Game designer Masahiro Sakurai, renowned for developing the Super Smash Bros. and Kirby series, is considered one of the titans of game development by many players. This year, he was even awarded the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award for Fine Arts by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, recognizing his immense contributions to the gaming industry.
But Sakurai recently dropped a post on X featuring a dessert shaped like his very own creation, Kirby. What seemed like a simple post exploded with over 11 million views, sparking a frenzy among fans and racking up more than 290,000 likes.
Turns out, this adorable Kirby treat is BANDAI CANDY's "Kirby's Round & Round Cake 2025 Edition," a custard-filled Imagawayaki (a type of Japanese pancake-like dessert) available at convenience stores across Japan.
But Sakurai's photo, with the Kirby snack neatly plated and a fork at the ready, came with a cryptic caption: "On the long road of life, perhaps one day I'll end up eating a character I created myself..." — Wait, what?! Why did that sentence just cut off?!
The post immediately sent fans into a speculative frenzy, trying to figure out the context. Some joked, "So, the gluttonous Kirby finally gets eaten himself?" or "The creator devouring his own character? That's some intense plot twist." Others, more dramatically, wondered, "Did Kirby eat him mid-sentence?" or "This feels like a reverse attack! Is Mr. Sakurai okay?"
Fans were basically writing fanfiction for the photo, and it was hilarious.
Sakurai later posted another photo, this time showing him actually taking a bite out of a second Kirby snack, finally putting fans' minds at ease. But the caption for that pic read: "borururururu" — a strange sound effect that plunged netizens back into confusion. Was that the sound of him eating? LOL.
Beyond guessing it was an eating sound effect, some fans speculated it might be a hint at an old Kirby game making a comeback, like "Kirby's Pinball Land" or "Kirby's Dream Course."
