Kiki's Delivery Service/Characters

Kiki
キキ
	Kiki flying through the night to find a place to settle down.
Story Role	Magical Girl
Actor or Voice Actor	Minami Takayama (Japanese), Lisa Michelson (Streamling, 1990), Kirsten Dunst (Disney, 1999)
Demographic Information; (as of the character's first appearance)
Gender	Female
	v · d · e

Characters from Kiki's Delivery Service include:

Gray: Main characters

Blue: Adults

Violet: Animals

Kiki	Tombo	Osono
Ursula	Kiki's mum	Kiki's dad
Madame	Jiji	Lily

Main Characters

Kiki (キキ)

A thirteen year old witch who, in accordance with tradition, must live in a town for a year, on her own, when she turns thirteen.

Tropes exhibited by Kiki include:

Blush Sticker: Kiki has them throughout the film.
Cute Clumsy Girl: She's quite clumsy when she first starts the delivery service, but slowly gets better.
Cute Witch: A rather mild version of it, given how Hayao Miyazaki has repeatedly denounced otaku culture (though Kiki's still cute). The Cute Witch aspect is the only thing Ghibli takes from the Magic Girl archetype. There's no rival, there's no romance (except between cats), there's no Fanservice, and there's no Magic Wand.
Daddy's Girl: Although she also takes after her mother.
Determinator: Kiki, especially in the climax of the film. She gets a borrowed broom to lift off simply by focusing hard and telling it to fly.
Early Teen Hero
GASP: Kiki does this once she realises she is about to be late for Tombo's party. The clock in Madame's house runs about ten minutes slow, and when she is informed of this, she GASPs and rushes to deliver the baked pie and to go the party.
Hair Decorations: The preposterously large red bow Kiki wears, visible in almost every shot that she's in.
I Am Not Pretty: She says this when Ursula wants to paint a portrait of her.
Inept Mage: Downplayed. She's not the best at flying, and bumps into several trees on her way on her trip to Koriko. However, she learns quickly and becomes much better halfway through the film. She doesn't know her talent or skill, but her delivery service makes people more than satisfied.
Little Miss Snarker: She occasionally replies to Jiji's snarky comments.
Plucky Girl: Kiki's a poster child for this trope. She's a Miyazaki heroine, after all. It takes true talent to leave your parents by thirteen and settle into a brand new life.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: At the hotel, the man behind the desk asks Kiki for identification after the latter says she is a witch. Kiki leaves immediately after.
Shrinking Violet: Kiki when she believes that Tombo's friends don't like her. Later on, she grows out of it.
They Should Have Sent a Poet: As Kiki swoops into the main setting.
Third-Person Person: Downplayed. She briefly refers to herself in the third person when Madame gives her a cake she really likes. This scene is an exception, and she refers to herself with first person pronouns during other parts of the film.
Tooth Strip: Most of the time Ghibli doesn't bother drawing Kiki's teeth, although her mouth movements never goes into basic and undetailed lip flap territory. When where we can see Kiki's teeth, they're drawn like this.
Tsundere: Kiki is type B. She only seems to lapse into Tsuntsun mode when Tombo is pestering her, yet when he invites her to a party, she instantly wants to go. Jiji lampshades this mood swing ("I thought you didn't like him!")
Victoria's Secret Compartment: Yes, in a kid's film. Kiki keeps things down the front of her dress while flying her broom.

Tombo Kopoli (トンボ)

Tombo marvelling at the *flying witch* that just arrived in his town.

The first person Kiki meets in Koriko who is her age. Tombo is a huge fan of aviation, and is a member of a flying club and builds flying machines.

Tropes exhibited by Tombo include:

Adorkable: Tombo.
Ascended Extra: In the original story, he's a minor character, who disappears once his story is finished as the book is very episodic. In the film, though, he's a main character.
Cool Bike: Not a motorbike per say, and Tombo's one isn't shiny or fancy, but does your bike have a propeller attached to the front and can fly?
Dogged Nice Guy: Tombo combines this with Extroverted Nerd. It takes a while, but eventually Kiki warms up to him.
Early Teen Hero: Well, Early Teen Deuteragonist.
Extroverted Nerd: He tries to befriend Kiki, due to her ability to fly. He initially fails, with Kiki exclaiming that it's rude to talk to a woman before you're properly introduced, but eventually they become good friends. Oh, and please, please don't bring up the word "airplane" around him. He'll obsess over it.
Implied Love Interest: He is implied to like Kiki, even though their relationship in the film never goes beyond friendship. Being an early Miyazaki film, No Hugging, No Kissing is all over the place.
Nerd Glasses: Visible in almost every shot.
Nice Guy: He even saved Kiki from getting a ticket when she first lands in the big scary town of Koriko.
Stalker with a Crush: Tombo comes across this way to Kiki intially, so she avoids him as much as possible. She later realizes that she has misjudged him and becomes his friend. Turns out, he really likes flying and anything that flies, including witches!

Adults

Osono (おソノ)

Osono when she invites Kiki into her bakery.

A person who runs the bakery Kiki stays at, and provides for her.

Tropes exhibited by Osono include:

Happily Married: To her silent husband, whose name is never given in the film.
Nice Girl: Towards Kiki, offering her a place to stay, as well as good in exchange for occasionally looking after the shop.
Parental Substitute: Kiki's parents are several hundred kilometers away in a town which is very much not Koriko, and Kiki must learn to survive on her own. That being said, she can still receive help, and one person who gives help is Osono. Osono helps Kiki with daily matters, giving her advice, and telling her what to do.
Shipper on Deck: She asks Kiki to deliver something to a man named "Koppori". That "man" turned out to be Tombo. Kiki did not appreciate this when she finds out what's really happening, even though she opens up to Tombo as a result of this incident.

Kiki: Osono, how could you do this to me?

Ursula (ウルスラ)

Ursula taking Kiki to her secluded cabin.

A painter who lives in a reclusive shelter. Kiki meets her on her first delivery job.

Tropes exhibited by Ursula include:

Big Sister Mentor: She teaches Kiki how to find passion in what she does, taking her out to camp at her secluded log cabin. She never gets strict with Kiki, and they stay up late telling stories.
The Hermit: She lives in a secluded log cabin away from civilization.
Nice Girl: Towards Kiki, and really anyone she meets. In fact, if a female character appears in the film, and isn't Madame's granddaughter, chances are they fit this trope.
Reclusive Artist: In universe example with Ursula, who lives in a cabin in the woods.

Kokiri (コキリ)

Kiki's mother, playing a minor role in the beginning and end of the film. When the audience first sees her, she is brewing potions.

Tropes exhibited by Kokiri include:

Good Parents: Towards Kiki. Yes, the tradition of sending thirteen year olds far away to live on their own isn't the most responsible thing to do, however she is shown to be very supportive in the short time that she is on screen.
My Beloved Smother: She's understandable concerned about Kiki leaving town for a full year to begin her training. She offers her own broom, crafted with more experience, to Kiki.
No Name Given: She is only named in the original source material, and her name isn't mentioned in the film.

Okino (オキノ)

Kiki's clumsy father, who was planning to take her on a camping trip before she decides to leave.

Tropes exhibited by Okino include:

Bumbling Dad: Kiki's father is a lovable version. When Kiki announces that she is leaving, he trips over a string and makes carefully packed bags on top of his car tumble down.
Good Parents: Just like Kiki's mum.
Nerd Glasses: His glasses are a subtle part to his character design, however they are distinguished via their thick, chunky plastic frames. The team at Ghibli even added reflections to them!

Madame (老婦人)

Madame in her house when Kiki visits her.

A nice old lady who Kiki meets. She asks Kiki to deliver a cake to her granddaughter.

Tropes exhibited by Madame include:

Cool Old Lady: She's a pretty chill person, who is nice towards Kiki and concerned about her.
Nice Girl: As is the case with almost everyone else in the film.

Animals

Jiji (ジジ)

All witches have black cats as companions. Jiji is the companion for Kiki!

Tropes exhibited by Jiji include:

Animal Talk: Jiji can talk to Kiki, but also to other cats, and birds.
Cats Are Magic: He is Kiki's companion on her broomstick, and helps her along her journey while staying at the new town, although the audience never sees he or Kiki cast any spells. You have to be magic to be able to talk to a witch and fly on her broomstick.
Cats Are Snarkers: His sarcasm is turned up in the 1998 Disney dub, as opposed to him in the original Japanese track. When Disney revisited the dub and released a more faithful version, some of this sarcasm is toned down.
Cats Hate Water: He complains quite a lot when Kiki flies through the rain, with his fur being electrified.
Deadpan Snarker: Kiki can occasionally shoot back, too.
Non-Human Sidekick: For Kiki.
Talking Animal: Jiji, though the movie implies that Jiji actually can't talk, it's just that Kiki can understand and talk to him. Made more obvious when she loses this power later in the movie.

Lily

A white cat Jiji meets in Koriko.

Tropes exhibited by Lily include:

Love Interest: For Jiji.
Satellite Character: She plays a minor role in the film, and her character is not given much screen time, and thus is not as developed as other members of the cast. Most of her features, such as the status of being a Love Interest and a reason for Jiji to get out of the house, comes from her interactions with the cat.

Back to Kiki's Delivery Service