Kiki’s Delivery Service

When thinking about Japanese movies, one might think of a samurai movie or an anime but not all are under this category. This live action version of Kiki’s Delivery Service follows the story of a young courageous witch named Kiki. As per all witches she must adventure abroad for a year to find her purpose as a witch. This tale was originated from Eiko Kadono who wrote the book inn 1985. Later Studio Ghibli would pick up this master piece and animate it(to become one of their most successful movies).

This movie seems to incorporate flavors from both the book and Studio Ghibli’s rendition. Though it is hard to capture the beauty that Studio Ghibli creates this movie takes its own creative spin, and it comes out pretty okay. Focusing on the emotional aspect of Kiki’s life and taking you through her emotional journey of growing up is a great movie for young people trying to find themselves. Although it is dramatized quite a bit the overall arch of her journey reflects that of reality. The bright colors of the town Kiki travels to is what entices her to stay. Though she is met with unexpected problems when the people of the town don’t seem to accept her chosen career path. She is accused of cursing people and soon the town seems to be scared of her.

Although Kiki desires to give up, temporarily losing her power of flight, she finds the courage through her friend Tombo to not give up. She regains her power of flight in a moment of need to help a baby hippo and saves the day. The town rejoices as they realize this 13 year old girl wasn’t trying to harm them after all. Although I find the reality in this movie to be distorted compared to the real world, the story carries strong and gives an encouraging tale I enjoyed watching.