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Ninja Binge
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Ninja Binge is the 24th (22nd in the 4Kids broadcast) episode of theKirby: Right Back at Ya! series. In this episode, a ninja-in-training namedBenikage attempts to recover a scroll containing his bad report card from his school, but fails to retrieve it fromProfessor Curio's shop, who believes it to be an artifact. This attempt causes the people ofCappy Town to become interested in ninja arts, and a brief ninja fad sweeps the town.King Dedede takes interest as well, and steals the scroll for himself, taking it to his castle. Benikage attempts to recover the scroll again, but is discovered byKirby and is stopped in Cappy Town, where he explains himself toTiff andTuff. King Dedede sends the formerStar Warrior and traitor ninjaYamikage to recover the scroll, which he succeeds in doing, but he is also defeated by Kirby after obtaining theNinja ability from one of his throwing knives.
This episode marks the only appearance of theNinjaCopy Ability in the series.
Characters[edit]
The following characters appear in this episode:
| Cast of "Ninja Binge" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | Selected quote | Notes |
| Primary characters | ||
| "Poyaaaa?" | ||
| "What's up with all the fake ninja stuff?" | ||
| "We'll never become ninjas this way!" | ||
| "Bunch of juvenile delinquencies!" | ||
| Secondary characters | ||
| "Don't let 'em see us!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| "Somebody broke into your shop just to steal this fancy paper towel holder?" | ||
| "I shoulda known I'd take a plunge if I used plungers!" | ||
| (Falala)"The ninja in the dark armor!" (Fololo)"We found out that he works for Night Mare Enterprises!" (Falala)"Yeah, he betrayed the Star Warriors!" | ||
| "Welcome to Gangu's ninja supply store, carrying all the hottest ninja gear! Ninja apparel, and genuine imitation scrolls!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| (Iro)"But what can we do, Tuff?" (Spikehead)"You're supposed to throw at the target!" | ||
| "I didn't know you two were tap dancers!" | ||
| "You're some huffer, your Highness!" | ||
| "Ninjas were strong and honorable Star Warriors, not thieves! I battled alongside many of them. Ninjas were renowned throughout the galaxy for their great skill in battle." | ||
| "The ninjas were skilled martial artists. They could outrun the wind, leap over buildings...they could even make themselves invisible." | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| (no dialogue) | Appear in a flashback. | |
| "That's true, but you don't think it was a ninja who tried to steal that scroll?" | ||
| "I want that scroll! Do not challenge me, or you will regret it!" | ||
Locations[edit]
Plot synopsis[edit]
The episode begins late at night in Cappy Town, as a shadowy character is sneaking around the village. He quietly infiltrates Professor Curio's museum and attempts to steal an archaic scroll, but triggers a trap set up by Curio and fails to escape with it. The next day, a crowd of Cappies gathers around the crime scene as Chief Bookem investigates. Professor Curio explains to those present that the object the perpetrator was trying to steal is an ancient scroll containing the secrets of the ninjas. Hearing about ninjas for the first time, Tuff gets excited about the idea and wants to try to be one. Later on, King Dedede and Escargoon drive into town in theirArmored Vehicle, investigating due to all the Cappies having reportedly disappeared from the village. As they arrive in town, they are soon "attacked" by some of the Cappy kids, who are dressed up as ninjas. Soon Mayor Len and Melman show up, also dressed as ninjas, and explain the recent fad.
Seeing Gangu's ninja apparel on sale, King Dedede acquires one of his imitation scrolls and drives off. He then arrives at Curio's museum and asks to see the scroll that the town is talking about. Against his better judgement, Curio shows them the scroll, and while Escargoon distracts him, King Dedede swaps the fake scroll for his. This is noticed both by the kids outside and the burglar from the night before, who is still hiding in the shop. The kids pipe up about it, but King Dedede manages to slip away with some confounding remarks. Back at the castle, King Dedede and Escargoon get to work trying out some ninja tricks from the scroll they stole. Watching this, Tiff grows frustrated with the fad, insisting that the ninjas aren't even around anymore, but Meta Knight soon corrects her, explaining that ninjas fought alongside theStar Warriors in the war againstNight Mare Enterprises, but one in particular turned against them.
Back in town, Tuff, Kirby, and the Cappy kids are still practicing their ninja skills with little success. They decide they need to get the scroll back from King Dedede to learn how to be proper ninjas. Tuff and Kirby sneak into the castle at night and grab the scroll from a snoozing Escargoon, but Kirby soon notices they are being followed and spots the burglar from before with his flashlight. As everyone wakes from the commotion, Tuff explains they found a real ninja, and Kirby manages to spot him again. The ninja then drops down clumsily, but manages to get the scroll and run. In town, the ninja is soon halted in his tracks in Cappy Town by the Cappies, and falls from his hiding place in the central tree and is caught by Tiff, Tuff, and Kirby. He tries to defend himself, but misses with each of his throwing stars. This causes him to break down in tears over his lack of skill.
Later on, Benikage explains to the kids that the scroll in question was not anything special; just his report card from ninja school, and he wanted to retrieve it so nobody could see his bad grades. Tuff resolves to help him learn how to improve his skills along with Kirby. The two begin with throwing star practice, which Kirby refuses to take seriously. Meanwhile, at the castle, King Dedede has called in the turncoat ninja Yamikage through hisMonster Delivery System, and ordered him to retrieve the lost ninja scroll. Yamikage soon finds the kids at the target range and engages Benikage in a duel for the scroll. Fololo & Falala arrive to tell the kids who the opposing ninja is. As the battle progresses, Meta Knight attempts to intervene, but Yamikage pins him down. He then knocks the scroll out of Benikage's hand and into King Dedede's, and prepares to finish the young ninja off with a kunai, but Kirby inhales it and transforms intoNinja Kirby.
Kirby then does battle with Yamikage, going toe-to-toe with him using advanced ninja skills such as teleportation and theAir Drop technique. Having defeated Yamikage, the ninja swears revenge and vanishes in a puff of smoke as King Dedede gets away with the scroll. As he flees, Yamikage deduces that Kirby and Meta Knight must be the last of the Star Warriors, and that he will be back to finish them off some day. Meta Knight warns Kirby that they will surely cross paths again. That evening, Kirby and the kids bid Benikage farewell, as the young ninja promises to go back to ninja school and try again for better grades. He attempts to exit in a flashy manner, but ends up getting swept away by a river he falls into. The kids wave him good-bye regardless as the episode ends.
Differences between versions[edit]
- In the Japanese version, a short shot of Tiff getting ninja stars thrown around her by King Dedede and Escargoon is present, which was cut in most international versions. Additional shots of King Dedede throwing ninja stars at Escargoon are also cut.
Dialogue differences[edit]
- The names of Benikage and Yamikage are derived from the Japanese version of the show, as their names were never given in English. However, the Italian dub has a single instance of Tiff calling Benikage by name when Yamikage arrives alongside Dedede.
- In the Japanese version, Professor Curio also mentions that Ninjas could walk on water. This was likely changed in the English dub to remove religious connotations.
- In the Japanese version, Escargoon distracts Curio by asking him about one of his jars, rather than saying the ice cream man is outside. Cappy Town does not appear to have an ice cream man in the show.
- In the English version, Benikage admits his throwing stars are plastic, but there was no such implication in the Japanese version.
Trivia[edit]
- Throughout the episode, while most of the villagers are still dressed as ninjas, Kirby is intermittently in and out of his costume for no apparent reason.
- During the scene when Kirby is throwing ninja stars with Benikage, Kirby celebrates when one of the stars returns to him like a boomerang, despite having never hit the target. He seems to have thought this to be the real goal of the exercise.
- Despite Yamikage's promise that he would return to exact revenge on Kirby and Meta Knight, he never appears again in the series.
Gallery[edit]
Benikage sneaks around in Cappy Town in the dead of night.
Benikage fails to get away with a scroll from Curio's shop.
Kirby acts on instinct when he grabs the scroll.
King Dedede and Escargoon are bombarded with wooden ninja stars.
King Dedede acquires a fake scroll from Gangu.
King Dedede gets away with Curio's scroll after switching it with the fake.
Benikage nearly blows his cover in Curio's shop.
Tiff watches King Dedede and Escargoon playing ninja.
Flashback scene of Yamikage with the Star Warriors
Flashback scene of Yamikage after betraying the Star Warriors
Kirby tries throwing ninja stars.
Tuff and Kirby sneak in to the castle to retrieve the stolen scroll.
Kirby spots Benikage with his flashlight.
Benikage makes his way to Cappy Town after setting the castle on high alert.
Benikage hides in the town plaza tree from the ninja villagers.
Benikage loses his cool after failing to hit his targets.
Benikage reveals to the kids the content of the scroll.
King Dedede summons Yamikage through the Night Mare Enterprises Teleporter.
Yamikage engages in a duel with Benikage for the scroll.
Yamikage knocks the scroll out of Benikage's hand.
Kirby performs the Air Drop technique on Yamikage.
Benikage botches his exit.
The final shot of the episode
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ニンジャ、ベニカゲ参上! Ninja, Benikage Sanjō! | Visiting Ninja, Benikage! |
| German | Ninja-Fieber | Ninja-Fever |
| Italian | La pergamena dei ninja | The ninja's scroll |
