While the settings of Studio Ghilbi’s anime are filled with whimsy and fantasy, their characters can at times seem remarkably real. Even if you’ve never found a forest serviced by a network of Cat Buses, for example, the emotions that Totoro’s Mei and Satsuki deal with feel so genuine that you can’t help but think of them as real people who’ll eventually grew up and continue their lives long after the movie ends.

The same goes for the cast of Kiki’s Delivery Service. But while it’s easy to imagine titular witch Kiki continuing to work in the magical courier industry throughout her adulthood, what about her friend, Tombo? One fan recently offered his theory on what the future holds for the bespectacled lad.

When Kiki’s Delivery Service opens, Kiki herself is 13. If we assume that Tombo is the same age, and that the events shown in the movie take place over a year or so, he should be about 14 by the time the ending credits roll. That’s also where Twitter user Kohinata starts off his Tombo timeline, describing it as, “The happiest time of Tombo’s life.”

Peaking at 14 means you’ve got some tough years ahead, though. When next we see Tombo, at 18, the smile is gone from his face, and his relationship with Kiki is on the rocks. The emotional strain seems to have affected Tombo’s studies, too. At 23, he’s unable to find a job, and begins slipping deeper and deeper into despair.

Remember, though, this is Tombo, the plucky kid who was determined to turn his bike into a flying machine. It’s going to take time, as evidenced by the last picture in the timeline not specifying his age, but eventually, according to Kohinata, he’ll pick himself up, dust himself off, and, we believe, find his place in the world.

That doesn’t mean we’re always going to be able to find Tombo, though.

https://twitter.com/_5H7T/status/515758870115778560

Some of you may doubt that’s the famous Ghibli character outfitted with a cap and new pair of specs. If you grew up in the U.S., you’re probably saying, “That’s Waldo!” Or, at least, that’s what you’re saying after, “Yes! Found him!”

But that confidence might actually be misplaced. The character Americans and Canadians know as Waldo was originally called Wally when he debuted in his native U.K. The more you know, right?

FT 6

Given the character’s crafty ability to assume multiple identities, who’s to say that Wally and Waldo aren’t both aliases of Koriko native Tombo Kopoli?

Source: Hamster Sokuho
Top image: Studio Ghibli
Insert images: Studio Ghibli