Today we return to Ojamajo Doremi, in the grips of one more dramatic witch-on-witch arc! Last episode introduced Onpu, a child actress who absolutely made the most of her debut by dunking on Tamaki, grappling with Doremi, and ultimately using mind control powers to make sure she earned a romantic lead role. That episode was an utter joy in its own right, exemplifying Doremi’s more farcical material, and once again leaning heavily on the endearing rivalry between Doremi and Tamaki. Tamaki is a terrific antagonist, and framing an episode around “Tamaki is challenged by a new girl who’s EVEN MORE Tamaki” was a great idea, even before we got to the silly appeal of their various audition challenges.
Of course, once the battle was over and Onpu had claimed her prize, we swiftly learned that this was all the plan of an old foe – Rika’s long-time rival Majo Ruka. The last time Ruka appeared, we ended up running through an arc that saw the girls losing their shop altogether, a paradigm-shifting conflict that ultimately felt a little drawn out. Ruka’s material lacked the emotional thoughtfulness of Doremi’s classmate-focused episodes, and I felt it leaned into the show’s magical worldbuilding in a way all these vaguely defined spells couldn’t necessarily support. That said, Onpu has already proven herself to be a more compelling character than Ruka, and adding an antagonist who can interact with the girls on their own immediate level seems like a very good way to add some emotional bite to this conflict. In spite of her poise, I’m getting strong gremlin vibes from Onpu, and am eager to see how she continues to torment our heroes. Let’s dive right into another episode of Ojamajo Doremi!
Episode 36
Our cold open this time is a tidy metaphor – Doremi in a turtle suit jogging around a tiny globe, Onpu flying ahead in a bunny outfit. Putting these characters in silly outfits is always a treat, and this is a fine visual summary of our current conflict. Onpu has flown up the witch rankings so far, while Doremi has stagnated and even occasionally failed her tests. The tortoise generally wins out, but Onpu asks “what if the hare doesn’t like to nap?”
To be honest, that’s a pretty good critique of the original fable, too. Obviously its intended moral is “sturdy, consistent labor will always pay off,” but the world contains plenty of people who are very talented and very dedicated, not just one or the other. Granted, “life isn’t fair” isn’t a particularly inspirational message
We open with a necessary recap of Onpu’s victory. Doremi is clearly intended to be a show you could drift in and out of weekly, so continuing narratives like this demand built-in recaps
“The Level 4 Exam is DODODODODO-!” Oh god. Doremi’s daughter tries so hard, please do not subject her to this
Our first shot post-title is of the faeries playing baseball. You can seed conflicts and make episodic narratives feel like coherent progressions largely through tricks like this – a brief sight gag focused on the fairies right at the start will make their ultimate relevance to the episode’s overall narrative feel that much more natural
Doremi isn’t mad that Onpu cheated at the competition, she’s just mad that she didn’t think of it first. Oh Doremi
“Magic that can control people’s minds is forbidden in the witch world.” As opposed to magic which slowly kills them through a wasting sickness, or magic instilled with bad luck that causes them to endure continuous injuries. Baby steps, I guess
I appreciate their lampshading the looseness of these rules through Rika not even knowing what the punishments are for breaking magical law. Also a neat use of that “angry Rika” background texture, where the growing scale of the background creates an inherent comic contrast with her ignorance
Even idle shots like our leads waiting in the hall for Onpu’s arrival demonstrate their personalities – Ai leaning casually against the wall, Hadzuki politely standing with hands folded, lazy Doremi kneeling down
The girls fail to find an opportunity to tell Onpu she’s BREAKIN’ MAGIC LAW
The inherent Doremi dunk of Pop trying to sneak coffee to not have to rely on Doremi waking her, following by Doremi’s friends also showing up to make sure she doesn’t forget Pop
And yet they fail regardless. I appreciate that Pop’s one weakness as a witch is she’s so young she can’t actually stay up late. Doremi-age Pop would be too powerful
And here’s the reveal. An exam they take alongside their fairies!
Oh my god, they’re taking this test in a friggin’ witch colosseum. What even is this society
This is an absurdly fun concept. The fairies themselves have to compete in an obstacle race against an actual tortoise and hare, while the girls can only assist them through magical interference. Ojamajo Doremi rarely centers its appeal on “the fun of a world where magic is real,” but this is a great riff on exactly that, and wouldn’t feel out of place in a more traditional shonen vehicle. No emotional/thematic narrative this time, just a bunch of punchy magical tactics!
There is an entire stadium of witches cheering for Doremi and her friends. I have to imagine entertainment is hard to come by in the witch world
“You’re looking at the most hardworking hare and the fastest tortoise in the witch world.” That is some bullshit
I always love the background designs of the witch world. The Seussian colors and Dali-esque melting terrain combine to make a landscape that feels enchanting with just a hint of menace
Aiko trying to pull Doremi through a hole smaller than her head is extremely quality entertainment
Ahaha, it’s actually her hair orbs that are stuck. The curse of an iconic design
A three-legged race is next, a very on-the-nose way of underlining the lack of true unity between Doremi and Dodo. It seems like the biggest issue at this point is that Doremi has no faith in Dodo
Alright, now that the race is underway, I actually cede to witch society that watching Doremi make a fool of herself on a race track is probably the best way you could spend your free time
“Majo Ruka sent me to mess up your exams.” Great to see you, Onpu
Onpu says she’s fine with performing dangerous magic because she’s protected by one of Majo Ruka’s famously effective magic charms. Nothing to worry about here!
“For your last obstacle, you must fall asleep, and then catch a very rare butterfly in the garden in your dream.” This is exactly the kind of wonderful bullshit I love about Ojamajo Doremi’s magical system. The fact that this world operates according to fanciful but coherent-according-to-its-own-rules dream logic here reaches a peak, with the girls literally having to win at dreaming
At last, a challenge perfectly suited to Doremi’s talents: falling asleep
To be honest, I’d be terrible at this one. It always takes me an hour to actually fall asleep in bed
The fairies sleeping on the bed are adorable
And at last, the fairies win a challenge for them. Doremi still has no respect for Dodo, though. Be nice to your fairy, Doremi!
It is absolutely no surprise that Aiko is the kind of person who sprawls all over the bed while sleeping
And Dodo even comes up with their final trick! Just straight-up chuck the fairies across the finish line
What a cheeky callback to the opening scene, too. From actually playing baseball to being the baseball
Ahaha, this slow-mo photo finish. They must have had a lot of fun with this episode
Onpu returns to comment on their victory, making me think we’re still in the stage of her being an imposing future villain who just sort of circles our heroes for a while. Another children’s show staple
And Done
Welp, that was a bunch of fun. Like most of the specifically magic-focused episodes, it wasn’t really all that gripping in a thematic or emotional sense – but like the best of the magic-focused episodes, it made up for that lack through pure creative invention and dramatic energy. “A magical race in the witch world” was a terrific concept for an episode, and while I felt the show could have gotten a little more inventive in terms of the challenges faced by our heroes (only the first one actually required them to use magic at all), the absurdity of the witch world colosseum, and the enthusiasm with which this episode committed to its own race drama, made it a very fun time all the same. In spite of Ruka’s machinations, Doremi and her friends have graduated to level four!
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