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Kirby: Difference between revisions
→Characteristics: This may look a bit too much, but so many people still argue that Kirby isn't 20 cm tall when we have multiple confirmations of that, so...
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[[File:KSA Heroes in Another Dimension happy end card.jpg|thumb|250px|Kirby's soft squishy body is surprisingly tough and malleable. It helps solidify his appeal as a character.]] | [[File:KSA Heroes in Another Dimension happy end card.jpg|thumb|250px|Kirby's soft squishy body is surprisingly tough and malleable. It helps solidify his appeal as a character.]] | ||
{{quote|I wish I had your combo of power and cuteness!|[[Waddle Dee]] in ''[[Kirby Battle Royale]]''}} | {{quote|I wish I had your combo of power and cuteness!|[[Waddle Dee]] in ''[[Kirby Battle Royale]]''}} | ||
For a Nintendo character, Kirby is one of the simplest in appearance. As nothing more than a pink, 8-inch tall,<ref>{{Cite|Even though he's only about eight inches tall, Kirby is an extremely skilled technician.||''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' trophy}}</ref> charismatic ball with red feet, Kirby uses the malleability and flexibility of his tuft-shaped body to establish his individuality, and traverse the col{{o}}rful, interactive landscapes around him. On his own, Kirby has little physical strength. However, his ability to mimic his foes' characteristics, known as [[Copy Ability|Copy Abilities]], through ingestion adds quite the amount of physical, chemical, energetic, and/or magical power to his arsenal. Utilizing these abilities, Kirby can greatly increase his versatility, able to overcome all manner of environmental barriers, and defeat enemies in innumerable different ways. When Kirby gains an ability, he famously also obtains a special hat or another sort of costume to signify its presence, though this distinction was not present in the series until ''[[Kirby Super Star|{{KSS KFP}}]]'' introduced it. Notably, however, Kirby cannot typically use his [[inhale]] again unless he discards the ability he has first, resetting him to his normal form. | For a Nintendo character, Kirby is one of the simplest in appearance. As nothing more than a pink, 8-inch (20 cm) tall,<ref>{{Cite|The 8-inch high Kirby hails from a distant, peaceful star.||Kirby's in-game description in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]''}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0003/miryoku/ Nintendo Japan (Nintendo Online Magazine - Kirby's profile - March 2000 issue covering ''Kirby 64: the Crystal Shards'' release)]</ref><ref>{{Cite|Even though he's only about eight inches tall, Kirby is an extremely skilled technician.||''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' trophy}}</ref><ref name=20th>{{Cite book|book=20th Anniversary - Hoshi no Kirby: Pupupu Taizen|publisher=Shogakukan|page=15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite|He may only be eight inches tall, but you should never underestimate this little pink hero.||[https://kirby.nintendo.com/about/ Kirby Portal] profile}}</ref><ref>In [[Chop Champs]], the Kirbys are roughly the size of the logs, which are 25 cm tall.</ref><ref>[[:File:A_Farewell_to_Kirby_sketch.jpg|The sketch of the "Farewell to Kirby" Celebration Picture has a note that says '''20cmなので''' ("Because (Kirby) is 20cm tall").]]</ref> charismatic ball with red feet, Kirby uses the malleability and flexibility of his tuft-shaped body to establish his individuality, and traverse the col{{o}}rful, interactive landscapes around him. On his own, Kirby has little physical strength. However, his ability to mimic his foes' characteristics, known as [[Copy Ability|Copy Abilities]], through ingestion adds quite the amount of physical, chemical, energetic, and/or magical power to his arsenal. Utilizing these abilities, Kirby can greatly increase his versatility, able to overcome all manner of environmental barriers, and defeat enemies in innumerable different ways. When Kirby gains an ability, he famously also obtains a special hat or another sort of costume to signify its presence, though this distinction was not present in the series until ''[[Kirby Super Star|{{KSS KFP}}]]'' introduced it. Notably, however, Kirby cannot typically use his [[inhale]] again unless he discards the ability he has first, resetting him to his normal form. | ||
Kirby is known for his exceptional hardiness, particularly when compared to other video game characters in the platforming genre. His [[stamina]] is such that he can take several hits before being knocked out and is easily replenished by consuming [[food]] and other such items. In most games, Kirby is able to [[hover]] in the air indefinitely, which allows him to cross otherwise impassable barriers such as tall walls or [[bottomless pit]]s with ease. He is also able to breathe underwater and in deep space and can withstand extremes in temperature to a degree. | Kirby is known for his exceptional hardiness, particularly when compared to other video game characters in the platforming genre. His [[stamina]] is such that he can take several hits before being knocked out and is easily replenished by consuming [[food]] and other such items. In most games, Kirby is able to [[hover]] in the air indefinitely, which allows him to cross otherwise impassable barriers such as tall walls or [[bottomless pit]]s with ease. He is also able to breathe underwater and in deep space and can withstand extremes in temperature to a degree. | ||
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In Japanese, Kirby is written as a gender-neutral character, while international localizations usually refer to him as male. This is because it is simpler in Japanese to use neutral terms compared to other languages; for example, in the manual for ''Kirby's Dream Land'', Kirby is referred to as a "spry little boy" in English, but a more general "young person" (若者, ''wakamono'') in Japanese. There are times where he is referred to with ''kare'' (かれ), which is a masculine pronoun. Additionally, Kirby's Japanese speaking style in instances where he is given full dialogue tends to use masculine conventions. This does not necessarily contradict him being a gender-neutral character.<ref>[https://kaialone.tumblr.com/post/636742650015481856/ive-read-that-kirbys-gender-is-ambiguous-in Kaialone on Tumblr]</ref> | In Japanese, Kirby is written as a gender-neutral character, while international localizations usually refer to him as male. This is because it is simpler in Japanese to use neutral terms compared to other languages; for example, in the manual for ''Kirby's Dream Land'', Kirby is referred to as a "spry little boy" in English, but a more general "young person" (若者, ''wakamono'') in Japanese. There are times where he is referred to with ''kare'' (かれ), which is a masculine pronoun. Additionally, Kirby's Japanese speaking style in instances where he is given full dialogue tends to use masculine conventions. This does not necessarily contradict him being a gender-neutral character.<ref>[https://kaialone.tumblr.com/post/636742650015481856/ive-read-that-kirbys-gender-is-ambiguous-in Kaialone on Tumblr]</ref> | ||
The Japan-exclusive official artbook ''"20th Anniversary - Hoshi no Kirby: Pupupu Taizen"'' lists Kirby's gender as "unknown".<ref | The Japan-exclusive official artbook ''"20th Anniversary - Hoshi no Kirby: Pupupu Taizen"'' lists Kirby's gender as "unknown".<ref name=20th/> Kirby's voice actress, [[Makiko Ohmoto]], has also stated that Kirby's gender is unknown.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Makiko_Ohmoto/status/1214819520918872065 Makiko Ohmoto on Twitter (translated from Japanese)]: ''"Kirby's gender is unknown."''</ref> Reflecting this, commemorative artwork on the [[Kirby JP Twitter]] regularly shows Kirby taking gender roles of both men and women, such as appearing as the Empress on [[:File:Twitter Hinamatsuri 2017.jpg|Hinamatsuri]], and baking sweets with both female characters on [[:File:Twitter Cookie Baking.jpg|Valentine's Day]] and male characters on [[:File:Twitter Candy Shop.jpg|White Day]]. | ||
Japanese spin-off material does not always adhere to this. Some manga write Kirby as male outright; this may be due to his implied attraction to female characters, such as [[ChuChu]] and [[Ribbon]], in the games. The [[Kirby (novel series)|novels by Mie Takase]] also write Kirby with masculine speech patterns, and he shows aversion to cross-dressing as a woman in "''[[Kirby and the Dangerous Gourmet Mansion?!]]''", though he at one point with makeup on sees himself as "cute". Neither of these correlate to Japanese [[canon]], however. | Japanese spin-off material does not always adhere to this. Some manga write Kirby as male outright; this may be due to his implied attraction to female characters, such as [[ChuChu]] and [[Ribbon]], in the games. The [[Kirby (novel series)|novels by Mie Takase]] also write Kirby with masculine speech patterns, and he shows aversion to cross-dressing as a woman in "''[[Kirby and the Dangerous Gourmet Mansion?!]]''", though he at one point with makeup on sees himself as "cute". Neither of these correlate to Japanese [[canon]], however. | ||