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In **[Kiki's Delivery
Service](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=595)** ,
Kiki is a witch and she sets out to train as a witch by herself (like an
apprenticeship). Things are going well for her but at some point she starts to
lose her witch powers, unable to fly on her broom and unable to talk to and
understand her cat, Jiji.

Why did she lose her witches power? Was it because she got sick (but was still
missing powers after she got better)? Or do all witches have to deal with
losing their powers from time to time?


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kikis-delivery-service
Why did Kiki lose her witch powers?


I'd say lack of confidence in herself, in a [quarter-life
crisis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter-life_crisis) way.

Here's Wikipedia's [take on the
subject](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiki%27s_Delivery_Service#Plot):

> […] after a brief encounter with Tombo's friends, some of whom she had met
> earlier under unfavourable circumstances, Kiki loses her powers to fly and
> speak with Jiji. She goes into depression. However, one of her friends, a
> young painter named Ursula, invites her to stay in her forest cottage, where
> she analyzes Kiki's current crisis as "some form of artist's block." Since
> many things had not gone as hoped for, Kiki is experiencing such a period,
> which resulted in the loss of her powers; but if she finds a new purpose,
> she will be able to reclaim what she has lost.


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The central theme of _Majo no Takkyūbin_ is about self-belief and being
yourself. This message is explained to Kiki early in the film when she
complains about having to wear the drab witches' dress. Her mother explains
that it is her inner self which is important; her outer self is just a shell.

Even before she leaves home, people question how Kiki will be able to survive
as the only thing she seems to be good at is flying (and even that is a little
suspect). And after she leaves home, she is repeatedly plagued by more
incidents which batter down on her self-worth. These include:

  1. Meeting the snooty apprentice witch who pooh-poohs her skills.
  2. Meeting girls wearing pretty colourful clothes who look down on her.
  3. Even Tombo comments on her clothes at one point.
  4. She also stares longingly at a dress in a shop window.
  5. She inwardly does not think much about her chosen profession or her skill level either.
  6. She feels unappreciated and underwhelmed by the response of the granddaughter to the freshly baked cake she has flown over in a storm.
  7. She also feels really out of place when she meets Tombo's friends.

etc., etc. (Personally, I think Jiji's negativity either doesn't help much or
is a reflection of Kiki's inner self.)

All these incidents chip away at her inner self until she collapses into a
depression, something which her artist friend, Ursula, compares to an artist's
block. She explains to Kiki that she has been through a similar situation
herself when she lost interest in her art as she was modelling her approach on
what other artists were doing or what her audience was expecting rather than
believing in herself to come up with her own style.

This brings us back to the early scene where Kiki's mother tells her that it's
her inner soul which is important.

All that said, this is also a coming of age story, and as the OP puts it, the
loss of power could well be something that all witches go through as they
mature. The fact that Jiji doesn't speak to Kiki even after she recovers her
powers is telling. In many ways, it is only the childish Kiki who is able to
speak to her childhood companion. Kiki, the mature independent witch, is still
friends with Jiji, but does not need the cat as a confidant.


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