Get in the car losers, we’re watching Doremi! Doremi’s last episode saw a return to the show’s most classic and venerable form, where Doremi and her friends use their magic to help some classmate solve an important personal issue. Taniyama’s passion for shogi was relatively specific, but his struggles with his parents were universal, and as usual, the show’s solutions turned out to be sensible and sympathetic throughout. Leaning on their teacher Seki-sensei for a problem that involved changing the minds of a classmate’s parents was an excellent choice, and the use of a Bad Card meant that magic was only necessary to solve magical problems; for the personal problems of their classmates, simply being a good friend and supporting their passion was the key.
Episode forty one was classic Doremi all around, but I’m guessing we’ll be returning to witchier conflicts now – not only are Onpu and Majo Ruka still up to no good, but Doremi also has to make up her level three test. The level three test episode was one of the most visually inventive and generally engaging episodes of this show so far, so I’m ready for a reprise whenever Doremi is. Whether it’s sympathetic classmate stories or fanciful magic adventures, Doremi always offers something worth celebrating. Let’s see what this week’s episode has to offer!
Episode 42
“My heart of justice shall turn into fury!” Looks like we’re getting another classmate-focused episode after all, this time focused on someone who loves tokusatsu shows
“Mobile Sentai Battle Rangers!” That sure is a generic sentai team name, lol
Forty-two episodes in, and I’m still dancing along with this catchy-ass OP. This song is too strong
We open with Pop, which is always a good sign
Nice layered shot evoking depth across the rooms of Doremi’s house. Shots that convey a sense of depth and space are very nearly an inherent good (unless you’re trying to convey a sense of claustrophobia or something), given how well they enhance the solidity of fictional spaces and draw the viewer into their world. But if they’re used carelessly, they draw attention to themselves – thus they are best applied to moments like this, when the camera is being carried from one character to another, and the shot can be used to illustrate the physical relationship between these two focus characters. See also: shots aimed up or down stairs from over a character’s shoulder
Doremi’s watching Battle Red do his best on TV
More nice shots emphasizing this physical space, again using the spacial relationship between the characters to align the perspective. I especially like how framing this from behind Doremi’s back implies how little she’s paying attention to Pop
The princess on the show is Onpu herself
“Ojamajos – Battle for Justice!?” This is gonna be such a good episode
The class put on their own production of Battle Rangers, with Battle Red played by a tanned boy I don’t think we’ve seen before
Doremi lies about not watching the show. I guess it’s not a thing girls are supposed to be into?
We get a new pan of the school that reveals its central courtyard. We really don’t know the geometry of this school that well yet, huh
Some older kids ask for Onpu’s autograph, and our new boy actually tries to play the hero
The hero act works substantially less well on the vice principal
Onpu once again using mind control magic to solve her problems, while our girls are left to pick up the pieces. It’s interesting to me that Onpu is still considered a sympathetic character by these girls – essentially every single one of her actions has been either taunting our leads or misusing magic in a way they have to fix. I suppose in a long-running episodic show, being so overtly antagonistic of a person isn’t really considered something that demands immediate focus and correction
I guess as long as Onpu can summon a floral background to accompany her “I made a whoopsie” faces, she can probably get away with anything
Okay, the girls are finally calling her out on this. Perhaps Onpu will be the sentai villain they must defeat, making for a cute contrast against her being the actual sentai show’s damsel in distress
Amano is the new boy. I appreciate how the things his sentai show taught him about what “justice should look like” are colliding with the real-world reality of Onpu’s villainy. Making Onpu herself the actual show’s princess is a nice way of illustrating that fiction often simplifies real-world problems, and that good and evil aren’t always what you’d expect
Onpu seems genuinely affected by Amano’s compliments, and invites him to the set
“I’ll remember this!” The older kids both look and sound more sentai-villainy than Doremi’s usual characters
The running gag of everyone looking around to see where Dela will pop out when she starts singing is very good
The girls learn Onpu’s burning through a lot of magic spheres. This is NOT JUSTICE!
Onpu introduces Amano to Battle Red. She’s actually being really nice to him
Reporter girl has a dog that looks exactly like her, and it’s very good
God, these expressions when she’s surprised by the upperclassman are so good. More characters should become cubist paintings when they’re surprised
Doremi in general feels heavily indebted to classical art in its visual digressions. It feels like it was created by people who draw from art and storytelling in general, instead of just carrying on art and narrative traditions specific to anime. This is a very good thing – even if you love one specific field of art or storytelling more than others, having a wide array of influences will enrich your work far more than simply sticking to that one field
The big kid tells her to give Amano a letter of challenge. I love how her voice naturally cracks on every other line
Hashimoto is the older kid’s name
“I, Battle Red, shall defeat those who disturb the world’s order!” I’m appreciating how naturally ambiguous this episode’s interpretation of how media inspires us is turning out to be. “Now I want to battle for justice!” is just too broad of a theme to avoid misuse, and it’s inspiring Amano to get in way over his head
The girl who loves telling stories keeps popping up in the background and making me want more Loyal Dog Doremi stories
Now Onpu’s mind controlling her own mother to get the dinner she wants. She seems like the type who thinks bad actions are only bad insofar as you get punished for them, which is a sadly common condition
Amano keeps framing this fight in terms of the sentai show, but no one else is really into it
As usual, the fight that reporter girl directly caused turns out to be too rich for her blood, and so she goes to call the teacher. Reporting about scandals is a lot more fun than provoking them
The digipaint nature of this show feels a bit more apparent when the character animation is isolated for these bank footage sequences, leading to fuzzy edges and a generally rough look. Such a shame that an entire era of anime is hobbled by early digipaint
Hell yes, magical stage actually just dresses them up as sentai warriors. This is the worst/best solution, way to go magical stage
Aiko and Hadzuki are embarrassed, but they go along with Doremi’s posing and catchphrases. Very good friends
“Call me Pink.” “Oh no, we’ve completely lost her.” Doremi’s stern sentai expressions are so good. She’s having such a good time
“This isn’t a hero’s battle. It’s just a regular fight.” A key realization for Amano. Just because he loves the ideas presented in his favorite show doesn’t mean he can directly map those ideas and beliefs to his own life, and just because he wants to embody justice doesn’t mean the actions he takes will be necessarily just. This is a really sharp point for a children’s show, and is essentially Doremi acknowledging that media like Doremi itself should always be taken with a grain of salt. We all want to believe we are the heroes in some greater story, but desire alone does not ensure righteousness
“Actually, my little sister is a big fan of Onpu-chan.” And now we learn Hashimoto was playing out his own ideal of justice, one unrelated to Battle Ranger, but just as sincere and deeply felt
And Done
Damn, that episode was terrific! It felt like Ojamajo Doremi was genuinely turning the lens back on its own structure, and illustrating how easy it is for even ostensibly heroic and moral-laden media to drive people to unjust actions. The fact that Amano loved Battle Rangers and played out their fantasies wasn’t judged negatively, but the fact that he let that love become its own source of moral certainty was interrogated directly. Additionally, the general sentai focus of this whole episode was just a whole lot of fun, and seeing Doremi get super into their performance was fantastic. I figured this episode would be about directly challenging Onpu, but it turned out to be even more compelling than I expected, and probably stands among the best of Doremi’s classmate-focused episodes. This show is so good!
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