Star Bunny

"STAR Bunny, STAR Festival! Yes, I'm sensing a connection here."

- Star Bunny

Star Bunnies are a type of rabbit found in the Wii games Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Some Star Bunnies are actually Lumas that have transformed into Star Bunnies; these can be told apart from the "real" Star Bunnies due to the "real" ones wearing vests, which the Lumas' version lacks. As seen when they are first encountered, the transformation is two-way and reversible. Star Bunnies appear throughout the galaxies, and they most often need to be caught in a game of hide-and-seek. The "real" ones usually end their sentences with "boiyoing."

Appearance
Star Bunnies are small white rabbits with long teeth and whiskers. Their fur is completely white except for at the very top of the bunny's ears where there is one yellow or blue star-shaped tip to both of the Star Bunny's ears. Its feet are bigger than its other body parts and its tail is the same color as its ears. In both Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, most real Star Bunnies wear Toad vests, also of their ear color. However, the "chasing" ones of the Gusty Garden, Gold Leaf, Snow Cap, and Cosmic Cove Galaxies lack vests, but are implied to be actual Star Bunnies nontheless by their usage of "boiyoing" and by what other Star Bunnies say.

The Luma version of Star Bunnies lacks a vest entirely, while the ear and tail color match whatever the Luma's color was; two yellow Lumas, as well as the cream-colored Luma that goes on to accompany Mario are the only Lumas to be seen as Star Bunnies, and they have yellow and cream features, respectively.

Super Mario Galaxy
Some Star Bunnies appear in Super Mario Galaxy. They appear in a few levels as playful rabbits with the ability to speak and they try to get Mario to play a game with them, usually simply involving chasing one down. However, the three Lumas-turned-bunnies in the Gateway Galaxy instead ask him to play Hide and Seek with them, in which their hiding spots can be found by the echoing bouncing noises surrounding their hiding spots. Similarly, the three real ones in the Snow Cap Galaxy ask him to play "Chase," which works similar, but with a time limit and without the bouncing sound. In both cases, after they are found, they must be chased down afterwards. In other levels, the bunnies appear simply as characters for Mario to talk to, typically giving hints on jumping techniques or finding Star Chips. If Mario catches all of the fleeing bunnies in a level, Mario will get a Power Star, with the exception of the Lumas-turned-bunnies, who introduce him to Rosalina. In this game their homes seem to be the Gusty Garden and Gold Leaf Galaxies.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Star Bunnies appear again in Super Mario Galaxy 2. They are first encountered in the Flip-Swap Galaxy, where a blue Star Bunny teaches Mario how to traverse the galaxy's obstacles. They later appear in larger numbers in the Freezy Flake Galaxy, where some local Star Bunnies are frightened of the numerous snow-sculptures in the shape of Bowser and his Goombas that have been appearing all over their galaxy. Star Bunnies are also one of the many species that can be found on Starship Mario after completing the Think Before You Shake mission in the Flip-Swap Galaxy. In the Cosmic Cove Galaxy, Mario must catch a Star Bunny which will give him a Power Star after he is caught like in the first game.

Mario Party 10
In Mario Party 10, two Star Bunnies can be seen revolving around a carousel-like platform by the Event Space on the left side of the Rosalina Board.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a blue Star Bunny makes an cameo appearance in the Starship Mario spirit.

Trivia

 * In Rosalina's Storybook, the young girl (who was the young Rosalina) had a stuffed toy that looked like a Star Bunny.
 * In the early version of Super Mario Galaxy, a cosmic Toad species exists, possibly being replaced by the Lumas-turned-bunnies.
 * The Star Bunnies are comparable to MIPS from Super Mario 64, as both of them may give up a Power Star if caught.

Names in other languages
Sternenhase Astroniglio