Perhaps the only socially-acceptable way to openly be a weeaboo (a fanatic of anime and subsequently japanese culture) is to discuss your love of the films produced by Studio Ghibli. Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation film studio founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, and Isao Takahata. This week we’ll be watching one of their most heralded films, Kiki’s Delivery Service. Originally released in 1989 to Japanese audiences and released in 1998 to Canadian and American audiences, this movie has captured young-hearts and young-at-heart hearts alike. This is the first animated film to be featured on the ‘Honest Book Club’.
This film features Kiki at the center of the plot. Kiki is a teenage witch-in-training, having reached the age of 13. According to tradition, all witches of that age must leave home for one year, so that they can learn how to live on their own. Kiki, along with her talking cat Jiji, fly away to live in the seaside town of Koriko. She finds work in this new setting by starting her own delivery service using her unique abilities to fly. Kiki runs into trouble when she finds difficulty adapting to her new life, especially after she loses the power to fly.
I love this film because it is simple. It is uplifting. It teaches me that in order to achieve who I am supposed to become, I’ve only got to believe I am capable. Positive thinking has a tendency to help someone rather than hurt them. We’re all human beings (I’m assuming. Plz let me know if you aren’t). We are imperfect and sometimes we need reminders that our needs or desires are within reach. This is the reason that even in my twenties I come back to this and other films like Howl's Moving Castle or Porco Rosso.
These kinds of movies tend to spark lots of discussion so DON’T HOLD BACK!
> Are you a fan of Hayao Miyazaki? Or have you never heard of Studio Ghibli before today?
> How does this film rank compared to other Ghibli films? Which is your favorite?
> Do you find it sad that Kiki and her cat lose contact by the end of the film? Or do you view it as a positive sign that both of them are growing up and maturing in their own right?