In general, anime merchandise tends to be full of wonder and whimsy. Much like how the medium of animation allows creators to escape the restrictions of reality, many of the trinkets that are pitched to anime fans are supposed to be approximations of items they’re not likely to come across in their daily life, such as a mystical chalice or magic wand.
But hey, if you’re Studio Ghibli, Japan’s most venerated animation house, you can make anything seem magical, even an officially licensed broom.
Just about every Ghibli protagonist spends some time flying through the skies. But whereas Totoro balances atop a spinning top (that somehow levitates) and Howl just straight up transforms into a giant crow, little witch Kiki uses the tried-and-true technique of riding a broom.
▼ Because stairs are for suckers!
Ghibli is no stranger to the realm of license merchandise, and the latest item to get the studio’s stamp of approval is the official Kiki broom.
Priced at 2,800 yen (US$24), Kiki’s broom is available at branches of Ghibli specialty store Donguri Kyowakoku, as well as online from both Amazon and Rakuten. The manufacturer makes no claims that the broom will actually let you fly, since as 1989’s Kiki’s Delivery Service showed when Kiki took flight on a push brush she commandeered from a street cleaner, the propulsion is produced entirely by the rider’s own magical powers.
Kiki’s broom comes with a cover and red ribbon evocative of her iconic costume, with the logo of her delivery service printed upon it. Aside from protecting the broom itself, the cloth is likely to help prevent scratches to your legs and backside when you eventually give in to temptation/curiosity and try saddling it, just for fun, of course, haha, come on guys, I didn’t expect to really be able to fly, you know?
At 90 centimeters (35.4 inches) long, it’s also quite a bit smaller than a normal broom. As such, it’s probably best to hand it off to your children or younger siblings if you’re going to use it for actual sweeping, but on the other hand, the compact dimensions also make it easy to hang in your room as a decoration, thus keeping it off the floor and away from the damaging claws of the black cat you adopted and named Jiji.
Source: Ghibli no Sekai
Top image: Threat or Menace, Rakuten (edited by RocketNews24)
Insert images: Girls Channel, Amazon Japan (edited by RocketNews24)
Origin: Now on sale: The Kiki’s Delivery Service Broom, officially licensed by Studio Ghibli
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