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Kirby: Right Back At Ya!, known in Japan as 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.[1] 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 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,[2] and the series finished airing in 2006 in the US. The series began rebroadcasting in Japan as of June 28, 2007 on the Tokyo Metropolitan Television station.[3] As of June 21, 2008, Kirby began rebroadcasting in the US, Saturday mornings at 11am EST on 4Kids TV, and ended along with all other 4Kids TV shows on December 27, 2008. As of June 6, 2009, Kirby, along with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward, rebroadcasted in the US Again, and aired at 7:30am EST on The CW4Kids. The series used to be seen on 4Kids' Video On Demand service and on www.4Kids.TV. However, the show got removed from the 4Kids TV website on October 2009. A mod on the 4Kids forums states that 4Kids no longer holds the license.[4] The series has since been released in other languages, including Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Serbian and Korean, with the western dubs taking the adaptation from the 4Kids dub. As of 2009, the show is not airing anywhere in the entire world, including Japan, due to replacements of other shows.
[edit] PlotTens 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 demon beasts outnumbered them, and killed all.However, everyone is quite surprised when Kirby's ship crashes close to Pupupu Village (Cappy Town in the 4kids dub). They find he's tiny, round, pink, and a child. 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 mean 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. 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.[5] 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. [edit] DevelopmentProducer Soji Yoshikawa speaks in length about the challenges faced by the creators of the Kirby anime.[6] 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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] (About 10,000 frames are used in each episode, compared to the 4000-5000 used by most TV anime.) 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".[7] 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[8] 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. [edit] Characters[edit] Main characters
Main article: Kirby (character) Voiced by: Makiko Ōmoto
Main article: List of Kirby characters#King DeDeDe Voiced by: Ed Paul
Main article: List of Kirby characters#Tiff and Tuff
Main article: List of Kirby characters#Tiff and Tuff
Main article: List of Kirby characters#Meta Knight Voiced by: Eric Stuart
Main article: List of Kirby characters#Escargoon Voiced by: Ted Lewis
Voiced by: Maddie Blaustein
[edit] Minor charactersMain article: Kirby: Right Back at Ya! Minor Characters
The two are parents of Tiff and Tuff. They have the intelligence level as the rest of the cappies, going along with whatever King Dedede's schemes. Even though they are supposedly loyal to the King Dedede, as Sir Ebrum is the cabinet master, they really dislike King Dedede as much as the rest of the cappies.
King tree of Whispy Woods. He is a character in both the anime and games. He is a good guy with good intentions, but is easily tricked by King Dedede into believing Tiff, Tuff, and Kirby are the bad guys and ends up fighting them. Aside from that, though, they are on the same side, especially when it comes to ruining King Dedede's plans to chop down Whispy Woods and build a Royal Golf Course.
A very old tree, perhaps hundreds of years old, who is good friends with Whispy. Acore also serves as a home for some of the forest animals. He is usually sleeping and has only been awoken once in one episode.
A bird that comes to lay an egg every 100 years, according to Curio. She is not an average bird, as she is extremely large, and has blade-like feathers. She is also the mother to Dyna Baby. She was at first an enemy of Kirby, when Kirby, thinking nothing living was in it, tried to eat her egg; however, her baby hatched when he tried to cook it. Kirby showed kindness to the baby, and as soon as her mother found out he was all right, Dyna Blade and Kirby have been on good terms ever since.
The baby of Dyna Blade. Despite Kirby unknowingly trying to eat her while still in an egg, they are good friends and allies.
A very wise, oracle-like living rock that can see the future. His size and deep voice give him the oracle presence. In some ways, he resembles "The Deku Tree" from The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time. He exists in Kabu Canyon. He serves as not only an encyclopedia, but also as hideaway to Star Warriors, and other rocks just like him are spread throughout the universe for this reason. He also serves as the hiding spot for Kirby's warpstar, when it is not in use. No one is sure how he gets his extent of knowledge, however, we do know he got some of it from Meta Knight. His first appearance is in the first episode. In the Original, Kabu speaks as if speaking in a language foreign to him. In the 4kids dub, Kabu speaks calmly and has a voice slightly lower, and pronounces the "th" sound with a "d".
A fish that is a helper to Kirby. He once played a main role in an episode called "The Fish who once Loved Me.", in which he announces he has a crush on Tiff, much to her despair.
A woodpecker that lives in the eastern forest and makes its home in Acore.
They once used to be Fofa , one demon beast instead of two, but Customer Service had fofa cut into two because he was so useless and he could sell them separate for a higher profit. They ended up getting sold to King Dedede. When King Dedede found how useless they were as demon beasts, he gave them to the Cabinet Master and his wife as servants. They have been working with the family as kind servants and helpers, especially for Kirby, ever since a little after Fumu was born. They get along very well, and have aired on most episodes.
A hamster that helps Kirby on occasion, but is rarely seen. His home is in Whispy Woods, where he lives in Acore. He is also a helper in the games as well.
Two soldiers that are followers of Meta Knight. These two are always seen together making it hard to tell them apart if one is not familiar with the video games. Blade knight is the shorter one and has the silver sword while Sword knight is taller and has the gold sword. In the English version they both have Australian accents with Blade knight speaking in gibberish having little of what he says to be understood. They were once thieves until they were saved from wolf wrath/chillidog by Meta Knight. They often refer to Meta Knight as 'Sir' or 'Our Lord' and apparently seem to value his life over their own. They seem to have a tendency to operate like two halves of a whole when fighting since they can usually anticipate each other's moves. Blade Knight is some times referred to as Sword Knight's 'kid brother' by fans.
Tokkori is a yellow woodpecker that can be annoying and a troublemaker sometimes, but is still on Kirby's side-for the most part. At first when Kirby came, Tokkori was greatly annoyed with Kirby for taking his home away. (Kirby seems to enjoy sleeping in nests and sleeps in Tokkori's almost every night.) So he worked with King Dedede to help get rid of Kirby. When Kirby was looking for work in return for a place to stay, Tokkori allied with the king so the cappies would not take him in. It never worked though, because they finally built Kirby a home of his own. His house is white and rock shaped. But after all that, Kirby still prefers Tokkori's nest, so Tokkori now sleeps in Kirby's bed. After that, Tokkori became friends with Kirby, and even helps him on occasion. He is still not the friendliest bird, and can even be a pain.
Coo, again, is a helper for Kirby in both the anime and games. Coo shares the nest with Tokkori, but have only been seen together a couple of times. Like Rick, Coo is not seen much. He basically gives Kirby advise when he can, which again is rare, but mostly hangs with the other woodland animals.
Con is a fox, and Pon is a tanooki (a sub species of raccoon native to Japan, they have many legends surrounding them. The way the males are normally depicted however is unsuitable for a children's anime). They are always seen together, and make their home in Acore.
These two warthogs also are always seen together and are two of Acore's many tenants. They also appear as bosses for the Kirby's Dreamland series (in the games).
Don't confuse this shark with Knuckle Joe; they are entirely separate characters. Joe is an average shark, doing not much else besides cruising around, waiting for prey to fall in the ocean. He does have a good side, though, seeing as how he is friends with Kine and can be helpful when teaching King Dedede a lesson he will most likely forget.
An orange-skinned character that makes his living as a cook and restaurant owner. Kirby is usually the only customer he gets, because his food is considered lousy by everyone else. He shows up in many of episodes, though he is not much of a help. He does not know much besides cooking, and is not much smarter than King Dedede. He does star in two episodes, both having to do with his teacher coming to pupupu land. While Kawasaki certainly is not the brightest, he does occasionally help by throwing his pan for Kirby to inhale and get cooking ability.
An archeologist who in charge of a museum full of artifacts. His name comes from the Latin root meaning inquisitiveness. He spends much of his time piecing them together, mostly jars and vases, and figuring out the story behind each one. Unfortunately, his more delicate pieces are often crushed, due to the mayhem that goes on in the village. He sometimes goes on excavating expeditions as well, where he works hard to dig up as much as he can with the help of Tiff, who is also somewhat interested in archeology. Even though Curio seems to have more intelligence than the rest of the cappies, due to his scientific occupation, he is still just as gullible, and easily falls for King Dedede's schemes.
A cappy who serves as a bartender. Samo is in love with Mabel, and makes it pretty obvious. He is always looking for ways to make her reputation better. His tactics may not work, but Mabel does not really care.
Cappy Town's only fortuneteller. Her fortunes never come true unless Samo sets it up to make them look like they do. She serves more as a counselor, and says so herself. She listens to the cappies' problems and gives them her advice. Sometimes, she will even try to influence King Dedede to help the town, though it does not work so well. She does play a main role in the episodes "The Prediction Predicament, Parts 1 and 2". One of the predictions she makes up is about the Phantom Star crashing into Pop Star that actually comes true, thanks to HolyNightMare Co. It is clear that Samo loves her. What is unclear is if she loves him back or not. Either way they seem to have a friendly relationship, though a lot of it is foggy.
Chief of the police station, who basically just keeps an eye on his one prisoner, Doron. Aside from that, Chief Bookem does not have much of a role. He helps when he can, but of course its mostly Kirby that does the crime-fighting in this village. He lives in the police station with his wife Buttercup.
Chief Bookem's one and only prisoner, keeping him in business. Compared to King Dedede, he is a small trouble maker, committing smaller crimes such as shoplifting. His home is his jail cell, and could get out in no problem. His name is a pun of the Japanese word for thief.
The wife of Chief Bookem. She loves him because he always does his best, even though he was never in the army like he once claimed, and also likes to keep her home neat.
The Mayor really does not have much say in what goes on, since King Dedede always controls everything. But he does keep an eye on things if he suspects something, though is not nearly as clever as Meta Knight or Tiff. He also has a flock of sheep, herded by a hired shepherd. The sheep actually had their spotlight in one episode where a sheep named Amon (Japanese original, named 'Bad Sheep' in the dub) had turned into a demon beast because of all the hate he had for cappies, rooted from when they once tried to eat him and a decision to live as a wolf. He escaped and attempted to free the other sheep. Despite this, Mayor Len does care for his sheep, and was appalled when he found his sheep had been eaten by a beast called Octokon. He also owns the only car in town besides King Dedede's.
Cappy Town's doctor, one of the few that is not a cappy. He is very rarely seen, but when he is, he is helping the others recover from illnesses, mostly due to King Dedede's meddling.
The Mayor's wife, also a cappy. She once "helped" him in a Cappy Town race. She is very kind and soft-spoken most of the time, unless her husband makes a stupid mistake like forgetting their wedding anniversary. She also likes to keep her home clean, but does enjoy it when someone else will do the work for her. She spends a lot of time chatting with other women in town. Her name also means flower in Japanese.
A cappy who is in charge of the gas station. He helps in car races, and does not get much business since the only Mayor Len and King Dedede own cars. But if it is him who fixes the king's car every time it got damaged, he may be a lot busier than it seems. He was once a biker member of Fang's motorcycle gang until Fang was bested by Steppenwolf once, who, surprisingly, left Gus alone, while also telling him that riding bikes is about freedom rather than breaking rules and causing trouble. Since then, Gus swore to never ride a bike again.
He runs the grocery store in town, one of the few places that have a steady stream of business. He will sometimes team up with Gengu to create new ideas for products. Tago also lets Kirby eat the leftover food, like all the other cappies.
Gengu runs the toy store. He sometimes teams up with Tago. His name in Japanese (Gangu) means toy.
An elderly mailman, probably the oldest in Cappy Town. His memory still appears to be sharp, though, since he can find his way easily for deliveries. He even went into Wispy Woods, a place someone is guaranteed to get lost, to deliver mail once.
Iroo, Hohhe, and Honey are all children cappies. The are all friends with each other and with Kirby. They are often seen playing together, or listening to one of Fumu's stories or teachings. They are also considerably less gullible than the adults in Cappytown. Iroo and Honey seem to have crushes on each other, as they were found clinging together while walking through a scary part of the forest in episode 45.
A bookstore owner in Cappy Town, also a cappy. His name matches his business well, as his name means book in Greek.
An army of elite warriors with soldiers as the lowest rank and Knights (led by Sir Arthur) as the highest rank. The only members with very notable mentions are Garlude (Silica's Mother), Dakyono(a drill sergeant who lives on a lone island) Sir Arthur, Sir Falspar, Sir Dragato, Sir Noisurat, Knuckle Joe's father (His popular fan made name is Jecra) and of course, Sir Meta Knight. Yamikage(Head of the Ninjas, turned evil and joined Nightmare) was a star warrior of the ninjas' special unit at one point. [edit] Guest charactersMain article: Hoshi no Kaabii Guest Characters Cook Oosaka A world-famous cook with loads of skill. He also has served as a teacher to Kawasaki. The first time he appeared he himself didn't appear at all- it was the demon beast Popon disguised as him, and was sent to eat Kirby. Knuckle Joe He first came to Popstar seeking revenge on the star warrior that killed his father. At first he thought it was Kirby and beat him up, but then Meta Knight confronted him and told him the truth. Meta Knight and his father were good friends, but then his father got captured and turned into a demon beast, and he was forced to kill him. When Knuckle Joe realized that his anger had turned him into a demon beast, he stopped fighting Kirby and he became normal. Once he even tricked Nightmare's company into hiring him so he could sell the strongest demon beast, Masher, to King Dedede then team up with Kirby to defeat Masher. Knuckle Joe also claims to be older than he looks, saying he's an adult. He demonstrates it through his fighting, and when you put him and Kirby together they make an unstoppable team. Kirby can become Fighter Kirbyby inhaling Knuckle Joes 'Smash Punch' move, this ability allows Kirby to gain all of Knuckle Joe's moves. Knuckle Joe's Father (Fan made name: Jecra) Meta Knight's fellow friend and star warrior, these two fought side by side in the Galaxy Soldier Army (GSA) in the fight against Nightmare. Unfortunately he was turned into a demon beast when captured, and Meta Knight was forced to kill him. His love for his son kept him from completely surrendering to Nightmare though, and right before he died he entrusted Meta Knight with his locket that had a picture of his infant son and a hidden chip. Princess Rona/Commander Vee Princess of the planet Pipi, she came to Popstar, disguising herself as her own guard and calling herself Vee. She hated the life of a princess, thinking it was dull, and the fact that she would soon be crowned queen didn't lighten her situation. Her personality is adventurous and outgoing, not the typical image of a princess. Even still, she knows her duty to her planet and the people in it. Her true form was first discovered by Tiff, Tuff, and Kirby when her helmet fell off and her hair and royal necklace appeared. Furthermore, it was discovered that she possessed the Holy Sword of Edymion, a mystical weapon that could save the land. They kept it a secret for her sake. Meanwhile, King Dedede was proposing to the false princess, the actual guard, but Rona found out and stopped him. When King Dedede challenged him to a duel, which Rona accepted. With the help of Kirby, she beat the demon beast Susshi. In the end, everyone found out who she really was, then returned home with her grandfather. False Princess Rona Princess Rona and her guard swapped places. She is actually her guard, and Vee is actually the princess. She was rather boring to everyone there, crushing Tuff's hopes of what he thought her to be. All she could say was "That's very gracious of you." So she wouldn't speak offensively. Sirica (Silica) A white-skinned, white-haired, shade-of-light-purple girl who strikingly resembles Tiff, save for the brown boots and gloves with yellow orbs on them, an orange sleeveless jumpsuit, a green plate she wears over her chest and shoulders, her hair held back by a long green ribbon resembling fighter kirby, meaner-looking blue eyes with purplish blue irises, and rosy pink cheeks. She carries around with her a mechanical weapon appearing to be manufactured by Nightmare Enterprises that can transform into a flamethrower, a grappling hook, a bazooka, a machine gun, and a sword. She first came to Popstar attempting to steal Galaxia from Meta Knight, accusing him of leaving her mother Garlude to die by Kirisakin's hands. But she eventually learned the truth of her mother and Galaxia and in the end helped Kirby and company to defeat Kirisakin. With that, peace came between Sirica and Meta Knight, and she left on her ship and later returned with Knuckle Joe, Sir Arthur and his knights to have stolen three Destrayers and help Kirby and the gang enter Nightmare's fortress and battle Nightmare from within the Halberd. Sirica can be considered a female version of Knuckle Joe because her temper is just as bad, in addition to her rude, violent, and impulsive demeanor. Like Joe, violence is Sirica's answer to everything, and she has a penchant for generally causing chaos and mayhem. She is voiced by Veronica Taylor. She is often considered Joe's female equivalent as they both had Star Warriors as parents, they both sought revenge for their dead parents on Sir Meta Knight, and both are stubborn and tend to, 'Strike first, ask questions later' Garlude Sirica's mother, a light purple-skinned woman dressed in a light blue dress, brown boots, a pink plate that she wears over her chest and shoulders similarly to Sirica, light green gloves, magenta pupils, her eyelids dyed orange, a gold tiara with light blue jewelry on it, and her hair made into a ponytail. She teamed up with Meta Knight as they went on a mission to reclaim the sacred sword Galaxia, which had apparently been stolen by Kirisakin. Making the ultimate sacrifice, Garlude was able to successfully accomplish their mission, prying the sword from the ground and tossing it to Meta Knight (as she knew Meta Knight should be Galaxia's chosen one, after which she was right) before getting killed from behind by the great beast. Claiming Galaxia as his own, Meta Knight fought against the beast to try and save her. Years later, when Sirica came to Dream Land, she believed that Meta Knight stole Galaxia for himself and left her mother to die by Kirisakin's hands alone, but was eventually proven wrong by Galaxia. Photron (Photoron) Photron is an ancient fire race that forged Galaxia years when the universe was young, after which the sword was stolen by Kirisakin and hidden in a dark cave. The sword took them many years to make. Interestingly, the Japanese version knows Photron as the race of light. Seeing as how Nightmare goes around calling himself the Emperor of Darkness, both Photron and Nightmare could be seen as foils to one another. Sgt. Kit Cosmos (Dakonyo) A round, harry soldier with human hands and feet. Dakonyo is one of the last star warriors, stranded on a desert island. Unfortunately, he had been stranded there for so long, he didn't realize that the war was over. Once Kirby, Tiff, Tuff, Lololo and Lalala arrived at the island, he attacked, thinking they were enemies siding with Nightmare at first. When he found out otherwise, he immediately had them start training, showing them the ways of the battle field. Even despite his age, he still commits himself to the protection of others. Benikage His name means "Crimson Shadow". Benikage is a ninja in training. He showed up in town trying to take back a scroll Curio had found, which was his failing report card. The scroll had sparked everyone's interest, and soon everyone started acting like ninjas just for the fun of it. This kid has good intentions, but is just as good of a ninja as Kawasaki is as a chef. Nevertheless, his pride caused him to challenge Yamikage, an expert ninja, who became a traitor and turned into a monster. However Kirby helped him, and Yamikage left, swearing revenge on Kirby and Meta Kight someday. Benikage also left, continuing his journey to improve his ninja skills. Escargon's Mother (Escargoon's Mother in the 4kids dub) The complete opposite of Escargoon, save for appearance, she is a sweet and kind lady with a good sense of humor. She wears a green dress with an orange scarf and glasses. Otherwise, she looks exactly like Escargoon, except for a few face wrinkles that is. She appeared in an episode where she went to visit her son, who unfortunately lied telling her that he was the king of Dreamland. Even when she found out that Escargoon had lied to her, she didn't mind, she was proud of him as much as she had always been and loved him just the same. Aliens Three intergalactic garbage men who mistook Popstar as a universal dumping ground. They poured tremendous amounts of trash everywhere for a few days, until they were caught in the act anyway. Then Tiff explained that Popstar was inhabited by people and they could not dump their trash there legally. They apalogized and cleaned it up once they realized their mistake, but since they apparently didn't have anywhere else to dump the trash, they burned it up by dumping it in Popstar's atmosphere. Tourists These characters arrived in Dream Land when King Dedede morphed Dream Land into a tourist trap, following yet another one of his get-rich-quick plans. Soon they infiltrated Cappy Town became a huge nuisance to everyone there. When they weren't constantly jabbering or taking pictures, they were destroying anything they could get their hands on. They finally left when they decided Dream Land was a bore, as it took a fight between Kirby and the monster Flame Feeder to keep them entertained. Some fans believe they are meant to represtent Americans, but this has yet to be confermed as truth. Parent Whale and Child Whale Everyone was awestruck when a baby whale came into Dreamland's harbor. This, of course, resulted in King Dedede wanting a boat so he could go whale watching. Then, he found his interest in whaling. King Dedede's boat ends up being swallowed by the Child Whale, and everyone realizes that the whale's stomach is trash riden. When they help to clean it out, though, King Dedede soon threw everything into chaos, yet again, by turning the whale into his own submarine. Sir Arthur, Sir Falspar, Sir Noisurat, & Sir Dragato Four of the last remaining Star Warriors, these four first had a cameo appearance in the two-part Snack Attack episode as mini-figures, and afterwards appeared for real in the final episodes, teaming up with Sirica and Knuckle Joe as they raided Nightmare's fortress and stole three Destrayers, one for Knuckle Joe and Sirica each and the last one for all four knights, which they piloted to help the Halberd crew challenge Nightmare. Sir Arthur is the leader of the Galaxy Soldier Army; other than that, there isn't really much else to say about him and his knights, but interestingly enough, they do look similar in appearance to Meta Knight. Pengi The Pengi are small creatures that represent penguins and bare a striking resemblance to King Dedede. They used to live happily in the arctic until the snow melted and the ice broke; then they began traveling on an iceberg in search of land suitable to live in. They soon arrived at Dreamland and covered it with snow. Though the townspeople trusted the Pengi at first, it didn't take them long to figure out that the Pengi had something to do with their winter-wonder-land. The pengi didn't give up without a fight, however, because they wanted revenge. They blamed the townspeople for causing global warming and melting their home. [edit] Villains
Main article: List of Kirby characters#Nightmare
[edit] EpisodesMain article: List of Kirby: Right Back at Ya! episodes [edit] Satire and parodyWhile 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 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. 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 former American president George W. Bush by having the main villain Dedede make comments about 'Axis of Evil' and 'Weapons of Mass "DeDeDestruction"'.[10] 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. [edit] Game differencesThere 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."[11] 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 origial 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 enemies. [edit] Pilot animeTo 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 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, and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. 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. [edit] Changes made in the 4Kids versionThe anime is a kodomo anime, or an anime targeted at young Japanese children from kindergarten to middle school. It was made for 6-14 year-olds. This makes it as a children's anime from Japan. But as with the majority of other 4kids productions, the show is severely heavily-edited, and there were several changes made to the English-language versions of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!. Some are big and some are small, but they were made to target a general audience rather than just children. Characters were altered to be almost unrecognizable, all the music score and sound effects are completely different (just like in the 4Kids Yu-Gi-Oh! Dub), and even the animation went through several changes.
''But now, Kirby Right Back At Ya is back on the air!'' Kirby Right Back At Ya can now be seen on The CW4Kids every Saturday at 7:30.
[edit] Home Video ReleaseFunimation Entertainment is the main DVD license to the 4Kids dub of Kirby: Right Back at Ya! All those DVDs show the edited TV dub version only. There are no uncut DVDs, as are 4Kids' standards. Kirby Right Back At Ya!, was released onto 3 volumes each containing 3 episodes: Kirby: Right Back at Ya! Volume 1: Kirby Comes to Cappytown (EPS, 1-3) (Released:11-12-02) The Final Four Episodes were released in a movie format: Recently the series appears to be coming out on new sets: Kirby's Adventures in Cappytown (Eps, 1-7) (Released:2-19-08) Magna Pacific will release the 4Kids adaptations on Edited DVDs in Australia. However, "Kirby, Right back at Ya" stopped showing any more on CW4Kids by August 2009. Instead, it has been replaced with extra time of other shows. Even so, the CW4kids showed the Fright to the Finish-Movie on September 12, 2009. [edit] Cast list
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Categories: Anime series | 2002 television series debuts | 2006 television series endings | Action anime and manga | Animated series based on video games | Anime of 2001 | Kodomo anime and manga | Comedy anime and manga | Fantasy anime and manga | Fox network shows | Kirby | Funimation Entertainment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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