Folks, it’s time for more Doremi. I’m sure you all know the drill at this point – we’re nearly fifty episodes into this endlessly charming and consistently poignant children’s show, and it has demonstrated its many strengths again and again. Though Majo Ruka and Onpu briefly threatened to upend Doremi’s status quo, the show has actually pretty much settled back into its original dynamic, with Onpu essentially just adding occasional barbs of snark or overt antagonism to our girls’ adventures. Meanwhile, Doremi, Aiko, and Hadzuki have arrived at a fairly solid understanding of their magical powers; Doremi may be a screwup who’s only interested in steak, but her spells at least tend to do what she wants them to. In light of this, our main crew have essentially become the magical guardians of their class, successfully solving problems ranging from thorny parental drama to messy breakups with giant monsters. To be honest, it almost feels like things have been going too well for our crew as of late, and that they’re about due for some kind of magical reckoning. The show’s been seeding the encroaching danger of Onpu’s reckless magic usage for a while now, but I also wouldn’t mind if we highlighted some new classmates, either. Doremi is very good at nearly everything it does, and I’ve learned to trust its instincts. Let’s see what’s up in this next episode!

Episode 44

Holy crap it’s a professional wrestling episode. We open with a dramatic spinning cut into the center ring, abusing the loose reality of these pre-OP segments to create a stage with no backgrounds, which in turn allows for this dynamic swooping animation

“I won’t lose to my brother!” I’m not sure we’ve seen this classmate before. Though I assume we have in group shots, since I’m guessing the whole class roster’s designs were settled before they actually started producing episodes. “You will slowly come to care about this entire class” is one of Doremi’s greatest hooks, after all

The girl’s name is Mutsumi, and she’s being cheered on by our leads

We get a cute delayed match cut across the OP, as we pan out on Mutsumi now grappling with Kotake while Kaori (reporter girl) is on commentary. Kaori is one of the most dramatically useful members of this class, and I like how Doremi naturally illustrates that her passion can be used in both positive and negative ways, depending on her role within an episode

Mutsumi takes her fifteenth wrestling victory

“I Want to be a Female Pro Wrestler!” Is this how they finally get me into wrestling. First The Mountain Goats, now Doremi

Watching Mutsumi cheer for her own favorite pro wrestler is adorable

And now her brother starts talking shit about her favorite wrestler, Candy Itou

A clever beat here, as they dramatically overlay Candy’s match with Mutsumi fighting with her brother

“Some day I will become stronger than my brother!” Doremi cares equally about all children’s personal conflicts, whether they’re something as difficult to resolve as absent parents or as universal as an asshole older sibling

I also really appreciate that it’s a girl we focus on for the professional wrestling episode. Wrestling isn’t generally considered a girl’s sport, but one of Doremi’s principle goals is to tell kids that “it’s okay to love this/feel this way,” and telling girls they don’t have to feel ashamed of traditionally boy-oriented pastimes is an important point

Mutsumi has run out of willing challengers at school, and so challenges the whole SOS Brigade at once

“If you don’t come at me, I’ll beat you all senseless.” Mutsumi loves leaning into the wrestling patter

Of our three leads, it’s actually Hadzuki who already knows about Candy Itou. A girl of many talents

Mutsumi wants to stop her brother from saying Candy is weak, and sees the only way to do that as beating him at wrestling. I’m guessing Candy will lose her 36th match, and Mutsumi will have to reckon with the variable nature of strength

Oyajide shows up to be a creepy lech for fifteen seconds and then have his lid closed. Thanks again for introducing this character, Doremi

Candy’s shoelace comes untied during the match, causing her to lose. Sometimes things just aren’t within your control, and one of the most important ways you demonstrate strength is in how you handle defeat

Candy announces she’ll retire if she loses her next match. Pro wrestling seems almost terrifying to a kid, who will find heroes to believe in and earnestly follow their kayfabe drama. Adult wrestling fans want fun stories, kids like Mutsumi are seeing the embodiment of their own aspirational self-image succeed or fail up there. As the song goes, “he was my hero back when I was a kid / you let me down, but Chavo never once did”

The SOS Brigade rechallenge Mutsumi, but with her hero on the potential edge of retirement, she doesn’t have the confidence or motivation to fight

They essentially bully her into it, and then defeat her by all jumping on her back. THOSE SCOUNDRELS!

After that, they start chanting for her to retire, which from our perspective is obviously cruel as hell. Like with Kaori, the SOS Brigade regularly demonstrate that while certain modes of behavior can be appropriate or even endearing in certain circumstances, you have to be able to recognize when the things you normally do are unwelcome or hurtful. These guys are used to riffing on whatever they can find as the class clowns, but Mutsumi is feeling deeply insecure about both her hero and her own strength right now, and couldn’t be less amenable to this sort of wrestling banter

Frankly, that’s a lesson a lot of adults could serve to learn, too. Not all behavior that is “generally acceptable” is warranted at all times, or towards all people. Just because you didn’t mean some comment to be hurtful doesn’t mean your target’s pain is invalidated

Nice shots resetting the atmosphere to focus on Mutsumi’s melancholy feelings. This shot panning across the pillars of their school implies a sense of quiet seclusion, and then Mutsumi looking at her reflection naturally evokes the sense that she’s reconsidering her whole self-image

Her friends try to cheer her up with “you lost because there were three of them,” but the line Mutsumi truly needs to hear is “it’s okay to lose”

“I don’t care if I lose. But what will I do if Candy loses?” Yep. Candy’s been an inspiration to her, but that comes with a cost

Her friends can again only offer “Candy won’t lose. She’s really strong!” Though even if their words aren’t the most helpful in and of themselves, their unerring support for Mutsumi is a very valuable thing. You don’t have to know how to help someone for your attempts to comfort them to be appreciated or valuable

Candy injures herself the day before the match, and Aiko suggests it’s a Bad Item. CURSE THESE BOOTS

Mutsumi actually runs into Candy herself. This episode is so damn charming

“A match isn’t just about beating the opponent. It’s also about beating yourself. So it has nothing to do with whether the opponent is strong or weak.” Candy with the sage life advice for her young fan

They maybe should have resolved this whole Bad Item business some time before the match started, but it’s certainly resulting in an action-packed finale

“I’ll definitely fight with Candy! And I’ll beat my brother to a pulp!” What a lovely violent dream

And Done

Gosh, that episode was charming as heck. There wasn’t really one tight, consistent thematic throughline, but its winding course covered the validity of passions that aren’t generally considered “for” you, the importance of sensitivity towards the variable feelings of those around you, the many ways friends can help each other, and the fact that true strength requires challenging your own limitations, not just settling for easy wins. Not bad for an episode that also offered multiple wrestling matches and a thorough introduction to another of Doremi’s endearing classmates. I’m very happy to slot this one onto the top shelf of Doremi classmate episodes!

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