So we’ve reached the final week before kids go back to school, as the unofficial end of the Summer looms near. We of course are bringing you another recap of videos that you might have missed last week, and boy did we have fun doing these. Also don’t forget that starting September 5th we’ll be starting a new weekly newsletter called “D&A Entertainment Weekly”; which will include our Youtube video recaps, and posts for the week along with what’s happening around the anime industry. Yep, that’s pretty much it. Until next time and next post, stay nerdy my friends! ๐
Author: D&A Anime Blog
One-2-One with D.J. Lewis: Junko Enoshima!
In the time I’ve spent watching anime, I’ve come across the various types of villains that you would see in specific types of anime within the medium; your action-fantasies, your isekais, your rom-coms, your mechas, and your psychological thrillers. In the spectrum of villainhood there are three types that can range from intellectually challenged, to god-tier terrifying. The first of which is your Simple Villains; your Saturday Morning Cartoon troupe kind of villains (Ginyu Force and King Dedede types). The second is your God Complex Villains; where mortal rules don’t apply and they can pass judgement on whomever they want (Goku Black and Light types). The third and perhaps most dangerous one of them all, is your Sympathetic Villains. How are they the worst? We can see a part of our selves in their actions, ideologies, and personalities.
One sympathetic villain in particular caused the whole world to fall into world-ending despair. Many are still in disbelief that this ‘Early 2000’s High School Cheerleader Valley Girl’ type of girl with a ‘Harley Quinn’ complex, is the reason the world went bat-crap crazy. Its also the reason why Danganronpa fans simp over her. She’s the Queen of Despair, Junko Enoshima.
Some time in 2018 I stumbled upon this series through Youtube, which is where I spend most of my time watching anime these days. I watched all of Danganronpa: The Animation and came to the conclusion of…why I don’t like Junko Enoshima that much. Its like you wanna punch her in the face the moment she opens her mouth; which is what my initial first impression of her was after watching the show. As the years went by this toe fungus of a woman started growing on me, which might explain why I’m even doing a One-2-One on her to begin with. The creator even stated that Junko doesn’t even have a reason to do what she does; she had no trauma-filled childhood, no abusive parents, and no negative experiences to shape who she became around her. She’s just bad because she is – and there’s not much else to it! Yeah, I know! (It’s even more crazy because of the fact that she was born on Christmas Eve.)
Junko Enoshima represents the worst of humanity, while Makoto Naegi represents the best of humanity. Its a Ying-Yang situation as the two of them clashed at the end of the series; with Junko losing, but not before committing suicide instead of surrendering to hope. I know many don’t like to think of this as a deep series, but with the psychological themes of hope and despair behind it, it’s hard not to.
Part 1: Who is The Ultimate Despair?
Okay, so I know that there are certain differences between Game Junko and Anime Junko, but for this One-2-One I’ll be focusing more on Anime Junko (but add a few elements from Game Junko). So Junko’s childhood (along with her sister) was abject to say the least, and was even homeless at one point. Her taste for despair may have started in elementary school with her friend Yasuke Matsuda; where she built a sandcastle as people watched her work, played in the school playground for a bit, then came back to find out that the sandcastle was destroyed. Upon hearing her cries Yasuke looked around for the person responsible and found no one, then while he was sitting on the bench Junko ran up to him and told him that she was the one who did it by accident (though we know that ain’t true).
As the years went by Junko was planning on something big; something that would change the whole world, and NOT for the better. She got a modeling career and was featured in all of the latest magazines and became an idol due to her extravagant tastes. Eventually she got accepted into Hope’s Peak Academy as a part of the 78th Class, and the rest was history.
Part 2: Junko Enoshima: The Ultimate Despair!
Junko Enoshima during her first appearance is pretty much like Aqua; only with a successful modeling career and NOT a useless goddess. However…her true personality is far more cryptic and unpleasant. She’s apathetic and easily bored to an unhealthy degree, and somehow got Multiple Personality Disorder in the process. Junko’s not one to keep just one ‘appearance’ for long; which makes her mentally and emotionally unpredictable, and anxiety-inducing when having a conversation with her. She values despair above anything else and wishes to ‘paint the whole world’ in it, as she believes its the great unknown, and unpredictable. As mentioned before; she has no reason to do the things she does, but she does them because that’s who she is.
Although she doesn’t look it, Junko is rather highly intelligent. (Yeah, we can’t believe it either.) She’s also cunning, violent, manipulative, impulsive, toxic as hell, and cruel. She’s also mentally and emotionally abusive to her sister and anyone associated with her. Junko even manipulates people into committing crimes and then turns around and blames them for even doing it in the first place – even though SHE’S THE REASON WHY THEY DID IT IN THE FIRST PLACE! (Yeah, I really didn’t like her when I first saw her.) Basically when it comes to despair; even if she loses, she wins. Her skills on the other hand are exactly what I aforementioned before; her analytical talent in predicting the latest fashion trends, mathematical problems, subliminal messaging, and more. Because she’s able to predict what a person will do before they do it, it lead to her boredom and why she chose despair because of its unpredictability. Also due to the fact that she’s the Ultimate Despair, she uses her talent to exploit their weaknesses and manipulate them to do whatever she commands.
I’m also gonna point out she has no physical fighting capabilities whatsoever, but if she had Goku Black’s fighting prowess she would’ve been even MORE dangerous than she is now. (*laughs*)ย ย ย
Part 3: The Legacy of Despair!
Junko Enoshima is the embodiment and amalgamation of despair, and what it can do to people’s lives and how they feel. She’s everything you may despise about others and even yourself, and the corruption and sorrow that takes place in our world (even today); all wrapped up in the form of a ditzy high school cheerleader-looking anime antichrist. She may not have Goku Black’s power level or ‘god ki’, or even share the same philosophy that Light has (but then again, it might be on a more ‘complex’ level only she understands), but as a sympathetic villain she has the power to turn people against one another and bring out their absolute worst. Junko has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and doesn’t believe she is even at fault for how The Tragedy turned out – because it went just the way she wanted it to go.
While I may have a love/hate relationship with this character, I kinda feel bad for her. She could’ve been anything, but she was made to be the embodiment of despair. It’s all she knows and its her destiny. Junko will probably never be anything more than what she is because that’s all she is; a person who manipulates people to do her bidding, causing people to fall in love with despair (and her), and falling deeper and deeper into the abyss of despair with no hope of returning. She’s a character that you both want to feel sorry for, but glad she ‘punished’ herself in the name of despair.
May you rot in hell you disgustingly loveable THOT! (I really don’t like this girl very much, do I? XP)
One-2-One with D.J. Lewis: Goku Black!
I have been a Dragon Ball fan since Toonami made its debut in 1997, and like every fan since then, I’ve always rooted for Goku during every battle he had. From the time he went toe-to-toe with Vegeta during the height of the Saiyan Saga, to throwin’ hands with Beerus in Battle of Gods. Goku has been unstoppable throughout the whole franchise; except for that one time he got killed by Piccolo during the Raditz fight, exploded along with Cell during the end of the Cell Games, and ‘died’ in one Hit – get it? XP
Throughout the series the Earth-bound saiyan has had his share of world/universal threats, and regardless of who the worst of the worst villains is (…Frieza), there have been some that seem to resemble the main saiyan. In The Tree of Might we had Turles; the forgotten saiyan warrior who grew 10x stronger every time he ate from that tree. Now in the age of Dragon Ball Super, there is another Goku-like threat in the form of both a god…and a saiyan. He’s everything Goku would’ve been had he not hit his head as a child, but carries with him the old persona of Vegeta during his Saiyan Saga days. He’s…Goku Black.
My first thought upon seeing this character was ‘haven’t we done this already?’, but there was something different about this ‘evil Goku’. First, his appearance was much slender than Goku’s actual appearance, because Goku’s a lot more buff around the shoulders and chest. Second, he wore a Potara earring on his left ear; which is the same ear Goku wore his during the Buu arc. Third, he can travel through time like the son of the saiyan prince; which he’s been hunting down for quite awhile. Fourth…he has a Super Saiyan form called Rose’ (which might be opposite to Goku and Vegeta’s Super Saiyan Blue). Nevertheless fans were quite fond of this new character even though he’s just the body-swap incarnation of the actual villain, Zamasu.
Part 1 – The Origin of Beauty: Enter, Goku Black!
So when and how did Goku get his body stolen? Well it might have something to do with the Super Dragon Balls, a wish, and unaltered timelines. (Yeah, I don’t like them either so lets just get on with it.) Zamasu went to Universe 6 from the unaltered timeline and gathered the seven Super Dragon Balls (actually you can’t “gather” them, they’re planet sized and just happened to be there when he arrived), then summoned Super Shenron and asked to have his body switched with Goku’s (of that timeline), and thus became Goku Black. That’s the story right? Nope.
Goku Black and Zamasu are actually the same entity from the same timeline. Thanks to Trunks not understanding how jumping through timelines HAVE CONSEQUENCES, Goku Black was inevitably born. Zamasu was a Supreme Kai-in-Training under the eye of Gowasu, but because of their passive nature towards mortals and his growing hatred of them due to their sinful desires, Zamasu rejected Gowasu’s teachings and became a rouge Kai. You pretty much know what happens next; he kills (Future) Gowasu, swaps bodies with Goku, became Goku Black, chased down Future Trunks, destroyed West City of his timeline, revealed to Universe 7 Present Goku that he killed his wife and son, got his ass handed and lectured to by Blue Vegeta, fused with Future Zamasu, defeated by SS2 Trunks, and had his timeline erased by Zeno. This FIEND actually went around pretending to be Goku while destroying universes from Trunks’ timeline and making Super Dragon wishes, before finally having his plan; the “Zero Mortals Now with all of that out of the way, let’s get on to his skills and personality.
Part 2: The Essence of Beauty and the Hatred of Mortals!
Before Goku Black was Goku Black, he was Zamasu. Zamasu was a patient student under his master’s teachings, but harbored a hatred for mortals and their wicked ways with the gods (kais) not doing anything about it. Taking the phrase ‘if you want something bad enough, you gotta do it yourself!’ to heart, Zamasu killed his master and went rouge before gathering the Super Dragon Balls and becoming Goku Black. As Goku Black he was an unsympathetic, cruel, sadistic, homicidal, and unhinged bastard! He loves toying with his enemies before brutally killing them; doing is best Seth Rollins maniacal laughter impression while doing so. Even though he’s the extreme opposite of Goku, there are a couple of things that he shares with him; the will to get stronger by doing it naturally (or take a page out of Ginyu’s playbook and injure yourself and get a zenkai boost), he’s goal oriented, and likes to test his power before going all out in battle.
His skill set is pretty much all of Goku’s moves and abilities; except for the Energy Scythe and Energy Blade (Sickle of Sorrow and God Split Cut) – which the latter was actually Vegito’s move. You want a Kamehameha? Black’s got it. You want a new Super Saiyan form? Black’s got it. Basically he’s got the skills of Goku along with the skills of a Kai (or Supreme Kai); Kaio-Ken, Black Kamehameha, Super Black Kamehameha, SS Rose’, Black Spirit Bomb, God Split Cut, Sickle of Sorrow, Mass Replication, and so many other attacks and techniques that I don’t feel like naming because its way too many to name! He can also Potara-fusion with Zamasu to become Fused Zamasu, but we all know what happens when a Saiyan fuses with a Kai…
Part 3: The Legacy of Goku (Black)!
Goku Black is the direct opposite of Goku as Zamasu, but he’s also Goku from Trunks’ unaltered timeline though its Zamasu parading around like he’s Son Goku. At first I never understood why so many people liked this character, but I guess Toriyama-san thought it would be a cool idea to have a mirrored evil version of Goku who had all of his abilities along with the power of a god. Goku Black is basically what Goku would (and could) be had he not hit his head when he was a baby, so perhaps Goku Black’s appearance and overall persona is just a glimpse of what that would look like; a ‘what if Goku never hit his head and stayed evil’ scenario.
I know its been said that by the end of the arc the quality of the writing went downhill. The Dragon Ball fandom will drag the ending of Goku Black’s arc through the mid for years to come. Yes, the final battle between Future Trunks and Fused Zamasu should’ve been it and ended it there, but then Zamasu pulled a last-minute “gotcha”; causing Zeno to come in and finish the job by erasing the timeline. You defeated a god and STILL had to call for help to finish the job! What kind of ending is this?!
On the bright side though, Goku Black is pretty boss in Dragon Ball FighterZ. So, this is gonna wrap up my One-2-One on him. Until next post, stay nerdy my friends! ๐
D&A Studios Entertainment Recap (8.15.22)
What’s good, anime fam? Its another start to another week as September gets closer, and the Summer is winding down. It may be just another ‘terrific’ Monday for some, but for us it means another recap of videos that we’ve done this past weekend. Also a side note; starting September 5th, 2022 we’ll be implementing a newsletter-style format with a new name entitled “D&A Entertainment Weekly“. It will contain recap videos from our Youtube channel, new posts and articles for the week, and bi-weekly Premium videos for our VIP fans. We’re also working on a new monthly subscription tier system for our biggest supporters; $3 (Occasional Visitor), $5 (Frequent Flyer), $7 (VIP Member), $10 (D&A Super Fan). (More on that in the coming weeks.)
That’s all we’ve got for now, so until next post, stay nerdy! ๐
D&A’s Checkpoint Check-In! (August 2022)
Hey guys! This is our second ‘check-in’ post of 2022. Posts like these are pretty much our way of letting you know what we’ll be doing next, but also letting you know where our heads are at in these modern day times. Recently, we’ve hit a few speed bumps in how we plan on implementing special features on our site, as well as overall promotion of our blog (and Youtube channel) to expand our reach to various circles within the anime community. However, our stubborn nature comes in clutch when we need it most, so we hope to be able to activate our Premium/VIP videos so that our biggest fans can check them out. Now that we’ve gotten that out the way, here’s some upcoming announcements:
Two New One-2-One Posts Drop Next Week: Junko Enoshima (Danganronpa), and Goku Black (DBS)ย
Anime villains are completely different compared to their Western counterparts (if you’d even call it that). Many of them became that way based on their rough childhood, while others wanted to try and overthrow their own government. Some are chaotic evil while others are chaotic neutral, and some do evil because…of boredom? You’re tellin’ me the whole reason the world went to hell, is because one chick was bored out of her mind?! That’s right, we’re doing a One-2-One on the embodiment of despair herself; Junko Enoshima. Next week!
Now, there have been so many Goku clones in this franchise that its not even funny! However unlike Turles (who is the ‘Original Goku Black’ to a small…select few in the Dragon Ball fandom), Goku Black IS Goku; just body swapped by an evil Kai known as Zamasu after a wish from Super Shenron. Although the ending to the arc was…terrible, Goku Black made for an interesting villain due to his philosophy about humans being absolute scum; that gods are better and more pure than man will ever be. (Future Trunks was having none of that!) Anyway, he’s next week on One-2-One.
Video Uploads Will Continue to Remain on Wednesdays (For The Moment)
Our Youtube schedule has been a little crazy as of late. Due to a shift in ‘certain’ priorities and aspects of our lives, video upload days could change depending on the weight and severity of said priorities and aspects. We’re not at the level (financially) where we can quit our 9-to-5’s and do this full time, cuz’ well…we gotta eat. If there’s a change in our upload schedule we’ll make an announcement on our social media pages.ย
So far that’s all we’ve got for this check-in post, but as always, we can’t thank our fans for the amount of support you’ve given us. Until next post, stay nerdy! ๐
Nerdz of the Decade Recap (8.8.22)
Hiya! We’re back with another Nerdz of the Decade recap to fill you in on some episodes that you might’ve missed at some point in the last week, or so. Although we can’t name names just yet, we are in the process of booking our third guest for the podcast, and yes – its someone you know. Down below is the last three episodes of Nerdz that you might’ve missed; as our 33rd episode will center around our new guest. That’s it for this update, and as always stay safe, and stay nerdy! ๐
A Founder’s Thoughts with D.J. Lewis: The Value of a (Content) Creator
The word “artist” and “creator” can mean a number of things to a number of people, but to the majority of the general public, artists are creators who express themselves through their art. People who express themselves through the art of online video, are Content Creators. The cool thing about people who are content creators, is the fact that they’re art is on a greater spectrum than just one type of form. It can be comedy sketches, dance trends, movie reviews, ‘let’s plays’, anime analysis videos, and so much more. Eventually, if these people continue improving and enhancing their content to present to the audience that they’re targeting; growing it in the process, then these content creators become what many call ‘internet celebrities’, or ‘Youtubers’. Say what you want Hollywood, but Youtubers are the new ‘A-listers’ now! XP
Gone are the days of people thinking that you can’t make a career out of riding a shopping cart off the roof of your parents house, and landing in a pile of horse crap and it going viral on Instagram. These days you can become a viral sensation and gain celebrity status just by getting your dog to sing the “Star Spangled Banner”, and many people have taken advantage of Youtube’s features, and what it can do for them. Video editing software has become so commercialized these days, that now 8-year-old Timmy can just grab his dad’s iPhone 12, shoot a video of him and his 12-year-old brother reenacting a scene from some dumb movie only Gen-Zer’s understand, and that video gets 5 million views on Youtube. 16 years ago Youtube was a fun place where people could share videos about the crazy things they were into. I miss the days where Youtube was all about cat videos, lip synching the Mortal Kombat theme song, and Naruto AMVs – don’t get me started on Naruto AMVs.
Sometimes I ask myself why, why did I decide to create this anime blog alongside my friend of 20 years? In 2015 we had an idea, or at least a thought, about what it would be like to have an anime blog and write about the stuff you liked; anime! Well, my creative brain decided to create a WordPress account, find the best theme to make it appear that we were a business, and go nuts! One year afterwards we made a Youtube channel that would eventually become a hub where we would have a podcast series called “Nerdz of the Decade”, and do video unboxings of anime figures. It was then that we gained the role of ‘Content Creators’ because we now had content, to create.
Nowadays since anybody can do it, there has been a massive influx of creators who make their way to Youtube, to create content on the things that they like. With anime being as mainstream as it is; thousands of creators have produced videos talking about the industry, reviewing shows, ranting about how good or bad certain shows are, doing figure unboxings, and ultimately…fanning out about the thing that gives them joy. There are some days I wonder if we’re even reaching our target audience with our videos, or even if people think that our videos are good. There have even been moments where I felt discouraged about our chances of our ‘content footprint’ on Youtube, being noticeable to bigger channels or even sponsors that we look up to.
Numbers, subscribers, and channel views weren’t of top-tier importance 16 years ago when Youtube was fun, now after Google bought it, it feels like its a popularity contest where creators are all fighting for Youtube’s attention; to promote their channel. I could even go so far as to say that Youtube isn’t about the creators, but how much content can be put on this platform so people already on it will stay on it longer. So what does this say about the value of a creator, and what does this say about us as D&A?
Maybe, I may be thinking long term. Maybe, I need to stop worrying about other people’s success and focus on our mission to being one of the best blogs out there. There are people who have been rooting for us since day one, and despite the many speed bumps we’ve gone through in the last 6 going on 7 years of our existence, we got people who have our back. Every creator is different in how their content is presented to their audience, but for us we decided to take a unique approach on how we cover topics both educational and controversial without bias. (Not so much on ‘best girl’ though! XP)
You never know who’s watching your videos, so continue to create the content you love for the people who love it. While we might not reach Jake or Logan Paul levels of fame, we small-time content creators have a voice in the creative community, and value the quality of our content than its quantity. I guess what I’m trying to say before I end this post is; you can’t move forward if you spend so much time looking back. Don’t worry about what others are doing, focus on you. We have fun doing what we love despite our boring and stressful 9-to-5 jobs. We love our fans and supporters and fellow anibloggers, and no matter what the future looks like for us, we’ll continue to be D&A no matter what!
We are D&A Anime Blog, and that’s what we do!
Until next post.
One-2-One with D.J. Lewis: Panty Anarchy
After hearing the news from this year’s Anime Expo, I like many others who are a part from the PSG fanbase, was floored. I don’t know why it took them this long to do this; though there hasn’t been much new information since the announcement, but at long last Panty & Stocking is getting a second season. While its been 12 years since the first season came out, a LOT has changed in the atmosphere – mainly among the ranks of social justice and political correctness. In the beginning of the year I made an article about PSG, and wondered if the show would still hold up in 2022, and depending on who you ask, many would say we’d need it now more than ever. One character in particular doesn’t give a f@#k about political correctness, and thumbs her nose at the law on a regular basis. She also apparently gets more screen time than her fan-favorite sister, and takes the ‘brawn-over-brain’ approach when it comes to hunting ghosts. She’s Panty f@#$%&g Anarchy!
Siblings in anime have always been interesting to me; from your caring ones like Mirajane and Lisanna (from Fairy Tail), to your estranged ones like Sasuke and Itachi (Naruto). Panty and her sister Stocking kinda have a ‘Cain and Abel’ relationship in certain situations, but at the same time they also kick ass together when needed. Also much like gothic best girl, Panty is able to transform her namesake into her primary weapon of choice; the pistol. Her goal while in Daten City is to pretty much screw 1,000 men before going back to Heaven, and I’m not even going into the repercussions one will receive if they decide to go this route. Besides being the popular one among large crowds of people, and being an ass to her sister, Panty has a rebellious streak towards authority – particularly the Demon Sisters. She’s not afraid to speak her mind or gives a damn about political correctness, so basically Panty is the Revy of the series. (There is GOING to be a character comparison post on Panty and Revy, I am NOT sorry!)
Part 1 – So, who the hell is Panty Anarchy?
Okay, so there’s really not a lot you can say about Panty’s origins, because much like Stocking, no ones knows how she became an angel (or fallen angel) in the first place. Many have speculated that during the end credits of every episode, Panty and her sister are human and seen in the various ways that the two of them could’ve died; by train, by car accident, by being stranded in the desert, shot to death, or being decapitated by Chuck. While there’s no real origin story from the creator himself, Panty and Stocking are just angels who ended up in Daten City after being kicked out of Heaven for being too raunchy. I will say that the 13th episode might hold a clue to who Panty was in her former life, but I’d also take that with a grain of salt because the whole thing was staged in order to get Panty to return to Daten City to save Brief during the Hellsgate chaos.
Part 2 – Panty’s Personality and Skill Set
It should be obvious but Panty has been portrayed as the ‘Hollywood Celebrity’ character of the series. She’s always on the hunt for new men to sleep with in just about every episode (even robot men). She has a spiteful attitude towards her sister, Brief, and of course Garterbelt, and doesn’t actually take her job at hunting ghosts seriously. Panty is also shameless with no moral compass, and has on various occasions danced half-naked on a stripper pole (or full nude in pornos) in front of live audiences. She’s also kinda envious of her sister when it comes to maintaining her figure; as Stocking can eat a truckload of sweets without gaining a single pound. Panty also has no strategy when fighting ghosts, as she believes pure power gets the job done. However, this also causes her to be the most vulnerable when it battle – especially during the heat of the moment when she has to improvise using actual guns compared to her angelic weapon.
While she may be reckless in the way she fights, Panty does have a serviceable amount of skill. She can transform her panties into Backlace; her weapon of choice. If she also has two pairs of panties, she can also create a second gun (or Backlace II) or combine them into a sniper rifle or sub-machine gun. Panty’s weapons have the power to hurt demons, ghosts, and other angels (going by what Stocking’s weapon did), and it also appears that she has enhanced vision; where she can see Brief and the Demon Sisters over 10 miles away. When Panty lost her virginity to Brief in the last episode, she stated that after getting her powers back she felt 100 times stronger than before. (Don’t know how true that is though…)
Part 3 – Legacy of Panty Anarchy
Panty Anarchy is the embodiment of the almighty stereotypical ‘rebellious teenager’ and ‘high school celebrity’ troupe that you’ve seen in any of those high school/college movies of the 2000’s. She thumbs her nose at authority, isn’t afraid to speak her mind, and is shameless in more ways than one. While she may be raunchy and in some cases ‘too raw’ for conservative types, there are guys who are kinda into girls who take charge and don’t back down to societies rules; like Brief. The concept of true love is something Panty has no interest in; as Stocking confronted her about it in the second half of episode 9, but deep down inside she really cares for Brief and possibly might even see a future with him…possibly.
With a second season announced there could be some speculation on what happens with Panty and Brief’s relationship, but then again, it could be just a one-off deal. So in review; Panty is the older sister of Stocking, loves sex more than anything, doesn’t take her job of hunting ghosts as seriously as she should, is a shameless plug, and has more screen time than Stocking. (Maybe that’s why she cut her up into 666 pieces, but I guess we can now deem the end credits of season one as a joke.)
And that’s it, that’s all I gotta say about Panty Anarchy.
Until next post, stay nerdy! ๐
D&A Studios Entertainment Recap (8.1.22)
Whew, what a weekend! No, we didn’t get the chance to go to any cons this weekend (though that could change by next year), but we do have some brand new videos on our D&A Studios Entertainment Youtube channel for you to check out! This week we’ll be rolling out our first ever Premium video with all of the fixin’s (quality-wise) that you’ll see in these videos below. By the way; the door to being a D&A Contributor is still open, so if you’re interested in writing some articles for us, hit us up on our Contact Us page. That’s all we’ve got for today, so until next post, stay nerdy my friends! ๐
One-2-One with D.J. Lewis: Kirby!
If you’re a 90’s kid like me, your childhood consisted of three things; Saturday Morning Cartoons, junk food, and video games. During that decade there were two warring factions that battled for childhood supremacy; Nintendo, known for their ‘PG safe’ attitude and a ‘rooted in play’ approach to gaming, and Sega, known for being the ‘new kid on the block’ with attitude and a ‘rooted in appeal’ approach to gaming. Both companies have their mascots, hit-maker franchises, and overall reach to 90’s kids all over the world; but that’s another post for another time. Today, we’re breaking down a Super Smash Bros. alumni; through his moves, his personality, and why he’s ‘mained’ by a large majority of the fandom. Its the ruff-and-tuff pink puff himself, Kirby.
I first met Kirby in 1993 through Kirby’s Adventure and Kirby’s Dream Land after beating Super Mario Bros. for what I believe to be the second, or third time. Much like Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and the Pokemon franchise, Kirby’s reign on the gaming world has spanned three decades and at least two-and-a-half generations. From main games, spin-off titles, rebooted classics, and anime adaptations, it was no secret that Kirby was going to become a part of the biggest crossover brawler franchise Nintendo had ever created. Not only that, but compared to everyone on the Smash roster, he’s the only character who has defeated the most god-like, universe-ending villains this side of Planet Popstar. How you ask? Let’s find out, shall we?
Part 1 – The Origin of Kirby: The God Slayer!
Kirby…is so, so, SO simple when it comes to design! You draw a circle, dot the eyes, then add a smile. Masahiro Sakurai is the reason why Kirby exists, but how did Kirby get his name? Well, Kirby’s original name was Popopo (as weird as that is), and was meant to actually be a placeholder sprite for the original name of Kirby’s game, “Twinkle Popo”. Imagine if they stuck with that name; we’d have a franchise that kids today would jokingly mispronounce as ‘Twinkle Poopoo’. As far as how Kirby got his name, it might have something to do with Nintendo’s legal council; John Kirby. I guess Nintendo didn’t really like “Twinkle Popo” very much because they stated that it wouldn’t appeal to American children, and little did they know that 30 years later, they’d be right. As for his origin and where he’s from, well, he lives on Planet Popstar and is from Dream Land. As for his gender and how old he is, Kirby’s age and gender are both unknown.
Part 2 – Kirby’s Personality and Skill Set
Kirby has a child-like innocence and wonder, but also has a sense of justice in times of danger. He doesn’t really show any fear at all against world or universe-ending threats; rather remaining neutral throughout the whole ordeal. However on the flipside of the coin (in some of his games at least), Kirby has a bit of an impulsive streak when it comes to certain villains; like King Dedede, Dyna Blade, and Meta Knight. In the later games and even in the anime series Kirby: Right Back At Ya!, Kirby deeply cares about those around him and is very forgiving; even towards his fiercest of enemies. Kirby’s pretty famous on his planet as well as Dream Land, as the many enemies that he’s come across know him (or know of him) through his deeds and his popularity. However Kirby’s not one to let it go to his head, as he’s just someone that likes to help people when they need it.
If there’s one thing Kirby likes doing when he’s not saving the world or the universe, is eating…a lot! He’s basically like a bottomless pit, as he can put a table’s worth of food away quite easily, and can eat a cake the size of a mountain. (Goku can’t even do that!) Expired food doesn’t bother him, nor does hot and spicy food, however like any other person, he’s not fond of food that is disgusting or gross (like Whispy Wood’s poison apples or Belly Blaster’s pies in the anime). Speaking of the anime, Right Back At Ya! Kirby is more dimwitted and cowardly until he’s instructed to fight against a particular threat. Also in the anime, anything Kirby eats goes to some sort of dimension; which might explain why he’s able to put away so much food in such little time without issue.
When it comes to abilities and moves, Kirby’s got one that gets the job done depending on who he’s fighting; the Inhale. He can copy the ability of any enemy that has a weapon or elemental power; like fire, ice, water, earth, or lightning. In Kirby 64 you can actually have two different abilities at once after inhaling his enemies, and you can even throw them upwards, or straight across. Kirby of course can also float in the air for a short amount of time, as seen in Kirby’s Dream Land and onward, and can also use a skill called the ‘Air Gun’; where Kirby exhales a puff of air as a projectile that can damage enemies. Kirby’s portrayal in Super Smash Bros. references the moves from his games a lot; as for his Up Special he can use his Cutter Attack, his Down Special is his Rock Crusher (which Smash players have spammed on me multiple times, which I hated), his Side Special which he uses Dedede’s hammer, and the gold ol’ fashioned copy ability from the first game as his Special. He also shares a lot of his combat techniques with that of Knuckle Joe.
Part 3 – The Future of Kirby
Nintendo has done so much with this franchise, and its hard to think even for a second that Kirby is done. While he may not talk or seem like a big and buff heroic type, Kirby is just a simple character who patty-cakes with gods every single week, and then goes to sleep. It’s unknown if Kirby has a family or not, but in the anime he has people in his life who treat him like family. While his portrayal may differ between his video game and anime personality, Kirby continues to appeal to audiences all around the world; much like Mario and Sonic has. Smash players will continue to main him like they’ve done in the past (speaking from experience, although since Ultimate that experience may have changed), he’ll always have new games coming out on the latest systems, and he’ll always be the ‘ruff-and-tuff’ pink puff!
That will do it for this One-2-One, and as always until next post, stay nerdy! ๐
D&A Anime Blog 