Kiki
When witches turn 13, traditionally, they are to leave home and get a job...or at least learn to master their magical skills. Kiki follows the tradition, going to the city of Koriko with her talking black cat familiar, Jiji. She gets a job making deliveries (by broomstick) for a local bakery, and starts to make friends with a local boy, Tombo, who is obsessed with flying. Everything goes well at first, but Kiki's about to learn some important lessons about moving from childhood to adulthood.
Kiki is the eponymous star of "Kiki's Delivery Service," a 1989 Studio Ghibli movie adapted from the 1985 novel of the same name by Eiko Kadono. Like many of Hayao Miyazaki's works, Kiki's Delivery Service fits in with his common themes of becoming an adult, responsibility to one's environment and those around them, and flying. (Miyazaki has made only one movie that did not involve flying and aviation--Princess Mononoke.) Miyazaki also wanted to make a "magical girl" movie in which the girl in question earned her powers, rather than just getting them handed to her by birthright or accident (aka how Sailor Moon got hers, though Kiki predates Usagi Tsukino by a few years). Ironically, in the original novel, Kiki pretty much indeed had her powers given to her.
Kiki's Delivery Service was the highest-grossing film in Japan when it was released, and enjoyed similar success in rentals when it reached the United States, courtesy of Disney; it holds the distinction of being the first anime reviewed by Siskel and Ebert. Though somewhat overshadowed by Miyazaki's later epics like Mononoke and Spirited Away, Kiki continues to be a popular anime to this day.
I tend to see at least one Kiki cosplay every year at Anime Central, and 2008 was no exception. This cosplayer was happy to stop for a picture, and even if her broom is a bit more modern than Kiki's, I think she did a great job, with great attention to detail--she's even wearing Kiki's red slippers. Jiji can be seen peeking out of her bag (which is rather handy to have at a con).
Kiki
When witches turn 13, traditionally, they are to leave home and get a job...or at least learn to master their magical skills. Kiki follows the tradition, going to the city of Koriko with her talking black cat familiar, Jiji. She gets a job making deliveries (by broomstick) for a local bakery, and starts to make friends with a local boy, Tombo, who is obsessed with flying. Everything goes well at first, but Kiki's about to learn some important lessons about moving from childhood to adulthood.
Kiki is the eponymous star of "Kiki's Delivery Service," a 1989 Studio Ghibli movie adapted from the 1985 novel of the same name by Eiko Kadono. Like many of Hayao Miyazaki's works, Kiki's Delivery Service fits in with his common themes of becoming an adult, responsibility to one's environment and those around them, and flying. (Miyazaki has made only one movie that did not involve flying and aviation--Princess Mononoke.) Miyazaki also wanted to make a "magical girl" movie in which the girl in question earned her powers, rather than just getting them handed to her by birthright or accident (aka how Sailor Moon got hers, though Kiki predates Usagi Tsukino by a few years). Ironically, in the original novel, Kiki pretty much indeed had her powers given to her.
Kiki's Delivery Service was the highest-grossing film in Japan when it was released, and enjoyed similar success in rentals when it reached the United States, courtesy of Disney; it holds the distinction of being the first anime reviewed by Siskel and Ebert. Though somewhat overshadowed by Miyazaki's later epics like Mononoke and Spirited Away, Kiki continues to be a popular anime to this day.
I tend to see at least one Kiki cosplay every year at Anime Central, and 2008 was no exception. This cosplayer was happy to stop for a picture, and even if her broom is a bit more modern than Kiki's, I think she did a great job, with great attention to detail--she's even wearing Kiki's red slippers. Jiji can be seen peeking out of her bag (which is rather handy to have at a con).