HAL Laboratory talks about Kirby’s feet, says the character’s body composition is “top secret”

Kotaku was recently about to conduct an email interview with the Kirby development team. As part of this, the site was able to ask about a different kind of topic – that being Kirby’s feet.

Here’s what Shinya Kumazaki, chief creator at HAL Laboratory, shared with Kotaku:

“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.”

“That concept has been used in drawing the movement of Kirby’s hands and feet ever since Kirby was made up of pixels. So maybe rather than getting hung up on Kirby’s soft round body, picture a lively child running around a wide meadow, then take another look at how Kirby’s feet move!”

Kirby’s feet were brought up – at least partially – due to a fan comic that took the internet by storm a couple of years ago. For those who never saw it, this was the piece in question:

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