Kirby's characteristics

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“

I wish I had your combo of power and cuteness!

”

— Waddle Dee in Kirby Battle Royale

Despite Kirby's very simple-looking outward appearance, he possesses a surprisingly complex set of characteristics, particularly when concerning the details of his anatomy, and even more minor points of contention such as his gender, personality, and origin have had many details and ambiguities highlighted by staff at HAL Laboratory. The following page goes over Kirby's characteristics; for a more general view of Kirby overall, see the Kirby page.

Physical appearance

Kirby's appearance is simple enough that even a child can draw him, which Kirby's Adventure demonstrates in its intro.

As far as Nintendo characters are concerned, Kirby is one of the simplest in appearance, being little more than an 8 inch (20 cm) tall pink ball with stubby arms and red feet. One of Kirby's most prominent characteristics is his mouth; while normally small, sometimes appearing as a simple dot on his face, it can grow to massive sizes to accomodate his signature inhaling ability. Rounding out Kirby's appearance are his pink cheek blushes and his eyes, which are bean-shaped with massive glossy pupils and blue irises that only cover the lower portion of the eyes. Despite first glance, however, Kirby's eyes do have a more humanoid white sclera, which can be seen when he is startled, much like another Nintendo character of small stature, Captain Olimar. In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Kirby's eyes have iridescent reflections, and change color from blue to teal or even green depending on which angle they are viewed from (as demonstrated in this image).

The exact color of Kirby's body and feet varies between games, but never much from its default pink and red. Sometimes the color of Kirby's feet leans more toward dark pink than red, which is particularly prevalent in 2D sprite-based titles. Kirby's skin can also vary in shade — usually being a shade of rose, but sometimes varying into redder shades of peach or coral — and brightness — sometimes being a darker hot pink or bright enough to nearly be white. Some early games depict Kirby as changing color when copying an ability, with Kirby's Adventure making him a shade of brown and Kirby Super Star making him a slightly darker pink. Certain abilities in older games even have their own unique colors associated with them, such as red for Fire, blue for Ice, and yellow for Beam, though this has largely been abandoned. A notable modern-day example of an ability changing Kirby's coloration is Hypernova, which causes his skin to become a swirling rainbow. While color variants of Kirby continue to appear, they tend to represent other members of his species rather than himself.

Abilities

Kirby's soft squishy body is surprisingly tough and malleable. It helps solidify his appeal as a character.

Kirby uses the malleability and flexibility of his tuft-shaped body to establish his individuality, and traverse the colorful, interactive landscapes around him. On his own, Kirby typically has little physical strength (though notable exceptions exist, some outside the games canon). However, his ability to mimic his foes' characteristics, known as 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 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 health 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 pits with ease. In most circumstances, he is able to breathe underwater and in deep space; he can also withstand extremes in temperature with no lasting harm.

Kirby's arms, while normally short and stubby, are capable of stretching whenever he needs to grab or punch something. His arms also appear to be able to shift position greatly across his sides, even partially overlapping his face on occasion. Although Kirby does not have fingers, he is perfectly capable of holding onto things he's grabbed. This is presumably done by folding the tips of his arms around the object in question, creating a pseudo-grip. In addition, it is likely that Kirby's hands have a suction property to them, as it often looks like he's merely touching items that he is holding.

His red feet are often mistaken for shoes, but design documents from or before Kirby's Adventure and later statements by Masahiro Sakurai confirm that they are his actual feet. Shinya Kumazaki, meanwhile, replied to a question about Kirby's feet by saying that "the mysterious composition of Kirby's body is top secret". While still evidently squishy, they are his primary utensils for fighting when using martial-arts-based abilities.

Shinya Kumazaki has said that Kirby's movements are based on that of a human, specifically a young child, addressing the discrepancies with his movement by explaining that certain parts of his anatomy (such as thighs, legs, and ankles) are invisible but nonetheless accounted for. Concept artwork from Kirby Super Star also shows that a human was used as a model for Kirby's movements, though said artwork uses a muscular adult as the model.

Kirby is able to talk, and indeed, he is often very vocal. Kirby's voice — befitting his look — is high-pitched, with inflections similar to a toddler first learning how to speak. It should be noted that this is a more unique quality to Kirby himself, as Meta Knight, who is generally considered to be the same species, has a deep voice befitting a warrior of his stature. However, Kirby's speech is often limited to simple grunts, shouts, and monosyllables, with his most famous being his cheery elongated "Hi!"

That said, unlike his anime counterpart, Kirby has occasionally been shown to speak full sentences, going as far back as the manual for Kirby's Dream Land. In this instance, he says "Don't worry, I'll get your food and your Sparkling Stars back!" to the citizens of Dream Land, and then explains the game's controls to the reader. His first in-game dialogue was in Kirby's Dream Course, where during the game's intro cutscene (only present in the game's Japanese release) Kirby talks about how the sky is missing its stars and later has a brief chat with King Dedede. Since then, Kirby has spoken full lines of dialogue few other times; for example, in the SNES version of Kirby's Star Stacker, where he gives a description for each game mode and narrates the tutorial, or in Kirby's Epic Yarn and its remake, where he speaks during the game's cutscenes (though his dialogue is conveyed by a narrator). In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Kirby tells Elfilin both his name (after rescuing him in the Point of Arrival) and how he met the Waddle Dees before they were taken to the New World by the vortex (in Waddle Dee Town), although neither are heard and only Elfilin's reaction to both is shown. Various non-canon materials, particularly narrative ones such as comics and manga, also show Kirby speaking in full sentences, including the novel series.

Anatomy

“

Some of the more popular hypotheses suggest that Kirby is made of marshmallow or pillows, but until Kirby agrees to provide a tissue sample, we'll never know for certain.

”

— Nintendo of America's Kirby 64 website

A collage of various fighters from Super Smash Bros. (64) being zapped and 'X-rayed'. Kirby is the third from the left in the middle row.

Kirby is definitely not human, unlike many other Nintendo characters who, despite often having cartoonish proportions, can be considered to be so. Little is known about Kirby's anatomy apart from what can be plainly seen. The particulars of his inner workings are enigmatic and often contradictory between appearances, and this fact is often played up in official marketing, such as this trailer for Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Shinya Kumazaki has stated that Kirby's insides are a mystery, but that he is "filled with dreams."

Kirby appears to require regular nourishment, and typically finds it in the form of various food items scattered across the land. When not in a hurry, Kirby will eat in a normal manner, but can inhale the food as well. It is unknown what happens to creatures that Kirby inhales and swallows. Should Kirby inhale an enemy and spit it back out, however, it transforms into a star that shatters on impact. Kirby appears to have control over whether or not something is transformed in this way, as he can inhale his friends and spit them back out without transforming them in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, and even enemies transformed into projectiles maintain their appearance in some games like Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and Kirby and the Forgotten Land. In Super Smash Bros., swallowed fighters do transform into stars when spat out, but then immediately revert to normal afterward.

In some games, such as Kirby: Squeak Squad, Kirby can store things he's swallowed and use them at a later time. This, along with certain episodes of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, seems to indicate that Kirby's stomach leads to another dimension. Other sources within the series, such as Kirby: Triple Deluxe, portray Kirby's stomach as a black hole, especially when the Hypernova ability is used.

Kirby is an entity that needs regular sleep (note the bubble).

Kirby does not appear to have a skeleton (see image to the right) or teeth (outside of some manga series, and certain sprites in 2D games), an appearance supported by statements from Sakurai following the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee. He does, however, have a tongue, as evidenced by more recent games when he inhales. Kirby is also described to have lungs which he uses to inhale, as explained in the instruction manual for Kirby: Squeak Squad. Kirby does not appear to have a nose, but earlier games and media suggested he had nostrils (even if they were too small to be seen), given his distended Sleep bubble, his sneezing within the Castle Lololo cutscene in Kirby's Dream Land (Bubbly Clouds in the Spring Breeze remake), and his ability to "sniff" in the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! episode Shell-Shocked.

Kirby's skin is highly flexible and completely hairless. Kirby's younger design in Kid Kirby features a single strand of curly hair, but as the game was canceled, it cannot be considered canon. The texture of Kirby's skin was once described as "squishy" or "soft", and more recent sources, particularly the developer issues for Kirby Star Allies and Kirby and the Forgotten Land in Nintendo Dream, suggest that Kirby has a more "rubbery" texture to him, although when Kirby was first given HD textures in Kirby Star Allies, there were debates on whether or not to give him fur. Kirby's skin can distend to great sizes to accommodate the objects that he inhales, as seen with the "Full Belly" Kirby in Kirby's Blowout Blast and Mouthful Mode in Kirby and the Forgotten Land (though the latter is not an innate ability to Kirby). As seen in several games, Kirby is also able to sweat, typically when surprised or low on health.

Personality

Kirby often displays a cheery, carefree attitude, even when confronting dangerous situations.

Kirby matches his appearance given his child-like mannerism and persistent cheerfulness. Kirby does not speak in full sentences in any of the main-series games, adding to his infantile nature, and typically the only word he can muster is his signature elongated "Hi!" It is generally understood that Kirby can comprehend spoken language, and may be able to speak, but just like how Link and Mario are often portrayed, the player does not hear his side of any given conversation. In certain cases, such as instruction manuals and pause screen descriptions, Kirby is able to speak in rather eloquent language, at least while monologuing. Meanwhile, in Kirby Fighters 2, it is said that Kirby was unable to understand a letter sent to him, but it's unclear if it was because the letter in particular was hard to read, or if Kirby himself can't read at all. In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Kirby is shown to be able to write, although his handwriting is said to be somewhat hard to understand.

However, Kirby is not totally oblivious, and can be serious when he needs to be. This is often the case when fighting bosses.

Kirby has been shown to be gluttonous, which makes his rivalry with King Dedede more understandable, but as long as he is well-fed, he is an altruistic hero who jumps at the chance to help those in need. Kirby is courageous, tackling problems head-on with an unbreakable determination. He is heroic to a fault, however, as certain villains will take advantage of this to get what they want. Unless called to adventure, Kirby spends most of his time sleeping and otherwise just relaxing in his homeland, Dream Land. Despite being the hero, Kirby can become extraordinarily stubborn and single-minded if he feels he's been wronged. This is evidenced in Kirby: Squeak Squad when, after having his cake stolen, he immediately assumes that King Dedede is responsible, and it is not until after fighting and beating him that Kirby realizes it wasn't Dedede after all. From there, Kirby chases after the real thieves, the Squeaks across several lands and worlds, fighting everything and everyone who gets in the way just to get his cake back.

When not battling enemies or sleeping, one of Kirby's recurring hobbies is fishing, which he does as a mini-game in Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

Kirby's hobbies include fishing (which usually ends up with the hook in his mouth), sleeping (spending as much as half the day napping), eating, flying about the countryside on a Warp Star, and singing, which he admittedly does so poorly that it can hurt enemies, especially when using the Mike ability. Several official Japanese sources state that Kirby is tone deaf. In spite of this, he is a big fan of music, and can often be seen listening with a pair of headphones along with the player in the Jukebox.

When encountering new situations, Kirby shows himself to be a quick and astute learner. For example, upon copying a new ability, he instantly masters any skill the ability entails, whether that be martial arts or psychic powers. He also demonstrates this when piloting the Robobot Armor, adapting to its controls immediately after jumping into it for the first time.

One notable progression that can be observed through the Kirby series is that Kirby himself gradually becomes more and more expressive and vocal over time. 8-bit titles such as Kirby's Dream Land would rarely have Kirby change his facial expression at all, and he had very few vocalizations until Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. Kirby Super Star Ultra would be the last game in the series to feature a mostly silent Kirby. This change can mainly be attributed to the gradual lifting of technical limitations on the games as the series progresses, along with gradual refinements to Kirby's design. Kirby has also gotten "cuter" as the series progresses, featuring larger eyes and shorter limbs; the Dream Button in Kirby Star Allies highlights this by allowing Kirby to switch between his current design and his original Kirby's Dream Land-era design.

Notably, one of Masahiro Sakurai's original goals with Kirby was his "commitment as a game character". To this end (particularly in the earlier games), when Kirby is being controlled by the player, he shows relatively little emotion, which is meant to allow the player to demonstrate their own feelings in the game through their own movements and actions as Kirby. His role as a silent protagonist also fits this characterization. Shinya Kumazaki has also expressed the idea that Kirby is a "neutral character" for the player to relate to, and that the current development team does not have him express extreme emotions such as anger or crying. However, it can be seen that Kirby has become a more expressive and lively character under Kumazaki's directorship, and he notes that it would not be impossible to consider a scenario where — for example — if the player is meant to feel the emotions of falling in love, Kirby's emotions would reflect that.

Gender

Kirby's voice actress, Makiko Ohmoto, has suggested that Kirby's response to being kissed by others has no bearing on Kirby's gender.

In Japanese, Kirby is written as a gender-neutral character. However, in other languages, he is almost always referred to as male (with one notable exception being a Play Nintendo video that refers to Kirby using singular they). This is because it is simpler in Japanese to use gender-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. However, 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 when he is given full dialogue tends to use masculine conventions, such as the first person pronoun boku (ボク), which is usually used by young boys. This does not necessarily contradict him being a gender-neutral character.

Kirby as the Empress on Hinamatsuri, an example of Kirby JP Twitter's tendency to give Kirby the gender roles of both men and women.

The Japan-exclusive official artbook 20th Anniversary Kirby Pupupu Encyclopedia lists Kirby's gender as "unknown", as does an official profile written by Masahiro Sakurai, and he has reaffirmed that in the Kirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert according to unofficial accounts. Kirby's voice actress, Makiko Ohmoto, has also stated that Kirby's gender is unknown, and that she is instructed to voice him as a gender neutral character. Reflecting this, commemorative artwork on the Kirby JP Twitter has shown Kirby taking on typical gender roles of both men and women, such as appearing as the Empress on Hinamatsuri and baking sweets with both female characters on Valentine's Day and male characters on White Day. In addition, Kirby is often featured in merchandise that may be considered more traditionally feminine, such as make-up lines, where more definitively male characters such as King Dedede and Meta Knight are never featured.

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 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.

When a fan on the official Japanese Super Smash Bros. website expressed surprise upon learning that Samus from Metroid is a woman, Masahiro Sakurai responded by joking that Kirby may also be female.

Species

Main article: Kirby (species)

Like Yoshi from the Mario franchise, Kirby can be seen as the main representative of a species that is named after him. Unlike traditional species, however, it is unclear how Kirby's could be classified, as apart from its eponymous member and the various clones of him that have appeared throughout the series running, there are no confirmed cases of other entities which are the same species as Kirby, though many are suspected.