Released in 1989, Kiki’s Delivery Service is one of Studio Ghibli’s best-loved works and one of the all-time great anime features, a typically beguiling and perfectly self-contained film about a 13-year-old witch named Kiki, who goes about couriering everyday goods to the residents of her rural town.
But if you’ve ever found yourself wondering where Kiki’s journey took her next, well, you’re in luck. Sort of…
Nissin, Japan’s premier makers of instant ramen, have hired renowned manga artist Eisaku Kubonouchi to animate their latest campaign based around Studio Ghibli’s sky-high heroine. Picking up four years after the events of Hayao Miyazaki’s charming original, this 30-second ad reimagines Kiki as a 17-year-old high school student.
Opening on a shot of Kiki’s cat, Jiji, it then sees our young protagonist whizz past on her broomstick before confessing her romantic interest in her old pal Tombo. Though relatively faithful to Eiko Kadono’s source novel upon which Miyazaki based his film, we’re not sure quite how it all relates to ramen – but it’s certainly given us an appetite for more Studio Ghibli sequels. Just maybe not in the form of a noodle commercial.
Published 22 Jun 2017
By Jack Godwin
Never-Ending Man offers rare insight into the Studio Ghibli co-founder’s creative process.
By Amy Bowker
The animation house has unveiled plans to build a theme park on the Aichi expo site.
Gorgeous original artwork spanning three decades of the iconic animation studio.
Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.
