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Live-Action Kiki's Delivery Service Casts Mother, Father

Actress Rie Miyazawa (Oceans, Hana, Peony Pavilion) will play the title character's mother Kokiri in next year's live-action film of Eiko Kadono's fantasy novel series Kiki's Delivery Service (Majo no Takkyūbin). Michitaka Tsutsui (Reunion, Ballad: Namonaki Koi no Uta, Shikoku) will play Kiki's father Okino.

Miyazawa made her acting debut at age 11 and went on to become a fashion model and well-known stage and film actress. She has won various awards for her notable roles in films such as Twilight Samurai and Peony Pavilion. Tsutsui is a prolific television and film actor who played the character representing Shin-chan's father in Ballad: Namonaki Koi no Uta, the live-action remake of the Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi wo Yobu Appare! Sengoku Daikassen film's story.

Fūka Koshiba (Iki mo Dekinai Natsu) plays the title witch girl Kiki in the film slated for release in spring 2014. 16-year-old actor Ryōhei Hirota performs the critical role of Kiki's friend Tombo. Co-starring with Koshiba and Hirota is Machiko Ono (Suzaku, Like Father, Like Son) as Osono, the owner of the bakery where Kiki works. Hiroshi Yamamoto plays Osono's baker husband Fukuo, and Miho Kanazawa plays a woman named Saki who visits the bakery. Satoko Okudera (Summer Wars, Wolf Children, The Princess and the Pilot) is writing the script for the film.

Filming began on May 23 in a Tokyo studio, and it moved on May 30 to Shōdo Island, a locale known for its olive gardens and Mediterranean-like climate and architecture. Filming will continue until the end of July, and the film will open next year.

The six novel volumes of Majo no Takkyūbin follow the coming of age of Kiki with her black cat Jiji. They have sold 1.8 million copies and have been translated into eight languages, including English, Italian, Chinese, Swedish, and Korean. Hayao Miyazaki directed Ghibli's famous anime film version, which adapted the first novel volume.

Annick Press published the first novel with an English translation by Lynne E. Riggs in 2003. That same year, Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney released Ghibli's film on DVD in North America.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web