Do you truly think that with your pitiful strength, you could hope to stop me from watching more Ojamajo Doremi? From delighting in the adventures of these girls, and celebrating the lessons illustrated thereby? From cherishing this world’s wonderful art direction and profoundly empathetic perspective, which has become so valued a source of optimism in a world of ruin? Fool that you are, perhaps you assumed my dedication to magical girls and their charming escapades might waver, or my hunger for giggling uproariously at ridiculous faces might be sated. Your hopes are as dust. Doremi continues!
Alright, seriously, let’s get to this. Doremi’s last episode was friggin’ awesome, and offered a variety of charming anecdotes and thoughtful lessons throughout. Mutsumi was a great addition to the class roster, seeing a Doremi episode all about professional wrestling was adorable, and I particularly appreciated how Mutsumi being interested in a stereotypically “boyish” interest wasn’t even the point – obviously girls can be into pro wrestling, why wouldn’t they? Instead, the show offered a broader mix of lessons, from the importance of adjusting your behavior to respect your friends’ current feelings, to the variable nature of strength itself. It was one of the best classmate-focused episodes so far, and I’m eager to see whatever’s next. Let’s get to it!
Episode 45
We open with a shot of the city from above, leading to the reveal of Santa’s friggin’ sleigh. Welp, wasn’t expecting a Christmas episode, and I also didn’t realize we were so far into fall. Though I suppose my recently jump-started progress through Doremi might have something to do with that; it’s always odd how your perception of a show’s pacing ends up being in large part a reflection of the speed with and circumstances under which you watched it
The whole witch gang is in the sleigh, including Pop and Onpu. Is Onpu finally joining the team? Is Pop finally managing to stay up late!?!?
“Majo Rika wants to cash in on the Christmas spirit.” As someone who’s had to stomach America’s queasy mix of faux-piety and rank commercialism regarding the Christmas season all his life, I find Japan’s “you buy stuff, go on dates, and eat fried chicken” interpretation very refreshing
Plenty of lively character acting for Majo Rika acting out. I’m guessing this will be a pretty lighthearted episode, based on this dramatically neutral setup and early focus on comic energy
Oh my god, Pop has put together a team to hunt down Santa. THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
“Save Santa.” Please girls, protect him from Pop
I love love love this shot of Pop convening with her gang on this bench here. The small details of character acting scattered all across their group (exemplified through the chips being carried down the line) make this moment feel intensely lively and immediate, drawing the audience into the group huddle. Incidental character acting across non-focus characters in a group scene is one of the most effective ways to convey a sense of convincing reality and physical presence within animation
More excellent, very fluid animation for Pop leaping up from the bench, and then for her follows all marching along behind her. Each of them has a unique movement to their run that makes sense for their shape and stature. The animation team is really killing it this episode; I wonder if there was a particularly noteworthy animation director on this one
What do you know, there was. Yoshihiko Umakoshi’s AD on just this and episode thirty, and a legend otherwise. He handled AD duties on Mushishi and Casshern Sins, and more recently has been handling that role for My Hero Academia. He’s also Doremi’s own character designer!
Some charming new backgrounds as we explore the town in festive spirit, and learn Onpu is holding a concert
Doremi runs into a sickly old man, who is presumably Santa doing his pre-Christmas investigations. Apparently Santa also exists in this world
This episode is having so much fun creating unique visual compositions with Pop’s gang. It’s a uniquely lively episode, with its close focus on character acting and ensemble scenes really creating an inviting, communal sense of atmosphere
Doremi’s confrontation allows for great use of this gang, as they all jump to mirror Pop’s expressions
“So boring.” An idle scene of the girls at the Maho-dou. Most episodes of Doremi wouldn’t include a scene like this; the show is genuinely very narrative-driven, and so each new scene tends to answer a narrative question set up by the previous one. But this episode in particular is really focused on creating a tonal space and sense of anticipation, so it proceeds a bit more like a Kyoto Animation episode – a progression of scenes that don’t all necessarily fit to a strict narrative track, but create an overarching emotional tone and sense of immediacy
Pop loses her gang to Onpu’s charms. This sequence is again hilarious; this episode is drawing so much humor and energy out of the coordinated movements of this gang-blob
Ahaha, Doremi’s absurd charade pantomimes as they drag Santa into the shop. Umakoshi knows exactly how to stretch these character designs to best effect; they are an incredibly robust platform for funny character acting, and given he designed them himself, it makes sense he’s a natural at manipulating them
Majo Rika accidentally reveals herself to the stranger, but fortunately, Santa is well aware of Witch Frogs. I’m always a bit of a sucker for these worlds where all the different fantasy creatures are vaguely acquainted
Santa has come down with a serious cold. I can’t believe we’re watching a Doremi version of a Tim Allen movie
They’ve successfully imbued this Santa with some extremely kindly looking eyes, which is a neat trick in a show with designs as simplified as this
We’ve gotten repeated shots conveying Pop’s group just through their feet trudging on the ground. You can really get a sense of someone’s personality through their idle bodily motions, though obviously you need a production that can actually convincingly convey that movement, as opposed to just moving static upper bodies up and down relative to the frame. Oftentimes, the strength of a great “director” is in large part a function of their strong existing relationships with talented animators, who they can call on to afford their shows extravagances that other directors don’t have the time and resources for
Even Onpu’s exit here is so lively; the show leans into the noodle-like shape of the character bodies, as she flies through a sequence of irreverent movements
Top Ten Anime Betrayals: Doremi gets chicken instead of steak for dinner
Doremi immediately brags to Pop about meeting Santa, of course
The fluid animation even gives the voice actors more to do. This sequence of Pop shaking her sister while asking to join them is carried entirely by her strained “O-ne-ga-iiiis” contrasted against her character acting
Actually laughed out loud at this match cut of Pop’s preparations for not sleeping – eyes taped open, clothes pins pinching her cheeks. Do your best, Pop
Santa apparently lives in the clouds, which is frankly more believable than the North Pole
“There are many more places like this in the world. These are only the Santas that watch over Misora City.” Are they… are they actually making a more coherent Santa lore strictly for their own witch universe worldbuilding? Go to it, Doremi
THE PRESENT MAKER IS MALFUNCTIONING
This crowd of depressed Santas is weirdly adorable
Magical Stage decides to hold off on the cryptic bullshit this time, and just gets the machine working again
At long last, Onpu gets what is likely her first sympathetic scene of the entire production. Having completed her work, Onpu finds herself alone at Christmas with no family and a microwave dinner. Staring at the tree in the dark, she remembers Doremi’s call to join them. A very nice moment that doesn’t oversell anything
And so she arrives to genuinely save the day for the first time
The giant Land of Santa cloud breaks into separate sub-clouds, which themselves are helmed a fleet of separate Santas, each with their own sleighs. I can’t believe they built a whole new and better Santa mythology for this episode
It’s also just novel to see an actual Santa-focused Christmas episode. Most anime I watch is aimed at older audiences, and thus leans on the romantic and familial aspect of Christmas, not the promise of presents
This slow, regretful turn by Doremi as Pop dreams of Santa. These designs are capable of emotional subtlety as well
All the girls agree to give up their presents if Pop can meet Santa. THESE GOOD KIDS
And the Queen even gives them witch certificates for their efforts. Extremely good Christmas
And Done
Jeez, what a great episode. And great in a unique way, no less – this episode was actually very light on moral lessons or personal stories, but it used its exceptionally fluid animation and intelligent use of incidental scenes to create a powerful sense of atmosphere all throughout. It was naturally funny again and again, and the uniquely strong animation also worked to sell Doremi and Pop’s poignant feelings. Apparently this is the strength of having Umakoshi on board; Doremi is rarely quite this bountiful in its animation, but it was beautifully applied here, and elevated this episode in all manner of ways. How does this show continue to surprise and improve all the time?
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