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The wonderful characters from Kiki's Delivery Service.


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    Kiki 

Kiki

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kiki_kikis_delivery_service_5007.jpg
Voiced by: Minami Takayama (Japanese), Lisa Michelson (Streamline dub), Kirsten Dunst (Disney dub)Other Languages 

The central protagonist of the film. She is a young girl who sets out to complete a one-year training to become a full-fledged witch.


  • Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Much of Kiki's angst in the second half of the film is mostly original to the film.
  • Adaptational Hairstyle Change: She had long hair just past her shoulders in the original novels. The anime gives her a short bob cut, as the latter style is easier to animate, especially in the context of a witch flying through the air. Her shorter hairstyle would also be carried over to the 2014 live action adaptation and even some rereleases of the novel.
  • All Women Love Shoes: Downplayed. But she is mesmerized by a pair of red dress shoes that were on display in a department store window.
  • Break the Cutie: After losing her magic, she becomes depressed. After talking with Ursula and being inspired to save Tombo, she gets it back.
  • Captain Crash: Her piloting leaves something to be desired when she first leaves home. By the end of the film, she's become an expert flyer.
  • Country Mouse: She is from a small town in the country and part of her character growth is adapting to and finding her place in a large city.
  • Cute Clumsy Girl: Especially when it comes to flying.
  • Cute Witch: Age 13 and as cute as can be. Especially as she's flying around on her broomstick, having the time of her life.
  • Drives Like Crazy: Or in her case, flies like crazy. She gets better, though.
  • Flying Broomstick: She, being a witch, is able to fly on a broom. Since it's the only witch-related talent she has, she decides to start a delivery service via her broomstick. The trope is played with in several ways since it isn't the broomstick itself that's magical; the witch's power gives it the ability, so any broom works. If a witch loses confidence in herself, she could lose her magic and thus the ability to fly.
  • Flying Postman: She's a variant of this trope, as she's not a postman, but a witch in training who starts up a delivery service where she delivers various items via her Flying Broomstick.
  • Friendless Background: A downplayed example. Since she grew up in a small insular town, she's had few friends her age (four show up to see her off) and she's forced to leave them behind. Her closest companion is Jiji who acts more of a mentor. Part of her growth is learning how to interact with other children.
  • Hero Stole My Bike: Or broom, since she didn't have one handy. She politely asks a bystander in a janitor's uniform to lend her his broom, promising to give it back later. She then takes it without waiting to hear his reply (which, in the dub, is actually a no). Later, when a news report shows her saving a falling boy using this broom, he proudly boasts to everyone else in earshot that it was his broom. Apparently, he decided to let her keep it since she can be seen flying on it in the epilogue.
  • Heroic BSoD: Kiki briefly goes into one as a result of losing her powers, she slowly manages to perk up again after hanging out with Ursula.
  • I Am Not Pretty: Kiki says this when Ursula wants her to model for a painting. Ursula convinces her that it's not true, and Kiki agrees to do it.
  • Laugh Herself Sick: Kiki has a major giggle-fit after she and Tombo crash on Tombo's flying bike but are overall unharmed.
  • Little Miss Snarker: She can be this at times.
  • Plucky Girl: She's a poster child for this trope. She's a Miyazaki heroine, after all.
  • Psychosomatic Superpower Outage: The crux of the film's conflict revolves around Kiki losing her witch powers. If she can't fly her broom, what's she to do? When she confides in Ursula about this issue, she's told that the problem is probably similar to an artist's block and will probably go away at some point if she just doesn't worry about it for a while.
  • Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: She has dark hair and fair skin, which is very appealing.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: At the hotel, the man behind the desk asks her for identification after she says she is a witch. She leaves immediately after.
  • Ship Tease: There are a few scenes in the film that hints that Kiki has feelings for Tombo.
  • Shrinking Violet: She becomes this when she believes that Tombo's friends don't like her. (It's also attributed to one of the girls' snobbish attitudes toward her grandmother.) Later on, she grows out of it.
  • Signature Headgear: Her big red hair bow, which she's rarely seen without.
  • Take a Third Option: When Kiki arrives at Madame's house and her casserole isn't ready because her oven doesn't work. She offers to just pay Kiki for her trouble, but Kiki has the idea of using the woodstove to bake it and delivers it on time.
  • Tickle Torture: She's revealed to be quite ticklish when she gets her foot licked by cows.
  • Tsundere: The Sweet type towards Tombo. She's nice and polite to everyone else she meets, but she initially dislikes Tombo due to his overly friendly nature and Innocently Insensitive comments. After getting to know him better, Kiki becomes good friends with him.
  • Witch Classic: She is a witch-in-training. She doesn't wear the pointed hat but does wear a black dress, rides on a broomstick, and has a black cat whom she can speak to through magic. Her mother does magic with potions, but other witches do things like fortune-telling. Witches go on a journey to live alone for a year as part of their training and leaving on a full moon is considered the best night.

    Jiji 

Jiji

Voiced by: Rei Sakuma (Japanese), Kerrigan Mahan (Streamline dub), Phil Hartman (Disney dub)Other Languages 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jiji_99.jpg

Jiji is a sardonic and sarcastic black cat who acts as a Foil and sidekick to Kiki. He comes along with her to the town.


  • Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear in the Japanese version or in the Streamline dub if he can speak to Kiki again by the end, as he only gives out a meow. It doesn't help that Miyazaki has invokedgiven different answers on if he could or not. This is not the case in the Disney dub, however, as he's given a few lines to confirm that he could speak to her again (at least, until they've edited them out in the 2010 rerelease). This is also not the case in the original book series, as Kiki never lost the ability to understand him in the books to start with.
  • Animal Jingoism: At first, Jiji is scared of the dog Jeff, but later on comes to like him.
  • Animal Talk: He can talk to Kiki, but also to other cats, birds, and presumably dogs.
  • Babies Ever After: At the end of the film it's shown that he had four kittens with Lily. Three of the kittens resemble Lily, with long white fur, and one kitten looks like Jiji, with short black fur and big eyes.
  • Cats Are Snarkers: He tends to be snippy, sniffy, sardonic, dubious, and tactless. Especially in the Disney dub.
  • Cats Hate Water: Hates getting caught in the rain.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Oh, very much so. While he's much more sarcastic in the English dub, his Japanese version still takes some jabs at Kiki every now and then.
  • Dub Personality Change: Thanks to Phil Hartman's improv and delivery, Jiji is much more talkative and snarky in Disney's English dub compared to his original Japanese portrayal, where he was quieter, and cautious.
  • Foil: Acts as one to Kiki, being more sardonic and sarcastic in contrast to the wide-eyed and cheerful Kiki.
  • Non-Human Sidekick: He's one to Kiki, being a sarcastic black cat belonging to a young witch.
  • Older Than They Look: Jiji is pretty spry and young-looking, but according to the book, he's the same age as Kiki, making him 13-years-old — quite an advanced age for a cat!
  • Out of Focus: He becomes this in the second half of the film after Kiki loses her powers, making her unable to understand him.
  • Shoo Out the Clowns: Was frequently the main source of comic relief in the first half of the film. Naturally, he becomes Out of Focus in the second half after Kiki loses her powers (which includes being unable to communicate with him) and goes into a Heroic BSoD.

    Tombo 

Tombo

Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese), Eddie Frierson (Streamline dub), Matthew Lawrence (Disney dub)Other Languages 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tombo.jpg

The deuteragonist, who tries to befriend Kiki after watching her fly on her broomstick. A little annoying, but ultimately sweet guy and a Gadgeteer Genius.


  • Adaptational Early Appearance: In the original book, Tombo first appears in Chapter 5. In the film, he shows up during the scene when Kiki first comes to the city.
  • Cool Bike: Owns one in the form of his propeller-powered bicycle, which can briefly fly.
  • Dogged Nice Guy: A more platonic version; he's fascinated by Kiki being a witch and is very insistent on befriending her, much to her annoyance. It takes a while, but eventually, Kiki warms up to him.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: He is an engineer who makes a bicycle fly with a propeller at one point.
  • Implied Love Interest: While he never gets together with Kiki in the film, he is heavily implied to have developed a crush on her.
  • Innocently Insensitive: While he's not trying to be malicious, his remarks about how Kiki only ever wears black and how her manners are old-fashioned initially don't endear himself to Kiki, who doesn't take those comments very well.
  • Nerd Glasses: Wears thick bottle-like glasses.
  • Nice Guy: He tends to be Innocently Insensitive towards Kiki at first, but he's a sweet guy overall.
  • Ship Tease: There are a few instances where it's implied that Tombo and Kiki have feelings for each other.
  • Stalker with a Crush: He comes across this way to Kiki initially, so she avoids him as much as possible. She later realizes that she has misjudged him and becomes his friend.

    Osono 

Osono

Voiced by: Keiko Toda (Japanese), Alexandra Kenworthy (Streamline dub), Tress MacNeille (Disney dub)Other Languages 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/osono.jpg

A warm-hearted and kindly baker. Osono takes in Kiki and becomes a bit of a mother figure to the young witch.


  • Babies Ever After: The ending of the film shows that Osono and her husband finally had their baby.
  • Happily Married: To her husband Fukuo.
  • Parental Substitute: She quickly becomes one to Kiki after she moves out of her hometown, and she settles into the bakery.
  • Shipper on Deck: Osono nudges Kiki to get to know Tombo a little better. Kiki doesn't appreciate it when she figures things out.
  • Sweet Baker: She fits the standard female baker archetype to a tee, being friendly, caring, and motherly.
  • Youthful Freckles: Osono is a young expectant mother and has a light dusting of freckles on her nose.

    Fukuo 

Fukuo

Voiced by: Kōichi Yamadera (Japanese), Greg Snegoff (Streamline dub), John Hostetter (Disney dub)

Osoro's husband who rarely speaks. Unnamed in the film but named in the original book.


  • Babies Ever After: The ending of the film shows that Fukuo and his wife finally had their baby.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows: Has thick rectangular black eyebrows.
  • Gentle Giant: He may be a big guy but he’s just as sweet as his wife. He is seen delicately oiling/buttering bread buns and twirling bread pans to impress Jiji (keep in mind that Fukuo doesn’t know Jiji is intelligent and can talk to Kiki, as far as Fukuo’s aware, Jiji is just a normal cat)
  • Happily Married: To his wife Osoro.
  • No Name Given: Is completely unnamed in the film. Only named in the original book.
  • Silent Partner: Talks much less than his wife Osoro.
  • Sweet Baker: He may not talk as much as his wife but he’s just as warm-hearted as she is. He is immediately okay with Osoro taking in Kiki, to the point that he makes Kiki a custom sign out of bread for her delivery service, and has a scene where he shows off his bakery skills to Jiji.
  • The Voiceless: Has only one line, at the end of the movie when Osono says she thinks it’s time for the baby to be born.

    Ursula 

Ursula

Voiced by: Minami Takayama (Japanese), Edie Mirman (Streamline dub), Janeane Garofalo (Disney dub)Other Languages 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ursula_1.png

A young artist who lives in the forest, she becomes a mentor figure towards Kiki in the film's second half.


  • Barefoot Loon: She goes barefoot at home, and outside, she only wears open-toed shoes (flip-flops or sandals), which may have to do with her nonconformist attitude as an artist.
  • Big Sister Mentor: She becomes this towards Kiki in the second half of the film.
  • Canon Foreigner: She is an original character in the film.
  • Don't Think, Feel: The advice Ursula gives Kiki, which allows her to regain her powers and save the day in the end.
  • Earthy Barefoot Character: Her tendency to go barefoot or wear open-toed shoes may have something to do with the fact that she lives in the forest as a hermit.
  • The Hermit: Lives in a cabin in the woods away from society.
  • Lady Looks Like a Dude: Downplayed. Ursula gets almost mistaken by a guy due to her outfit, however, she looks largely feminine.
  • Leg Focus: Invoked. When Kiki and Ursula catch a ride with an older man, he says he mistook Ursula for a boy based on her outfit. She protests that boys don't have legs like hers, and lifts one up to prove her point.
  • Named After Somebody Famous: She's thought to be named after Ursula K. Le Guin, a major source of inspiration for Studio Ghibli's work.
  • No Name Given: Strangely, Ursula is never named in either the original Japanese version or the Streamline dub. Only the Disney dub actually mentions her name, and even then, it's only said once (by the truck driver she and Kiki hitchhike with).
  • Reclusive Artist: Subverted in an In-Universe example. Despite living in a cabin in the woods as The Hermit, she's quite friendly and later visits Kiki in town.
  • Tank-Top Tomboy: She's introduced wearing shorts and a tank top and wears the same thing when she goes to visit Kiki.

    Madame 

Madame

Voiced by: Haruko Kato (Japanese), Melanie MacQueen (Streamline Dub), Debbie Reynolds (Disney dub)Other Languages 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/madame_6.png

A kindly old lady who lives alone with her maid, Bertha, in a mansion on the edge of town. She hires Kiki to deliver a herring pie to her granddaughter.


  • Cool Old Lady: She's old but she's amiable to everyone, Kiki included. She even loves her granddaughter but doesn't get any love from her in return...
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": She's only ever referred to as Madame, so her real name is unknown.
  • Grande Dame: A rich old lady living in a Big Fancy House.
  • Grandma's Recipe: Her herring-and-pumpkin pot pie, which she always prepares for her granddaughter's birthday.
  • Nice Girl: Madame is nothing but kind towards Kiki and was even willing to pay her for her trouble when it seemed like she wouldn't be able to bake her pie after all.

    Barsa 

Barsa

Voiced by: Hiroko Seki (Japanese), Edie Mirman (Streamline Dub), Edie McClurg (Disney dub)Other Languages 

An excitable older woman who works as Madame's maid. Has been very interested in witches ever since her great-grandmother told her about meeting one as a child.


  • Spell My Name With An S: Her name is spelled differently depending on the dub you're watching - her name is written as Barsa in most versions, but it written as Bertha in the GKIDS subtitles.

    Madame's Granddaughter 

Madame's Granddaughter

Voiced by: Keiko Kagimoto (Japanese), Wendee Lee (Streamline Dub), Sherry Lynn (Disney dub)Other Languages 

Madame's rude granddaughter who Kiki delivers a herring-and-pumpkin pot pie to. Also part of Tombo's group of friends.


  • Hate Sink: In contrast to Madame, her granddaughter is portrayed as being a rude and unsympathetic Ungrateful Bitch who is upset that her grandmother made her a herring pie, which she hates, and never shows any appreciation nor thanks to Kiki, nor does she let her in from the rain.
  • Foil: To her grandmother, Madame. Madame is sweet and kind, hand-bakes a herring and pumpkin pot pie specially for granddaughter's birthday party, and offers to pay Kiki just for the trouble of flying out when the pie isn't done on time. Madame's granddaughter, on the other hand, is rude and snobby towards both her grandmother and Kiki, and insults her grandmother's pie to Kiki's face after Kiki had flown through the rain to deliver it to her.
  • No Name Given: Just like her grandmother, her granddaughter is completely unnamed, in both the original book and Miyazaki's adaption.
  • Rich Bitch: Is incredibly snobby and rude towards both Kiki and her own grandmother, and is seen celebrating her birthday at her Big Fancy House when Kiki delivers her grandmother's pie to her.
  • Ungrateful Bitch: After all the trouble Kiki went through to get Madame's dish to her granddaughter, namely spending a long time helping bake it and then flying in the rain, she is rather unconcerned with the fact that Kiki is sopping wet and is not the least bit happy to receive one of her grandmother's pies. Worse, once the delivery is made, she closes the door without so much as offering Kiki a chance to dry off. Suitably, Jiji is incredulous at this lack of consideration. The granddaughter reappears later on and recognizes Kiki — she and her friends talk about her in a positive tone, though their gossiping frustrates Kiki enough for her to storm off.

    Kokiri and Okino 

Kokiri and Okino

Kokiri is voiced by: Mieko Nobusawa (Japanese), Barbara Goodson (Streamline dub), Kath Soucie (Disney dub)Other Languages 

Okino is voiced by: Kouishi Miura (Japanese), John Dantona (Streamline dub), Jeff Bennett (Disney dub)Other Languages 

Kiki's parents seen at the beginning of the movie before her trip.


    Senior Witch 

Senior Witch

Voiced by: Yuko Kobayashi (Japanese), Wendee Lee (Streamline Dub), Debi Derry Berry (Disney dub)

A witch who shows up for one scene while Kiki is looking for a town to live in. Has a green-eyed black cat.


  • Fortune Teller: Mentions that her specialty is fortune-telling. Specifically, love fortunes.
Senior Witch: "Since my skill is fortune telling, I can handle anything... I tell fortunes about love.
  • Plot Device: Only shows up in one scene and serves no purpose other than to establish how witches leaving home for a year works.
  • The Unnamed: Since this character only exists as a Plot Device, she is never given a name (nor is her cat).

    Tombo's Friends 

Tombo's Friends

Voiced by: Dave Mallow, Diane Michelle, and Lara Cody (Streamline dub), Unknown (Japanese and Disney dub)

Tombo's group of friends who are often seen all piled into a car. Madame's granddaughter is also a part of this group.


  • Carload of Cool Kids: Usually appear all piled into a beat-up old car. At the beginning of the film, there are so many of them in the car, one kid is hanging off the back.
  • The Unnamed: None of the kids have names.

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