The cuteness that is Kirby has been multiplied by ten!
Kirby Guardian is a series of animated shorts by KimiOmega based on the Kirby franchise. They focus on Adeleine and ten extremely tiny Kirbies, and each Kirby has its own personality.
Each Kirby is named by their personality. They are The General, GlumOne, BleakOne, OddOne, ProudOne, CautiousOne, CutesyOne, OldOne, BitterOne, and LostOne. These ten Kirbies and Adeleine get into various sorts of adventures together.
There are currently ten episodes available. The shorts can be found on either YouTube
, Newgrounds or Twitter. There are also currently 15 comics, which can be read here
This work contains examples of:
- Alternate Universe: Episode 7 confirms the series takes place in a parallel universe. The most notable difference is it is one where Kirby never existed resulting in a darker world where many of the inhabitants, especially Adeleine and Dedede, are a lot unhappier.
- Call-Forward: A pair of instances, all of which happen in the Reincarnation prequel arc.
- In Episode 6, Adeleine glared daggers at a brown-eyed waddle dee who was momentarily distracted by her passing by and stared at her. Said waddle dee was reading some job catalog and happened upon an ad for Kawasaki's restaurant and then wondered where Adeleine had gone off to. In Episode 4, a waddle dee with the same brown eyes is seen working at Kawasaki's restaurant, one who happily skipped toward Adeleine and greeted her and was overall genial with her and her Kirbies throughout, implying that they are the same waddle dee.
- Episode 8 toward the end has each Kirby having made their own drawing of Adeleine. Of them all, BitterOne's drawing, while playing Adeleine up as fearsome-looking with sharp teeth and clawed nails, is the most detailed drawing of Adeleine with proportions very close to her own in his drawing. It shows that, after living with her long enough, his artistic side is quickly developing into the level of quality seen in his mug painting from Episode 4.
- The Cameo:
- In Episode 2, in ProudOne and CautiousOne's Imagine Spots, Adeleine is fighting Landia.
- In Episode 4, at Kawasaki's restaurant, Bonkers, Knuckle Joe, Iron Mam and Chilly can be seen dining.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: While the Kirbies are all the usual pink body, they can be told apart from one another by the color of their eyes and cheek markings. The General's are red, GlumOne's are indigo, CutesyOne's are pink, OddOne's are orange, ProudOne's are blue, CautiousOne's are green, BitterOne's are purple, and LostOne's are aquamarine. BleakOne and OldOne are special cases as they both have black eyes and cheek marks, yet they are still can be told apart by how BleakOne has Empty Eyes while OldOne is based on Kirby's original appearance with horizontal lines for his cheek marks and eyes.
- Dark Reprise: The main theme gets a deeper, muffled remix for Episode 6, 7, & 8 (intro only for episode 8).
- Defeat Means Friendship: The General managed to rein in the violent BitterOne after beating him in a fight at Episode 7's end.
- Early-Bird Cameo: King Dedede shows up in OldOne’s Daydream in Episode 2 and again on the TV in Episode 6, apparently having been stealing food again (or being scapegoated for something else). He shows up again with a more pronounced role in Comics 5-13 & 15.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Adeline in episode 6-7 and comics 7-12. BitterOne has this as his default disposition to a more pronounced degree—being born from that emotion of Adeleine's after all..
- "I Can't Look!" Gesture: The General when faced with Adeleine in Episode 7. Despite his attempts to scare her off out of fear, he realizes he's no match. He covers his face and cries, expecting the worst.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: The Kirbies each have varying personalities, some being less courageous than the others, yet when they need to fight they instantly don their own hats and weapons: The General becomes Staff Kirby with a hat like the Monkey King, BitterOne dons a spiked hat with a chain flail and spiked helmet, ProudOne puts on a pirate cap to go with his sword, OddOne breaks out the bombs with an orange jester's cap, GlumOne wears a beanie ap while dual-wielding scimitars, CautiousOne puts on a cap similar to Sword Kirby and readies a shield and arrows, BleakOne puts on his own black spiked cap ready to drop a spiked hammer on baddies, CutesyOne puts on a straw hat and gets ready to fight with a parasol, and OldOne becomes Mic Kirby complete with a little white bowtie. LostOne doesn't change or don any weapon, although sparks of electricity can be seen coming from him briefly. Episode 10 shows that they get this from Adeleine who is more than ready to throw down against a ravenous and ornery Gao Gao to save a colony of beanbons.
- Mega Meal Challenge: When visiting Kawasaki's restaurant in the fourth episode, Adeleine orders the Bottomless Pit meal, which consist of 100 plates. Kawasaki believes this will be easy money but soon discovers that Adeleine brought her Kirbies with her (she did say table for 11 after all), and they manage to eat all 100 plates together. When Kawasaki demands payment, Adeleine points to where the plaque says that completing the challenge means she and her Kirbies get to eat free.
- Prequel: Comics 5-13 & 15 take place before the rest of the series and showcase why Adeline is the way she is in episodes 6-8 (which themselves take place before the other episodes).
- Shout-Out:
- The necklace Adeleine wears in episode 4 looks just like Kirby’s heart in ‘’Mass Attack’’.
- When the Gaw Gaws confront them, the Kirbies each turn into a stylized version of an actual Kirby ability: the General is Staff, GlumOne is Cutter, BleakOne is Hammer, OddOne is Bomb, ProudOne is Sword, CaustiousOne is Archer, CutseyOne is Parasol, OldOne is Mike, BitterOne is Whip, and LostOne is a strange take on Copy (or perhaps on Shadow Kirby from ''Kirby And The Amazing Mirror'-. Some of the abilities look different to fit the personality of the Kirby wielding them, like ProudOne wielding an elegant sabre and BitterOne’s wielding a sharp spiked flail.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: The series is mostly idealist, but it’s not always that happy.
- Episode 1-5 is very idealist featuring Adeline and the Kirbies having fun together, and apart from some
Squick moments, it’s all very happy. - Comics 1-4 are a little less idealistic, showing some of the downsides of the relationship between Adeline and the company. Comic 15 is not as cynical as the other ones below but still shows Adeleine beginning to pick up on Dedede's bad behavior.
- Comics 5-6 and 9-12 are rather cynical, featuring King Dedede who is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold and is trying to be a good influence on Adeline
- Comics 7, 8, and 13, as well as Episode 6, are highly cynical, with Adeline's depressive mood setting a dark tone for the episodes, especially in the Unreadably Fast Text end of video description for Episode 6.
- Episodes 7 and 8 are cynical initially but steadily becomes more idealistic as they go along. Episode 10 forgoes cynical tone in favor of the second fight scene of the series—that being Adeleine's first proper fight against a ravenous and ornery Gao Gao that is trying to eat a colony of beanbons, and though her lighthearted shenanigans win the day and win the Gao Gao over, she once again demonstrated that—if given the chance, this taller-than-almost-everything-else lady is not someone you want to end up on the bad side of when faced with her magic art and her honed hand-to-hand combat skill.
- Comics 13 and 14 along with episode 9 each start off as lighthearted but gradually dip into the not-so-lighthearted stuff, the comics having Adeleine playfully pulling kick me pranks on King Dedede even as she gets older and bigger to where she can seriously injure King Dedede (much to his dread), making crepes for her sons who speculate that she is growing terminally ill with the tattoos on her that they weren't awake to see (and to which she decided to crack a dark joke about after clearing the air), and then episode 9 has her and her sons play pretending village and trade in the snow with rocks as "currency" only for some of her sons to get into a fight over taking it too seriously which results in her defusing the situation and calling them all back inside for a possible grounding (none of them had been seen misbehaving that badly and/or getting in trouble before, not even OddOne for drawing a Big Fancy Wang who merely got off light with an unamused frowning from Adeleine).
- Episode 1-5 is very idealist featuring Adeline and the Kirbies having fun together, and apart from some
- Squashed Flat: Happens often to the Kirbies. While they lose some blood when it happens, they often get back up no worse for wear.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Adeline lives with King Dedede as a parental figure from being an adolescent to an adult, without school or many other friends, so even though she knows he’s not a good person, his personality rubs off on her, giving her a Hair-Trigger Temper and a heavy distrust of anyone she didn’t know.
- King Dedede stole food once, if not twice, and is unpleasant. As such, most people think he’s a bad person, and he is used as a scapegoat by the media. Though, it is implied that his increasingly cantankerous mood came about from the aforementioned scapegoating which eventually rubbed off on Adeleine as she herself points out.
- The company's initial reaction towards Adeleine in Episode 7 and the start of Episode 8 mirrors that to how small animals would perceive much larger ones as potential predators.
- Episode 10 pitted Adeleine against a Gao Gao, and throughout the fight, Adeleine is quite cocky and very clearly shows how little the Gao Gao can actually affect her despite its best efforts (and boy is it no slouch either). The size difference between the two fighters alone plainly show Adeleine as having no shortages of advantages over her opponent due to it, especially when put together with her trained kickboxing and magic art abilities. This all goes to show how it is next to impossible for most anything in this Kirbyverse to actually take her in a straight fight outside of maybe King Dedede simply because Adeleine is a giant (a trained giant at that).
- That Cloud Looks Like...: The premise of the second episode consists of the Kirbies looking at clouds, with each one detailing an object for Adeleine to have.
- Unexplained Recovery: Oftentimes a Kirby will be killed off then return perfectly fine in the next episode. Justified if using the logic of the games where if you can reach the angels the Kirbies turn into they will come back perfectly fine, which Adeleine probably did. Episode 7 reveals that due to the connect she and the Kirbies share, Adeleine can heal them just by showing them love.
- Unreadably Fast Text: After every episode except for Episode 7, each of the company has a description written by Adeline. They get a second, darker version in Episode Six, showing the emotions that created them, as well as more wholesome descriptions In Episode 8 that seem to have been made as if Adeleine is talking to them or telling King Dedede about them (or at least recounting him to herself).
- Adeleine descriptions
- The General:
Always in the front, acting as leader to the team. Since he seems to like leading and tries his best, I’ve decided to call him “The General” and the group shall be referred to as “The Company”- GlumOne:
This one is always looking sad and is pretty pessimistic. He’s always thinking of worst case scenarios. I only see him smile when I’m either holding or petting him- BleakOne:
“BleakOne” is the name of this guy. There’s a dark aura surrounding him. That being said, he’s just as gluttonous as the others but unlike them, he prefers to be petted on the stomach rather than the head- OddOne:
A rather strange fellow. His reactions are over the top and he’s always playing tricks on the others and jumping around. I’m always worried he’s going to hurt himself in the weirdest way possible. His favorite activity is headbutting any part of my body that is available- ProudOne:
As confident and independent as this one looks, he absolutely loves when I play with him. The more we play, the more his childish side shows. When he realizes this, he quickly shifts his attitude and acts all mysterious again. It’s so cute!- CautiousOne:
Leave it to CautiousOne to tell you when things will go wrong, most of the time he’ll be right! It took the longest time for me to gain his trust. If I was near him and only moving my finger, he would be ready to run- CutesyOne
Now, he is the polar opposite of CautiousOne. He always wants to be with me and starts freaking out when I’m not nearby. I would be minding my own business and notice him climbing on me. Sucking my finger helps him relax when he’s stressed- OldOne
There is a charming “old-timey” feel to this one, I don’t know why. He likes the spring breeze a lot for some reason. He also loves to sing but my ears don’t like it too much. One thing I’ve noticed with OldOne is that he trips and falls on his face a lot- BitterOne
An aggressive bully. When we’re playing outside he often starts fights with animals and insects, not realizing he may be at a disadvantage because of his size. Even during his sleep, he’s frowning! Despite this he requires about as much love as the others, He just won’t say it and cross his arms!- LostOne
I Don’t think he knows who I am. I don’t think he even knows where he is. He never talks, rarely emotes. When I think he’s finally looking at me, he’s in fact lost in his thoughts. I’m just happy the others are not neglecting him. Sometimes I would notice he’s absent from the group only to find him sleeping in my shoe - Episode 6 descriptions
- The General:
Alcohol is pretty good. Have you ever had a cold beer with pizza before? Hell yeah! I remember King used to drink a lot when I was younger and told me never touch “that stuff” and look at me now, I’m doing just fine. It’s about time I’m being taken seriously!- GlumOne:
Man… Life was magical when I was a kid. Nowadays, it’s just boring… Look at everyone with their “hope”, “dreams” and “high expectations”… You’re only setting yourself up for disappointment- BleakOne:
I hate having to go through the town to reach my favorite painting spot. I feel like everyone is there to judge me. They must be thinking “Oh, it’s the creepy girl again. She never speaks to anyone and only shows up on cloudy days.” Leave me alone damn it! I’m just doing my own thing!- OddOne:
I don’t have to “behave” or “act classy”. What’s the point in acting anyways? Want me to fit in? Nobody wants that! Everybody just wants to be themselves. Let me act a little crazy every once in a while. It doesn’t hurt anyone- ProudOne:
I’m a loner, most of the time but I spent a good chunk of my childhood with King. He was always looking after me, beck when I used to live in Dream Land. He was the perfect big brother but I’m totally fine by myself now. I still visit him to this day so he can see how good I’m doing by myself- CautiousOne:
Everytime I visit King or go anywhere, I have to make sure that I’m not overwhelmed by people. I’m not agoraphobic! “better safe than sorry” are just words to live by and I don’t have the energy to fix problems caused by other people- CutesyOne
I like to please people. I can also get attached. I always make sure it’s not too much, however. I don’t want them to be freaked out. Maybe it makes me appear distant. If it wasn’t for my prudence, I would shower them with affection- OldOne
I would love to have someone under my protection. Just like King did for me, I would be there for them, play with them, teach them new things about life. There’s nothing wrong with that idea! I may be clumsy and it could be said that this is my main flaw but come on! That would be adorable!- BitterOne
It may not look like it but I became a lot stronger over the years. My punching bag allows me to exercise quite often. I also became “grumpier” and “aggressive” according to King… Below- LostOne
*Sigh* It’s ok. I don’t care. I’ll just keep on doing what I do best: Enjoy my life without a care in the world. I’ll cook, dance, shine… Anything. Sleep and observe. Observe the world, people everything! I’ll analyze and replicate anything in my paintings. I am whoever I want to be. Just don’t get on my bad side or things will get rather explosive - Episode 8 Discriptions
- The General:
He's generally the first one to check up on me when I'm a bit down. I'm so glad he and the others keep me company. He tries to be a leader, but he's such a scardey-cat. He is very easily startled. It's a but hard to take him seriously! ... I'm starting to sound like you... Hey! it's okay little guy, don't be mad at me! I know how you feel.- GlumOne:
Look at this one, all Doom and Gloom. He reminds me of myself a couple years ago, hahaha! Oh, he's rarely seen with a big smile on his face. I get it, we don't need to smile to enjoy life! ...Though he does own a sharp weapon. I don't know how similar we are but I make sure to keep him safe and happy so he doesn't go all stupid with it.- BleakOne:
At first, I thought this one would be dangerous and evil. Turns out, he's just a little shit-stirrer who enjoys fighting and going all out! "Never trust a book by its cover", Yeah... I should know that... Yes, Shortcake, Mommy used to be a book.- OddOne:
Ah, the little jester one. He looks like a lot of work but he knows what boundaries are. When I see he's not happy with a joke he's making, he just stops. It rarely happens too, so I know he only wants others to laugh. I'm proud of him for being so cheerful. Huh? You know I'm watching you honey. That's why you're doing this trick now, right?- ProudOne:
He's a complicated one but I got him figured out pretty quickly. He doesn't want others to see his more fragile side. I believe I'm the only one to have ever seen him cry. It takes a lot for him to fall into tears, but when he does, he still has the strength to wait until others are gone for him to cry on my neck. It's okay to cry, Bébé- CautiousOne:
He's one of the three puff balls I can trust to tell the truth when some are misbehaving. I think he doesn't like the others enough to care if they get in trouble for acting stupid. ...Look, I know I'm not one to talk, but... I'd like for you to trust others... your brothers more. That would make Mommy very happy- CutesyOne
It's funny how quickly the situation in this family went from cheering me on and making me feel more secure to them becoming extremely dependent on cuddles and kisses. Apperently it heals them and puts them at ease. Ah! Speaking of "cuddles" and "kisses". These are your favorite words, huh? Come here, Baby boy. I was a big hugger too, in my younger years! Ask Uncle King- OldOne
You know, this one treats two of his brothers like I used to treat Revol, Pistol, and Raifol back at your castle. He even likes to sing for everyone but... Let's say I'll have to teach him how to lower his voice. Also... I don't know if you tripping all the time is due to your strange way of walking or if it's a jab at me being a bit of a mess sometimes... You don't understand anything I'm saying, right? Blah, blah, blah! Hahaha!- BitterOne
...Um? You want to train with me? Do you want a fair fight? I can draw you a Jumbo Candy if you lik- No?... My hand? You want to fight my hand?! Hah! We both know this is a bad idea, Sweetie. Go ask someone else or wait until later today, ok? I know, I know "You're no fun, Mom!". That was never on my resume. We'll train later, I promise. Do you promise you'll be there? Give me a "Promise Kiss". I love you too, Sweetie- LostOne
I got to be honest, I don't really understand this one but the look he always gives is the same one I have in front of a canvas, according to you. I always hated when you pointed this out. So, maybe this baby is looking for inspiration. ... You're very good at mimicking your brothers in combat, little one. You're like a white canvas: you can be anything you want to be. ANYTHING. And Mommy supports that
- Adeleine descriptions
- Watch Out for That Tree!: In her blind rage, Adeleine ends up running head-first into a tree while chasing the Gaw Gaw family.
