Kirby: Right Back at Ya!/Characters


Tropes relating to characters in the anime Kirby: Right Back at Ya!.

To clarify where the characters go, characters that are non-specific to the anime go here. The game characters that appear on this page are only for the tropes that are associated to them in the anime. To avoid redundancy, the traits that appear in both works stay on the main Kirby character page.

This page on Kirby's Rainbow Resort has a larger list of all the anime characters, including the ones that appeared in the games first.

Please note that for the sake of consistency, the examples below follow the English dub names.


Anime-only characters

Tiff (Fumu)

Probably the only person in Dream Land who's openly critical and skeptical of King Dedede and his schemes. Because she loves and cares for Kirby, she's the one to guide him on his way to becoming a full-fledged Star Warrior.

Tropes associated with Tiff:

  • Berserk Button: Messing around with nature makes her very mad.
  • Catch Phrase: "Kirby! Inhale it!" / "Kirby, suck it up!"
    • "Come, Warp Star!" / "Kabu, send the Warp Star!"
  • Crack Pairing: In-Universe--one episode involves a fish falling in love with her.
  • Cry Cute: Believe it or not, she can actually cry, as shown in "Monster Management" when Knuckle Joe and Masher are tag-teaming their attacks against a progressively-wounded Kirby, "The School Scam" where she's giving a speech and is about to retire from her teaching duties after humiliating Gure / Dirk, Yota / Kirk, and Banchou / Smirk, and "Teacher's Threat" when Mr. Chip says that he'll eventually find a real teaching job soon enough after which she gets a really cute Tearful Smile.
  • Damsel in Distress: A lot of the monsters take her captive, which motivates Kirby even more to defeat them.
  • Dub Name Change: Fumu to Tiff.
  • Granola Girl
  • Kid With the Remote Control: Sort of, since Kirby is an infant she has to tell him when to inhale something. Kirby can pretty much take it from there, though.
  • Only Sane Person; even more so than Meta Knight, who'll make light of situations.
  • Power of Love: The reason Tiff can control the Warp Star is because she truly loves and cares for Kirby.
  • Properly Paranoid: Some episodes have her fretting over the event being a trap, like the nightmare-inducing pillows, the figures that turned into monsters later, the TV-Network Dedede made which was later used to brainwash people into attacking Kirby...
  • Secret Keeper: In episode 4, Tiff learns from Meta Knight about NME and Kirby's (supposed) origin. As pointed out in English-dubbed episode 14, Tiff and Meta Knight are the only ones who know the whole deal with Kirby and the monster attacks.
  • Technical Pacifist: Her responses to violence vary according to the demands of the plot.
    • In some episodes, she completely avoids violence and pep-talks people out of it.
    • In episode 67, she asks Meta Knight to train her in martial arts because she got bullied at school, and uses her training to teach the bullies a lesson.
    • In episode 89, she chases down the Otakings with a hammer because of her portrayal as Fumu-tan in their anime.
  • The Smart Girl: Tiff is probably the only person in the village who reads a lot. Even the adults often turn to her for advice on what to do in some situations.
  • Soapbox Sadie
  • Theme Twin Naming: At least in the 4Kids dub.
  • Wide-Eyed Idealist: Quite easily the most optimistic character in the entire cast (next to Kirby himself), but she gradually becomes a little more cynical towards the end.

Tuff (Bun)

Tiff's younger brother. A bit of a brat sometimes, but he too likes Kirby, and helps his sister out in taking care of him...on most occasions.

Tropes associated with Tuff:

  • Annoying Younger Sibling: He's generally brattier than Fumu, much to her annoyance.
  • Blinding Bangs: You never see his eyes, not even once.
  • Dub Name Change: Bun to Tuff.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Though he does love Kirby (but not nearly as much as his sister does), he's often seen playing soccer with him...and unintentionally kicking Kirby, mistaking him for the ball.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In Episode 18, Tuff nearly sends Kirby into an eternal sleep by falling for Dedede's trap of having Kirby inhale a Noddy.
  • Shout-Out: In the dentist episode, Tuff gets a cavity, and his mother tells him that if he goes to the dentist, she'll buy him a CubeGame.
  • Theme Twin Naming: In the 4Kids dub, despite the fact that he and Tiff aren't twins.
  • Totally Radical: Some of his lines in the original.
  • Wide-Eyed Idealist

Escargoon (Escargon)

King Dedede's Right-hand man. He generally doesn't like Nightmare Enterprises, but he goes along with Dedede's schemes anyway.

Tropes associated with Escargoon:

  • Ambiguously Gay
  • Amusing Injuries: He's often subject to King Dedede's abuse.
  • Canon Immigrant: Has a cameo in the Kirby Master sub-game of Kirby Mass Attack as part of Dedede's entourage during an attack.
  • Catch Phrase: In the original, every time he takes a drive to Cappy Town, expect him to say the phrase "stupid commoners!".
  • Cool Car: He's Dedede's chauffeur, first in a military jeep with a tank cannon (making Dedede look like some kind of Third World dictator...) and later in a much snazzier big old fashioned limousine.
  • Dub Name Change: Escargon to Escargoon.
    • His dub name is actually a Portmanteau of the words 'Escargot' and 'goon', fitting enough.
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Despite what a jerk he can be sometimes, Escargoon loves his mother dearly, even enough to have the entire kingdom pretend he was the king for the sake of not disappointing her.
  • Gastropod Confusion: In a scene where Dedede makes escargot in front of him. He refuses to eat it, stating that it would be cannibalism if he did so.
  • Ho Yay: A large amount with King Dedede. Episodes 55 and 88 are some of the strongest examples. In the former episode, it's made pretty clear how Escargon feels for the king.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: There are times when Escargoon can be quite a Jerkass to the citizens of Dreamland, to the point of threatening the death penalty to passerbys in the original. But he mostly acts like this to gain Dedede's favor, and is not a bad person at heart.
  • Mad Scientist: In episode 78, he builds a robot in his likeness to work for Dedede in his place, and goes insane because he stays up for nights on end to fix the damage inflicted on the robot by Dedede.
    • Near the beginning of the anime, he was called Dr. Escargon in the original, and depicted as the Foil of Dedede's convention of ordering monsters, preferring to build things by himself instead of spending money to order monsters (thus making them fall into debt). Towards the end he becomes just as reliant on the monsters.
  • Number Two: To King Dedede.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Escargoon and his mother are nearly identical. Even Meta Knight was amused by this.
  • Verbal Tic: In the Japanese version, he uses "degesu" (a form of "desu") at the end of his sentences.

Customer Service

The front salesman for the Holy Nightmare Co., that sells demon beasts to customers such as Dedede. MAJOR SPOILER ALERT: He's not quite as tall as he seems.

Tropes associated with Customer Service:

  • Affably Evil: He's so charming and funny at times, that it's easy to forget that he wants Kirby dead, like Nightmare.
  • The Cameo / Canon Immigrant: Appears in the game over screen in the SHMUP sub-game of Kirby Mass Attack. Considering Nightmare is the boss of that sub-game, the cameo makes sense.
  • Chair Reveal: Played with. When Dedede meets him for the first time face-to-face, he turns his chair around and reveals that he's just about as tall as Dedede, because you don't see anything below his waist on-camera.
  • The Confidant: To Nightmare.
  • Dan Green
  • Dub Name Change: From Customer Service to no name at all--see Fan Nickname below.
  • The Dragon: To his boss, Nightmare.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": In the original, although Customer Service may or may not be his actual name.
  • Fan Nickname: As he isn't even named in the dub, some people call him 'Frontman', or 'Salesguy'.
  • Honest John's Dealership: The dub even makes him sound like one.
  • Oh Crap: He gets one in the finale when Chief Bookem informs him and King Dedede that Kirby has defeated Nightmare and that his space fortress is about to be destroyed, and he makes a run for it. In the original Japanese version, if you listen closely, you can hear him screaming as the fortress explodes, possibly implying that he died in the explosion.
  • Rule 34: Is extremely popular with porn artists, for some reason.
  • Talking to Himself: In the Japanese dub, Banjo Ginga does the voice of Customer Service and Nightmare.
  • Token Human: Until we find out that he's actually just as short as everyone else!

Sirica

An Action Girl who comes to Popstar seeking revenge against Meta Knight.

First appearance: Episode 60

Tropes associated with Sirica:


Game characters in the anime

Kirby

"Poyo!"

A legendary Star Warrior who crash-lands in Dream Land in the first episode. Eventually, he becomes a well-renowned local hero that is the primary hope for the citizens of Dream Land to keep Dedede's monsters at bay.

Note: This space is only for the tropes that apply to Kirby in the anime only. All other traits go on the main Kirby character page.

Tropes associated with Kirby:

King Dedede

"Ah need a monstah ta clobber dat dere Kirbeh!"

The self-proclaimed king of Dream Land, with a huge castle, an army of Waddle Dees and his servant Escargoon at his disposal.

Note: King Dedede appears as a recurring villain in the Kirby games. This spot is for tropes that apply to him only in the anime. All other traits go on the main Kirby character page.

  • Accent Adaptation: Gets a Southern accent in the dub.
  • Adaptational Villainy: While he is often antagonistic to Kirby, Dedede in the games is more of an Anti-Villain who is more willing to join Kirby against a more serious threat or genuinely help out.
  • Adipose Rex: Played for laughs and Turned Up to Eleven in an episode where he tries to trick Kirby into eating enhanced chips to make him fat. Dedede ends up eating the chips himself, and grows too big to even leave his throne room.
  • Affably Evil: Aside from ordering monsters to "clobbah dat dere Kirby".
  • Catch Phrase: In the original, "This is unforgivable!"
  • Cool Car: Owns a tank described as a "demon beast on wheels". He later custom-orders a pimped-out limo equipped with hammers, and after using it for the Wacky Racing episode, he keeps it until the end of the series.
  • Demonic Possession: In episode 95 (97 in the dub), he gets possessed by the Devil Frog after Kirby spits it out.
  • For the Evulz: Orders demon beasts like the way a spoiled child would buy toys.
  • I Own This Town: He claims that he's the 17,062nd ruler of Dream Land.
  • Jerkass: Taken Up to Eleven, but he softens as the episodes go by, ultimately siding with Kirby for the final fight against N.M.E.
  • Narcissist: His castle has statues of him all over the place, and he even puts up a statue in the village just so he can admire it.
  • Pet the Dog: In episode 42, Dedede fulfills his promise of building a park for the village kids right before the apocalypse happens. It turns out that the crisis is averted, but the park stays there for the rest of the series.
  • Shout-Out / Take That: In the 4Kids dub of the Kirby anime, they had King Dedede give a Southern accent as well as uttering Bushisms, similar to a certain former U.S. President.
  • Sigil Spam: His peace-sign symbol (as shown on the back of his pimped out coat) shows up on a lot of his homemade monsters, mimicking Nightmare's own sigil.
  • Stylistic Suck: His homebrew anime, entitled Dedede: Comin' At Ya in the dub and Dedede of the Stars in the original.
  • This Is Unforgivable!: His Catch Phrase in the Japanese version.
  • Verbal Tic: In the Japanese version, he adds "zoi" at the end of his sentences.


Meta Knight

"How absurd. I am his Majesty's faithful servant!"

A mysterious knight who claims to serve Dedede, but his true allegiances seem to fall elsewhere. He takes the role of Kirby's mentor, training him to fight against the monsters and to eventually defeat Nightmare.


Note: This space is only for the tropes that apply to Meta Knight in the anime only. All other traits go on the main Kirby character page.

Escargoon: "At least do your job once in a while!"

  • Dwindling Party: Discussed in episode 4. In the initial conflict with Nightmare, the monsters killed everyone that tried to resist his conquest of the universe, leaving only Meta Knight alive - or so he thinks.
  • Dynamic Entry: Has a habit of appearing out of nowhere on high places to announce something relevant to the plot.
  • Eldritch Abomination: Depending on your sources, some people speculate that Meta Knight, not Kirby, is the monster-turned-good that's mentioned as the only creation to ever turn against Nightmare. If this is true, then it adds another dimension to his Anti-Hero complex.
  • Famed in Story: People like him so much that in the episode with the collectible figures, after someone finds a Meta Knight figurine the whole town goes nuts trying to find another one. Including King Dedede, who grabs every single candy off the shelf in hopes of finding one. Which is pretty stupid, considering that the real Meta Knight was there the whole time.
    • It gets worse when Meta Knight, when told about it, laughs, pointing out... something; YMMV on if his laughing was because of how stupid it was, if he liked the idea more than he let on, a combination of both, or something else entirely.
      • In the dub, at least, he enjoys his fame, responding to it with a laugh and a "Yes, I like this."
  • Give Me a Sword: Throws Kirby a sword before their duel in episode 3, akin to the way he does in the games.
  • Great Offscreen War: Fought in it.
  • Hero of Another Story: A very different story. The most we get to hear about it is through miscellaneous flashbacks.
  • I Have the High Ground: A favorite pose of his. Most fans think that it's because he has a height complex, or simply wants to see everything going on from a higher vantage point.
  • Infinity+1 Sword: He wields one named Galaxia, which was Forged by the Gods. Somehow, as long as it's in his possession, Nightmare cannot take over the entire universe.
  • Kaleidoscope Eyes: Green (thoughtfulness or seriousness), blue (pride or happiness), bright yellow (determination), red (anger or fear), pink (amusement), orange (surprise or fear) and silver (unknown - it's seen only once and we don't know what he's feeling). When he's sleeping or unconscious, they're a dull, dark yellow.
  • Knight, Knave, and Squire: He's the knight, while both Sword and Blade are his knaves.
  • La Résistance: The Sole Survivor of one, or so he thinks.
  • Last Starfighter Until Kirby shows up; and later, a few other survivors.
  • Master Swordsman
  • Mysterious Protector: Towards Kirby, Fumu, and Bun.
  • Mysterious Watcher: Due to his habit of appearing out of nowhere to say something plot-relevant to the characters, this led to the speculation that he stalks Kirby and Tiff on a regular basis.
    • Even does so in the episode about GHOSTS. Cue Scare Chord when Tuff and Kirby see his glowing eyes emerge from the forest, only for the camera to zoom out and reveal that it's just Meta Knight.
  • Named Weapons: His sword, Galaxia.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: In episode 3, while training Kirby. He Hand Waves it by saying that Kirby can only awaken his powers when he's put in life-or-death situations.
  • Only Sane Man:

"Meta Knight is a sane person in an insane world. Or maybe, he's an insane person in an even crazier world."

  • Pet the Dog: To Sword and Blade, and occasionally Kirby in some of the later episodes.
  • Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner: "I am his majesty's loyal servant." before he kicks Escargoon's and Dedede's tank down a cliff.
    • And it's safe to say 30% of his lines are this. Another 30% are jokes and the last 40% is him being (non-)helpful.
  • Sink or Swim Mentor: Combined with Stealth Mentor.
  • Shrouded in Myth
  • Sweet Tooth: Fans noticed that, in the episode where Meta Knight is seen enjoying Channel DDD, there's a jar of sweets in the corner. He's never shown eating sweets, but a lot of people get this trope from just that.
  • The Stoic: Although he laughs several times in the series: when he notices that Escargoon and his mother look exactly alike, when he's seen watching Channel DDD, and when Tiff tells him to complain to the company that made an action figure of him.
  • This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Towards the end of the series, he discusses this with his subordinates, stating that this is his reason for not helping out Kirby as much. It makes sense, because he's still testing Kirby's power as an individual, doing so by drawing further and further into isolation from him during his battles.
  • We Meet Again: Said to Wolfwrath near the beginning of episode 26.
  • Zen Survivor

Nightmare

The true Big Bad of the anime series, and owner of Nightmare Enterprises.

First appearance: Kirby's Adventure

Tropes associated with Nightmare:

  • Achilles' Heel: As revealed in the finale of the anime, Nightmare's just a bad dream, meaning he can only be defeated in dreams. Not to mention, his only weakness is the Star Rod, which Kirby can take control of and use against him by swallowing his own Warp Star. Of course, with his As Long as There Is Evil gig, Nightmare can't truly be destroyed forever so long as there's fear and nightmares in everyone's hearts.
  • Adaptational Badass: While he doesn't do much fighting, in the games he was just a Giant Space Flea From Nowhere whose only threat was spreading bad dreams, but here, he's a Physical God that poses a threat to the entire universe.
  • As Long as There Is Evil: He gives this kind of speech in the finale.

"True to my name, I am but a dream that lives in your heart. Therefore, I am immortal. For as long as there is fear in your heart, I will someday return."

  • Astral Checkerboard Decor: In his lair, complete with a few monsters that look like chess pieces.
  • Bigger Bad: He creates the monsters that make Kirby's life miserable, but he never fights him one-on-one until the finale. The closest thing to an active antagonist for Kirby is probably Dedede, although he doesn't have any affiliation with Nightmare, other than ordering his monsters for the heck of it.
  • Card-Carrying Villain
  • Classic Villain: Representing Ambition, Wrath, and Sloth, and quite possibly the Devil himself.
  • Contemplative Boss: He is rarely seen before the Series Finale, but whenever he appears before it, he is shown in this pose.
  • Evil Overlord
  • Faux Affably Evil: He created Nightmare Enterprises and sells monsters to customers, pretending to pass them off as useful everyday objects (that eventually turn red). He even prefers to amuse himself by watching Kirby fighting his Demon Beasts/monsters.
  • Fun with Acronyms: Often in the dub his company's name (NightMare Enterprises) is abbreviated as 'NME'. It sounds like 'enemy' when read aloud.
  • Lazy Bum: He embodies the Deadly Sin of Sloth really well, as in the anime, he prefers to spend his time in his chessboard-like lair and amuses himself with watching Kirby battle his Demon Beasts/monsters.
  • Nightmare Fuel: In-universe. Obviously.
  • Obviously Evil: He has a dark aura, giant demon horns, and an evil toothy grin. And he makes Evil Minions in the form of monsters that his trusted employee, Customer Service, sells for him. His official title is even Emperor of Darkness.
  • Orcus on His Throne: Does absolutely nothing himself until the cast gets near his fortress. Justified since Kirby, at best, could likely only prove to be a minor nuisance, and he seemed to enjoy watching the events involving him.
  • Pet the Dog: To Customer Service.
  • Pimped-Out Cape: His Hammerspace cape is decked out with an independently scrolling star field not unlike a Windows screensaver.
  • Physical God

Knuckle Joe

A brash and impulsive kid who comes to Popstar seeking revenge against the Star Warrior that killed his father. Dedede and Escargoon take this as a chance to 'get' Kirby, and they tell him that Kirby's the Star Warrior that he's looking for. Later it's revealed that it wasn't Kirby, but Meta Knight that did, indeed, Mercy Kill his father after he was possessed by Nightmare.

First appearance: Episode 19

note: He appears in the games as a regular enemy, and also as a helper character in Kirby Super Star. Being only a minor character in the games with no personality, he was given one in the anime, hence the reason why he's on the anime's character page instead of the game's character page.

Tropes associated with Knuckle Joe:

Meta Knight: "Anyone who abandons his reason, and lives only by hatred is a monster!"

Sword and Blade

Meta Knight's subordinates. They don't do much except for reinforcing Meta Knight's combat commentary.

  1. ↑ and changes color as a Mythology Gag to the games
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