- Meet The Localization Staff (Introduction)
- Working on Kiki’s Delivery Service (Localization Process)
- What they’ve learned from Kiki (Final Thoughts)
Meet The Localization Staff
TheOASG: All right, let’s start with introductions.
Emily Balistrieri: I’m Tristan, a nonbinary trans guy translating mainly under my birth name, Emily. I grew up in Wisconsin, then lived in California for a while before moving to Tokyo, where I’ve been for a little over eight years. I translate the ongoing light novel series Overlord by Kugane Maruyama and The Saga of Tanya the Evil by Carlo Zen. Other projects include Ko Hiratori’s JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World, Tomihiko Morimi’s The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, and Takuji Ichikawa’s The Refugees’ Daughter. I also work in-house part-time for Kodansha in their children’s division and do some game app translation now and then, too.
Monica Jean: Hello, I’m Monica Jean, an Associate Editor at Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. I’ve been at RHCB for seven plus years and edit middle grade through young adult novels, both fiction and nonfiction reads across all genres.
Leslie Mechanic: I’m an Associate Art Director at Simon & Schuster, where I work on a wide variety of children’s book formats for the Little Simon imprint — focusing on titles geared towards toddlers through middle grade readers. Prior to that, I worked at Penguin Random House and Scholastic.
I was born and raised in Montreal, and moved stateside to study at the Rhode Island School of Design. After graduating, I moved to New York to work in the children’s publishing industry, and the rest is history. I currently live in Brooklyn with my husband, and while I’m not working, I enjoy traveling, throwing pottery on the wheel, perfecting my piano skills, and experimenting in the kitchen.
Yuta Onoda: Thank you for having me! My name is Yuta Onoda and I am a Japanese freelance illustrator. I took an illustration program at Sheridan College in Toronto and lived in Canada for about 7 years, but I now live in Tokyo, Japan.
What moment led you to pursue your chosen field professionally growing up?
Emily: I’ve been really interested in foreign languages ever since I first heard French spoken by kids who had returned from a study abroad. I was in third grade when they visited our class. Once I started studying French, and Japanese a little later, I figured a job where I could use a foreign language would be really fun. And literary translation melded my language love with my reading/writing love.
Monica: Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved stories and their ability to immerse oneself into a completely new world simply by reading words on a page. At the same time, I’ve always been a fan of logic-based problems — you know, the ones that you are told a story or set of facts and have to figure out exactly what happened to whom, where, and when (oftentimes using a grid). Though those two passions might not seem like they overlap, as an editor they do! So much of what an editor’s job entails is problem solving — whether it be an unexpected plot hole, considering how to make elements on a jacket more cohesive, or working out a tight production schedule — there are many unique challenges.
While in college, I was lucky enough to intern at a couple publishing houses and those experiences showed me that behind-the-scenes look at being an editor…and the rest is history.
Leslie: Working in the children’s publishing industry has truly been my life-long dream, and I still have to pinch myself sometimes to remind myself that I get to do it for a living. My two greatest passions since childhood have always been creating artwork and reading, and as a kid, I spent hours on end writing and illustrating my own stories. If you had asked me then what I wanted to do when I grew up, my answer would have been very obvious — I wanted to create children’s books.
For one reason or another, I took a wrong turn, and ended up on a pre-med track in college, but after a few years on that path, it was clear that my heart wasn’t in it. It was then that I decided to take a leap of faith and finally pursue my life-long passion. I transferred colleges to the Rhode Island School of Design, where I was able to tailor my education to building skills that would help me, one day, work in children’s publishing. With a lot of hard work, dedication, and countless sleepless nights in the studio, that dream is now my reality.
Yuta: I decided to pursue my career as a professional illustrator when I was studying at Sheridan College. I actually went to Sheridan to become an Animator but I needed to take an art fundamental program to be qualified to apply for that program. That’s when I first heard that Sheridan offers an illustration program and my interest shifted towards illustration.
Working on Kiki’s Delivery Service
How did each of you first come across Kiki’s Delivery Service?
Emily: I saw the movie back when I first started getting into anime. It was surprising to learn later that there are a whole series of books that follow Kiki’s life into adulthood…
Monica: I knew about Kiki well before I ever got the chance to work on the novel — she’s an icon! As both a lover of fantasy, witchcraft, and cats, Kiki’s Delivery Service also has everything that I love in a read. It’s been such an honor to take up the helm and bring Eiko Kadono’s story to life again, introducing Kiki to readers and fans, new and old.
Leslie: I’d heard of Kiki’s Delivery Service through friends who were huge fans of the film, but I’m kind of embarrassed to say that I didn’t have a chance to watch the film or read the book until I began working on this project. I don’t know what took me so long!
Yuta: I think the film aired in primetime on TV when I was a kid and that’s when I first came across Kiki’s Delivery Service.
From when you each were first assigned to Kiki to its completion, how long did it take to work on the novel?
Monica: Editing the manuscript itself took about 6 months, but the editorial process begins with the acquisition and encompasses all aspects of the publishing process: from working on the manuscript itself to pitching it to design, to overseeing the interior art illustrations, and lastly to ensuring the final package is as wonderful as the story inside, which is about a two year process.
Leslie: Generally, the whole process of bringing a hardcover book into the world takes around a year — from concept to finished product, though the cover development process generally takes around three months. This process starts with coming up with a concept and general idea for the look of the cover, then hiring the perfect illustrator (Yuta in our case!) to bring the vision to life. After that, cover sketches are presented to various stakeholders and refined until they are approved. After which we’d move onto final cover art, which again, will be presented and refined until we arrive at a fully fleshed-out cover design.
Yuta: I was asked to illustrate a front/back cover art and 15 interior pieces. From the sketch stage to finish, I kind of lost track of time but it took roughly about over a month to finish all the pieces.
How did the opportunity to illustrate Kiki come about?
Yuta: I’m currently represented by the illustration agency named Rapp|Art and I was told that Penguin Random House was interested in hiring me for this project.
Monica, Emily, how did you prepare to work on this version of Kiki? Did you refer to the film version in any way?
Monica: The first order of business after acquisition was to translate this anew. We hired Emily Balistrieri and worked as a group along with Eiko to bring Kiki alive on the page. We were definitely cognizant of the film, especially in our cover and interior design approach. While we wanted fans of the film to recognize Kiki, she did originate in the novel and wanted to simultaneously stay true to Eiko’s vision of her as well — and that is how our image of Kiki in our edition came to be.
Emily: Actually, I didn’t prep at all. I went in with my vague memories of having seen and loved the movie something like nearly twenty years (!) ago, and that was it. I know Hayao Miyazaki tends to do his own thing with his source material, so I wanted to make sure I was bringing out Eiko Kadono’s original Kiki.
Yuta, Leslie, can you share which programs you used to work on Kiki?
Yuta: Photoshop.
Leslie: With each project, I like to start out by sketching my initial ideas and thumbnails by hand — either in my sketchbook or on my iPad in Procreate — before jumping onto the computer. I find that working in this organic way allows my ideas to be a little looser and more free-flowing, and usually ends up yielding a more interesting design solution. In terms of computer programs used, I stick to my treasured Adobe trifecta — Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Where would I be without them?!
What were some of the challenges of working on Kiki?
Emily: Some puns and things were tricky, but I think one of the hardest parts has to do with the title. The Japanese title of the book is Majo no Takkyūbin, which is more like “Witch Deliveries,” or maybe “Witchy Delivery Service.” Or you could try to incorporate the idea of a broom, or something. At any rate, in English, you only get the idea that she’s a witch from the visual on the cover!
So what got complicated is that the title of the book is also the name of Kiki’s shop. In Japanese, she debates including the word “witch,” but in English I had to fudge it because the word “witch” isn’t included to begin with, so instead she says, “Do you think including my name is really a good idea?” and a few other lines had to be altered.
Monica: Kiki’s Delivery Service is a classic and already has a legion of loyal fans. In translating Eiko’s work anew and approaching this package with fresh eyes, we didn’t want to let them or Eiko down. From cover to cover, we wanted to deliver the same magic into readers’ hands and hope we’ve done so here.
Leslie: It was a delight to work on this project and there truly weren’t any hiccups during the process. I was so fortunate to have been able to work and collaborate with the incredibly talented Yuta Onoda, who illustrated our jacket. He totally knocked it out of the park! The one challenge I can think of was since Kiki’s look is so incredibly iconic and beloved, I wanted to make sure that the new cover design reflected its original look and feel, and did it justice. In a way, I wanted the new cover to be an extension of what was already out there, with a refresh that didn’t take it too far from the original. I’m personally quite satisfied with the end result, and hope that Kiki fans and readers are too!
Yuta: One of the challenges was to differentiate the appearance of Kiki from the film version.
On that note, did the age of the work play a role in the design or was there a clear theme established for this version?
Yuta: Definitely yes! As mentioned, I wanted to differentiate the appearance of Kiki but made sure to keep her symbolic black dress and hair ribbon the same.
Leslie: Definitely, though I have to say, the graphics in the film really hold up! Our goal was to create a cover that felt fresh and inviting while still being super identifiable.
Leslie, can you share why you chose the particular font for the title?
Leslie: As I mentioned earlier, Kiki’s look is so well-known that I didn’t want the design of the book to be too much of a departure! I chose to use the fonts Sofa Serif Hand and Sofa Sans Hand by Facetype since they have a classic feel with a bit of a fresh and modern twist. I use these fonts all the time!
Yuta, were you given specific instructions on what to draw or did you have input on what to illustrate?
Yuta: They were open to any of my ideas but their idea was to show Kiki and Jiji on the broom in the sky, and showing the ocean and city below them. I pretty much thought about the same picture/scene when I received this assignment, so the process went very smoothly.
While editing, was there anything in particular you wanted to make sure came across clearly in the novel Monica?
Monica: Both Kiki’s spirit and the magic Eiko imbued in the novel were aspects we wanted to make sure came across. In Yuta Onoda’s rendering of Kiki, I think you can not only imagine, but actually see her flying alongside the words on the page. Also, our interior designers — Stephanie Moss and Jen Valero — worked especially hard by adding many custom flourishes to the layout that make this extra magical and special. On that note, there’s a special appearance of Jiji at the very end of the novel for readers who are paying close attention!
Emily, did it seem Kiki was a bit different in the novel compared to the film version of her?
Emily: To be honest, I still haven’t gotten around to re-watching the film, although I’m eager to. One thing I learned though is that Tombo is called Tombo (“Dragonfly”) because of the way his glasses make him look. It’s just a nickname that makes no sense in English, but it’s too established, so we kept it.
Can you share a few sentences you enjoyed translating into English?
Emily: Jiji, Kiki’s black cat, has some attitude, so his lines are always fun. Near the beginning of the story, Kiki is talking about how she wants all new clothes, shoes, and broom for her big day, and when Jiji wonders how he’ll be made all new, Kiki says she’ll brush his fur till it shines, that he’ll be “all fresh.” So he shoots back, “Hmph. Fresh cat? Don’t talk about it like you’re going to cook me. You’re not the only one coming of age, you know.” The sound effects in the second-to-last chapter (you’ll know the ones when you get there) always crack me up, so those were fun, too.
What turned out to be the biggest surprise for each of you as you worked on Kiki?
Leslie: I was surprised by how much I could relate to Kiki! While I sadly don’t have any magic powers or a talking cat, in a broader sense, her coming of age story isn’t too far off from my own. More specifically, when I moved to New York City by myself after college to begin working in children’s publishing, I was daunted, overwhelmed, and insecure about the uncertain path that lay ahead of me. So much was up in the air, and it was completely up to me to hustle and build a life for myself in a new and unfamiliar environment. Much like Kiki’s experience in her new home town, after some time and some bumps in the road, I eventually ended up finding my groove!
Emily: I guess I forgot (or it didn’t strike me when I saw the movie) how feminine Kiki is. I guess it’s easy to think of strong female protagonists as boyish, probably because they’re often portrayed as being as tough as the boys, but Kiki is very much a girl in the traditional cis-hetero way. She worries about pimples, wants to dress cute, feels awkward wearing a swimsuit, starts having complicated feelings about boys…and she’s still out there making her way in the world as an independent business-girl!
Yuta: The biggest surprise working on Kiki for me was the story difference between the book and film version! I can’t say much about the details since I don’t want to spoil anything about them. So please check both formats and you can further explore her journey!
After finishing the film, I learned there’s actually more tales involving Kiki in novel form. Would the success of this first novel mean there’s a likelihood of more Kiki in the future?
Monica: Yes, there are more adventures with Kiki and continuing those is a possibility we’ve been considering. Regardless, we hope readers new and old will pick up the book and be inspired by Kiki!
What they’ve learned from Kiki
Finally, what’s been your biggest takeaway from following Kiki’s journey to become a witch?
Yuta: Live/Be true to yourself.
Monica: Everyone should have a talking cat. Kidding! (Only somewhat…)
The biggest takeaway, for me, is about finding your inner strength and believing in yourself even when things don’t go as planned.
Emily: Mm, I think you can learn a lot about running a business, haha. You see her work with all different kinds of clients, and sometimes it can be frustrating or annoying, but she always finds a way to handle the situation.
Leslie: My biggest takeaway after watching Kiki at this point of my life is probably quite different than it would have been had I watched it as a child. On Kiki’s journey to becoming a witch, she learns a valuable life lesson about the importance of a good work-life balance. After running herself ragged with her delivery service — all the while ignoring her own mental and physical wellbeing to please others — she literally crashes and burns before our eyes.
By the end of the story, after Kiki takes a step back and slows down, she realizes that her own value and self-worth extend far beyond her day job and that she must make a change. Though I am lucky enough to work in a field that I’m passionate about, burnout is still something that I’m all-too-familiar with, and am continuously striving to find the perfect balance between my work and my home life. Hopefully Kiki, wherever she is, has figured out what that healthy balance looks like.