Kirby: The Mysterious Incident on the Pupupu Train?!
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| “ | Kirby sets out to solve a case that has arisen on the Pupupu Train galactic railway!? The galactic railway, "Pupupu Train", that connects Dream Land to the resort planet Yutari, famous for its feasts and glittering beaches, is now open for business! Kirby, King Dedede and Bandana Waddle Dee, and Meta Knight and his men embark on a scenic and festive seven day train trip! ...However, on the train, a commotion about a ghost arises, and the sugar used for meal prep has suddenly vanished. What's more, a massive crash of the Pupupu Train is imminent!? In order to protect everyone, and to feast in Yutari, Kirby and the rest of the gang set out to solve the case!! |
” | — Unofficial translation of the description of Kirby: The Mysterious Incident on the Pupupu Train?! |
Kirby: The Mysterious Incident on the Pupupu Train?![Japanese title] is the twenty-first volume of the Kirby novel series, published exclusively in Japan on December 15th, 2021.[2] In this volume, the residents of Dream Land are invited by the "Railroad King" York to board the Pupupu Train on a trip to the resort planet Yutari. On the train, strange incidents occur, each bigger than the last: mysterious noises, the train's staff suddenly falling asleep due to slumbercumbers transported by York, and sugar disappearing. Amidst these events, the passengers are faced with a meteor set to crash into the train, and it is up to Kirby and company to save the train and its passengers and get everyone safely to Yutari.
This volume takes inspiration from the Kirby Pupupu Train real-life events series.
Characters[edit]
| Characters of "Kirby: The Mysterious Incident on the Pupupu Train?!" | |||||
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| Main characters | |||||
| Supporting & minor characters | |||||
| For characters lacking illustrations, see this page | |||||
Plot synopsis[edit]
Chapter 1: The Railroad King Has Arrived![edit]
Bandana Waddle Dee rushes into King Dedede's office, informing him that a visitor wishes to speak with him. Intrigued by the visitor's status, the "Railroad King", King Dedede greets the visitor, who introduces himself as York. York explains that he wants to build a railroad from Dream Land to Yutari, a planet known for its lush environments and resorts. Incentivized largely by the prospect of food, King Dedede agrees to let York build the railway.
Later, Bandana Waddle Dee expresses his concern about the Pupupu Train railway project, which many of Dream Land's residents are invited to, as he believes it to be too good to be true. King Dedede dismisses these worries and tells him to prepare for the inaugural trip. The rest of the Waddle Dees are excited by the invitation, but Bandana Waddle Dee still has his doubts.
The Pupupu Train quickly becomes the talk of the town at Dream Land. As the residents exchange rumors, Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee arrive in a makeshift rope and passenger train. Bandana Waddle Dee promises to give the residents of Dream Land pamphlets with information. The pamphlets are eventually handed out at Castle Dedede, and everyone is excited about the trip. Chef Kawasaki announces that he'll be in charge of the food on the train, which leads Kirby to cheer. The rest begin deciding room assignments: Burning Leo and Hot Head, Chilly and Pengy agree to share rooms with each other, respectively. Kirby wants to ride with Walky; knowing well what catastrophe can ensue, Bonkers offers to be Kirby's roommate, much to the others' relief.
Chapter 2: Pupupu Train, Ready to Depart![edit]
On the day of the departure, the eager Kirby arrives at the train station early. He is surprised when the station attendant clips his ticket, but then finds it cool and asks to try this job. As the departure time nears, Kirby clips the passengers' tickets. King Dedede shows up boasting a new outfit for the occasion and calling himself the "station master". As he explains this title, Meta Knight and his subordinates arrive, having left the Halberd for a change. The Meta-Knights are excited for the trip, but Captain Vul is sour and snaps back at Kirby when the latter shows concern. The last to arrive are York and his crew: the driver, conductor, and the maid. Everyone boards the train, and the Pupupu Train departs.
Everyone settles in their rooms. Chef Kawasaki enthusiastically examines the kitchen and food car's supplies and begins to prepare meals for the upcoming party in the dining car. Later that evening all the passengers cheer and enjoy the celebration; or rather, all but Captain Vul, who barely eats anything. While everyone else enjoys dessert, he gets up and leaves, saying he doesn't feel well. His crewmates dismiss it as anxiety due to the trip.
Chapter 3: The Midnight Ghost Disturbance!?[edit]
The passengers return to their rooms for the night. Past midnight, a Waddle Dee carries a cup of water to bring it to King Dedede when he hears a strange sobbing noise from the storage room. This horrifies the Waddle Dee, who drops the cup and immediately runs back to the Waddle Dees' room. He tells the rest about the noise, fearing that it could be a ghost. The Waddle Dees are scared of this idea, but Bandana Waddle Dee tries to assure them that a ghost couldn't have snuck on the train unnoticed. Just then, King Dedede enters the room, startling the Waddle Dees, who at first think the ghost came. They explain the situation to him, so he decides to see for himself and prove that there is no ghost on the train. By the time they reach the storage room, the noises have ceased. King Dedede opens the door and finds the room to be empty. He concludes that the witness Waddle Dee must have been half asleep when he heard the noise, and heads back to his room. The rest of the Waddle Dees are still convinced there is a ghost, and that it can pass through walls.
The next night, the Waddle Dees cower at the thought of the ghost. Bandana Waddle Dee heads towards the storage room, followed by the other Waddle Dees. They all hear the noise again, and Bandana Waddle Dee notices that it's a very sad sob and wants to comfort the ghost. When he approaches and tries to open the door, the sobbing stops. However, the door is locked from the inside. The Waddle Dees freak out, and King Dedede comes to see what the commotion is about. He realizes that only nine of the ten Waddle Dees are present, and the Waddle Dees think the ghost kidnapped the tenth. King Dedede demands the door be opened, and the one inside the storage room turns out to be none other than the missing Waddle Dee, who confesses to have been scared and homesick. King Dedede is irritated by the situation, claiming that anyplace he is should be the Waddle Dees' home. As they head back, Bandana Waddle Dee points out that King Dedede must have been concerned about the noise since he came out that night.
Chapter 4: The Great Sandwich Incident![edit]
First thing in the morning, Chef Kawasaki prepares to make a snack for the train's crew. Kirby visits him early since he can't sleep due to Bonkers' loud snoring. He complains, mentioning that Bonkers was opposed to Kirby's mere humming but was loud himself. Chef Kawasaki steers the conversation in a positive direction, and Kirby offers to help with breakfast, which unnerves Chef Kawasaki, who is well aware of Kirby's abysmal cooking skills. Instead, Kirby brings ingredients, and Chef Kawasaki makes cucumber sandwiches, which Kirby then delivers to the crew. The fascinated Kirby watches the driver work when, suddenly, the driver falls unconscious on the spot. When he tries to call someone for help, Kirby finds the maid and conductor to also be unconscious. The plates with the sandwiches are empty, so he concludes that they must have been the cause.
The news quickly spreads on the train, causing a commotion. York tries to sort out the situation. King Dedede points out that with no driver, the train is a runaway. However, it can't be stopped due to its acceleration device, but York reassures the rest that it has a self-driving mechanism for normal circumstances. King Dedede runs off to try to drive the train anyway, while Meta Knight says they need to investigate the cause behind the incident. Chef Kawasaki explains, and York is disheartened when he mentions the cucumbers. This reaction raises Meta Knight's suspicions. Chef Kawasaki lists the ingredients and claims he never put slumbercumbers, which are a special sort of cucumbers with sleep-inducing effects that grow exclusively in the southern grasslands of Dream Land. When he examines the box of cucumbers, he's shocked to find out they are indeed slumbercumbers. They establish that the crew will be asleep for ten days, and will only awake after they reach Yutari. Meta Knight retells this to York, who continues to show suspicious degrees of concern. They wonder how the slumbercumbers got there in the first place, and narrow down the options to unscrupulosity of staff or passengers, which they ultimately dismiss due to a lack of motive, or an unnoticed stowaway. With much left unknown, they decide to avoid creating tension among passengers for the time being, and Chef Kawasaki begins to prepare a sweet afternoon snack to help everyone calm down.
Chapter 5: The Disappearing Sugar Incident!?[edit]
Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee offer to help Chef Kawasaki prepare the sweets. However, they discover that all the sugar has gone missing. Chef Kawasaki says this means that the afternoon's snack party would be cancelled since sugar is a crucial ingredient in all the desserts. He steps out and informs the passengers. Everyone is shocked and upset by the news. While Knuckle Joe initially suspects Kirby may have given to gluttony and eaten it, Chilly suggests that the culprit behind the slumbercumber event could be at fault here too, with the incident having taken place to neutralize the witnesses. Everyone continues theorizing when York steps in and reasons with the rest, saying that pointing fingers will only create a tense atmosphere. Chef Kawasaki thinks of the sugar-free meals he could still make to cheer the rest up, but everyone else is still dejected. Before Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee return to the kitchen car to assist Chef Kawasaki, Bandana Waddle Dee explains his suspicions about York to Kirby. He believes York may be the culprit and that the Pupupu Train may have some secret reason behind its creation, so he decides to watch over York to get to the bottom of it.
Chapter 6: The Unlikely Culprit[edit]
Breakfast is served, but everyone is quiet. While carrying plates, Kirby notices that Captain Vul is absent and inquires Meta Knight and his crew about it. Hearing of Captain Vul's lack of appetite and unwellness, Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee visit him and bring rice porridge. They then invite Captain Vul to attend the tea party scheduled for that afternoon. He refuses at first due to the implications of sweets, but Kirby explains that the sugar is gone and alternatives will be used. Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee then return to the dining car, leaving Captain Vul to ponder.
Everyone has finished their meal, but the atmosphere is tense due to the recent events. As Meta Knight and his crew get up to go to their room, Captain Vul suddenly comes and confesses that he stole the sugar. In a tearful apology, he explains that he is on a diet since he had been putting on weight, but under the pressure of constant desserts and driven by impulse, he had decided to hide the sugar in the freight car. Since it was packed with crates, he moved one out to the kitchen. Meta Knight realizes that this must have been the slumbercumber box, and Captain Vul is guiltridden upon finding out he's the cause of this incident as well.
However, Meta Knight confronts York on the topic of the transportation of slumbercumbers. Before he receives an answer, King Dedede barges in, having left the Waddle Dees to drive the train. He accuses York of smuggling the slumbercumbers to make a fortune by selling it to evildoers who could use the slumbercumbers for malicious purposes. York admits that the Pupupu Train was indeed transporting slumbercumbers, but before he can explain why, the Waddle Dees run in, panicked by the flashing red emergency sign in the driver's car warning of an incoming meteor that is set to collide with the train.
Chapter 7: Kirby's Great Singing Operation![edit]
Panic ensues from the news. The only way to avoid the meteor is by changing the tracks on the spot, which only an experienced driver can do. The passengers blame York for his slumbercumber smuggling causing the driver to fall asleep, but Kirby brings silence to the room and is determined to wake up the driver. He remembers that Bonkers woke up when he hummed, and everyone realizes that nobody can sleep when Kirby's singing. The puffball inhales Walky to gain the Mike ability. Before Kirby heads off, Meta Knight asks him to sing as quietly as possible, as it would still be sufficient to wake up the driver without destroying the train in the process. Once Kirby leaves, Meta Knight orders the rest to get down and cover their ears, something that the confused York fails to do in time.
Kirby reaches the room where the crew is and starts to sing, relatively quietly but with enough power for the crew to twitch and then awaken. At first dazed, the crew realizes the urgency of the situation when Kirby gets them up to speed, and they take their respective spots. Kirby returns to the dining car with the good news, where he finds the passengers exhausted and York unconscious. Everyone cheers for Kirby, and York comes to. He assures the rest that the skilled driver will be able to prevent the collision. King Dedede comes back to interrogate York again but decides to hold it off for the time being in order to celebrate with a sweets party. However, the celebration is cut short when the conductor runs in saying that it is too late to avoid the meteor, and the collision is imminent.
Chapter 8: The Pupupu Train's Great Pinch![edit]
Everyone is left speechless, and York faints again from the shock. There is not enough time to evacuate the passengers, so the clear alternative is to destroy the meteor before it hits the train. The passengers offer themselves to be inhaled by Kirby so he can use their powers. However, Meta Knight decides it's best to consult the driver to find the optimal strategy. They find the driver brainstorming on a solution. When Kirby offers his assistance, the driver is initially skeptical since Kirby doesn't have driving skills. The meteor appears to be too large to destroy. Despite his friends urging him to leave, Kirby stays and concentrates on finding a solution. He decides to make the train leap over the meteorite instead of destroying the hazard, counting on the driver to steer the train back on track once they land. With no better alternative, the driver accepts.
Kirby returns to the dining car and asks to inhale Capsule J2, much to everyone's surprise. After briefly explaining his plan, he inhales Capsule J2 to get the Jet ability. Leaving the rest confused by his choice, he leaves through the window and positions himself on the car in the front of the train. He begins storing power for the big jump as the meteor approaches. In the meantime, Meta Knight tells the passengers to prepare for impact. The maid helps York come to, and they get him up to speed. York and the maid split up to distribute blankets to the passengers to soften the impact, and the Meta-Knights comment on York's unexpectedly selfless demeanor in light of the smuggling incident before they also take shelter.
Chapter 9: Protect Everyone![edit]
Kirby continues storing energy to an unprecedented scale. With a big responsibility on his shoulders, Kirby focuses and releases the energy when the driver gives him a signal. The train does not immediately move off the tracks, but as the passengers cheer for him, Kirby gives it his all and lifts the train, just enough to avoid the meteor. The driver charts the new cars and steers the train to them. The last car is hit by the meteor and destroyed. The driver worries about the passengers, but the conductor announces that only the freight car was lost, and all passengers are safe. The train lands and picks up speed again. The conductor and maid check on the passengers. King Dedede is grumpy about the impact and decides to go out and complain to Kirby, and Meta Knight joins him (for different reasons). The two find Kirby unconscious on the roof of the train. When even mentioning a buffet fails to wake him up, King Dedede reaches out a Maxim Tomato he'd been saving and feeds it to Kirby, who then instantly recovers and rejoices.
They return to the train, and a sweets party is held at the dining car. The guiltridden Captain Vul tries to leave unnoticed, but Chef Kawasaki offers him to stay, seconded by Kirby. Captain Vul finds it humiliating as the captain of the Halberd, but Meta Knight assures him that while he will be punished in the form of a sweets ban, the punishment will be effective starting on the next day, so Captain Vul is welcome to participate in the party. Chef Kawasaki also offers sugar-free sweets to help with Captain Vul's diet. The celebration begins, and everyone hails Kirby and Capsule J2 as heroes, as well as the train's crew, including York. The latter is devastated by the loss of the slumbercumber stock. King Dedede gloats, but York remembers that the box that was brought to the kitchen still remains.
Chapter 10: The Truth of the Pupupu Train[edit]
The train arrives at Planet Yutari. Dream Land's residents are greeted with flowers, and everyone is amazed by the beauty of the planet and its residents' hospitality. When York gets off the train, he's met by a woman that is soon confirmed to be his wife. Despite his insistence for her to return home, she inquires about the slumbercumbers. King Dedede overhears this and confronts her as a potential accomplice, but Meta Knight cuts him off and asks them to explain. York's wife promises to talk about it at the hotel despite the flustered York asking her to return home and let him do the talking.
Later that day, she asks everyone at the hotel what kind of explanation York gave about the slumbercumbers. After hearing out the accusations and inquiring him about it, she explains to the rest that he had gotten the slumbercumbers to make into a medicine for her due to her debilitating insomnia. The large amounts would help make medicine for many more people with trouble sleeping. Now convinced, everyone asks York why he hadn't told them sooner, as they would have been on board with the idea, but York's wife simply tells them that he is too shy and stubborn and didn't want to bring her up in the story due to his embarrassment. Meta Knight mentions that York's care for the passengers during the meteor incident showed he is indeed noble at heart. Bandana Waddle Dee apologizes to York for doubting him and being rude because of it.
York's wife also brings up York's genuine love for railroads and desire for easy travel between Dream Land and Yutari. King Dedede offers her to travel by train and visit his castle. Just then, the conductor comes and says that the Pupupu Train won't be able to operate due to the damage from the meteor. Meta Knight decides to contact the Halberd in order to return to Dream Land. While the train could be repaired, York says it's best to review the safety of the railway to prevent more accidents, but plans to open the railroad again when it's ready. Amidst the cheers, the hungry Kirby asks to start the party, immediately seconded by King Dedede. Everyone excitedly plans their stay at Yutari, and York and his wife join them.
Descriptions[edit]
| Found in | Description and translation |
|---|---|
| Amazon Japan, Tsubasa Bunko, Yumeruba, back of the book | ごちそうときらめくビーチで有名なリゾート惑星ユタリーと、プププランドをむすぶ銀河鉄道「プププトレイン」が開通! カービィは、デデデ大王やバンダナワドルディ、メタナイトたちと、ゴージャスで楽しい、七日間の列車旅行へ! ……でも、列車の中では、幽霊さわぎや、お砂糖がこつぜんと消えておやつが作れなくなる事件が起き、さらにプププトレイン大爆発のピンチがせまる!?カービィたちは、みんなを守り、ユタリーでごちそうを食べるため、事件解決に乗り出す!! The galactic railway, "Pupupu Train", that connects Dream Land to the resort planet Yutari, famous for its feasts and glittering beaches, is now open for business! Kirby, King Dedede and Bandana Waddle Dee, and Meta Knight and his men embark on a scenic and festive seven day train trip! |
| Amazon Japan | カービィが、銀河鉄道プププトレインで起こる事件を解決!?
ごちそうときらめくビーチで有名なリゾート惑星ユタリーと、プププランドをむすぶ銀河鉄道「プププトレイン」が開通! Kirby solves incidents that occur on the galactic railway, Pupupu Train! |
| Dust jacket of the book | カービィたちは、銀河鉄道の旅へ出発!でも、楽しい旅行のウラでとんでもない悪だくみが動き出す･･･。カービィのコピー能力で事件解決にいどめ!!
Kirby and his friends depart on a galactic railroad journey! However, behind the scenes of the fun trip, an unbelievably evil scheme is in motion... It's up to Kirby and his Copy Abilities to tackle and solve this case!! |
Gallery[edit]
|
It has been requested that image(s) be uploaded and added to this article. Remove this notice once the image(s) have been uploaded and applied. Artwork of Meta Knight |
- Illustrations
The ticket for the Pupupu Train
Kirby and King Dedede, suited up for the occasion
A homesick Waddle Dee
King Dedede on the case
Jet Kirby in action
Kirby in tip-top shape thanks to the Maxim Tomato
Everyone celebrates
A beach day on Yutari
- Artwork
Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee (dust jacket illustration)
Kirby (obi illustration)
Kirby, Meta Knight, Bandana Waddle Dee, Chef Kawasaki, Burning Leo, Chilly and King Dedede (table of contents illustration)
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 星のカービィ ナゾと事件のプププトレイン!?の巻 hoshi no kābyi nazo to jiken no pupupu torein!? no maki |
Kirby of the Stars: The Mysterious Incident on the Pupupu Train?! Volume |
