How Kiki’s Delivery Service Is a Metaphor for Depression

Studio Ghibli movies are the only forms of anime that most people can come to a consensus on. Parents don’t want to watch Naruto, some don’t care for Akira, but everyone at least appreciates the films made by Hayao Miyazaki. This generation likely grew up watching either Spirited Away or Kiki’s Delivery Service. While most of Miyazaki’s movies tend to have common themes and underlying messages, Kiki’s Delivery Service has the most poignant for this current crop of kids currently trying to navigate adulthood.

At the midpoint in this movie, Kiki’s struggle after losing her powers puts her into a depression that isn’t too dissimilar to what a lot of people face. However, not everyone will see the themes of depression. Kiki goes through the common steps that lead to her losing faith in herself but also follows the steps to get herself back on the right path. And for those who have not recognized this, maybe they should give it another viewing. Kiki’s Delivery Service is a metaphor for depression. Here is how.

Kiki Loses Her Passion

What Kiki goes through in Kiki’s Delivery Service can be common for a lot of young adults who strike out to make their way into the world. It starts when she eagerly leaves her home and community to begin her career as a witch. According to her, professional witches need a year of training in another town. Excited to seize her destiny, she leaves a whole week earlier than expected, blowing off a family event in the process. Along the way, she meets a fellow witch, one more seasoned and mature, who has her own unique ability. Because Kiki doesn’t have one, she begins comparing herself to the older witch before even knowing what she herself is made of.

In a new town, surrounded by people who see her as odd, Kiki begins her delivery service. In time, she is doing well. She starts to settle into her new home, even makes friends. However, she puts herself through the wringer, taking on more strenuous tasks, and begins to feel underappreciated by her clientele.

Related: Best Studio Ghibli Films Not Made by Hayao Miyazaki

Things turn for the worse when she’s forced to suspend her delivery service because she can no longer fly on her broom. Because of her inability to continue doing what she loves, Kiki falls into a slump, falling ill and staying in bed. Her dreams slip out of reach due to her loss of interest and inability to continue. It’s as if the very thing she loved most is falling away because she made it her job. She also loses her ability to communicate with her cat Jiji.

A Severe Case of Burnout?

What Kiki is experiencing is a bad case of burnout and a loss of interest in her passion. This form of depression, according to Osmosis, is known as anhedonia, which is defined as a symptom of depression that can make one lose an interest in things they had once loved as well as social interactions with friends, which Kiki also experiences shortly before losing her ability to fly when she escapes an outing with Tombo and his friends.

From the moment she meets the older witch, Kiki’s self-doubt makes her question whether or not she will be the type of witch she imagines herself to be. To push herself towards her goal, she over-extends herself, putting the needs of others first in the form of deliveries. But as time progresses, the tasks she’s asked to do become greater, forcing her to give more of herself. Eventually, her very identity becomes her work. She soon finds herself completely isolated, no longer able to be a witch or talk to her companion Jiji. She’s completely alone and directionless.

Related: Why Kiki’s Delivery Service is the Best Studio Ghibli Film

What she is going through can also be common for young people beginning their lives. Sometimes, people dive right into their dreams and give everything they have without considering their self-care, and quickly burn out. Kiki barely gave herself time to settle in before launching her business. While this can be a good way to foster a good work ethic, her eager-to-please attitude soon started to fray her esteem and mental health. Burnout became an official medical condition in 2019 and is particularly common in young people going through the same thing as this young witch. However, tending to one’s mental health, they can bounce back and regain their zest for life.

Kiki Bounces Back

With her business temporarily closed, Kiki didn’t have much to do, but the time off gave her time to de-stress and reevaluate things. She helped out at her bakery, reconnected with Tombo, and even enjoyed a visit to her friend Ursula, who understood what she was going through. Comparing Kiki’s struggles to her own as an artist, she informed her younger friend that what she’s feeling was natural and that she would soon be back on the broom. A new one, though. Kiki broke her other one. She just needs to take some time for herself.

Very Well Mind lists five things to do if one feels a loss of interest: rest, take small steps back to what you love, plan for the future, find support, and stay active. In her struggle, Kiki does each of these things to pull herself out of her slump, so she could rise to the occasion once more and save Tombo’s life. All she needed to do was stop trying so hard and remember why she loved being a witch.

As issues of mental health are so prevalent today in young people, Kiki’s Delivery Service is great representation for young people joining the workforce as it presents a character who knows what it’s like to feel burnt out and lost. As bad as things may seem in the real world, this movie reminds viewers to take time for themselves now and then. Even after three decades, Miyazaki’s movie is a poignant reminder that we can only allow ourselves to work as hard as we let ourselves enjoy life.