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Even after she makes new friends, many moments of the film focus on Sophie by herself, quietly, wondering if she’s even earned the closeness of these relationships she’s found.īy the end of their movies, the characters have found connections with others, but because we know the depth of their original loneliness, these relationships take on more meaning. She heads deeper and deeper into the Wastes by herself. She eats an idyllic meal of bread and cheese. She treks from Market Chipping, a speck against the pastoral landscapes. After her transformation, the loneliness she’s built around her fits more snugly on her now 90-year-old physique. Her coworkers are offscreen, and it’s clear she doesn’t fit in with them. She quietly makes hats in a secluded alcove. In Howl’s Moving Castle, for instance, Sophie’s loneliness starts even before the Witch of the Waste turns her into an elderly woman.

The heroes start out isolated from others, and their separation from the world persists throughout their films, lingering even when they do find company. But Ghibli films linger on the lonely portions of these journeys. Sending characters off on solo journeys isn’t a particularly innovative storytelling choice, especially for coming-of-age films, which are often about learning self-reliance and independence. And on a less fantastical note, in Whisper of the Heart, Shizuku navigates the doldrums of adolescence. In Princess Mononoke, Ashitaka ventures out from his village to seek a solution for the terrible curse consuming him. In Howl’s Moving Castle, Sophie is cursed by a witch and leaves her hat shop to trek to the Wastes. But in Spirited Away, Chihiro is forcibly separated from her parents, and winds up in a strange spirit world. Kiki leaves home because of witch tradition, but unlike other Ghibli heroes, she jumps at the idea - even skipping a planned camping trip with her father because she’s so excited. Loneliness is threaded through many Ghibli films, many of which feature protagonists who set off on a journey not because they particularly want to, but because they’re forced to. Studio Ghibli films are no strangers to loneliness She’s never able to recover that relationship in the same way, but the new gap between them speaks to the idea of accepting loneliness as part of growing up. By the end of the movie, Kiki still hasn’t entirely recovered from these feelings - while she’s able to fly on her broomstick once more, she loses the bond she has with her familiar Jiji. Her sadness takes a tangible toll on her, and robs her of her magical powers. But none of those are as close to her as the friends and family who gathered to wish her off at the beginning of the movie. She has the kindness of Osono the bakery owner, the advice of plucky artist Ursula, and tentative friendship from Tombo. Even when she’s surrounded by friendly people, she’s ultimately alone. But in Kiki’s Delivery Service, loneliness isn’t explicitly in the forefront it slowly folds itself into Kiki’s life as the story stretches out.

Studio Ghibli films often interrogate the notion of loneliness and emotional connection, centering on heroes that reluctantly strike out on their own, such as Sophie in Howl’s Moving Castle and Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke.

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Armed with her mother’s broom and her familiar, Jiji, Kiki lands in a new city full of new people and establishes herself as the resident witch. Studio Ghibli’s fourth feature-length film follows a young witch named Kiki who, per witch tradition, leaves home at age 13 to complete her training. Separating from a close family unit and making your way in a new place is lonely. But it also touches on a facet of growing up that society tends to overlook: It’s a lonely process. Hayao Miyazaki’s 1989 animated feature Kiki’s Delivery Service masterfully handles a lot of traditional topics around growing up and finding a path in the world. Read all of the stories on our Ghibli Guide page. With Studio Ghibli’s library now on digital and streaming services, we’ve surveyed the studio’s history, impact, and biggest themes.

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