Tuff
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| “ | Wait! I like danger! | ” | — Tuff |
Tuff is a young boy who serves as the tritagonist of the anime series Kirby: Right Back at Ya!. He is Tiff's younger brother and helps her to protect and guide Kirby on his road to becoming an able Star Warrior, though Tuff sometimes causes problems for the two due to his rashness and immaturity. Despite sometimes being only a minor character in the show, Tuff appears in every episode, and often serves a leading role, with notable examples being in the episodes Hail to the Chief, Flower Power, and War of the Woods.
Appearance
Tuff is vaguely humanoid in appearance, with a short slightly plump physique and yellow-orange skin. His long bushy hair has green accents and covers much of his face, obscuring his eyes from view and leaving only his mouth visible. He wears a pair of purple shorts held up by a single diagonal red suspender and has greenish-brown shoes.
When compared to other characters, Tuff is somewhat taller than Kirby and the Cappy kids, but noticeably shorter than Tiff and much shorter than most of the adult characters.
Personality
Tuff is defined by his youthful rambunctiousness, high spirit, and generally self-centered demeanor. Unlike Tiff, who enjoys studying and reading, Tuff prefers to play games and be active, with kicking around a soccer ball with Kirby and the Cappy children being his preferred past-time (though in a running gag, Tuff often accidentally kicks Kirby instead due to his similar size and shape to the ball). In addition, Tuff often likes to play pranks on others, though he usually has a higher goal with these than simply the prank itself, as seen in episodes like Escargoon Squad and Mabel Turns the Tables. Much like Tiff, Tuff is a staunch ally of Kirby and Meta Knight and is generally opposed to King Dedede and Escargoon, and will bravely step in to help Kirby wherever he can, though sometimes his stubbornness causes problems for Kirby, with the most notable example being in the episode Flower Power.
Tuff is not quite as intelligent as his sister Tiff, but he is still smart enough to catch hypocritical actions from other characters and generally does not need things spelled out for him. He still tends to fall for many of King Dedede's schemes along with the other Dream Landers, however, where Tiff and her wiser cohorts would be able to see through the ruse, though he is often the first to be snapped out of the schemes in question. Tuff's rebellious nature often leads him to commit minor misdemeanors if it means helping somebody else out in the long run, with one example being in Mumbies Madness where he breaks into Professor Curio's home and steals a book from him in order to show Tiff information about the monster Mumbies. Despite these occasional acts, Tuff sees Chief Bookem in particular as a role model, and in order to prevent him from being dismissed by King Dedede in Hail to the Chief, commits theft and vandalism in secret in order to give the chief something to do and make the townsfolk appreciate him again.
Tuff is often characterized by his boyish immaturity, with particular obsession with toys and games, his refusal to clean his room when ordered, and his refusal to adequately brush his teeth, which comes back to haunt him in A Dental Dilemma when he gets a painful cavity and initially refuses to see Doctor Yabui in fear of how much more his drilling might hurt. Tuff's immaturity is often used in tandem with King Dedede's own childish outbursts of defiance and selfishness, in order to highlight Dedede's much greater personality flaws given his more advanced age and status as king. Seeing King Dedede act in a similar and often more exaggerated way often leads Tuff to recognize his own bad behaviTemplate:Or by proxy due to his dislike for the King.
Relationships
- Kirby: Tuff is one of Kirby's closest friends and allies, and will do whatever he can to help and protect the pink Star Warrior from harm. Despite this, Tuff often has trouble handling Kirby directly, which sometimes lands one or both of them in trouble. Unlike Tiff, who often acts as a parental figure toward Kirby, Tuff acts more as a sibling to him, and is more interested in playing games with Kirby than trying to teach him anything.
- Tiff: Tiff and Tuff generally get along and are able to coordinate well with each-other in most situations, but Tuff sometimes bemoans his older sister bossing him around, and will sometimes defy her when she orders him to do things against his wishes. Their disagreements are typically resolved by their mutual desire to help and protect Kirby.
- Sir Ebrum and Lady Like: Despite often being scolded by his parents for failing to keep up good habits at home, Tuff generally enjoys autonomy from them throughout the show, as they are rarely involved in his escapades, and often fail to keep track of him and his sister. Despite this, Tuff and his parents generally get along, and are often seen having meals together.
- Meta Knight: Tuff looks up to Meta Knight as a role model and a stern ally. Meta Knight in turn commends Tuff for his valorous nature, even if he sometimes remarks on his rashness and naivete.
- King Dedede: Tuff despises King Dedede more than anyone else in the show, and always looks for opportunities to get back at Dedede by pranking or insulting him, which happens fairly often. Despite this, King Dedede usually does not pay Tuff much mind, seeing Tiff and Kirby as the more direct threats to his schemes.
- Escargoon: Tuff generally dislikes Escargoon for his association with King Dedede, but the two do not often interact directly. When they do, it is usually to make schemes to get back at King Dedede for some egregious behaviTemplate:Or from him, with the most notable example being in Escargoon Squad.
- Honey, Iro, and Spikehead: Tuff is often seen playing with these three in and around Dream Land, and can be considered to be the leader of this particular group of friends. He often gets into schemes with them and Kirby to pull pranks or to engage in some other organized activity.
- Other Cappies: Tuff has a generally positive relationship with the people of Cappy Town, as he is good-natured toward them, even if he occasionally causes trouble for them. Tuff looks up to Chief Bookem in particular, who he sees as a role model and tries to help in Hail to the Chief and A Trashy Tale.
Filmography
The following is a complete list of all of Tuff's appearances in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, along with other information regarding his role in each episode:
| Tuff's appearances in Kirby: Right Back at Ya! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | Image | Role | Selected quote | Notes |
| Kirby Comes to Cappy Town |  |
Primary character | "A monster wouldn't have done that, Tiff!" | |
| A Blockbuster Battle |  |
Primary character | "Yeah, now Kirby's a Rock Star Warrior!" | |
| Kirby's Duel Role |  |
Primary character | "What are you so happy about? Meta Knight challenged you to a duel!" | |
| Dark and Stormy Knight |  |
Secondary character | "You'll never know unless you try, Kirby!" | |
| Beware: Whispy Woods! |  |
Primary character | "Kirby ought to be easy to see. The pink stands out!" | |
| Un-Reality TV |  |
Secondary character | "A monster is comin'! If you don't believe me just look, it's on T.V.!" | |
| Kirby's Egg-Cellent Adventure |  |
Secondary character | "Tiff! The wind was so strong it blew Kirby's house away!" | |
| Curio's Curious Discovery |  |
Secondary character | "What'cha waiting for, Kirby?! Suck up that Dedede Stone on the double!" | |
| The Fofa Factor |  |
Secondary character | "You think we're gonna get weird like that when we get old?" | |
| Hail to the Chief |  |
Primary character | "Rough Ranger Commandos don't tell lies! My sister's got no clue how the army works!" | |
| The Big Taste Test |  |
Secondary character | "Ah, yuck! Tiff, if Kirby likes this stuff, he'll eat anything!" | |
| Escargoon Squad |  |
Secondary character | "We sure scared him bad!" | |
| Cappy New Year |  |
Secondary character | "That sure was some explosion!" | |
| The Pillow Case |  |
Secondary character | "Wow, that dream pillow sounds like a real knock-out!" | |
| Kirby's Pet Peeve |  |
Secondary character | "Well I didn't even want to come here! Why waste money on toys for Kirby when you can waste it on toys for me?!" | |
| A Fish Called Kine |  |
Primary character | "Quiet, Kirby! Secret agents have to be secret!" | |
| The Thing About the Ring |  |
Secondary character | "Want some pepper?!" | |
| Flower Power |  |
Primary character | "I'm king of the jungle!" | |
| Here Comes the Son |  |
Secondary character | "Sorry, Kirby, but we don't have time to explain!" | |
| Dedede's Snow Job |  |
Primary character | "Hey Tiff, this rain's frozen!" | |
| A Princess in Dis-Dress |  |
Primary character | "I was, but she's so boring! I try to talk to her about stuff, but all she says is "How interesting!"" | |
| Island of the Lost Warrior |  |
Primary character | "I picked that papaya and I'm the one who's gonna eat it!" | |
| The Empty Nest Mess |  |
Secondary character | "We gotta help it get back to its nest." | |
| Ninja Binge |  |
Primary character | "We'll never become ninjas this way!" | |
| Escargoon Rules |  |
Secondary character | "Kirby's perfect for this job cause he can't say the wrong thing!" | |
| Hour of the WolfWrath |  |
Secondary character | "You guys sure are loyal to him. How'd you meet 'im?" | |
| The Flower Plot |  |
Primary character | "What's special about this one? Dream Land's got lots of flowers!" | |
| Labor Daze |  |
Primary character | "The creep! I'd like to tear it apart with my bare hands!" | |
| A Spice Odyssey |  |
Secondary character | "Wah! That's it?!" | |
| Hatch Me If You Can |  |
Secondary character | "Since you're a bird, just take the egg and fly it back to your nest!" | |
| Abusement Park |  |
Secondary character | "This place looks like fun, but it's a fake!" | |
| A Dental Dilemma |  |
Primary character | "I don't wanna get my teeth drilled!" | |
| Junk Jam |  |
Primary character | "Wait! I like danger!" | |
| A Recipe for Disaster |  |
Primary character | "Looks like Kirby wants to eat 'im!" | |
| The Kirby Derby - Part I |  |
Primary character | "Argh! Tiff spoils everything!" | |
| The Kirby Derby - Part II |  |
Primary character | "Meta Knight's just lucky he doesn't have a big sister." | |
| Watermelon Felon |  |
Secondary character | "Who cares, Tiff? We know Kirby didn't do it! Besides, nobody watches that show, anyway!" | |
| A Novel Approach |  |
Secondary character | "You're wasting your time! That writer must get zillions of fan letters!" | |
| Escar-Gone |  |
Secondary character | "How come it can't speak?" | |
| Monster Management |  |
Secondary character | "It looks like they're holdin' a convention here!" | |
| Prediction Predicament - Part I |  |
Secondary character | "He's afraid of his own shadow!" | |
| Prediction Predicament - Part II |  |
Secondary character | "Hey Mabel! It all came true! Look! That asteroid got Dedede after all." | |
| Sheepwrecked |  |
Secondary character | "It was all a dream...or you're going crazy." | |
| War of the Woods |  |
Primary character | *laughs* "You fell for the same trick, Rick!" | |
| Scare Tactics - Part I |  |
Primary character | "They tried to scare us but then we did the old switcha-boo!" | |
| Scare Tactics - Part II |  |
Primary character | "This was all a trap to catch Kirby!" | |
| Pink-Collar Blues |  |
Secondary character | "Haha! It's Waddle Kirby!" | |
| Tourist Trap |  |
Primary character | "I can't believe we got kicked outta our rooms so those tourists could sleep in 'em!" | |
| Cartoon Buffoon |  |
Secondary character | "If Dedede and Escargoon are heroes, this sure isn't a reality show!" | |
| Don't Bank on It |  |
Tertiary character | "I'm trashin' this toy!" | |
| Kirby Takes the Cake |  |
Secondary character | "That's for us to know and you to find out!" | |
| Snack Attack - Part I |  |
Secondary character | "Yeah right! You want 'em just like we do!" | |
| Snack Attack - Part II |  |
Secondary character | "How was I supposed to know they were going to turn into monsters?!" | |
| One Crazy Knight |  |
Secondary character | "You're too tough! You're Sir Gallant, the valiant knight! You can beat anybody!" | |
| Sweet and Sour Puss |  |
Secondary character | "Guess we're gonna have to start likin' Dedede." | |
| Dedede's Pet Threat |  |
Secondary character | "The Scarfies must be starvin' if they can eat that much of Kawasaki's food." | |
| A Half-Baked Battle |  |
Secondary character | "Haha! Kirby doesn't think that's a punishment!" | |
| eNeMeE Elementary |  |
Primary character | "I'm making King Dedede." | |
| The Meal Moocher |  |
Tertiary character | "Look at all that food!" | |
| Crusade for the Blade |  |
Secondary character | "That's right! Meta Knight would never do something like that!" | |
| Fitness Fiend |  |
Secondary character | "The monster tried to crush him but instead, he's back to normal!" | |
| Mabel Turns the Tables |  |
Secondary character | "Makin' Mabel's predictions come true is pretty easy!" | |
| Something to Sneeze At |  |
Tertiary character | "How can be be so dopey?" | |
| The Kirby Quiz |  |
Secondary character | *chuckles* "I guess sometimes two heads aren't better than one!" | |
| Masher 2.0 | 
|
Secondary character | "Here Joe, this'll help you beat Masher!" | |
| The Chill Factor |  |
Secondary character | "Their iceberg has a great big cooler inside it!" | |
| The School Scam |  |
Secondary character | "That little liar! Those clowns in back of class made the trouble!" | |
| Delivery Dilemma |  |
Secondary character | "Uh-oh. I guess Kirby goofed up after all." | |
| Trick or Trek |  |
Secondary character | "Hey look, a helicopter! Go get 'em, Kirby!" | |
| Buccaneer Birdy |  |
Secondary character | "I thought he'd be upset, 'cause there's no treasure." | |
| A Whale of a Tale |  |
Secondary character | "We saw what you're hidin' down there! Nets and harpoons and stuff for catchin' whales!" | |
| Waddle While You Work |  |
Tertiary character | "Hey, Tiff. We never thought about that." | |
| Dedede's Raw Deal |  |
Secondary character | "You ate enough fish yesterday to fill up an ocean!" | |
| Caterpillar Thriller |  |
Secondary character | "Maybe there's somebody who's spreading extra pollen around on purpose." *sneezes* | |
| Fossil Fools - Part I |  |
Secondary character | "Admit it, Dedede! You stole our eggs!" | |
| Fossil Fools - Part II |  |
Primary character | laughs "It's a Tuff-adactyl! That's right! Take a big bite out of 'im!" | |
| Dedede's Monsterpiece |  |
Secondary character | "Aw, don't worry! Look at it this way! At least everyone's makin' art, right, Tiff?" | |
| Right Hand Robot |  |
Secondary character | "Aren't you gonna get his tea?" | |
| Goin' Bonkers |  |
Secondary character | "Yeah! Why would a big gorilla be lookin' for Kirby?" | |
| Power Ploy |  |
Primary character | "Kawasaki! You bought a lot of Pump-Up D!" | |
| A Trashy Tale |  |
Primary character | "Boy, what a dirty trick..." | |
| Cooking Up Trouble |  |
Secondary character | "It was mom..." *impersonating* "I won't be able to make dinner!" "She gets to go out, and we get to go hungry!" |
|
| Teacher's Threat |  |
Secondary character | "Wow! You can't even write your initials?" | |
| Mumbies Madness |  |
Primary character | "Kirby! Hey, don't spend the whole day sleepin'! We need a goalie!" | |
| A Sunsational Puzzle |  |
Primary character | "Wow! Mom and Dad used to be young?" | |
| A Chow Challenge |  |
Secondary character | "Gettin' into a fight about cookin' is crazy!" | |
| Waste Management |  |
Secondary character | "What's goin' on here, Tiff? How come Tokkori and Coo are chasin' us, too?!" | |
| Shell-Shocked |  |
Secondary character | "Wow! How come something as nasty as a snail gets such a nice shell, Tiff?" | |
| Tooned Out |  |
Secondary character | "But they look miserable in there!" | |
| Born to Be Mild - Part I |  |
Secondary character | "We're not gonna let you mess up Cappy Town!" | |
| Born to Be Mild - Part II |  |
Secondary character | "That was a close one, Tiff!" | |
| Hunger Struck |  |
Secondary character | "All you gotta do is feed 'em and they'll follow whatever you say!" | |
| D'Preciation Day |  |
Primary character | "I think he's rotten no matter how deep down you go!" | |
| Cowardly Creature |  |
Primary character | "If all monsters were easy-going like Phan Phan, this galaxy'd be a lot better off." | |
| Frog Wild |  |
Secondary character | "I can't believe this!" | |
| Air-Ride-in-Style - Part I |  |
Primary character | "Sure is weird that the Warp Star fits inside it so perfect! Especially since Kabu's been here for millions and millions of years!" | |
| Air-Ride-in-Style - Part II |  |
Secondary character | "Go get 'em, Kirby! Two down and two more to go!" | |
| Cappy Town Down |  |
Secondary character | "But they're trying to put out all the fires!" | |
| Combat Kirby |  |
Secondary character | "Isn't there any place we can go to get away from you two?" | |
| Fright to the Finish |  |
Secondary character | "The Halberd was blown away! We have to escape before our bomb goes off!" | |
| Kirby 3D | 
|
Primary character | "Maybe it's another monster from King Dedede!" | |
Trivia
- Tuff is one of the five recurring characters who appears in every episode of the main anime series. The other four are Kirby, Tiff, King Dedede, and Escargoon.
- In the Kirby 30th Anniversary group artwork, Tuff alongside his sister Tiff make a cameo appearance as small plushies being held by a Kirby copy. This is the two's first official cameo appearance outside anime material.
Gallery
Artwork
Tuff in an ecstatic pose
Tuff in a surprised pose
Tuff in an inviting pose
Kirby 30th Anniversary
Character sheets
Animator sheet showing Tuff in profile, front, side, and back
Animator sheet showing Tuff in various dynamic poses
Animator sheet showing Tuff with various mouth movements
Screenshots
Tuff as he appears to Kirby while overdosed on Gijira Extract
Tuff and Kirby sneak into King Dedede's bedroom to scare him.
Tuff playing a game of soccer with Kirby
Tuff teasing Tiff about her inconsistency in Snack Attack - Part I
Tuff pulling a prank on Chef Kawasaki to make one of Mabel's predictions come true
Tuff play-fighting with Kirby
Tuff "borrowing" Chef Kawasaki's cooking pot
Tuff watches the rising sun with Tiff and Kirby.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ブン |
Bun |
