Tiff is the deuteragonist in the anime Kirby: Right Back at Ya!. She is the daughter of Sir Ebrum and Lady Like and the older sister of Tuff who lives with in King Dedede's castle. Besides Meta Knight, Tiff is known to be the most intelligent inhabitant of Dream Land and she is the only one who has the ability to call upon the Warp Star when needed, because she is the one who cares about Kirby the most.
Tiff is a pale yellow-skinned young girl who is about twice Kirby's height with long blonde hair that she keeps in an ornate ponytail held by a purple and two orange clasps and expressive shiny green eyes. The bottom of her eyes have three small eyelashes on each side. She almost always wears a one-piece outfit which is pastel pink on the top with puffy sleeves and light green on the bottom that is separated by a zigzag and orange shoes.
Neither Tiff nor her family are Cappies; the only similarity between them is their yellow skin color. Other than that, the design of their heads, eyes, and limbs are completely different.
Personality[]
Tiff is best known for her intelligence and short temper. She loves to read, learn, and teach. Her favorite subject is marine biology and she has a large collection of seashells. She also enjoys archaeology, so she often joins Professor Curio in his research. Unlike the other children in the series, Tiff is not always seen to act very playful or childish and she is also portrayed as a very independent character.
However, Tiff is a very high-strung individual who gets angry easily, and is sometimes quick to resort to violence (though she's not always happy to do so). Despite her intelligence, she tends to be very naïve and idealistic, reflecting her youth and inexperience. She can be very stubborn and this leads to her occasionally forcing her ossified values and ideals onto others. She also doesn't know everything, like the moment she thought the characters in a poorly-made animation are moving only to be reminded by her mother that they're standing still (or in the Japanese version where she was amazed at the camera work instead only to be reminded that it's only to fool the viewers). Tiff is also quite highly prideful, and her pride often makes her an easy target for others as shown when she stated she wanted to collect the Karate Kid figure before it was revealed to be another one of N.M.E.'s monsters.
She's very passionate about protecting the environment and nothing annoys her more than when others, often King Dedede, try to ruin it and its inhabitants. She describes Kirby as a baby, and is shown to care for him with all her heart.
Relationships[]
Kirby[]
Tiff is the first person that Kirby meets after crashing on Planet Popstar. She had hoped that Kirby would be a tall and dashing knight when she had first heard about him, but she was disappointed and even slightly put-out at first to find that he was merely a little pink creature, but she became Kirby's strongest supporter after that. According to Meta Knight, she is the only person who can summon his Warp Star from Kabu because the Warp Star is only able to be summoned by someone who truly loves and cares for Kirby.
They have a relationship somewhat like a mother and child or older and younger siblings. Tiff tends to be protective of him and she is one of the few characters who tries to keep in mind that while he is a powerful Star Warrior, he's also still just a baby. Even when she and her brother began to suspect that he was the monster after Cappy Town's sheep, Tiff still offered to help Kirby if he told her the truth. Sometimes, Tiff gets annoyed with Kirby at times too, but still cares about him. Despite Kirby's one-track mind for food, Kirby will do anything he can to keep Tiff out of harm's way, proving how important Tiff is to Kirby as well.
Sir Ebrum and Lady Like[]
She is the daughter of the Cabinet Minister Sir Ebrum and Lady Like, but they aren't nearly as bright as Tiff and they often go along with what King Dedede wants, much to her displeasure.
Fololo and Falala, Tiff, and Tuff introducing themselves in "Kirby Comes to Cappy Town."
Tuff[]
Tuff is Tiff's younger brother who is basically her polar opposite. He's mischievous, rambunctious, and not all that bright. They do get along, however, and will team up to investigate Dedede's schemes and cheer Kirby on during fights. She gets annoyed with Tuff at times namely when he acts roudy, but still cares deeply for his wellbeing.
King Dedede[]
Tiff's least favorite person in the world is probably Dedede, her father's employer. She knows perfectly well that most of what Dedede does are schemes to get Kirby or to harm the environment of Dream Land, and blames him if something unexpected happens or something goes wrong despite having no proof. Dedede also knows that there is little that Tiff can do to stop him most of the time, and so he regularly taunts and teases her.
Since Dedede will do anything to keep Kirby away from having an advantage, he periodically captures Tiff like he does to Dyna Chick, and threatens to turn her into a monster if she doesn't tell him information that connects to Kirby. Throughout the course of the series though, despite their mutual disdain for each other, Dedede does not appreciate the idea of hurting her or actually carrying out any one of his threats while she is in captivity. Demon Bonkers, MT2, and the Pengy are several of the other villains that have captured her before.
Meta Knight[]
Meta Knight is a friend and mentor to Tiff as they get along due to their intelligence and mutual dislike of Dedede, but Tiff gets annoyed with Meta Knight's somewhat cold-hearted way of handling things (such as the time when he lets Kirby get beat up in order for him to push past his limits). In addition, Meta Knight tends to be very laid back about things in contrast to her quick temper and he often helps Tiff when she needs advice, but he usually will only give her hints to allow her to figure things out on her own. She and Meta Knight are the two people who watch over Kirby, though she tends to worry about his well being far more than Meta Knight.
Kine[]
Kine is shown to have a major crush on her (despite being a completely different species) and he usually asks about her whenever given the opportunity. He always calls her 'Fumu-san' (Miss Fumu) in the Japanese version and "Tiffy" in the dub.
The Cappies[]
The villagers respect Tiff's opinion, including the adults, but they don't always listen when she warns them about Dedede's schemes.
Concept[]
The girl who looks like Tiff from the pilot.
While unconfirmed, it is suggested that the yellow-skinned female character in the Kirby of the Stars Pilot is an early design of Tiff. As they have the same color of skin, eyes and basic body design, as well as being a friend of Kirby, it's a strong possibility. She also has a quick temper much like Tiff.
The early design doesn't seem to wear any clothes. Her entire body is yellow, making her look more like a Cappy in Kirby: Right Back At Ya!. Her hair is in two pigtails with red bows. Her eyes are black ovals with emerald pupils and no sclera, and she wears a rather ornate tiara. She also has the ability to fly.
She is the first person Kirby encounters in the pilot. Despite rumors, she has no known official name or status. However, it appears that she was a princess of Dream Land, and presumably King Dedede's daughter due to him being jealous of her friendship with Kirby.
Quotes[]
“
It's gotta be impossible, but your name wouldn't happen to be "Kirby?!"”
— Tiff • Kirby Comes to Cappy Town
“
Myparents work for the King, and we live in the castle. In case you were wondering, my name's Tiff.”
Thanks to you and all your hard work, our new friend finally has a place to stay. The Star Warrior has a home at last. Now let's give a housewarming welcome home to Kirby.”
Maybe...but teachers are supposed to solve problems with their heads, not their hands. I wish I could figure out a way to reach even those three guys. To help them see learning's really interesting. When you goof off in school, you could be missing something really great and never even realize it. The most important job of the teacher is to help your students want to learn. It's really sad when you don't succeed. There are so many great things to discover in this world. School gives you the tools that can help you learn. But the most important tool of all is the curiosity inside us. Promise me that you guys will never give up trying to learn new things. Promise! That's... all, I guess.”
— Tiff making her speech after defeating Dirk, Kirk, & Smirk • The School Scam
“
Kirby, listen up! If you don't get rid of those hiccups, you'll never be able to eat again!”
Listen everybody! You're going about this thing the wrong way. Those machines can't cook for you because the most important ingredient is missing. You can't make great food unless you use your heart. Cooking isn't about using all the latest technology. Your food will always be mediocre unless you care about what you make.”
Don't call me that! Why don't you guys show a little originality and invent your own cartoon character instead of picking on me? I don't want to be a cartoon star!”
I know Dedede can be mean and nasty and selfish, but deep down, he really just wants to be loved. If we gave him a present, maybe he'd feel loved, and change his ways.”
Well you should be proud of him. Kirby flew those things like a pro.”
— Tiff after Kabu tells her why he sent the dream training to her and Kirby for him to learn how to fly Air Ride Machines • Air-Ride-in-Style - Part II
“
You brought Kirby here because this is where you make nightmares! But he's not afraid of you and your tricks!”
And so Kirby saved the galaxy and proved himself to be the greatest Star Warrior of all... and life in Dream Land went back to normal. But I suppose that with Kirby around, life will always be an adventure. Isn't that right, Kirby?”
— Tiff • Fright to the Finish
Related Quotes[]
“
Tiff is tough and not afraid to stand her ground. She is the daughter of Sir Ebrum and Lady Like and Kirby's biggest supporter.”
The daughter of Sir Ebrum and Lady Like is Kirby's biggest booster. She tries her best to protect and defend her pink pal from the monsters unleashed by King Dedede. But she does get frustrated with Kirby's bad habit of inhaling everything in sight.”
— Character description • Kirby: Right Back at Ya! official English website and Nintendo Power magazines
Etymology[]
Tiff's name can be seen as a nickname for Tiffany, a female given name, although this name has never been used for her.
Tiff's Japanese name, フーム (Fūmu), comes from the Japanese onomatopoeia equivalent to "hmph," フム (fumu), referencing her short temper.
Trivia[]
Tiff voices her dislike for violence when seeing Sir Ebrum, Lady Like, and Tuff watching a show of a robotic King Dedede beating up another enemy robot (probably parodying the Transformers series) on Channel DDD. This shows her somewhat hypocritical side, as she herself sometimes resorts to impulsive violence the first chance she gets, like beating up Escargoon when she saw him poking Kirby with a pencil instead of pointing this out to Mr. Chip in Teacher's Threat.
In the Japanese version of the anime, Tiff announces the title of every episode on an outer space background between the opening and the rest of the episode, with the shape of a Warp Star closing in, then opening up to segue to the episode.
Tiff is one of the characters least often animated with CGI, the only instance being in The Kirby Derby - Part II and in first Japanese opening.
In the Japanese version of Tooned Out, Tiff is shown in a more anime-like appearance; her eyes are larger and have more eyelashes, her one-piece outfit turned into a leotard, and she was given unnaturally large breasts. This scene was cut out of the 4Kids dub because the exaggeration of breasts was deemed inappropriate for children, but the scenes without this aspect were still shown.
30th anniversary wallpaper, featuring cameos by Tiff and Tuff
On January 12, 2022, Nintendo of America and the Kirby Twitter account released a wallpaper to celebrate the Kirby series's 30th anniversary.[1] One image featured on this wallpaper was of Kirby holding dolls of Tiff and Tuff. This is the first time the characters have been referenced outside of the context of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, as well as their first appearance since Kirby 3D's English dub and Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition’s release in 2012.
On close inspection, the dolls closely resemble those seen in the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! episode Abusement Park.
Tiff is probably based on or inspired by Mary Anning, a real-life paleontologist who discovered fossils along the coast of the English Channel, which may have influenced her interest in collecting seashells and studying marine biology. She may also have been inspired by Anning's friend, Elizabeth Philpot, who was the daughter of an upper-class family and was also a fellow scientist.
