2025 marks the 40th anniversary of Eiko Kadono‘s Kiki’s Delivery Service children’s novel series. To celebrate the occasion, publisher Fukuinkan is rereleasing the bunko versions with refreshed covers, as well as a special release of the first volume that features a cover illustration drawn by Tatsuya Endo of Spy x Family fame.
The special cover version of the first Kiki’s Delivery Service book will go on sale starting on February 3, JST. It will be available for a limited time.
In a prepared statement, Endo said that they reread Kadono’s work for the first time since their middle school days while working on the illustration and was moved to tears by its “kindness and warmth,” which they did not perceive in the past.
Endo also expressed their joy at being able to get involved with the books, which they had been a long-time fan of.
The first Kiki’s Delivery Service book was released in 1985. There are six main volumes in the series, with the sixth being released in 2009.
The series has inspired a 1989 Studio Ghibli-produced, Hayao Miyazaki-directed anime movie and a 2014 live-action movie. A collaboration with McDonald’s Japan was launched last June with Aoi Yuki voicing Kiki in a number of ads.
Source: Press release
