Do we like them?

Do we like Kiki?

A character from Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

Our score: 9 out of 10. Yes. She's kind, hardworking and brave, and she stays likable even when she's anxious or snappy. We'd happily back her.

Kiki is a young witch. Tradition says that at 13 she must leave home for a year and live on her own in a town without a witch. She flies off on her broom with her talking black cat, Jiji. They settle in the seaside city of Koriko. It's based on Eiko Kadono's 1985 novel, and Studio Ghibli released the film in 1989.

Kiki has one useful skill, flying. She turns it into a delivery service, working from a bakery whose owner gives her a room. She is polite, proud and eager to please. She is also shy about big-city life, and she worries about fitting in and being good enough.

She scores high because she's decent, works hard and keeps trying. Her flaws are the ordinary ones of a teenager: self-doubt, a short temper, and some embarrassment. Critics describe it as a gentle story of self-discovery, and Kiki is a big part of why. She is an easy character to root for.