Hmm…I find myself rather underwhelmed by Kiki’s Delivery Service. The film features a solid story and spectacular animation, but it failed to click with me. Perhaps your humble blogger is to old for it? The movie is essentially a coming of age story, where an adolescent witch named Kiki must find her own town in which to reside. She discovers the city of her dreams, some good friends, and many obstacles to overcome. The characters all stand as very likable.
Hence, this is a solid film, but not too appealing for me. *Spoiler Alert* Kiki’s loss of her magical powers stood out as my favorite part in the movie. I found her conversation with the artist during this trial especially interesting. The artist compared magic to the creative impulse, saying that God is responsible for inspiring our hearts and that art as well as magic must be original.
And so, this is a wonderful movie for children, adolescents, and their parents. But, in my case, I had a lack of identification with most of the characters. It needs to be more otaku-ish for viewers like me, I suppose.
Medieval Otaku 
I think the conflict was weak, but I always was struck by the neat little detail. Like in the picture above, Kiki buying things to furnish her small, pretty room. The radio she brought with her, dangling on the end of her broom.The new sign they make for their store. Falling asleep in the warm hay of a train car during a stormy night. Her face in profile as she is being painted, and her reaction to it. Nice images, but the plot about her being ashamed of her poverty and losing the will to fly didn’t have much punch to it. It was more about little kindnesses, I guess.
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Very true. I loved the animation and those nice images you mentioned. But, I did want more conflict. Maybe I just need to be in the right mood for it.
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I’ve always liked this one. Next to other Ghibli films it may not stand out but it is entertaining an sweet and heart-warming tale of a character maturing and sometimes that’s what I want to see – maybe it’s comfort anime. The details are fantastic and I get sucked into the world. the characters are cute (especially Kiki and Jiji) and I want to spend time with them which is why I usually watch it when it’s on television.
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It reminds me a little of Aria in that regard: a very comforting scenario. But, Kiki’s Delivery Service must be better because I couldn’t get through one episode of Aria!
Dmdutcher also mentioned the fantastic detail, and I did love the animation. Jiji was my favorite character in the film! The saddest part in the movie is when he stops talking.
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I agree that this movie has to “click” with you. For me, it’s a movie I’ve always admired and that I enjoy, but don’t treasure as I do other Ghibli works.
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Yeah, I feel like one has to be in the right mood in order for a film like this to click. But, the animation was spectacular, and I loved Jiji–such a shame when he stops talking!
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