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.

As the advance one, this poster is just terrific, with its rich, saturated color tones, and its sense of pensive waiting. A great portrait of a girl on the verge of adolescence. Also, notice the reflection of the street scene in the glass, which gives us a hint of a wider space beyond the picture plane.

The poster shows Kiki minding the bakery, based on a scene from the film, with the tagline “Sometimes I felt sad, but now I’m fine”.