Folks, it is absolutely time for more Ojamajo Doremi. With Doremi’s generous, handsome, and highly intelligent principle funder having recently stuffed the Doremi fund, we’re looking at Doremi Saturdays for a while to come, and I couldn’t be happier. The show’s last episode held to one of its less common modes – a wholly plot-focused adventure in the Witch World. Pitting Doremi, her friends, and their fairies against an uncommonly disciplined hare and an absurdly speedy tortoise, the episode was a gleeful celebration of Doremi’s very silly world, offering few life lessons beyond “if you’re making a hole for Doremi to crawl through, make sure to leave room for her hair orbs.”
That episode also saw the continuation of Onpu’s antagonism, though frankly, “briefly interrupting the girls for a conversation while shopping” isn’t exactly the height of villainy. Onpu is treading a difficult line of kinda sorta maybe attempting to sabotage the girls while also remaining their friends, which feels like a natural expression of her generally staged existence. Onpu likely sees friendship as perfectly compatible with villainy, because to her, both of these things are a kind of performance. The only thing she seems to genuinely care about is making sure she herself gets what she wants, and she seeks that goal with the bright smile and feigned innocence of a natural performer. We haven’t seen a single moment of true honesty from Onpu, and I’m eager to see the show actually investigate her character. Whether this particular episode focuses on her or not, I’m excited to see Doremi ramp up into another high-stakes arc. Let’s get right to it!
Episode 37
We open with a beautiful shot of scenery in the Witch World. The general unreality of this place allows the production to take even more creative liberties in terms of illustrating its world – I really love how the falling leaves look like cut-paper patterns here
Apparently there’s some relaxing Witch World retreat specifically for witch frogs. I love this show’s utterly nonsensical worldbuilding
More lovely scenery for the Witch World palace enduring heavy storms. Like with those cut-out leaves, rough white lines here act as a minimalist evocation of wind
“A storm that comes once every 300 years. I hope nothing terrible happens.” Jeez, you can’t actually say that out loud, Queen
“Your majesty, something terrible has happened.” God damnit
The Queen’s quarters aren’t even really a room – they’re a window set into a pattern designed to look like the starry sky. I really like how this world is designed not just as a place that doesn’t exist, but a place that couldn’t exist. Its geometry and architecture defy reason, echoing how this show’s magic doesn’t adhere to any logic but dream logic
“So Many Witch Frogs!” Double goddamnit
A new witch frog stumbles drunkenly into Majo Rika’s shop. Witches do love their liquor
Apparently a thief broke into Onpu’s office. Presumably another witch frog
Oyajide playing coy on whether Onpu is actually being cursed by a Bad Item, or whether he just wants to go see Onpu. What would a children’s show be without a creepy old man openly lusting over actual children
I suppose adult fans of child stars aren’t considered that strange a phenomenon in Japan, but c’mon, this is Oyajide
This episode is occasionally adopting some light horror framing via synths and slow zooms on mysterious objects, but it’s more just a general tonal cue than an actual attempt at horror
“You seem way more capable than your older sister.” Yeah, this is Onpu’s style exactly – she’ll dig the knife in while smiling the whole time
No Onpu don’t touch Oyajide save yourself
The gang take their time to explain the whole situation to Onpu. This has been a pretty slow episode so far, and has unfortunately leaned mostly on Doremi’s weakest elements – the worldbuilding, Oyajide, the Bad Items, etcetera
Alright, here we go. Entering Majo Ruka’s office is accompanied by an absurd bevy of expressions, as the girls all meet Too Many Witch Frogs
I love the unspoken detail of Onpu naturally posing whenever anyone raises a camera
Apparently most witches that get frogged just spend all their subsequent time getting drunk and partying. Perhaps these witches are more sensible than I gave them credit for
Pop and Onpu become fast friends, which seems oddly appropriate. They’re both gremlins with an infinite supply of self-confidence
“A bunch of grumpy old frog ladies get tossed into the human world and demand to be shown around” isn’t really much of an episode premise, but they’re doing their best with it!
This episode has a number of issues, but I think the biggest is that it’s just not funny or absurd enough to make up for its lack of dramatic substance. Doremi can actually nail purely farcical episodes, but that generally demands energetic pacing and consistent comic escalation – in contrast, this episode is basically just one joke being repeated slowly
Onpu invites Pop to the TV station with her. THE TASTE OF BETRAYAL
Oh my god, they “disguised” the witch frogs by stacking them in trenchcoats and putting hats on them. All my complaints about this episode are retracted
“What a handsome young man!” “Let me take a picture.” These frogs are such convincing annoying old lady tourists that they’re actually starting to grow on me. I just wish the episode didn’t take so long to get to the payoff
This also sounds like a new song in the background? A charming singalong about being the Girls of Magic
The girls are warming up to them, too. Visiting the farm with your witch frog pals!
These witch frogs don’t have apprentices, so they’re actually permanently condemned to be stuck as frogs. Apparently you either turn the person who discovers you into an apprentice or suffer for eternity. Harsh
This episode is also undercut by the fact that its core conflict doesn’t really possess any actual tension or clear victory conditions. The witch frogs are basically just here until they decide they’ve had enough fun, so there’s no sense that we’re working towards any sort of clear conclusion
Oof, gorgeous sunset up here in the mountains. I’ll always love the almost fabric-esque texture of Doremi’s backgrounds; they both amplify the sense of depth and give the impression we’re turning pages in a crinkled and lovingly illustrated picture book
Yeah, the girls just “succeed” when they summon a tiny amusement park and the frogs all shrink themselves to hang out in it. The episode didn’t really build to that in any way, it’s just the last thing the frogs demanded before we ran out of episode time
Doremi’s living room has a giant picture of a fish and fishing rods hanging on the wall. Nice little continuity nod there
“You’re lucky to have these apprentices looking after you.” Huh. That line specifically makes me think this episode’s intended message is basically just “be sure to spend some time with your grandparents.” The witch frogs were very specifically characterized as elderly tourists, and the most consistent piece of dramatic progression across this episode was Doremi and the others coming to actually appreciate their company. In that light, the fact that they’re satisfied by a model of an amusement park as opposed to the real thing could be seen as a culmination of their and Doremi’s mutual understanding, and the fact that they really just wanted people to spend time with them, not some long list of specific demands
Yeah, that all feels right. It’s interesting, because that’s not a theme you see as often in American shows, where many generations of a family are much less likely to live together
The Queen thanks our heroes with some new orbs of certification
And Done
Well, that sure was a strange episode. I feel like its heart was in the right place, but the storytelling was some of the clumsiest this series has seen. It took us basically half an episode to get to the actually compelling part of the plot, there was a whole bunch of unnecessary exposition, and the episode didn’t really build to any sort of coherent climax. Even the ending felt kinda rushed and aimless, concluding on the unsatisfying “be nice to the elderly and maybe you’ll get a present.” There were still a number of fun moments, but that was likely the weakest Doremi episode on the whole. I guess they can’t all be winners!
This article was made possible by reader support. Thank you all for all that you do.