Legendary Pictures: The Magical Comparisons Between The Legend of Zelda & Kiki’s Delivery Service
Posted on February 25 2021 by Heather Beard
When you say the name Hayao Miyazaki, many people will likely think of Studio Ghibli; and when you say the name Nintendo, many people will likely think of The Legend of Zelda. Studio Ghibli has a lot of legendary animated movies under its belt — from My Neighbor Totoro to Spirited Away — but today we’re going to discuss Kiki’s Delivery Service and the magical comparisons that can be made between that 1989 classic and The Legend of Zelda.
One of the first comparisons that is worth bringing up, especially during Oracle Week, is the similarity between Kiki and Maple the Witch from Oracle of Ages & Seasons. Maple, an apprentice witch who lives with her grandmother Syrup, is a character that Link can encounter several times in the Oracle games. If you bump into her, Link’s items and hers scatter all across the screen, and it becomes a game to see who can gather up the most. Whoever gathers the most wins! In addition to both being witches in training, Maple and Kiki both share some physical similarities in what they carry with them; the satchels that they carry and their broomsticks stick out! And while physically Maple may look a little more like the Senior Witch that Kiki meets in the beginning of the movie, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kiki herself inspired Maple’s character.
Kiki’s Delivery Service though has much more in common with The Legend of Zelda than just its witch character. The movie and the game series share many similarities in their stories, characters, and other little elements. One of the first things that comes to mind is the similarity between Kiki leaving her home village to begin her life as a witch, and Link leaving his home of origin in just about every Zelda game. For the sake of an immediate comparison, I’m going to use Ocarina of Time. In Kiki’s Delivery Service, it is tradition for a young witch to leave her home to train for a year and develop a skill. This leaving of home is very similar to how Link leaves Kokiri Forest for the first time. Both characters are on a journey of maturity.
The movie and the game both explore the subject of growing up and becoming independent, and the challenges that stem from that. The children of the forest are always that, children. Though Link had always been different from the others when he left the forest, he continued to grow. His adventure made him face challenges that matured him in more ways than one; he physically grows up, and faces the challenges of an adult. The same goes for Kiki. Unlike Link, she does not lose seven years of her life, but she does have to mature quickly on her own. Kiki’s search for the ideal home that she dreamt of is something that all young adults face at some point in their lives. You leave home, you find a job, and you begin to make a home of your own.
Link leaves home on a semi-permanent basis in The Wind Waker, Skyward Sword, and Twilight Princess. In The Wind Waker, a very young Link leaves with pirates in order to save his sister, and in the end he sets off with those same pirates to find new lands. In Skyward Sword, Link and Zelda choose to remain down below on the surface world and start life a new and a new kingdom. And though at the end of Twilight Princess Link does return home, he is changed by the events of the story. Likewise, at the end of Kiki’s Delivery Service, Kiki writes home telling her family of her new life away from home. Both characters move on from their childhood home and begin again, leaving their childhood behind.
Kiki and Link have a way of bringing out the best in people. No matter where they go, their kindness rubs off on people; and in turn, the people around them are able to help them when they are at their weakest. Both characters are givers, of themselves and their time. Kiki, like Link, goes on a series of “quests” in her story. Through her delivery service she befriends a variety of people, and her personality and kindness make others reciprocate that kindness. The same can be said of Link. Link goes on a variety of quests, and throughout his various adventures he helps many, many people. One example of Link’s kindness rubbing off on others is seen with Skull Kid from Majora’s Mask. The poor forest dweller had been possessed by a demon mask, but due to Link’s selflessness in completing his quest, Skull Kid is free and, in witnessing Link’s kindness, resolves to be a kind soul as well. There are so many characters that could be mentioned here that fit a similar description.
Young people often find themselves seeking advice and wisdom from those older than them. Kiki finds a mentor in the artist Ursula, who helps Kiki through a very tough and lonely time in her life. Kiki has lost her powers, she is without her family, and her cat friend Jiji can no longer speak with her. Ursula’s advice to Kiki is to “stop trying to fly.” She tells Kiki to take a minute and soak up the world around her; her powers would come back eventually. Link has many mentors as well, such as the Hero’s Shade from Twilight Princess. The Hero’s Shade was unable to pass along his knowledge while he was alive, but he is able to pass it along to a new iteration of the hero. Similar examples can be seen all throughout the Zelda series.
Both Kiki and Link are able to take the knowledge that they learn from their mentors and use it to continue on throughout their lives. Kiki, after taking the advice of Ursula, eventually regains her powers and is able to save her friend Tombo and countless others when an airship begins to crash into part of her city. Link, with the help of his many mentors, is able to save Hyrule over and over again in his stories. I think that everyone needs a mentor figure in their lives, whether we encounter those mentors when we’re young or at an unexpected time like Link and Kiki.
In growing up, one faces a lot of challenges. Being on one’s own can be incredibly hard. Kiki, after she sees one of her clients fail to appreciate a gift that her grandmother had sent, falls into a spell of depression. She begins to doubt herself and thus lose her witch powers; she’s unable to fly, and she can no longer hear her cat companion Jiji speak to her anymore. While Link does not often explicitly express such emotions, some have theorized that entities like Dark Link are manifestations of them; doubt fills his heart and gives birth Dark Link. Similarly, Link’s emotional state can be inferred by his actions at the beginning of Majora’s Mask, as he searches the land for his lost friend Navi.
Depression and self-doubt can lead to a lot negative consequences. For Kiki, her anxieties resulted in a lack of work; for Link, his doubts and fears may have meant further struggle down the road. But both characters overcome their challenges and press on. Overcoming depression is no easy feat, but there is always hope in that loneliness. Both Link and Kiki are surrounded by friends no matter where they go. Even when Kiki can no longer hear Jiji and when Navi leaves Link, they’re never truly alone.
Growing up is hard, but growing up is a part of life that none of us can escape. It’s always awesome to have characters and stories that we can relate to. Sometimes while growing up, we face hardships, lose friends, and even feel lonely at times. It can take a lot to find who we really are. Sometimes we have to “forget about flying”, take a minute or two to roll through the proverbial Hyrule Field of our minds, and look up at the clouds for a little while. Growing up is hard, but at least we don’t have to do it all at once.
There are so many more magical comparisons that could be made between Kiki’s Delivery Service and The Legend of Zelda. What comparison can you make? Let us know in the comments below.
Legendary Pictures is a series that focuses on tales from across film history that share the same DNA as The Legend of Zelda, where we discuss a film’s strengths and identify similarities to the various games in the Zelda series.
Heather Beard is a writer for Zelda Dungeon. She’s a (crazy) cat lady with a passion for Zelda lore, and really cheesy pizza. You can follow her adventures on Instagram and Twitter!
Hi I’m Heather! I’m Senior Editor and Art Director at Zelda Dungeon and I’ve been a member of the ZD team since 2019. I am a graphic designer, artist, and nerdy mom to an awesome little boy. When my nose isn’t in a book, working on my novel or watching anime you can find me curled up with my cats Mandy-Lynn and Daisy Mae.
