1st look at the live-action 'Kiki's Delivery Service'

It was quite a surprise to learn that a live-action Kiki's Delivery Service film was in the works, and that it would have nothing to do with Studio Ghibli or the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. They had already done such a great job bringing Eiko Kadono's manga to life with the 1989 film that many consider their version to be the definitive one. But that's not the case, and Ghibli doesn't own the rights to the source material. Most surprising of all was who would be helming this latest effort, horror director Takashi Shimizu, creator of Ju-On aka The Grudge.

We now have the first image of young figure skater Fuka Koshiba in the role of 13-year old Kiki, a young witch striking out on her own in the big city. Using her magical broom-flying skills, she meets new people and grows into a strong woman by running a delivery service. Hopefully next time we'll get a shot of Kiki's talking black cat, Jiji.

There's been a bit of an uproar in Japan, some of it from Studio Ghibli, over the decision to do the film in this format, but based on this image it looks to be a faithful translation.  It'll comprise more than just the first book in Kadono's series, including some elements of the sequel, Witch's Express Home Delivery 2: Kiki and Her New Magic.

Kiki's Delivery Service hits Japan in Spring 2014. [Eiga]