Japanese sound effects were removed and replaced with some different familiar American sound effects (as Heard in many american Cartoons like Looney Tunes or the Flintstones) as well.
All voices but Kirby's voice were changed. Many of them make large departures from how the original characters sounded. In the dubbed version, King Dedede has a Southern or Texan accent and often misuses words and 'comits' Bushism to make him sound dumber. There is much more focus on making fun of his intelligence and weight. In the Japanese version, King Dedede speaks correct Japanese, and is usually teased for being old such as Knuckle Joe refering to Dedede as 'jii-san' which means 'gramps', 'grandpa', or 'old man'.
Sir Meta Knight is given a Spanish accent, possibly because of similarities to masked heroes like Zorro or because of a rather Spanish-sounding guitar fanfare that plays when he appears at times, which has now been replaced with a faster version of the song. Many characters that have high-pitched or young sounding voices in the original, such as Waddle Doo, Knuckle Joe, Sword Knight and Blade Knight, are given deep, gruff voices and accents in the dub.
Even characters that do not speak, such as the sheep and other animals, are dubbed over in the 4Kids version.
A comparison to show a removal of English text in the 4Kids dub
Visuals
The usual text edits are performed as well. Despite nearly all the visible text on the show being English, English and Japanese language characters alike are airbrushed out or replaced with meaningless symbols. Even the made-up language used in the original, Pupupumoji, despite being unreadable without knowledge on how to decode it, is also replaced.
Dedede's jeep in the first 35 episodes of the series was originally camouflage in color, but is changed to orange and yellow, probably to avoid offending veterans.
Episode Removal/Reordering
Four episodes of the original hundred were not shown at first in the dub. However, as of September 2006, 4Kids decided to dub them and air them as a 'new season'. Episode 17, 'The Ring Story of Parm and Memu', was aired as the first of 'lost' episodes, dubbed as episode 94 'The Thing About the Ring'. Episode 32, 'A Ridiculous Toothless Story' aired as 'A Dental Dilemma', and episode 94, 'Escaped Demon Beast Phanphan' aired as 'The Cowardly Creature.'
There was one other cut episode, Episode 95 'Devil Kirby', which at first was shown to air as 'Frog Wild' on Nov. 4th, but had vanished from the TV listings in favor of Yu-Gi-Oh!, but a last-minute schedule change made Chaotic vanish instead. 4kids has aired the final five episodes, released in 2005 as the DVD movie Fright to the Finish on television as the end of the 'new season' .
Michael Haigney has said in an interview [11] that the Fox Network wouldn't let them air episode 32 originally because it shows dentists in a bad light and could scare children. This episode aired on September 23rd, and was actually completely uncut.
Episodes are often mixed around, sometimes to put a holiday themed episode closer to that holiday. Episodes were also mixed around to advertise the latest merchandise products like taking the Harry Potter Parody episode to air it on the same day as the newest release of a new Harry Potter Book. 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 proper order on the Fright to the Finish DVD of the final episodes.
