This is an original B2 Japanese poster, printed in 1989, for the release of “Kiki’s Delivery Service” (魔女の宅急便).

“Kiki’s Delivery Service” tells the story of Kiki, a 13-year old witch. When a witch turns 13, it is traditional for her to move away from home to spend a year in another city or town where there is no witch already living, so that she can learn to be independent and practice her trade. This is Kiki’s story of the beginning of her year away from home. She and her black cat Jiji run into a little trouble at first, but they soon make friends in their new city by the sea.

The film is based on the children’s novel of the same name by Eiko Kadono.

This poster of Kiki flying in the sky speaks to her freedom, her creativity, and soaring energy of youth. There really is a sense of flight in this poster. There’s also height and sense of motion. This speaks to a romanticized idea of flight, of soaring with the birds. The panoramic view of the earth below is especially impressive. Note the intricate details below – the trees, the buildings, the harbor.

The film was originally distributed by Toei Company in 1989. However, this poster was later produced when the film was released under Daiei distribution. Notice that, in the bottom, it lists all of the film awards the movie won at the time. Posters for films which were re-released are referred to as reissue or re-release posters. These reissue posters are real movie posters in every sense, but they were specifically made for the re-release.