Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

Kirby: Right Back At Ya

Who thought that Kirby would get one of the best video game adaptation, and animated series of all time?

Genre:	Comedy Fantasy Action Adventure
Running Time:	20 minutes
Country:	Japan
Release Date:	JP: October 6, 2001 – September 27, 2003 NA: 2002–2006 FR: 2003
Network(s):	CBC TBS Kids Station Tokyo MX Teletoon Pop Fox 4Kids
Created by:	Masahiro Sakurai
Distributed by:	4Kids Entertainment
Starring:	Makiko Ohmoto Sayuri Yoshida Rika Komatsu Kenichi Ogata Naoki Tatsuta
Seasons:	35
Episodes:	100 (+ 1 specials)

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, known in Japan as Hoshi no Kābī (星のカービィ, Kirby of the Stars) is an anime series based on the Kirby franchise. The series was produced by Warpstar Inc., a company formed between a joint investment between Nintendo and HAL Laboratory, Inc.

Plot

The series is about the adventures of Kirby and his friends after his Starship crash-lands on Planet Popstar, in the country of Dream Land. In this series, Kirby is a legendary Star Warrior destined to save Dream Land from destruction by eNeMeE. King Dedede, the ruler of Dream Land, wants to drive Kirby away, and orders up fearsome monsters from eNeMeE's company, Nightmare Enterprises. The monsters usually end up attacking Kirby and the people of Dream Land, but Kirby and friends always save the day.

Kirby: Right Back at Ya! uses the characters and concepts from the preceding game series as a basis rather than copying the games' events and lore word-for-word. It is best viewed as an alternate universe, having no direct connection to timeline of the events in the games. Being self-contained, it is easier for those unfamiliar with the game series to understand it.

The series is rifled with satire and parody, some of it being self-referential in nature. Homages to old movies are common, as are references to modern popular culture, politics and news events.

Why It's Coming Right Back At Ya

The 2D animation is awesome for the times, even by 2001 standards, as it's had little to no errors in most episodes, much like Sonic X. In fact, it's had some of the best 2D animation for the time, and looks better than some shows of this day.
- Likewise, the 3D animation is also pretty decent, despite not being as great as the 2D animations in this anime.
Despite the obvious censorship to make it more kid-friendly during the transition from east to west, it actually ended up being one of the best and most successful 4Kids dubs, far better than the 4Kids dub of One Piece, to say the very least, with all 100 episodes being dubbed.
The voice acting is great in almost all regions; Ted Lewis as King Dedede and Escargoon's voices in the 4Kids dub are hilariously over the top, fitting their characters in this regard, as well as Dan Green's amazing performance as the NME Sales Guy.
- The English voice acting is really good, with some great voices cast from some characters such as King Dedede and Escargoon, as said above.
- The original Japanese version is also great, and a lot of characters have the best voice in the Japanese release of the anime, such as Kirby, who has a slightly different voice in the English and French dubs, Tiff, and Meta Knight.
- The French dub, while not as great as the English and Japanese dubs, is still pretty decent, with voices that fit most characters, excluding the 3D special, which had an awful French dub compared to the real series. Despite that, unfortunately, this series was a failure in France, and it's only had 52 episodes dubbed, see BQ #3).
Great art style that matches the Kirby games, as it's very detailed and colorful.
Unlike other shows that are based on a video game, this show is very faithful to the Kirby games, despite a few changes.
The entire soundtrack, regardless of which version, is really good.
- The Japanese version has the best soundtrack out of them, as most of them fit a lot of scenes and are fitting for scenes that want to be funny.
  - Unlike the international version of the soundtrack, the Japanese version actually has some songs that come from the games themselves, and they are nice as always.
- The international version of the soundtrack, while not as good as the original Japanese version, is still very catchy and great, although unfortunately, it's removed all of the music that is or is a reference to the Kirby games.
Not only do most of Kirby's well-known copy abilities return (including Fire Kirby, Stone Kirby, and Sword Kirby), but new ones are also introduced in the show, such as Water Kirby, which makes this anime have new things to introduce to the franchise to keep it fresh.
Many likable characters, such as:
- Kirby, as always, is kind to others and is as adorable as he is in the games, if not even more so here, especially when he said his catchphrase, POYO.
  - He also sometimes said his friend's name, meaning that he was trying to speak (despite the fact that he still couldn't fully talk); unfortunately, he didn't say any of them for most parts of the French dub.
- Meta Knight is also likable, especially in the latter episodes, as he helps Kirby most of the time and is less out of character than he can sometimes be in the Kirby games. He is also a funny character for this anime and, most importantly, an excellent fighter, as we can see in some episodes.
- Kawasaki is also very likable and has barely any moments where he is unlikable, as he is trying his best for cocking and we can see that he cares for Kirby, such as in the scene where he has to cook Kirby, but he actually doesn't really cock Kirby, as he is still alive after that moment.
- King Dedede is also likable on many occasions, despite the fact that he has a lot of moments where he is unlikable (although not as much as Tokkori; see BQ #4 for more details about him). He is also one of, if not the most heroic character of the entire series, and he can be funny in many episodes (except Shell-Shocked).
- Tiff is also likable and is considered to be the smartest character of the show, and she is also the one who cares for Kirby the most, thus making her the only one who can be called the warp star. Despite the fact that she appears only in this show, she is somewhat of a popular character in the Kirby franchise, much like Tuff.
- Tuff is also likable and has funny moments; he is the opposite of his sister, as he is mostly immature but still likable, unlike other characters who are immature; he is also a good friend to Kirby, as we can see him caring for Kirby, although not as much as Tiff does.
- Escargoon is a very hilarous character and ended up being a popular character of the franchise. Despite his appearance only in Kirby Mass Attack outside of the anime, he's also as likable and hilarous as Dedede for the most parts. Despite that, he's still trying to make trouble, but not as much as Dedede does.
- The characters are also surprisingly three-dimensional as well (or at least way more than just one-dimensional).
The intro theme song is very catchy and even funny, especially in the French and English dubs. The Japanese intro theme song is also pretty catchy.
- As catchy as the original Japanese theme song is, the 1930s-style theme song for its 4Kids dub is even catchier, which really fits its comedic tone.
The anime has inspired things to later be included in some games, such as the aforementioned Water Kirby being implemented in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, and has even included cameos of characters who were from the anime.
- To make everything even better, the water Kirby ability is surprisingly extremely fun to use, despite being overpowered.
Much like some shows such as the 1979 series of Doraemon along with its 2005 series , Bluey and most Ben 10 series, it doesn't matter how old you are; you can still watch this show without being ashamed.
The song "Dedede: Comin' at Ya!" is an extremely funny take on the show's theme song, which became an internet meme.
The show has lots of humorous moments but isn’t lacking in emotional and/or heartwarming moments.
- A funny moment comes from the episode The Hot Shot Chef, where King Dedede and Escargoon are forced to eat Kawasaki's Toxic Atomic Curry for their actions, resulting in them catching on fire at the highest level of spiciness and being cartoonishly reduced to piles of ash.
- Or another one in episode 16 where Kirby was in the water and Ken found a way to try to live with Tiff, causing the latter to be angry at Kirby, which makes for an extremely funny ending considering how much Ken crushes on Tiff.
Some of the moments, and even episodes, can be surprisingly dark and mature without resorting to changing to a grimdark tone like in Berserk.
There were a lot of good and memorable episodes:
- The first episode, "Kirby Comes to Cappy Town/Deta! Pinku no Hōmonsha," is a pretty good way to start off the series and introduce ourselves to the new cast.
- The last episode called "Fright to the Finish" was a great way to wrap up the series, anti-climactic defeat of the ultimate villain aside.
- Cartoon Buffoon is a great episode that shows audiences how the animation industry works. Speaking of which, there is a Reanimated Collab remake of said episode available on Newgrounds! (and it also spawned a sequel episode called "Tooned Out.")
  - Other memorable episodes include:
- "The Big Taste Test" (Episode 11)
- "Dedede's Snow Job" (Episode 20/18)
- "A Princess in Dis-Dress" (Episode 21/19)
- "Hour of the WolfWrath" (Episode 26/24)
- "The Hot Shot Chef / A Spice Odyssey" (Episode 29/27)
- "Abusement Park" (Episode 30/31)
- "The Kirby Derby" (Episodes 35 & 36/31 & 32)
- "Monster Management" (Episode 40/37)
- "Prediction Predicament" (Episodes 41 & 42/38 & 39)
- "Sheepwrecked" (Episode 43/40)
- "Fitness Fiend" (Episode 61)
The final battle with Nightmare is extremely epic and is a great conclusion to the series; unfortunately, some dubs could never have all the episodes dubbed, most notably the French one.
Many memorable quotes include, but are not limited to:
- I NEED A MONSTAH TO CLOBBAH DAT DERE KIRBEH! - Dedede (during the opening sequence)
- Monster!? That's ridiculous! There's no monster in this castle! - Escargoon
- Hey, wait a minute, Escargoon! Not so fast! [Tiff, her brother Tuff, and their parents, Sir Ebrum and Lady Like, enter the throne room.] How do we know you're not lying again? - Tiff
- Yeah, like you usually do? - Tuff
- You have no right to speak to me that way. Your parents should slap you silly. - Escargoon
- Hehehehe. Little fella wouldn't hurt a fly less than it was on the end of a fish hook! King Dedede
- Tell me, citizens of Dreamland. For what purpose have you come to consult me? - Kabu
- It's got to be impossible, but your name wouldn't happen to be "Kirby"! - Tiff
- Poyo. - Kirby
- Welcome to Nightmare Enterprises, King Dedede. How may I assist you? - N.M.E. Sales Guy
- You ain't no chef; YOU'RE A GARBAGEMAN!! - King Dedede
- Yeah, let's go to bed at 11! - Tokkori
- I paid Nightmare Enterprises a heap of' money so they could send me a heap of' popcorn? - King Dedede
- What's that? Nobody wants to play with you? *bursts out laughing about what Kirby told him* Nobody wants to play with you, 'cause nobody likes you! Ever since you got here, there's been a pink pain in the neck. As usual, I'm the only one around here with the guts to tell you the truth! Everybody says that Kirby is nothing but trouble. If I were you, I'd fly the coop because you ain't welcome here, Sonny! With you out of the way, things would finally get back to normal, and I could take over this cottage permanently. Booooy, wouldn't that be the day? Huh? Kirby? Where'd that boy go?” - Tokkori
- Your father gave that to me. At the end, something stopped him from fully surrendering himself to eNeMeE. It was the love he had for you, Meta Knight.
- WE USED TO HAVE LIVES BEFORE TELEVISION!!!! - Tiff
- We've always been the best of buddies, huh, Kirby? Huh, Kirby? KIRBY!! Listen when I'm talkin' to you!" - Tokkori
The anime has inspired things to later be included in some games, such as the aforementioned Water Kirby being implemented in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, and has even included cameos of characters who were from the anime, as said before.
It is one of the best video game-to-TV-show adaptations of all time. It doesn’t hurt that it was made as an anime from Japan, and the creator of the Kirby game series, Masahiro Sakurai, alongside Nintendo and HAL Laboratory themselves (as a joint investment between the two known as Warpstar Inc.), gave a helping hand in the anime’s development.
Great pacing for a lot of episodes; you will probably not know how much you have watched the show when you play a lot of episodes, and you can easily kill a lot of hours when watching it, much like Sonic X.

Bad Qualities

Shell-Shocked is the worst episode of the entire show, as it's an Escargoon torture episode that is so bad that it feels like the regular Squidward torture episodes from SpongeBob.
- Likewise, the 3D special, while not as bad as Shell-Shocked and actually decent, is still not as good as the main series, but it's still a funny episode, unlike the said episode.
Unfortunately, most new characters, except Escargoon, from the anime didn't appear in any of the games; this can be a bit disappointing for the fans of some of these new characters, most notably Tiff and Tuff.
The pacing isn't very good in some episodes, like Hail to the Chief and Kirby's Pet Peeve.
In some episodes, Kirby doesn't get as much screen time as the other characters and usually shows up at the climax.
Tokkori is very unlikable for the most part, and he is very selfish to the point of saying one time to Kirby that no one likes him, and unsurprisingly, it's made Kirby cry, not to mention that he laments about that, which is actually not true because most main characters care for him, even Meta Knight.
- He even a huge jerk to not only Kirby but also to both Tiff and Tuff.
- Despite how unlikable he is, the show would probably not be as good without him, as he is, after all, one of the main characters of the show.
The show as a whole has a bit of an identity crisis. It never seems to decide whether or not it wants to be a lighthearted sitcom with monster of the week anime elements or an action-adventure series with character development and world-building. It often feels like two different shows have been hastily stitched together. Its tones and stories are often at odds with each other.
- Tonal differences between certain episodes led to Dedede being the most inconsistently written character in the entire show. While there are various different portrayals of him that wildly differ on how incompetent/malicious/sympathetic he is, the two most common types of portrayals of him can’t work at the same time:
  - 1: There’s a King Dedede who is a manchild and oblivious to the weight of his actions, which is why he causes trouble. He gives into his childish impulses, and that’s what causes conflicts to arise. He doesn’t realize he’s a bad person. This Dedede can be seen in "Prediction Predicament" and "D'Preciation Day." This King Dedede, despite all his problems, is capable of being sympathetic, feeling remorse, and doing good deeds. This King Dedede is actually an interesting character. The thing is, this King Dedede shows up in less than 10% of the episodes of the entire show. This characterization pops up primarily in more serious, “important” episodes, which are extremely uncommon. Then there’s
  - 2: Dedede, who is COMPLETELY aware of how awful he is and even calls himself a dictator. He relishes his bad actions and what he's doing. He’s a completely one-dimensional antagonist whose main quirk is that he’s very petty and pathetic. This version of Dedede is much more frequent in this show. You may say that these are just different sides of the same character, but that can't be true. This is just a blatant case of incoherent writing. The same character can’t be oblivious and self-aware at the same time because of their moral alignment.
  - And there’s where the main problem with anime Dedede lies. You can’t truly be invested in him because, in the end, nothing matters to him. He can be an entirely different person depending on the episode. He can go from wanting to mildly bully Kirby to straight up wanting to kill him to being depressed over the thought that he might've killed him, and none of that fits together in the slightest. In some episodes, it feels like he genuinely cares about Escargoon; in other episodes, he verbally and physically abuses him. The anime's version of Dedede had the potential to have his own growth (as the true overarching antagonist is Nightmare), much like he did in the games, but unfortunately, that potential was squandered.
Due to the challenge of having no human character and having Kirby not speak, some human characters from the series, such as Adeleine, do not appear in the entire series, not even as a cameo.
- Likewise, some other characters never appear in the anime, such as Marx, Dark Matter, et cetera.
While the 2D characters look good for early 2000's standards, the CGI models either look decent or poor in quality, especially with Dyna Blade's model, which looks absolutely awful.
In the 4Kids dub, all music that references tracks from the games is removed and replaced by inferior music. Though in fairness, it can be argued that while inferior, they may still be good (or even better).
There's not only Tokkori who is unlikable in this show; some of the main characters can also be unlikable. Here are some examples, but they are not limited to.
- Tiff can be unlikable to Kirby sometime; for example, one time, [1] She told Kirby to watch what he ate or he would get even rounder than he is, which is considered fat shaming.
- Tuff can also be unlikable; for example, he can be a major brat or mean, although not that much.
- In some episodes, King Dedede acts as a karma houdini without getting any consequences for his actions.
  - In "Flower Power," for example, he manages to trick Kirby, causing him to fall asleep for 100 years, is never seen again for the rest of the episode (except in a flashback), and gets off scot-free.
The setting is boring compared to the games. Since the majority of the show has a more "monster-of-the-week" formula, instead of journeying through different wondrous landscapes, every episode takes place in Dream Land and Cappy Town, and the anime's version of Dream Land isn't as colorful than in the games.
It’s overall influence on how people perceive characters in the games was terrible. This show is the only reason why people still think Dedede wants to "clobbah dat dere, Kirbeh," despite all the development he went through in the games. This show is the only reason why unaware people ridicule the idea of Kirby speaking in normal sentences and having intelligence not like an infant but like a preteen. Adaptations can and should take creative liberties; absolutely, they don’t need and don’t have to be 1:1 to the source material; they must stand out on their own merits. But if the goal of an adaptation is to advertise a product and get people invested in it, then changing so many elements about it to the point where it barely resembles it is counterproductive.
While the 4Kids dub is great, some may be frustrated by some uncommon instances of censorship. Speaking of censorship, one of the most hilarious scenes was left out of the 4Kids version due to it obviously not being suitable for young children because of the involvement of guns.

Reception

Kirby: Right Back at Ya! receives mixed to positive reviews by critics but extremely positive reviews by Kirby fans, who praised the 2D animation, the funny moments, and the soundtrack. The series has a 7/10 on IMDb, making this show one of the highest-rated video game shows of all time. The show was also a success in the United States and Japan, and the show is still popular to this day. Unfortunately, the show was a commercial failure in France, possibly due to the terrible airing time of the show back there and also due to being childish sometimes, as the French have a bit of a different taste in some media. The show would return in 2011 only in Europe for the Wii, with a channel called Kirby TV, which was closed in 2012, and the service was coming back to the 3DS in 2015 with other shows in it, such as Pokémon. Again, it was closed in 2018, and due to the closure of the Eshop, you can't get the services to this day.

Trivia

The Anime itself

The English version of the title (Kirby: Right Back at Ya!) was likely chosen because its initials (KRBY) is very similar to Kirby, minus the vowel.
All Kirby: Right Back at Ya! VHS tapes and the Mario Kirby Masterpiece hold the distinction of being the physical Kirby media that run on the oldest hardware. The VHS player was introduced to the Japanese market in 1976, 16 years before the series began.
During the span of time Kirby: Right Back at Ya! was available on the 4Kids TV website, four flash games were created for it: Kirby Shuffle Puzzle 1, Kirby Shuffle Puzzle 2, Waddle Doom, and Kirby Star Ride. Three of these games no longer exist, though two have an official description. The Shuffle Puzzle games were standard puzzles that revealed a Kirby: Right Back at Ya! image when completed, and Waddle Doom had the player shoot as many Waddle Dees as possible under a one-minute time limit. It is unknown what Kirby Star Ride was like as it was not preserved in any way.
In Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition, the box art for the anime in the History section has a dynamic poster.
In Episode 47 of the show (Episode 49 in Japan,) Cartoon Buffoon, there is a King Dedede variation of the intros, with the Japanese (Hoshi no Dedede [Dedede of the Stars]) and English (Dedede: Comin’ at ya!) versions respectively for their regions. However, only a small part of each version is heard.
Although Kirby does not speak any full sentences in the show (except arguably in his "poyo language"), he is sometimes heard to clearly speak intelligible words, so he is still more talkative than in any of the Kirby games besides Kirby's Avalanche. The most prominent examples are when he calls out the names of attacks after gaining a Copy Ability.
In the English credits, Makiko Ohmoto was misspelled as Makiko Oomoto, which is possibly a translation error.
The conversation between N.M.E. Sales Guy, King Dedede, and Escargoon in the show's opening is based on the episode A Blockbuster Battle.

Tiff

Tiff voices her dislike for violence when seeing Sir Ebrum, Lady Like, and Tuff watching a show of a robotic King Dedede beating up another enemy robot (probably parodying the Transformers series) on Channel DDD. This shows her somewhat hypocritical side, as she herself sometimes resorts to impulsive violence the first chance she gets, like beating up Escargoon when she saw him poking Kirby with a pencil instead of pointing this out to Mr. Chip in Teacher's Threat.
In the Japanese version of the anime, Tiff announces the title of every episode on an outer space background between the opening and the rest of the episode, with the shape of a Warp Star closing in, then opening up to segue to the episode.
Tiff is one of the characters least often animated with CGI, the only instance being in The Kirby Derby - Part II and in first Japanese opening.
In the Japanese version of Tooned Out, Tiff is shown in a more anime-like appearance; her eyes are larger and have more eyelashes, her one-piece outfit turned into a leotard, and she was given unnaturally large breasts. This scene was cut out of the 4Kids dub because the exaggeration of breasts was deemed inappropriate for children, but the scenes without this aspect were still shown.
On January 12, 2022, Nintendo of America and the Kirby Twitter account released a wallpaper to celebrate the Kirby series's 30th anniversary. One image featured on this wallpaper was of Kirby holding dolls of Tiff and Tuff. This is the first time the characters have been referenced outside of the context of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, as well as their first appearance since Kirby 3D's English dub and Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition’s release in 2012.
- On close inspection, the dolls closely resemble those seen in the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! episode Abusement Park.
Tiff is probably based on or inspired by Mary Anning, a real-life paleontologist who discovered fossils along the coast of the English Channel, which may have influenced her interest in collecting seashells and studying marine biology. She may also have been inspired by Anning's friend, Elizabeth Philpot, who was the daughter of an upper-class family and was also a fellow scientist.

Tuff

Tuff appears to have a bad memory as seen in The Kirby Quiz. For example, because he says the monster Kirby defeated when he first turned into Cook Kirby is Blocky (The correct answer is Popon). Blocky is actually the monster Kirby defeated when he first turned into Stone Kirby.
Tuff is one of the characters least often animated with CGI, the only instance being in Hail to the Chief and in the first Japanese opening.
On January 12, 2022, Nintendo of America and the Kirby Twitter account released a wallpaper to celebrate the Kirby series's 30th anniversary. One image featured on this wallpaper was of Kirby holding dolls of Tiff and Tuff. This is the first time the characters have been referenced outside of the context of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, as well as their first appearance since Kirby 3D's English dub and Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition’s release in 2012.
- On close inspection, the dolls closely resemble those seen in the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! episode Abusement Park.

Tokkori

This character's name is surprisingly similar to the Japanese word, "tokkuri," meaning "liquor bottle;" perhaps this correlation can be considered a reference to the bird's sour disposition (a quality commonly associated with the stereotypical "drunkard"). It's also similar to the Japanese word "tori," meaning "bird" (which Tokkori is).
Every time Tokkori speaks in the English dub, off-key fiddle music plays.
In some episodes, Tokkori can understand Kirby's poyo language, implying his experience with the hero.

Escargoon

He makes a surprise appearance in the Kirby Quest sub-game of Kirby Mass Attack, alongside King Dedede in one of his attacks, where Dedede is carried by several Waddle Dees and tramples over Kirby. This is his only video game appearance to date.
His English voice has a strong resemblance to late comedian Paul Lynde's campy tone.
He and Dedede are the characters shown animated in CG the most, after Kirby.
Despite being a snail, he can run fast, even though he once said that he's "not built for speed."
At the start of Kirby 3D, the N.M.E. Sales Guy refers to Escargoon as "Lord Escargoon."
Technically, Escargoon is the first character to visit Nightmare Enterprises since the N.M.E. Sales Guy sent him there for a demonstration in Abusement Park.
In the Japanese version of Kirby: Right Back at Ya! Escargoon has a habit of referring to himself with watakushi (an overly formal pronoun) when flustered or embarrassed.
In Un-Reality TV, Escargoon mentions having a "long-lost brother"; this character is never seen, and is not mentioned again.
Much like King Dedede, Escargoon tends to incorporate many literary elements into his speech. Frequent alliteration and a larger vocabulary than what is usually heard in a children's show (such as referencing the philosophical theory of existentialism to Tiff from the episode Hatch Me if You Can) are noticeable within his diction, though his word choice is usually not noted by any of the other characters, besides Dedede.