Masahiro Sakurai’s snack time draws comparison to 19th century painting.

“Likes video games” seems like a pretty standard trait for people who work in the industry, but even by that metric, Masahiro Sakurai is known for his purehearted love for the medium. As director and designer of the Super Smash Bros. crossover fighting series, Sakurai has had ample opportunities to showcase his admiration for a huge number of video game franchises, but it’s clear that he has an especially soft spot for cuddly character Kirby.

Kirby was actually created by Sakurai, who gave him a starring role in the story mode of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and to this day fans commonly refer to Kirby as “Sakurai’s son.” So usually it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise for some Kirby-related content to show up in Sakurai’s Twitter posts…but this recent one is still pretty shocking.

“Hoaaaaaaa!” tweets Sakurai along with the photo of him stabbing Kirby in the face. However, this isn’t a case of a creator snapping after succumbing to feelings of resentment towards their work. No, it’s just Sakurai having a snack.

▼ “OK, it’s snack time…”

In honor of Kirby’s “birthday” on April 27 (the day on which the very first Kirby game was released in Japan back in 1992), Japanese convenience store Family Mart is now selling special Kirby sweets. Called Kirby Manmaruyaki, they’re basically a variation on imagawayaki, a traditional Japanese dessert that consists of a hockey puck-shaped grilled cake filled with an (sweet bean paste).

▼ The Kirby Manmaruyaki are produced by Bandai Namco and sold exclusively at Family Mart, making them, like Smash Bros., a multi-company crossover project.

Imagawayaki tend to be pretty solid in terms of flavor consistency. It’s a simple recipe that’s been around for generations, so they’re almost always delicious, and so for most people the transition from “see imagawayaki” to “eat imagawayaki” is natural and seamless. Seeing Sakurai about to chow down on Kirby, especially using a fork even though imagawayaki is generally a finger food, had other Twitter users leaving comments like:

“You’re gonna cut up that adorable-looking Kirby?”
“He’s too cute to eat.”
“Kirby looks so terrified.”
“Now the eater becomes the eaten…”
“Kirby is being devoured by his creator.”

One particularly cultured fan reacted with an image of 19th century Spanish painter Francisco Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son.

Honestly, though, it’s hard to think of a video game character who’d be more understanding of your decision to eat them than Kirby, who’s made that the core element of his franchise’s gameplay for more than three decades. If you’re ready to follow in Sakurai’s snack choice footsteps, the Kirby Manmaruyaki is available at Family Mart branches nationwide for 230 yen (US$1.50). Unfortunately, if you’re wondering where you can buy Sakurai’s stylish fork, that remains a mystery, as does where you can buy his couch.

Source: Twitter/@Sora_Sakurai via Jin
Images: @Press
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