Last week, I reviewed three episodes of the anime Kirby: Right Back At Ya, three episodes that were put on Kirby’s Dream
Collection, But this does not mean we should keep it to only these three
episodes! The anime has 100 episodes, there’s got to be some good ones in there.
And indeed, there are! And, in fact, more than 12 good episodes. I went back
through the series, and found over 12 episodes that I heartily recommend. The
three episodes of the previous post, plus the ones here, this should be a 7-hour
binge. Honestly, if you like the Kirby series, you should check these out.
1. Episode 4 – Dark and Stormy Knight
You’ll find that some episodes on this list advance
the overarching plot of the series. And the series wastes no time to get into
the meat of the plot. Episode 3, “Kirby’s Duel Role”, had Meta Knight dueling
Kirby to push the pink baby to his limits, as Meta Knight is teaching Kirby to
reach his potential. In this one, we learn more about Meta Knight’s backstory,
which he explains to Tiff. Meanwhile, it’s Hell outside with NightMare
Enterprise sending none other than Kracko after Kirby, attempting to zap him
and generally causing destruction all over Cappy Town. Much like in the games,
Kracko is a formidable opponent with extremely dangerous moves, and it takes
Kirby everything he’s got to be able to hurt it. That’s the kind of episode
needed in a TV show: The pilot tries to drag you in and present the concept.
The first few episodes need to show off the universe surrounding the
characters, explain more of it. In the case of series with a continuity, the first few episodes must already throw hints at the greater storyline, and on that front, the Kirby anime does pretty
well. Oh, not all episodes on this list are relevant to the story arc; but it
makes sense that this list would have some of them. Also, freaking Kracko, man.
2. Episode 6 – Un-Reality TV
|
Tssk. Puppetry shows are so passé. Too bad
there isn't a Jim Henson in that universe to help. |
Even though Dedede is the King of the place and
already rules with an iron fist, he’s not exactly taken seriously. His crusade
against Kirby only made it worse, as the King has suffered defeat after defeat.
What’s a King to do to get control of his citizens? Well, control the media, of
course! After all, the little people ae more inclined to accept what they hear
on TV! Or else, why would it be on TV? Thus the penguin delivers televisions to
every home in Cappy Town, with a single channel (that we know of): DDD, a propaganda
reputable channel that will repeat as often as possible that Kirby is a threat
and King Dedede is a benevolent ruler. Somehow, Dedede and Escargoon turn out
to be a part of every show, whether it’s a quiz, the news, a cooking show, a
kaiju film, a Star Trek spoof… or even a medical drama. Gee, there’s an awful
lot of characters speaking in a Southern accent in these shows. Things get
serious, however, when Dedede uses this media to hypnotize the people of Cappy
Town to turn on Kirby… A pretty funny commentary on television, with a whole
bunch of parodies – how could one say no to that?
|
A hospital drama... in the Kirby universe. Odd. |
3. Episode 21 – The Empty Nest Mess
|
This show salvaged Dyna Chicks, who had so far
only been seen like annoying chirping creatures.
They're so cuuuute here! |
As shown Friday in “Waddle While You Work”, whenever
Dyna Blade gets involved, you know something BAD is about to happen. She’s an actual wild animal here, and not a monster created by eNeMeE, thus she has an agenda of her own, which is mostly two words: "Protect chicks". There
was that episode where Kirby found a Dyna Egg and everyone was afraid he’d
gobble it up; he ended up hatching it and raising the baby. Then there’s “The Empty Nest Mess”. To
avoid having to pay eNeMeE to get monsters, Dedede has Escargoon create an
instant monster formula: A potion that transforms any creature into a monster.
Don’t yell BS too quickly, instead wait to see what they plan to do with it:
Injecting a Dyna Chick. Now, thats pretty evil. Thankfully, thanks to their incompetence, the first Dyna Chick they catch escapes and goes on a
joyride around Cappy Town, which gives some absolutely adorable moments. Most
of the episode afterwards is Kirby and Dedede racing to get the chick first,
with Dyna Blade hot on Kirby’s trail, as the heroes try to prevent the horrible
from happening.
4. Episode 24 – Hour of the Wolfwrath
|
Wait, a Fire/Electric wolf? Are we sure this is not
a Gen 7 Pokémon leaked years ahe3ad of time? |
One of the most beloved episodes of the series, dealing
with Meta Knight’s backstory – and in particular, how he came to have Sword and
Blade by his side. As usual, King Dedede orders a new monster from eNeMeE, the
aptly-named Wolfwrath, which then runs off and wreaks havoc in his castle. Upon
finding out that it’s let loose, Sword and Blade go tell Meta Knight. The beats
goes out looking for Kirby but Meta Knight steps in to fight it. When Sword and
Blade show up, MK orders them to protect Kirby no matter what while he fends
off the fiery wolf beast. After Meta Knight gets paralyzed and everyone else
has to defeat Wolfwrath by their own means, Sword and Blade explain their
backstory: Saved from that same wolf monster by Meta Knight in the days of Star
Warriors, and Meta Knight took them under his wing to teach them the way of the
warrior, as before they were nothing but lowly crooks. And as they recount this
story, Wolfwrath is still in the halls, setting the castle on fire… Anyway,
great episode, but no amount of text from me will do it any justice. Really, go
watch it.
5. Episode 40 – Sheepwrecked
|
Never underestimate the strength of numbers. |
Some of the weirder ideas could derail and result in
awful episodes, or become classics. In this one, a reference to The Boy Who
Cried Wolf, a little sheep attacks Kirby, and nobody believes Tiff when she
reports on it! And of course, when she tries to find the evil one, she can’t
tell it apart from the others! But this is no illusion, there really IS an evil
sheep in the flock, and this woolly demon by the name of Amon is teaching the
sheep to behave like wolves and leading them to attack the village! Silly,
ain’t it? And yet, Amon will turn out to be one of Kirby’s more formidable
opponents. That silly story is told with enough serious to make the viewer
believe it, too; and to think Amon became that way after escaping his fate as
cutlets in the King’s plate! Weirder plots don’t hurt a series, if they’re
executed well, as shown in this episode.
6. Episode 44 – A Novel Approach
|
An illiterate leading a school. Dedede, your
stupidity never ceases to amaze me. |
Like many other shows, Kirby of the Stars chose to
harpoon one of the most famous fads in fiction: Harry Potter. Because, why not?
“It’s been done”, you say? Ah, just listen to what this episode is about. The
book craze is in town, and everyone is grabbing a copy of “Pappy Pottey and the
Fool’s Stone” at the bookstore. Meanwhile, Dedede wants in on the fad, but there’s
only one problem, and it’s big: He’s illiterate. Thus, instead of seeking
someone to teach him to read, Dedede steals all the copies of the book and
summons through NightMare Enterprises’s monster downloader the author of the
book, who suggests to turn Castle Dedede into a magic school so that all the
Cappies could live the world of the story. But of course, no one should trust
eNeMeE, and especially not Dedede himself, so you can fully expect that this
turns out to be another plan of Nightmare to defeat Kirby. Either way, you all
know what will happen: Just wait, in a couple years Tiff will get into reading Fangnight,
and then sometime later, Forty Tones of Pink.
7. Episode 47 – Cartoon Buffoon and Episode 89 –
Tooned Out
|
Just you wait, Dedede. This little venture into
animation will take a turn for the sucky. |
The “Cartoon Mogul Dedede” episodes. After seeing Tiff
make a flipbook animation, Dedede decides he wants in on that animation
business, and thus starts his own studio to produce “Dedede of the Stars”. Only
problem is, the only workforce he can find is made of the Cappy Townsfolk, and
none of them have any knowledge on how to produce a show – and very few have
any artistic talent, too. But of course, since the King rarely thinks before
grabbing a money-making idea, he immediately sells his show to NightMare
Enterprises, with no guarantee that he’ll have anything of quality to present.
This leads to hilarious moments during production and when the episode airs,
with horrible animation and the voice actors having to do the voices on the
spot. And of course, all this time, the only one who knows anything about
cartoon-making is Tiff… This episode is pretty great, if only because of all
the nods to real-life cartoon productions, showing every step of the process…
and how it can go so very wrong in the hands of amateurs. The end result is a
mess, which is completely unprofessional but admittedly hilarious.
|
Ahhhh! Too realistic! Too detailed! Too "Normal Anime"!
Creepy! Not like the rest is any better... |
|
These guys would seem like quirky comic reliefs
who would deserve more scenes... that is, if they were
not stalking a little girl, with hearts in their eyes. |
This follows in “Tooned Out”, where Dedede, undeterred
by his previous failure, orders from eNeMeE a trio of otaku artists to make a
cartoon for him. They seem qualified enough, and yes they are great artists, but there’s a problem: They
quickly take an interest in Tiff, and they soon redirect the show to feature her. And thus, they start stalking
her around, recording her lines and taking pictures, with an
unhealthy obsession. Probably a crack at otakus, who aren’t exactly
well-regarded in Japan. Sequestered by Dedede, the Otakings are left to work on
their anime while Dedede summons, from Nightmare Enterprises, an obvious Walt
Disney parody that tries to teach the King how to make cartoons through CGI and
motion capture, but of course it turns out to be another ploy by eNeMeE. Not to
mention what the Otakings end up showing at the end… Look up “Fumu-tan of the
Stars”, you’ll see what I mean. Another episode I really like, despite being
higher on the creepy factor than any other on the show. It’s another commentary
on animation, especially about advanced animation methods and fandoms. It also
has many references to other films, anime and series, and that’s always fun.
|
That. Is NOT. Tiff. Hell no. All the NOPE in the world.
I told you those Otakings were just perverted stalkers.
They do have a talent at drawing flowers and detailed
characters, but... No, just no. |
From how much I wrote about these two, you can tell
those are my favorite episodes in the series. The massive amounts of fourth
wall-breaking and lampshade hanging helped quite a bit give these episodes a
unique feel.
8. Episode 61 – Fitness Fiend (the Japanese one)
This one comes with a “But…”. The English episode is
alright, but the Japanese one knocks it out of the park. The plot is simple;
Dedede orders fattening chips from NightMare Enterprises to make Kirby fat and,
at the same time, prevent him from inhaling stuff to gain abilities. However, in a
bout of gluttony, Dedede also ends up snacking on the chips. As a result, both
become big blobs of fat. Well, Dedede is lucky, his clothes still fit him even
in that state. With neither being able to work out, Customer
Service sends out Macho-San (Max Flexer in the English dub), a miniature guy
with blackglasses, an afro and a leotard, who’ll put the two through training
Hell. What do you mean, is it a ruse? Of course it is a ruse! Watch the episode
in English, but then seek out the Japanese version of the part with Macho-San.
It’s probably one of the greatest moments in the entire anime, especially with
that impressive shot featuring over 70 characters.
Actually no, here it is.
Why is it so great? That scene uses a techno version
of Dedede’s theme, and I swear, I listened to that video so often just for the
song, I would PAY to get that song. It’s that damn catchy. It sucks
that 4kids replaced it by a generic beat in their version for American
audiences. I guess the episode is pretty great too on comedy, and that’s always positive.
EAROBI TENGOKU, GO GO HEAVEN! YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH, ONE
TWO ONE TWO!
9. Episode 64 – The Kirby Quiz
|
"So, was it Fire Kirby, Ice Kirby, or Stone Kirb-
Hey! Who left that stupid logo at the bottom?" |
To start off the New Year, Channel DDD presents to
Cappy Town a whole new show: The Kirby Quiz Challenge. Five teams of two join
the quiz: One of these teams has Dedede and Escargoon, while another team is Tiff helped of Kirby. Gee, as if this didn’t already sound unbalanced. Oh, you
haven’t heard the best: Customer Service is the main host for the questions!
Interesting spin on the usual clip show, that’s for sure. At every question,
Customer Service plays the relevant scenes from the anime. The quiz even starts
with a question about the first episode! Most questions involve Kirby’s forms
and the monsters he battled. Meanwhile, Dedede and Escargoon attempt to cheat their way to victory… A pretty brilliant
concept for the episode, a real treat to watch.
10. Episode 80 – Power Ploy
|
Buff Kirby.... *shudder* That's just wrong. |
Dedede has had enough of eNeMeE’s monsters never
getting rid of Kirby, so he tries to file a complaint, but Customer Service
tricks him into buying more stuff from them – namely, a new energy drink that
soon becomes the talk of the town among Cappies for its crazy energy and
muscle-boosting capabilities. When Kirby drinks some of it, he inhales a
statue, becomes Stone Kirby, and goes on a manic destruction spree! The
downside is that once the drink’s effect ends, its user is all worn out, and
that was the plan all along: Customer Service sends a monster at Kirby, who’s
now too weak to fight back! Once again, an episode with plenty of funny
moments, but also quite a bit of action, just the way it’s supposed to be. And
a pretty smart plot, really, that shows that NightMare Enterprises calls the
shots on the side of evil, Dedede be damned. Oh, and an epic ending, too!
11. Episode 92 – Hunger Struck
|
What was that I said about the strength in numbers?
Oh, right... |
Another episode about the Waddle Dees – let’s hope it
doesn’t break my D key to talk about this one. Escargoon sees the multi-course
meal the Dees receive and reports to Dedede, who upon seeing the cost of these
meals, decides to drastically cut on his army’s portions. He creates a contest
to see who, among the townspeople, could create the cheapest meal for his army,
and Chef Kawasaki wins. Unfortunately, the chef’s paper-thin sandwiches are not
a hit with the Dees, causing them to revolt against the entire town. “It’s not
because we’re a mouthless nondescript mass that we can’t get hungry, you know!”
You’ll believe they can be a threat! You’ll believe they can give death glares!
And of course, things get worse when Customer Service sends out a cooking
monster-
|
I told you the Waddle Dees were good at making
death glares. |
No, a cookING monster, to feed the Waddle Dees on the
condition that they bring Kirby… Another great episode, and one that finally
paints the Waddle Dees as a credible threat! Strength is in the numbers, they
say. Plus, it’s always good to have an episode that discusses the inner
workings of the universe that's been presented to us since Episode 1. By the way, the
episode finally answers how Waddle Dees eat: They absorb the food through the
skin of their face and then chew it! Must… resist… temptation… to… question…
the cartoon… biology… THAT MAKES NO SENSE! But I'll let it pass, because it's funny.
12. Episodes 96 to 100 – The Movie
|
Iron Kirby - a fan design. Looks good! |
I can’t end this list without the big series finale.
In the Japanese version, these five episodes formed a 90-minute movie, but
upon localization (and to fit with the release date of Kirby’s Air Ride), 4kids
released the first two episodes in the middle of the series. Those two
episodes, Air-Ride In Style, were pretty important to the end of the series,
but 4kids’ change in the order of episodes passed it off as a dream within the
series. And yet, this two-parter turns out to be a long battle against some of
NightMare Enterprises’ strongest creatures: The Air Riders.
|
Wow, that's a big ship. |
Following this, it
seems eNeMeE has finally had enough of this battle and sends out destroyer
starships that level Cappy Town. Meta Knight reveals that through the duration
of the series, he and his acolytes were building the Halberd, which they can
use to travel across space towards NightMare Enterprises, to settle this once
and for all. And thus, the final battle comes as Kirby, helped by an unlikely
group of heroes formed by many of the Cappy Townspeople, head out to take down
Nightmare. Oh, Dedede and Escargoon are in there, too, but they're mostly just nuisances here. As a movie, this is a really good ending, mostly living up to the
expectations. It has comedy, it has action; it has everything that made the
show so fun to watch. By this point, King Dedede and Escargoon in 3D blend
pretty well with the surroundings, an art that was refined over the 95 previous
episodes.
|
A chess theme, yet the pieces are not even on squares.
That is not how you play chess. |
The Air Ride episodes have four Kirby abilities that were created by
fans, and one of them, Water Kirby, even became part of the game series! One
problem with it is that the battle against Nightmare is rather anticlimactic, but
then again it’s justified by Kirby wielding the Star Rod and Nightmare being
easy to defeat but also easy to revive since he’s a personification of bad
dreams and, thus, can come back whenever someone has a nightmare…
P.S. Even the last episode alone is worth watching for that one scene
with the revelation about Customer Service. It’s hilarious.
Anyway, enough rambling. This is my final post about
the Kirby anime. I hope this gave you enough interest in the series to check it
out at some point. It’s not perfect, there are some glaring mistakes in the
English dub, but it’s still a pretty enjoyable kid’s show with enough wit in
many episodes to appeal to everyone.
Next Friday: A final post about Kirby’s Dream
Collection!
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