Folks, it is absolutely time for more Ojamajo Doremi. Having just finished contributing to one more season of the ANN preview guide, I find myself thankful anew for how charming and consistently, fundamentally excellent this show is. There are creative trends within this industry that worry me deeply, but there are also shows so earnest and compassionate that they give me hope we’re all gonna make it through. And while I may feel more and more distant from seasonal late night anime trends over time, there are also shows whose appeal feels utterly timeless, and that only resonate with me more as I become an old and grumpy cartoon curmudgeon. Ojamajo Doremi is no less relevant today than the day it was produced, and its empathetic stories are a welcome reminder of the poignancy and creativity of this medium at its best. Let’s all take a moment to appreciate what anime can be, as we explore one more episode of Ojamajo Doremi.

Episode 47

We open with a painted curtain of Mount Fuji, rising to reveal our stars bowing on a stage. Oh my god, is this a rakugo episode? Are we getting a friggin’ rakugo Doremi episode?!?

“2000 Happy New Year Ojamajo Doremi.” I guess that Santa episode was actually a few weeks before Christmas

“Thanks to all your support, Ojamajo Doremi is entering its second year.” It’s weird to think this show’s continued airing might ever have been an open question, considering it’s now, you know, one of the most legendary magical girl shows of all time, featuring an absurd roundup of many of the best creators in the business. Kinda humanizes the production, in a way – even legends had to worry about getting renewed at some point

“Ojamajo Doremi welcomes the 21st century with new powers that will bring happiness and luck to all of you.” This is certainly helping me feel better about promoting my patreon

We open the episode proper with Aiko’s father, with what looks like his own father urging him to remarry. Oh good, I didn’t realize I’d be having my heart ripped out today

“Dad’s Arranged Marriage Meeting.” Yep

As always, Aiko and her father have a far more equal relationship than the other girls and their parents. Aiko has had to grow up a great deal by necessity, and so her father actually discusses his work and wages with her, as she’s a near-equal partner in managing the household. Doremi’s compassionate portrayal of diverse home lives is always a treat

Aiko finds the photo of the woman from the meeting, and immediately figures out the situation. “How can you say that has nothing to do with me!?” Aiko’s father is honestly a bit of a coward, and that can be expressed in ways that are clearly hurtful to his daughter. But it’s just one persistent negative quality he possesses – he’s a good man on the whole, but this is a part of him

Ah, it was his boss, not his father

And as always, even their fights are an expression of their love. These two are very used to bickering

Aiko and Doremi are in coats, but Hadzuki is in a hakama for their new year shrine visit. A neat detail reflective of their family situations

“I pray that he doesn’t want to remarry. I only want one mom.” Welp, I guess today is the day I die

Smart shift to an overhead shot for Hadzuki and Doremi learning about the marriage meeting. Pulling the camera overhead and drawing back for a wider shot emphasizes how they’re kids in a crowd of adults, echoing Aiko’s feelings of powerlessness

I just realized that Aiko hasn’t gotten a haircut this season, has she? Like, her hair has literally grown all throughout the season, and I’m only now noticing that she’s arrived at this quasi-mullet situation. I love little incidental bits of continuity like that

Doremi and Hadzuki’s parents ask Aiko to join them for lunch, but she says she can’t because her dad is home all alone. She’s used to, and even takes pride in, being her father’s source of emotional support. Though she says she doesn’t want a new mom, her more fundamental fear might be losing her father’s full attention

Great faces as Doremi learns she won’t have steak, followed by Pop and even her own mom dunking on her. Life is hard for an ojamajo

Ah, Aiko doesn’t even go home. She doesn’t want to be around her friends’ parents

I really appreciate how Ruka and Rika became drunken best friends the moment Ruka turned into a frog

Ruka’s fairy is brutal. “You’re being childish, hoarding your dad all to yourself.” This is probably technically true, but what a way to say it

Lulu and Ruka’s fairy get in a fight over their different approaches to parenting Aiko, which is adorable

And once again it’s Aiko with her harmonica. There has been virtually no overt narrative progression this episode – like many of the show’s best, it’s simply illustrating Aiko’s steady progress in mulling over her own feelings, and inherently expressing the idea that it’s natural to feel conflicted about changes like this

“I have a secret I never told you about.” The camera resolutely avoids Aiko’s face, centering us on her father’s perspective as she works up her courage

“My mom ain’t my own anymore.” Oh jeez, she never learned the truth, that her mother was just taking care of someone else’s child?

This scene is devastating. Aiko quietly giving her okay for the meeting through the covers, muffling her face so he can’t hear the tears in her voice. WHY ARE AIKO EPISODES ALL LIKE THIS MY GOD

Thank you perky-ass eyecatches for reminding me there is joy in the world

Aiko dressed up in a dress and pigtails for the meeting, which seems inherently wrong

“A new mom can help me do chores.” Aiko’s attempts to put a pragmatically positive spin on this situation are heartbreaking. She’s putting such heavy expectations of maturity on herself

“Was that baby really your mother’s?” Thank god for you, Hadzuki. Bless your soul

Aiko with pigtails is actually incredibly adorable. Lots of great faces in this scene

Majo Rika reveals she’s had a super useful crystal ball this whole goddamn time, which they use to check on Aiko’s mom

Aiko tries to sabotage the meeting, but her takedowns of her dad are actually pretty charming in their own right

“I like children who are honest. I’m very direct too, I think we’d get along.” Heartbreaking: The Woman Your Dad Is Being Set Up With Actually Seems Really Nice

Oh no, they got ice cream on his suit, but he came back in an outfit that’s EVEN SEXIER

Aiko keeps screwing up her attempts to screw things up, but fortunately Onpu arrives. Onpu is insanely good at making things terrible, she’ll be very useful here

Onpu suggests mind controlling the woman. No Onpu, you’re supposed to just make the date terrible, not make EVERYTHING terrible! Goddamnit Onpu!

But her advice is still needed – “you’re not being honest with yourself.” Trust Onpu to let someone know that sometimes you have to be a little selfish

And so she finally admits that this really hurts, and she only wants one mom

And Done

Oh my god, Aiko episodes are always so damn heavy. I knew the second her dad showed up that we’d be in for some emotional turmoil, and this episode certainly didn’t disappoint. In fact, it even helped to elevate the two major Aiko episodes we’ve had prior to this, as we now see they’re part of a continuing narrative exploring Aiko coming to terms with her parents’ divorce. As tends to be the case for these episodes, there was no single clear moral – “be honest with your feelings, even if it means challenging the people you love” was clearly central, but the focus was more on respecting Aiko’s slow process of sorting through her own feelings, making her ultimate declaration of intent feel like a victory in its own right. And even Onpu helped, sort of! Another terrific episode in Doremi’s most poignant dramatic style.

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