Kiki’s Delivery Service: Why Kiki Lost Her Magic and Miyazaki’s Theory on Talent

“Kiki’s Delivery Service(Studio Ghibli Official)” is an animated feature film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, released in 1989.

This time, I want to think about the “problem of Kiki’s weakening magical power,” which has puzzled many people. Various opinions have been proposed on this matter, and I think all of them are valid as interpretations, but this time I would like to state my own thoughts.

If I were to state the answer in a single phrase, without fear of being misunderstood…

I believe that’s what it comes down to. I imagine this alone is completely incomprehensible, so I would like to outline the line of thought that leads to this conclusion.

In “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” why did Kiki’s magical powers weaken, and why did such a situation have to be depicted?

*This article is an English translation of the original Japanese article, “【魔女の宅急便】キキはなぜ飛べなくなったのか-宮崎駿の「才能論」-“

Exploring the Reason Why Kiki’s Magical Powers Weakened

The story of “Kiki’s Delivery Service” begins with the memorable event of Kiki being denied the homemade broom she worked so hard to make, and instead receiving her mother’s old broom.

It’s depicted so naturally that one might just brush it off as “that’s just how it is,” but I believe considering why the story had to start from that scene is important in understanding “why Kiki couldn’t fly anymore.”

To do that, let’s first consider the meaning behind Kiki going out of her way to make her own broom.

The Meaning of Trying to Leave on Her Own Broom

When we consider the meaning of Kiki “setting out on a journey with a broom she made herself,” it is likely a manifestation of the common youthful feeling of wanting to do “everything with my own power!“

Of course, people leave their parents’ home, travel far away, and change their environment to gain “their own power,” but there is no reason why they shouldn’t rely on someone in the process. Absolutely none.

It’s best to skillfully get by while appropriately borrowing the strength of others; otherwise, you won’t be able to accomplish anything significant in the end.

Conversely, one might say that a characteristic of youth is “not understanding that one is immature enough to need to rely on others.“

This should be clear from looking at Kiki at the start of the story. Her eyes are only on a brilliant future, rather than the difficulties of the journey ahead. And above all, she doesn’t doubt for a moment that she can grasp that brilliant future. Should we call it a “groundless sense of invincibility“?

To put it another way, it means Kiki believed that the “savings” she had accumulated under her parents’ protection for a mere 13 years were enough to build her own future.

That is precisely why Kiki was able to commit the rash act of setting off on a journey with a broom she fashioned from her (immature) knowledge up to that point. This immaturity of Kiki’s was depicted as the act of trying to leave on her own homemade broom.

Her Mother’s Broom as a Symbol of Her “Savings” So Far

Although she has a gentle face, Kiki’s mother was well aware of the dangers of the journey and must have seen a very serious “naivety” in Kiki’s decision to “travel with her own broom.”

However, no matter how naive, she must embark on her journey.

The thing a parent can do for their child in such a situation is to give them a farewell gift. Without some starting funds, a journey cannot proceed.

As a practical matter, she must have given her some money, but the farewell gift her mother explicitly gave her was, of all things, a broom.

This becomes a matter of nuance, but it seems that broom directly symbolizes the “aptitude inherited from her parents as ‘blood’” — what we call talent.

Kiki, about to start her journey, still lacks the strength to rely on others, so at first, she has no choice but to go by her “own power.” But what is this own power? It consists of,

And that’s all there is. Even if we say “behavior cultivated through her relationships,” those “relationships” consisted only of those who protected her and her friends, so what she cultivated there was not very significant.

The only thing left is “the talent of being able to fly,” but by using the “broom she made herself,” Kiki was on the verge of being unable to even use that talent to its fullest. By receiving the broom from her mother, Kiki was able to use her talent to its fullest.

Furthermore, although not much, she had accumulated experience as a person by interacting with various people in her life so far.

When a young person sets out on a journey, or tries to, they cannot move forward without seeing infinite value in those meager savings (the aforementioned “groundless sense of invincibility“).

In the end, I think the broom Kiki’s mother gave her was a symbol of the “life’s savings” that Kiki had accumulated up to that point.

But “savings” are something that will eventually run out.

Undefeated in Her Hometown. But…

Thus, Kiki set off on her journey with the relationships she had built in her hometown and the talent she received from her parents. Moreover, she herself thought she was quite something. In other words, she was in an “undefeated in her hometown” state.

However, for a mere 13-year-old child, being “undefeated in her hometown” is, frankly, not that big of a deal.

In fact, Kiki’s “groundless sense of invincibility” was shattered from the very day she arrived in the “town with a sea view.”

But, thanks to the appearance of Tombo and Osono, Kiki managed to maintain her situation by unintentionally borrowing help from others.

Through those days, Kiki gradually came to know her own powerlessness, but she was still able to get by thanks to the incredibly blessed talent of “being able to fly.”

At that time, two problems arose for Kiki:

The “herring pie incident” occurred not just from using her ability to “fly,” but also by making the most of her characteristic of being “able to use an old oven.” That might have been fine on its own, but when she tried to heal her wounds by using her very proactive relationship with Tombo, she discovered Tombo’s circle of friends, whom she found “somehow unpleasant.”

Kiki felt “loneliness” again, or rather, for the first time in her life. She had come face to face with a “problem that couldn’t be solved with her ‘accumulations’ so far.“

Her accumulated relationships up to this point were of no use, and the only person who still thought her ability to fly was special was Tombo.

Kiki had used up all the “savings” she had accumulated and now had to tackle an unknown problem.

The Reason Kiki Couldn’t Fly Anymore.

Based on what we’ve covered so far, we can understand the reason why Kiki couldn’t fly anymore, or rather, understand the meaning behind her inability to fly.

In other words, she realized that what she already had (her relationships and the ability to fly) was completely insufficient to shape her future life.

At the time of her departure, she was convinced that she could build a brilliant future with just the special skill of “being able to fly,” but reality was not so sweet.

Kiki’s figure flying high in the sky during the main story can be seen as “a figure who hasn’t yet realized reality and is managing to get by on her accumulations so far.” She hasn’t yet realized that her abilities are “not that great.”

And perhaps we can metaphorically say that realizing her ability was “not that great” is the same as “realizing she wasn’t flying that high.”

The reason Kiki couldn’t fly anymore is that she was able to realize that she wasn’t flying that high to begin with.

“Kiki’s Delivery Service” as Hayao Miyazaki’s Theory on Talent

When thinking about “the reason Kiki couldn’t fly anymore,” one notices the theme of “talent inherited from parents” within the work “Kiki’s Delivery Service.”

Director Miyazaki himself originally started his career as a genius animator and was a person blessed with the outstanding talent of “drawing pictures” from the beginning.

Well, did a director like Miyazaki also have days like Kiki’s?

Regarding this, there is an interesting scene in the production documentary “This is How Ponyo was Born(ポニョはこうして生まれた, in Japanese)”.

At a Studio Ghibli new employee training session on May 8, 2006, a newcomer asked Director Miyazaki the following:

“When I’m drawing, I suddenly become unable to draw, a slump, I guess. It’s happened to me occasionally since I was a student. For times like that, could you tell me if there’s a good way to take a break?”

(Original Text, in Japanese)
「絵を描いてて、急に描けなくなるとか、スランプですね。そうなることが、たまに、学生の頃からあるんですけど。そういう時の、何かいい息抜きの方法とか、教えてもらいたいんですけど。」

To this, Director Miyazaki replied as follows:

“Once you shoulder it, you have no choice but to keep carrying it. Really. For me, intentionally taking a break doesn’t lead to revival. I’m dreaming about the problem even when I’m sleeping right next to it. The moment I wake up in my bed, I’m already thinking about it. So I must have been thinking about it in a dreamlike state. The answer won’t be found unless you get into that state.”

(Original Text, in Japanese)
「背負ったらね　背負い続けるしかないんですよ。ほんとに。息抜きを意図的にやることによって僕は蘇生することはないですね。その問題と鼻付合わせて寝てても夢見てる。寝床で起きた瞬間にもう考えてる。だからきっと夢うつつの中で考えたに違いない。そういう状態にならないと答えは見つかってこないんですよ。」

This reminds me of the conversation between Kiki and Ursula:

Ursula	“Painting and magical powers seem to be very similar. Sometimes I can’t paint a thing.”
Kiki	“You mean it? Then what happens? Without even thinking about it, I used to be ablet to fly. Now I can’t even begin to remember how I ever managed to do it.”
Ursula	“At times like that, you know what I do? Paint. That rid of my frustrations.”
Kiki	“But still, if I can’t fly…”
Ursula	“Then I just stop. Take long walks, look at the scenery, doze off at noon. Don’t do a single thing. Then, suddenly I’m abele to paint agein.”

In front of the Ghibli newcomer, he didn’t say “I just stop”, but doesn’t the Paint. That rid of my frustrations.” part perfectly overlap with the words of Director Miyazaki quoted earlier?

In the end, no matter how gifted a person is, at some point, they must find a way to deal with their talent. Director Miyazaki must have had such anguish and conflict as well.

Isn’t “Kiki’s Delivery Service” Director Miyazaki’s own theory on talent, aimed at young people who only have the savings of “talent,” and doesn’t it ultimately serve as an encouragement?

As for myself, I have no great talent, so I have been able to live a life free from the luxury item known as a “slump.” It is a truly sad thing.