Kiki's Delivery Service, 1989

Studio Ghibli is one of Japan’s best anime film companies and is known for making some of the best anime films in cinema history such as My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies. In this review, we will look at one of Studio Ghibili’s famous films, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and analyze the themes that the film presents, as well as how the characters in the film are presented and how good the animation style is.

Animation style:

Kiki’s Delivery Service was directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who is known for being one of Japan’s famous anime directors. The animation style in the film is colorful and beautiful. The characters, buildings, and even the day and night are presented beautifully with the film’s animation, and the animation style succeeds in attracting the viewers to the film and increasing their interest in the story.

Story and themes:

While the film is being presented to us as an animated fantasy film, the film can be seen more as an animated coming-of-age film with some fantasy elements as the film discusses the themes of maturity and independence. From the beginning of the film, we are introduced to the film themes as Kiki, the main character, goes on a journey to train herself to become a witch. From that point to the end of the film, we see Kiki in situations that make her rely on herself and become more mature.

The film does an outstanding job in approaching these themes as with each scene, we get to see how Kiki struggles in her journey. As the film goes on, the viewers manage to relate to her and understand what she is going through. While the film does have elements of a fantasy film as well as a coming-of-age film, the story creates an enigmatic, yet excellent, combination of these two genres that keeps the viewers attracted to everything that happens in the film, including, the story itself. The story never lets you feel bored and it has a mixture of emotional scenes from happy scenes, to sad scenes, to exciting scenes. Although for one scene the film might leave some viewers confused and ask “Why did this happen ?”. But regardless of that scene, the film was able to create a solid story that combines the genres of fantasy and coming-of-age films that can be enjoyable for children as well as adults.

Characters:

The film contains an excellent cast of characters that each have their own role in the story. The character that stands out the most is the main character, Kiki. She is the one who through her we see the other characters as well as the town or city that she lives in and through her journey we start to understand her and cheer for her. She can be described as the window to our house or apartment that lets us see what the city or town and the people look like. And through her, we manage to and to the upper class.

The other characters are also great in the film. From minor characters like Tombo, Ursula, and Osono, to the lesser appearing characters like Kiki’s parents. The film and its story interact with all the characters leaving no character unexplored.

Final Thoughts

Kiki’s Delivery Service is a film that tackles mature themes and is unique and contains a well-balanced story that creates a mixture of fantasy and coming of age that is suitable for adults and children, as well as an excellent cast of characters.

This film is for everyone to enjoy. From anime fans to fans of animated films or films in general, to fans of Hayao Miyazaki, and even to casual viewers, It is an absolutely enjoyable film and deserves the promotion that it’s receiving as it is one of Studio Ghibli’s classic films. 

This film is a must watch.