Minami Takayama

In Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), Minami Takayama lets us hear how much Kiki wants to do well. She makes that eagerness appealing, but leaves room for insecurity without stopping to explain each feeling. We were moved by how readily we recognised her awkwardness, because Takayama never turns it into an invitation to laugh at her. That matters in a film about finding the courage to get through an ordinary working day.

She voices Ursula as well as Kiki in Hayao Miyazaki's film, her breakthrough in 1989. The work that followed made the energetic young boy a recurring assignment: Rantarō Inadera in Nintama Rantarō (1993–) and Conan Edogawa in Detective Conan (1996–). Both parts have lasted for decades, demanding a kind of consistency that a single film cannot test. That is substantial work, though the length of a credit tells us little about how well an actor handles a scene.

Her voice remains recognisable across changes of tone and age, and that can leave different characters sounding too similar. Energetic, high-pitched delivery is useful for the boy leads; it does not by itself distinguish one from another. Detective Conan gives her a more particular task, separating the child's speaking voice from adult inner thoughts through vocal modulation. This is a useful way to listen to her work: for the adjustments within a familiar sound, rather than expecting an entirely new voice each time.

For the clearest evidence of what she does well, we return to Kiki and Rei Sakuma's Jiji. Sakuma supplies the drier humour, allowing Takayama to take Kiki's concerns seriously without making the film solemn. Miyazaki is kind to Kiki's awkwardness, and Takayama does not mistake that kindness for a reason to make her bland. We recommend the film warmly, with a reservation about its few over-tidy lessons. Start there if animated characters who announce every passing emotion have been trying your patience.