Kyubey is a small, cat-like creature with a sleek and otherworldly design. Its body is covered in white fur, and it has a pair of large, crimson-red eyes that give it an emotionless expression. One of its most distinct features is its four ears, a standard pair resembling a cat’s and an additional, longer pair resembling rabbit ears. These longer ears are adorned with golden rings and taper into a pink-white gradient, ending in three red oval markings. The ends of these ears appear segmented, giving them a mystical, ornamented appearance.

These specialized ears are believed to play a role in the magical transformation process, as they are seen emitting light when Kyubey creates Soul Gems, such as during Sayaka Miki’s transformation.

Kyubey also has a long, thin tail and small, pointy ears with a soft pink-peach hue on the inside. On its back is a hot pink, egg-shaped oval, which can open like a compartment. This feature allows Kyubey to store or retrieve Grief Seed fragments, emphasizing its function-oriented, biomechanical nature.

Despite its cute and harmless appearance, Kyubey’s design intentionally contrasts with its true nature as an emotionless manipulator from an alien race.

Kyubey is a member of the Incubators, an alien race devoid of emotion, empathy, or individual identity. Although it communicates fluently and appears to exhibit social behavior, Kyubey does not possess a human-like personality. It operates with cold logic and detachment, viewing its interactions with humans purely through a utilitarian lens. While it appears as a single entity, Kyubey is one of many identical Incubators, all sharing the same consciousness and purpose. When one Kyubey is killed, another immediately takes its place, continuing conversations seamlessly without acknowledging the loss, reflecting the Incubators’ lack of individuality or selfhood.

The Incubators’ sole objective is to harvest emotional energy generated by magical girls at the peak of hope and despair, a resource they use to counteract entropy and prevent the heat death of the universe. The system they employ contracting young girls into magical girls and ultimately transforming them into witches is efficient but morally abhorrent by human standards. However, the Incubators view this process as entirely pragmatic, unaffected by ethical concerns, as they are incapable of understanding or experiencing human emotions.

Kyubey’s physical design and mannerisms are intentionally crafted to appeal to young girls, increasing the likelihood of successful contracts. It mimics emotional responses and adopts a calm, polite tone, but these behaviors are merely functional, not genuine. Its inability to comprehend the emotional consequences of its actions often puts it at odds with the magical girls it contracts. Despite their obvious distress or resistance, Kyubey remains indifferent, unable to grasp the emotional complexities that influence human decisions.

This emotional disconnect ultimately limits Kyubey’s understanding of the magical girls themselves. While it can calculate outcomes and manipulate scenarios, it repeatedly fails to anticipate the emotional and moral choices the girls make choices that are obvious to the humans involved, but incomprehensible to a being without empathy.

As a representative of the Incubators an advanced, emotionless alien race Kyubey possesses a wide range of magical and technological abilities that support his primary objective: harvesting emotional energy from magical girls to counteract the effects of entropy in the universe.

Telepathic Communication
Kyubey communicates primarily through telepathy, allowing him to speak directly into the minds of magical girls and potential candidates. This ability also enables limited telepathic communication between magical girls when Kyubey is present.

Invisibility
Kyubey is invisible to normal humans, who are unable to perceive or interact with him. Only magical girls and potential candidates are capable of seeing or hearing him, which enhances his secretive operations.

Teleportation
Kyubey demonstrates instantaneous movement across long distances, often appearing in distant locations without warning. While the mechanics are not explicitly explained, his sudden materializations such as fading into view above Homura in Episode 10 strongly imply the use of teleportation or dimensional phasing.

Wish Granting
Kyubey has the ability to grant one wish to any girl who agrees to become a magical girl. Unlike typical folklore genies, Kyubey does not maliciously twist the wish; rather, it is fulfilled literally, and unintended consequences arise due to factors outside of Kyubey’s control. Wishes are powered by the latent magical potential of the girl, meaning more complex or large-scale wishes may only be possible for individuals with exceptionally high magical aptitude.

Soul Gem Creation
Upon the formation of a contract, Kyubey removes the girl’s soul and places it into a small gemstone called a Soul Gem, which becomes the source of her magical powers. This process enhances physical abilities such as agility, strength, and pain tolerance, but also detaches the soul from the body, a fact Kyubey often omits due to its psychological impact. It remains unclear whether Kyubey can create Soul Gems independently of a contract.

Energy Conversion and Collection
Kyubey collects emotional energy generated during the transformation of magical girls into witches and during battles. In one timeline, this energy is harvested when Grief Seeds are dropped into the hatch-like compartment on Kyubey’s back. The exact mechanism of energy transport remains unknown, but it is central to the Incubators’ mission of combating cosmic entropy.

Replication
When one Kyubey is destroyed, another identical body appears nearby—often consuming the remains of the previous one. This process suggests a hive mind or cloning mechanism. According to supplementary material, Kyubey can “instantaneously generate a replacement body from surrounding mana,” implying near-limitless regeneration. This trait aligns with the metaphor that “cats have nine lives,” echoing Kyubey’s feline design.

Advanced Magical Technology
As part of a technologically superior race, Kyubey has access to sophisticated tools and constructs, such as the Inhibition Field seen in The Rebellion Story. While Incubators show no interest in offensive weaponry or warfare—preferring to regenerate when harmed—their mastery of interstellar travel, dimensional manipulation, and energy harvesting highlights their status as a post-scarcity civilization.