Kiki’s Delivery Service

At age 13, a young girl named Kiki sets out to find a place suitable to begin her training to become a Witch.  With her faithful guardian cat, Jiji, at her side, Kiki arrives in a beautiful seaside town that just needs her special talents.  What is her special skill?  Can Kiki find her place in this new home?  Beyond doubts and fears, Kiki presses forward starting with a one of a kind Delivery Service only a Witch can provide.

After two back to back reviews of high adventure with world ending stakes, it’s nice to see Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli give themselves a breather with a different kind of fantasy fare.  Kiki’s Delivery Service has no larger than life villain or a secret that must be uncovered to save the world.  No, this is a movie about a girl beginning a new life in a new town and she just so happens to be a Witch in training.  There’s no more and no less to this premise and even though the film does come down to things just happening on screen, it’s a chill kind of story everyone can get behind, especially when it comes to Ghibli’s usual animation powers and Kiki being so gosh darn loveable.
 
Indeed, this movie would not work if Kiki weren’t likeable.  She’s a teenage girl coming into her own and discovering what can make Kiki, well Kiki.  She’s a hard worker and a quick thinker with a big heart.  Let’s face it, even though she does charge for her services, I’m pretty sure Kiki would do her delivery gig for free since she loves it so much.  But Kiki’s also unsure, scared and in need of a support system in a new city on her own.  Thankfully Kiki’s Delivery Service has just as much to offer in that department from Kiki’s instantly loveable landlord, Osono (and her silent but awesome Baker Husband) to Ursula, who looks like Sailor Jupiter and helps Kiki during a pivotal point of the movie.  Naturally there’s Tombo, who comes to be Kiki’s biggest supporter and admirer, even if Kiki cant quite get the hint that a boy might like her despite her insecurities.
 
This is a film everyone can really relate to cause there isnt a moment Kiki goes through that we the viewer haven’t been through ourselves: moving to a new town, trying to find a job, establishing a new community, finding friends, dealing with some pretty snobbish and mean spirited people and even falling in love.  It helps make Kiki an every girl, just with a dose of witches magic for extra fun.  Seeing her face and overcome all new challenges gives the movie its true power and you root for her all the way.  One moment where Kiki discovers a delivery she worked hard to ensure arrives gets a bemoaning groan from the receiver only made me want to see Kiki succeed even more cause dammit, this girl deserves her wins.  Wow, didn’t think I’d have that much to say about the character and her journey alone.  Then again that’s something I feel was missing from my review of Laputa.  Unlike Sheeta and Pazu, Kiki is a heroine who deserves her place in the Hall of Ghibli’s Best Heroines.
 
So the character works, the story works, is it any surprise the Animation works too?  Come on, even when it’s not firing on all cylinders you can always expect Ghibli and Miyazaki to make an Anime look next level good.  I will say that like Laputa, the flying sequences with Kiki are a lot of fun.  Girl somehow made flying a broom look like the best thing in the world long before Harry Potter introduced us to Quidditch.  Some sequences get a bit of extra kick due to the excitement factor going up a notch.  Its easy to forget this movie originally came out in the same year as Akira and looks just as good but more kid friendly.  And then there’s Joe Hisashi’s musical score which is pure chefs kiss.  Because of the very European design of Kiki’s seaside abode, the music sounds like something you’d hear walking through a French countryside whether on a romantic walk or just touring the place for fun.  It’s easily one of Hisashi’s best, up there with Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.
 
Huh, I’m kind of trying to think of anything wrong with this movie but…I don’t think there is.  Is it as good as say Nausicaa or Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke?  I think in the same ways they stand out from each other, so does Kiki’s Delivery Service.  Like My Neighbor Totoro, which Miyazaki directed before this movie, Kiki is a chill out and relax kind of movie that can lift the spirit and still excite with its magical elements.  Kiki herself will warm your heart and make you cry along with her, and make you wanna give her a freaking hug.  I can see why this one is such a beloved entry in Studio Ghibli’s catalogue and why Kiki’s one of the gold standards in Miyazaki’s long line of incredible heroines.  Place your order with Kiki today and she’ll get it to you with a smile on her face and some fancy broom work that will blow your mind.
 
10/10
 
Next Week, we conclude Miyazaki Month II with something a little…different.  It’s another Miyazaki movie but from another Miyazaki, the next generation.  It’s Goro Miyazaki’s directorial debut with Tales of Earthsea, Next Monday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.