Kiki’s Delivery Service
I have no idea why but Hayao Miyazaki’s oeuvre was a complete blindspot for me growing up. This year I decided to rectify that. I went for broke and watched My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, and Howl’s Moving Castle in the span of a week. They were all quite enjoyable and perhaps even more quirky than I expecting (it was nice to finally have some context for all those No-Face cosplays I’d seen at cons) but it was Kiki’s Delivery Service that most captured my attention. That I am both a lover of witchy stories and a cat lady probably helped steer me in this direction. It’s a classic coming-of-age tale about responsibility, friendship, and believing in yourself, and I really wish someone had introduced me to the story when I was a young girl so I could have had many more years to appreciate it. – Jill Pantozzi
