Kiki’s Saddest Delivery Service Moment Ever Happened In The Book | Pretty Reel

The moment on Kiki’s delivery service where she loses her powers is perhaps the saddest moment in the film, but it never happened in the original story.

The saddest moment in Studio Ghibli’s hit movie Kiki’s Delivery Service never happened in its source material. Kiki’s Delivery Service is arguably one of director Hayao Miyazaki’s most popular films. While it won’t top most fans’ lists, the story centering on a young witch gaining her independence and making a name for herself is a charming coming-of-age story. This is only accentuated by the characters in the film. Kiki is a lovable protagonist with her positive attitude and dedication to her craft. Meanwhile, her cat Jiji has captured the hearts of many moviegoers due to her cuteness. The two are practically inseparable throughout the film…that is, until things go downhill for the young witch.

Midway through the film, Kiki begins to lose her powers. The stress of her job as a delivery girl catches up with her and eventually affects her ability to fly. This causes her to shut down her business until she regains her powers, but this only worsens her depression. What’s worse is what’s going on between her and Jiji. For the majority of the film, Kiki and Jiji are inseparable and had the ability to talk to each other. Now the two have lost that connection. Kiki can’t understand him anymore because he’s been spending more time with a local white cat. It’s a sad moment as it was the last symbol of Kiki’s ties to witchcraft. However, the surprising truth is that this never happened in the story’s source material.

In Eiko Kadono’s original novel, Kiki never loses her powers. The book actually follows the young witch through her year in her new town as she undertakes various misadventures to learn more about her independence. There are definitely times when she starts to doubt herself, but it never gets to a point where she’s no longer able to fly or talk to Jiji. This moment, along with the airship crash that served as the catalyst for Kiki to regain her flight abilities, was a new direction director Hayao Miyazaki took to explore different themes while retaining the spirit of the source material.

Miyazaki’s Big Kiki Change Was Inspired By A Brief Moment From The First Chapter

While the entire second half of Kiki’s Delivery Service is different from the original book, this version of the story didn’t appear out of nowhere. In the first chapter of the story, Kadono wrote that Kiki sinks lower into the sky whenever she gets distracted. Her family would need to put bells in the trees to let them know that Kiki was losing her focus. This fits the movie, as the stress of her delivery service job is likely what caused Kiki to lose her powers. Kadono also explains how she couldn’t talk to Jiji anymore in the movie. At the end of the first chapter, she states that as a young witch learns to be alone, the two will eventually grow apart as each finds new companions. The movie shows this thing happening as Kiki can no longer talk to Jiji around the same time he finds company with the white cat next door.

Even though one of the film’s most defining moments never made it into the book, Kiki’s loss of power is still one of the best parts. It contains an important burnout analysis that has been cherished by fans as one of Kiki’s delivery service’s ultimate life lessons. Kiki’s Delivery Service will always be one of Studio Ghibli’s best films, however different it may be from the novel, but the book itself is still a charming read that gives readers more insight into the character’s determination. incumbent.