Kine

Kine is a fictional character in Nintendo's Kirby franchise and a friend and ally of Kirby. He is a fish and the aquatic animal friend that helps Kirby get through water stages. His name is derived from kai, a Japanese word for the sea. Kine also makes a cameo in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards as a Stone+Cutter cameo.

Appearance and Characteristics[]

Kine is a large, blue fish. His body is shaped like a semi-circle. Two tall yellow fins stick out from his top and bottom, a tiny fin rests in the middle of each side, and one short fin runs down his back side. Their eyes stare vacantly outward at his front above his gaping, thick lipped mouth, generally held open.

Kine is laid back and relaxed, typically not showing any emotion outside a blank expression. However, he is very sensitive and can be easily brought to tears when something upsets him.

Appearances[]

In the Games[]

Kine first crossed paths with Kirby when Dark Matter originally attacked. Trapped by mini-bosses, he gladly returns the favor of being freed.

Kirby's Dream Land 2[]

Kine specializes in underwater travel. He is a strong swimmer and can power through even strong currents to allow Kirby to reach places no one else can. The fish allows Kirby to inhale and spit out enemies even when submerged. While paired with Kine, Kirby will hold his place within water and will not drift to the floor. Outside of water, however, he handles like the proverbial fish and can be awkward. Kirby's Copy Abilities are altered to underwater variations, which typically fare better than other powers underwater.

Kirby's Dream Land 3[]

Between games, Kine was improved in terms of mobility. In addition to his strong water mobility, his size allows him to crush smaller foes when jumped upon. Enemies can still be inhaled and spit out as normal when submerged as when out of the water. When carrying Gooey, his tongue attack is still used in place of suction. Kine's vertical leap reaches four blocks, one higher than Kirby manages on his own. Also, Kine's land speed was increased, making him as fast as any other character. Additionally, when Kirby or Gooey separated from the fish, he would rocket them out from his mouth. Kirby's abilities are altered again when with Kine.

There is a female fish, Mine, who is Kine's wife.

In the Anime[]

Kine has a few appearances in the anime Kirby: Right Back at Ya!. He has a crush on Tiff, mainly because she's near the shoreline a lot. He was tricked by King Dedede into revealing the location of the Rainbow Coral Reef in exchange to be able to move on land. Dedede kept his promise... somewhat, as Kine was put into a giant Fishtank on wheels. When Kine told Tiff that Dedede put him up to this in exchange for the location of the Rainbow Coral Reef, he found out that Dedede was going to destroy the reef to build a new castle. He was played like a fool, and so helped out when Kirby went into the sea to stop him. He also stopped Tiff and Tuff from drowning when their submarine was destroyed by creating large air bubbles. In the end, Kine still pines for his next date with Tiff.

In other appearances, Kine helps Kirby in the water, normally when he was pushed or thrown into the sea. He always asks how Tiff is and when their next date will be. He once said he'd prefer helping Tiff out.

Trivia[]

Kine is an ocean sunfish, also known as a mola mola. They are one of the largest bony fish in the world, at up to 11 ft. in length and weighing up to 5000 lbs. (2.5 tons!) Of course, Kine is a much smaller type.