Kirby's Duel Role

Kirby's Duel Role
E3 Scene 18.png
Kirby faces off against Bugzzy in Kabu Canyon.
Details
First aired Japan October 20, 2001
NA September 21, 2002
Episode # 3
Copy Ability (Abilities) featured Sword
Monster(s) featured Bugzzy
Character(s) featured Kirby, Meta Knight, Tiff, Tuff, King Dedede
Episode order
A Blockbuster Battle A Dark & Stormy Knight
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Kirby's Duel Role is the third episode of the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! series. In this episode, King Dedede orders Sir Meta Knight to defeat Kirby and drive him out of Dream Land. Feigning to obey his orders, Meta Knight uses the opportunity to teach Kirby how to fight with a sword by "dueling" him in a canyon. After Meta Knight "fails" to defeat Kirby, Dedede orders a monster from Night Mare Enterprises called Bugzzy to get the job done, but Kirby slays it using the Sword ability. This episode marks the first appearance of Melman.

CharactersEdit

The following characters appear in this episode:

Cast of "Kirby's Duel Role"  
Character Selected quote Notes
Primary characters
"Poyo! Pooiiyooo!" (in response to Meta Knight's letter)
"Kirby! My King has commanded me to challenge you to a duel. Prepare for battle, and prepare to be defeated!"
"The creature must be...Kirby!"
"What are you so happy about? Meta Knight challenged you to a duel!"
"Monsters?! What makes you think I've been ordering monsters?"
Secondary characters
"Meta Knight-" *unintelligible* "-Kirby!"
"Where is Kirby now?" Buttercup's line is cut in the 4Kids version, so this line was translated from the Japanese version.
*cheering*
"A challenge?"
(no dialogue)
"Just make sure you give that little crumb his just desserts!"
(Falala) "Let's get him out of here!"
"-For a duel?"
"But eNeMeE made one grave mistake. One creature was produced that would not obey his orders, and eNeMeE fears it may defeat him."
"-From Meta Knight?"
"Got a special delivery letter here from..." *stammers* "...let's see..."
"We've got just the thing you're looking for, King, but unfortunately we haven't received payment for the other monsters Night Mare Enterprises sent you already."
"With a little more time, you could have taught Kirby to master the Sword Beam!"
"Whatever you're sellin' I ain't buyin', so put an egg in your shoe and beat it!"

LocationsEdit

Plot synopsisEdit

 
The group receives a letter from Sir Meta Knight.

The episode begins at Kirby's House, as Tiff, Tuff, and Fololo & Falala arrive to bring Kirby a warning. Tokkori answers the door, directing the kids to the tree where Kirby is sleeping. They wake him up and tell him that King Dedede is plotting something again. At that moment, Mr. Melman appears with a letter from Sir Meta Knight. Tiff reads it, and the group finds out that the masked swordsman has challenged Kirby to a duel. Tokkori spreads the news to the residents of Cappy Town, and explains that the duel will be taking place at Kabu Canyon.

At the canyon, Tiff explains to Kirby what they saw in King Dedede's throne room. They consider hiding Kirby, but Meta Knight shows up at that moment. After disregarding the kids, Meta Knight formally challenges Kirby to fight and the battle begins. After Kirby gets beaten around a bit, Tiff instructs him to try and inhale Meta Knight, but this fails. Meanwhile, Dedede and Escargoon are watching the fight at a distance from their Armored Vehicle. Tiff insists the fight is not fair, so Meta Knight instructs Sword Knight to toss Kirby his sword. Kirby picks it up, but he lacks finesse, and Meta Knight defeats him again, meanwhile giving Kirby advice on swordplay. Seeing this, Dedede and Escargoon drive off with a plan to bring in a monster to finish the job, revealing they were only finding out Kirby's "weakness" the entire time.

 
Meta Knight teaches Kirby the art of swordplay.

With Dedede gone, Meta Knight instructs Kirby to fight once more. The two continue sparring, as Kirby becomes gradually more adept with the sword. Meta Knight then shows Kirby a technique called Sword Beam and challenges him to perform it. However, Kirby grows tired and falls asleep right there. Meta Knight sees this as an attempt to gather energy and resumes the fight. Before he can strike, however, Tiff and Tuff interrupt the fight by dropping a huge boulder, which Meta Knight pushes Kirby out of the way of, then he searches for Kirby, wondering where he is. Under the cover of the dust that kicked up from this, the kids grab Kirby and flee the scene.

 
Bugzzy is split in half.

Meanwhile, King Dedede boots up his monster delivery system and requests a monster that is good with a sword. N.M.E. sends a beetle monster called Bugzzy who wields a studded club and a scimitar. Back in the canyon, Tiff and Tuff start to realize Meta Knight's true intentions. They go and ask Kabu for confirmation, who explains to them the backstory regarding Night Mare Enterprises, and how eNeMeE accidentally created a powerful monster who would not obey his orders. The kids conclude that Kirby must have been that monster. Kabu then reveals that Meta Knight taught him this story.

The kids try to bring Kirby back to his house on a stretcher, but King Dedede and Escargoon find them in the canyon. Kirby is thrown to the ground in the chase, and then attacked by Bugzzy. After dodging the monster's initial strikes, Kirby tries to inhale Bugzzy, but fails. After Meta Knight rejoins the kids, Tiff then instructs Kirby to inhale Bugzzy's sword instead. Meta Knight throws his sword to knock Bugzzy's blade loose, allowing Kirby to inhale it and transform into Sword Kirby. Bugzzy then conjures two new giant scimitars, and Kirby lengthens his own sword in response. After a brief flurry, Kirby falls asleep again. Bugzzy takes this chance to close in, but Kirby wakes back up right away and uses the Sword Beam technique, cleaving Bugzzy in two. It is then revealed that many of the Cappies were watching the fight, and cheer Kirby's victory. Annoyed, Dedede and Escargoon try to run Kirby down with their vehicle, but Meta Knight stops them, kicking the tank away. As the episode ends, Tiff remarks that some day, she and Tuff will learn Meta Knight's secrets.

Differences between versionsEdit

  • The scenes where Kirby duels Meta Knight are longer and more fleshed out in the Japanese version.
  • A relatively minor scene where Escargoon gets left behind by the Armored Vehicle is cut in the international versions.

Dialogue differencesEdit

  • Buttercup has her first line in the series in this episode, but only in the Japanese version.
  • Kirby thinks and shouts the words "Sword Beam" several times in the Japanese version, but this is cut from international dubs.
  • In the Japanese version, King Dedede says he'll pay his bills all at once, to which the N.M.E. Sales Guy replies that he won't get a discount this time. In the dub, the sales guy tells him they always give credit where credit is due.

TriviaEdit

  • One of the monster chess pieces on eNeMeE's chess board resembles Kapar.

GalleryEdit

Names in other languagesEdit

Language Name Meaning
Japanese え!メタナイト卿と対決?
E! Metanaito-kyō to Taiketsu?
What! Battle with Sir Meta Knight?
Chinese 什麼!和梅塔奈特公爵決鬥!
Shénme! Hé Méitǎnàitè Gōngjué Juédòu!
What! A Duel with Meta Knight!
German Das Duell The Duel
Italian Una Terribile Minaccia A Terrible Threat
Korean 스워드 커비
seuwodeu keobi
Sword Kirby
Note that the transliteration of "Sword" is unusual (소드 would be more common), but sets a clear precedent for the Korean name of the Sword ability in future official localizations of the games.
Brazilian Portuguese O Duelo de Kirby Kirby's Duel