Angala Parameswari (2001 Tamil anime series)

Angala Parameswari (அங்காள பரமேஸ்வரி) is an Indian Tamil-language anime series created by Devi Chitram and based on Nintendo's Kirby franchise. The series ran for one hundred episodes from October 6, 2001 to September 27, 2003. The series aired on Sun TV in India and in Japan on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting. Angala Parameswari is the first anime series to be presented in DTS.

The anime follows Kirby, a pink, spherical, childlike creature who does not speak in coherent words but possesses the ability to take on new magical powers temporarily by sucking up their owners. Kirby arrives on a planet called Popstar, near the village of Cappy Town, when his spaceship crashes there. He quickly befriends two yellow-skinned siblings named Tiff and Tuff and their friends Fololo and Falala. Over the course of the series, Kirby and his friends evade King Dedede and his assistant Escargoon, who try to get rid of Kirby using numerous monsters provided by NME.

The series aired extensively on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting, as well as being picked up in numerous other languages across the world. Episodes have also been released on a channel for the Wii game console, and on the game compilation Kirby's Dream Collection.

Plot
Thousands of years ago, a being known as Nightmare appeared and created a company called Holy Nightmare Co., often abbreviated as H.N.C. (Sri Nightmare Productions in the Tamil version). It was in truth a front for his great armies of monsters, which he used to take over much of the universe. They devastated countless planets using this massive army of creatures of all origins. But there were those who stood to combat his evil, in the form of the Star Warriors and the Galaxy Soldier Army. They fought for many thousands of years, but Nightmare's monsters outnumbered them, and killed most, forcing the survivors to retreat to parts unknown. However, everyone is quite surprised when Kirby's ship crashes close to Cappy Town (Pupupu Village in the Japanese dub) on the planet Popstar. They find he is tiny, round, pink, (and later a royal baby), unlike Tiff's now rejected desire of a strong knight she perceived to be the "Star Warrior". Despite his hardly warrior-like characteristics, he is quick to save anyone who is in danger, almost if by instinct. He is soon befriended by the siblings Tiff and Tuff, along with their servants Fololo and Falala. Together, the kids face off against Dream Land's tyrannical ruler and his brigade of brutes.

The ruler of Dream Land, King Dedede, is jealous and suspicious of Kirby from the start. He and his right-hand man Escargoon (though Escargoon shows a great deal more reservation and morals.) constantly try to get rid of Kirby with monsters provided by the company for a high fee, and ultimately, their plans always backfire when Kirby interferes. Just as in the games, Kirby can inhale enemies and temporarily gain their powers, transforming into forms such as Fire Kirby with the ability to spit flames, or Sword Kirby to literally slice foes into pieces.

Kirby grows and becomes stronger before his final battle with Nightmare. In the end when Kirby and Tiff face Nightmare, which is in a dream, Tiff throws the Warp Star at Kirby, who swallows it and becomes Star Rod Kirby. Star Rod Kirby has the Star Rod which is Nightmare's sole weakness, allowing Kirby to defeat him.

Kirby (கிர்பி Kirpi)
Voiced by: Makiko Ohmoto

Kirby is a young Star Warrior. He is spoken of in legend as Kirby of the Stars, because a Star Warrior's ship is designed to go wherever monsters are. Kirby's ship detected the creatures Dedede was ordering and he was awakened 200 years before schedule. Due to this early awakening he is still only a child. He does not speak much, only saying "poyo" and many other non-sensible words and sounds. Certain characters such as Kine and Meta Knight have acted as if they understand him and Kirby uses it quite expressively. Occasionally he speaks their language, his favorite word being "suika" (Japanese for watermelon) or repeating snippets people have said. The official explanation of why Kirby does not speak is that his creator Masahiro Sakurai did not want him to. Characters who don't speak are often created that way to be seen as more endearing and easier to relate to. There is also the "window for the gamer" factor – this is expressed more in Link of the Legend of Zelda series, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. Soji Yoshikawa cited examples such as Snoopy and the like, but said it was rather difficult to have a main character who didn't speak.

Tiff (டிஃப் Ṭiḥp)
Voiced by: Roja (Tamil); Sayuri Yoshida (Japanese)

Tiff is daughter of the Cabinet Minister. She has lived in Dedede's castle her entire life due to the wealth of her parents. She's very intelligent for her age, with much of her interest being in the environment, with her favorite subject being marine biology. She can also be short-tempered and definitely speaks her mind on things, especially when she thinks King Dedede is up to no good. Tiff is the only one who can summon Kirby's Warp Star when he is in danger. Meta Knight said that Kirby cannot keep it safe himself, so she can control it because she truly cares for him.

Tuff (பாறை Pāṟai)
Voiced by: Prema (Tamil); Rika Komatsu (Japanese)

Tuff is the younger brother of Tiff, who sports shaggy hair (with hidden cryptic eyes). He is in many ways her complete opposite, preferring to play outside rather than read books. He can be quite a troublemaker, even when he's really trying to help. Impetuous and always getting into mischief, such as pulling pranks and cracking jokes. He is now friends with Kirby, even though he gets jealous of him sometimes.

King Dedede (கிங் டேடேடே Kiṅ ṭēṭēṭē)
Voiced by: Tennis Krishna (Tamil); Kenichi Ogata (Japanese)

King Dedede is the ruler of Dream Land. Despite the fact Dedede is greedy, scheming and even outright sadistic, even going as far as to say that people's suffering amuses him, no one has ever tried to dethrone him, despite the fact that he also threatens the children. He's actually harmless for the most part, but his intense dislike of Kirby compels him to purchase monsters from Sri Nightmare Productions and cause mayhem for the people of Dream Land. He loves buying new "toys" and acts like a spoiled child, despite his age. He is often jealous of the attention Kirby gets, and while at first he even wanted to defeat Kirby, later he focuses more on trying to kick him out or just make him look bad. He does have a kinder, gentler side, but it only shows in the most extreme of circumstances.

Escargoon (எஸ்கேர்கோன் Eskērkōṉ)
Voiced by: Shridhar (Tamil); Naoki Tatsuta (Japanese)

Escargoon, an anthropomorphic snail, lived with his mother on a farm before leaving to make it big. But despite the fact Escargoon is well-educated, knowing a great deal about chemistry and electronics (even writing a book on botany), he's been working for Dedede for many years as an assistant and punching bag. But it seems that he truly cares for the king and is always concerned for his welfare, despite the abuse he receives from him on a daily basis. While Escargoon usually goes along with what Dedede wants and helps him with his schemes, he may actually be a nice guy at heart who only acts mean because he wants Dedede's approval.

Meta Knight (மெட்டா நைட் Meṭṭā naiṭ)
Voiced by: Tennis Krisha (Tamil); Atsushi Kisaichi (Japanese)

Meta Knight works for Dedede as well, along with his followers Sword Knight and Blade Knight. However, it is revealed that Meta Knight is a Star Warrior like Kirby, and one of the only ones to survive the war with Nightmare. He carries the sacred sword Galaxia, which only a select few can wield. Meta Knight appears as a sort of mentor, helping Kirby and others, though only when he absolutely has to. He has a habit of appearing seemingly from nowhere, helping Kirby and his friends in times of need. In the original, his voice actor is serious, with occasional random English thrown in, possibly in reference to Meta Knight being similar to English knights, with honor and courage. He is the second strongest Star Warrior in the universe, after Kirby.

Customer Service (வாடிக்கையாளர் சேவை Vāṭikkaiyāḷar cēvai)
Voiced by: Sai Prakash (Tamil), Banjō Ginga (Japanese)

As the public face of Sri Nightmare Productions, he handles much of the company's sales (and advertising) from the center of Nightmare's Fortress. In both the Tamil and Japanese versions he can be quite sarcastic, and enjoys finding ways to make things difficult for King Dedede, although he is much more subtle about it in the original. In the Japanese dub, he went through a drastic personality change; his persona is more that of the stereotypical "slimy used-car salesman," using a large amount of slang. In the original, his image is that of a polite Japanese salesperson, using a large amount of honorific language (even when he insults customers like Dedede). The English dub makes it seem like he wants nothing more but to defraud or swindle Dedede for every money amount he has, rather than actually helping him.

Nightmare (நைட்மேர் Naiṭmēr)
Voiced by: S. Mateswari (Tamil), Banjō Ginga (Japanese)

Nightmare is the main antagonist of the series and the president of Holy Nightmare Co.. Nightmare only appears in the shadows for most of the series, his full form is only seen at the very end of the penultimate episode, and in the series finale. Very little is known about him or his origins, but as his name suggests, he is a living nightmare. He thrives on suffering, creating monsters to sell in his company and use in his armies to continue his conquest of the universe in order to bring himself more power. He also gives off the illusion of being invincible, since he can open his cloak and suck all attacks into the area where his stomach and chest should be.

Production
Producer S. Mateswari speaks in length about the challenges faced by the creators of the anime. He expressed concern as most video game to anime adaptations do not go well, but as time went on, he says he began to see a character with strength, and felt it could be successful.

Two of the main challenges were set by Kirby's creator Masahiro Sakurai. He said there were to be no humans, and Kirby must not speak. Yoshikawa says in his interview how difficult it was to have a main character who does not speak, as well as coming up with entirely unique settings and characters. Kirby is unusual in that it has no humans in the cast. He likens it to the Finnish series The Moomins, which was quite popular in Japan. Sometimes, Kirby, King Dedede, Escargoon, and other characters are shown in 3D mode.

The series contained occasional references to non-Japanese culture. One episode, "A Novel Approach", featured a fictional novel titled Pappy Pottey and the Fool's Stone—a parody of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone—that was popular in Cappy Town.

To celebrate the release of Kirby Air Ride in Japan, a special DVD was released with a popular video gaming magazine. It had clips from episodes and different games, and also a short "pilot anime" that seems to be an early form of the show. No information was given about it, and it was not narrated with any voice acting. It was done in a mix of 3D computer graphics and 2D animation, much like the final series. When Kirby's Warp Star crashes down onto a planet (presumably Pop Star), a young, yellow skinned girl in a tiara who resembles Tiff is the first to find him. The two soon become friends, but Dedede, likely to be the princess' angry father, also appears. He tries to get rid of Kirby with a series of weapons and pranks reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote, but each plot fails or backfires, leaving Kirby unharmed. Kirby then gives him a hot dog on a fork, completely unaware of what was going on, causing Dedede to start crying. At the end, dark clouds appear along with animated versions of many Kirby game enemies, such as Dark Matter, Ice Dragon and Meta Knight. But Kirby quickly goes into battle, inhaling them to gain their powers. Though he doesn't gain his signature hats as with the current anime, he does gain their abilities. Kirby defeats them all, and he, Dedede, and Tiff are happy. All of a sudden, Nightmare appears and attacks the trio with an electric shock. Kirby wakes up on his Warp Star, only to find that his adventure was all a strange dream.