Oh Kirby, you adorable little blob of joy. The star of his very own franchise, hero of the recent Super Smash Bros. Ultimate apocalypse, and all-round loveable gaming icon, Kirby is no doubt a popular figure amongst readers of this very site. Despite his fame, though, one very important question remains: what exactly is contained within those shoes?
You may have seen some weird and wonderful images mocked up by fans over the years, dreaming about what Kirby's feet might look like. A strange topic to think about, perhaps, but he has always worn those giant pair of shoes and we've never seen what's underneath. Does he have abnormally large feet that are about half the size of his body?
Well, Kotaku recently put this very question to HAL Laboratory's director, Shinya Kumazaki, hoping to figure out the mystery once and for all. Surprisingly, while not quite giving away the secret, Kumazaki shared some interesting details about the concept behind Kirby's design.
“It’s definitely a unique question…I couldn’t help laughing a bit. But I’m afraid the mysterious composition of Kirby’s body is top secret.”
“I would like to talk a little bit about designing the running animation where Kirby’s feet kick out into the air while running across the ground. Kirby’s body is uniquely shaped compared to us humans, but the animation we designed is reminiscent of movement that’s not so different from humans walking. It was created based on the idea of a human running energetically, with the thighs, knees, and ankles invisible, but nevertheless accounted for.”
He goes to compare Kirby's movement to that of a "lively child running around in a wide meadow", as if the idea of Kirby having invisible knees and ankles wasn't enough for one day. We might not have our answer, but it's interesting to see how his animation was imagined.
Just another day in the world of gaming.
Comments 24
Animating character with severe limitations is always a fun challenge that yields unique results.
And I guess I always just thought he feet were red.
I'm left with more questions than answers now.
He's not wearing clothes, he's not wearing shoes. Those are just his feet
Hush! Asking such arcane secrets about one of Gaming's most terrifying eldritch entities could spell doom for us all!
I always assumed those are just his feet. It's not like he has visible arms or hands either – Kirby is a pink balloon with a smile anatomically.
I wonder why people are fixated on this with Kirby? It's not like Goombas and Shy Guys and Waddle-Dee etc aren't all the same in this regard.
THAT'S IT. DELETE EVERYTHING. THE WORLD DID NOT NEED THIS.
....seriously though, why is this a thing.
Kirby exists beyond this mortal plain.
He is not confined to the fleshy imperfections of humanity, but instead he surpasses the impurities of mortality.
His anatomy is beyond human understanding.
Kirby is unknowable.
Kirby doesn't actually have feet. He's just a ball. The shoes are for his regular games and he takes them off for Kirby's Pinball, Block Ball, Canvas Curse, and Rainbow Curse.
Basically he has no idea how it works :v
I still question why all yoshi's are born with shoes on.
Like a lot of other people here, I always assumed those were just his feet. He has no hands, yet can carry/hold/grip perfectly fine with those pointy pink protrusions.
That question is something that is best left unanswered.
I mean there are a bunch of people who were curious about Sonic's feet or Mario's nipples, but that's another story for another time.
I'd rather see Series Director Discuss The Mystery Behind Kirby's Lack of Good Games, to be honest.
I'm sure he just has pink feet, exactly the same shape as his red shoes. It's like a cartoon effect, like when we don't see bare hands (i.e. gloves, like Bugs Bunny) or the character has no clothes on but shoes (like Sonic). It's just whimsy, nothing more.
But those feet from that tweet tho...
Best that the public not know
We cant handle the truth
This is basically a gulpin with feet. WAYYY more adorable, cuter voice, and better color, but the same body schmatics.
The meme is hilarious, but in all seriousness, he has blobs for hands and blobs for feet. Nothing more.
The things that the internet obsesses over...
I bet Sakurai knows the REAL scoop. It is just too scary of a story to be told to our virgin eyes on the internet.
Like many, I always assumed it wasn't shoes but his feet. And I have to admit that the picture of Kirby with human feet will probably give me nightmares
@pinta_vodki How embarrassing of you to admit to bad taste like that.
Ok, so if you look at recent renders of Meta Knight, you can see that his boots are strapped ON TOP OF his feet. And since Kirby and Meta Knight are of,the same race, we can infer that these are indeed feet, and that Kirby prefers not to wear shoes.
@pinta_vodki What lack of good games? While "Star Allies" may be one of his relatively weaker (but still good) games, and "Epic Yarn" has a mixed reception, most of the Kirby games are great. I've personally had a blast with "Team Kirby Clash Deluxe," "Planet Robobot," and "Return to Dreamland" in recent years.
and yet, i never really cared about his feet. i more so assumed that those two blobs were his feet. besides, Kirby is not human. for all we know he has paws instead of feet...lol
or there is always the possibility that he has no feet and those two blobs attached to his body just help him move around like the shoes they were meant to be.
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