By the time the title credits and music have concluded, Hayao Miyazaki has gently transported you into an alternate reality where witches and nearly a century of this-worldly anachronisms coexist. In this alternate reality, witches are productive members of society and use their magical skills in a variety of enterprises. They are neither evil nor feared. In order to hone their crafts, witches need to spend a year of internship away from their families when they reach the age of thirteen.
Kiki, the central character of the story, has just turned thirteen and sets out with her black cat, Jiji, to find a place to live. We find out pretty quickly that she doesn't really have any magical skills other than flying, and even at that she's not very good.
With this preliminary out of the way, the rest of the story is a fascinating account of a person learning how to fit in to a bewilderingly new environment. Any kid who has ever had to change schools or neighborhoods, any fresh graduate who has had to enter the workforce, or any experienced worker who has had to change jobs can empathize with what Kiki was going through.
Even though the setting resembles something European, the characters are clearly Japanese in their general demeanor. This causes a serious problem for those who rely on dubbed versions, as normal Japanese conversation will sound sickeningly saccharine when translated into English. If ever there was a case for watching the Japanese language version with subtitles, this is it. I give this a 9 out of 10 rating.
Kiki, the central character of the story, has just turned thirteen and sets out with her black cat, Jiji, to find a place to live. We find out pretty quickly that she doesn't really have any magical skills other than flying, and even at that she's not very good.
With this preliminary out of the way, the rest of the story is a fascinating account of a person learning how to fit in to a bewilderingly new environment. Any kid who has ever had to change schools or neighborhoods, any fresh graduate who has had to enter the workforce, or any experienced worker who has had to change jobs can empathize with what Kiki was going through.
Even though the setting resembles something European, the characters are clearly Japanese in their general demeanor. This causes a serious problem for those who rely on dubbed versions, as normal Japanese conversation will sound sickeningly saccharine when translated into English. If ever there was a case for watching the Japanese language version with subtitles, this is it. I give this a 9 out of 10 rating.