Pack it in folks, it’s just about time for some more Ojamajo Doremi. Doremi’s second season has been a total joy so far, with the trials of taking care of Hana-chan offering an emotionally rich and consistently rewarding focal point for the show’s continuing drama. It really does feel like the girls have had to grow up a little bit – from the relatively carefree adventures of chasing after episodic Bad Items, they’re now being forced to accept the compromises necessary for embracing adult responsibilities, and putting the needs of their little magical time bomb over their own desires. Last episode saw Pop demonstrating the inherent rewards of accepting such responsibilities, as her time spent caring for Hana-chan ended up giving her the strength to finally pass her witch exams.

That episode also served as a beautiful demonstration of Doremi’s substantial aesthetic strengths, as acclaimed director Shigeyasu Yamauchi lent his unique talents to an episode full of evocative layouts and standout visual sequences. The moody framing of the Maho-dou, Pop and Onpu’s shared lullaby, Pop’s dazzling entrance into the Witch World – Doremi’s always a good-looking show, but Yamauchi’s presence added a welcome touch of dark fantasy surrealism, and apparently he’s directing this episode as well. Let’s see what he brings to Doremi’s wonderful world in episode four!

Episode 4

Opening with more unique layouts built by approaching the Maho-dou’s tree from an unexpected angle, as well as more rippling reflections on water, and a strangely pallid, sickly green color palette. Yamauchi’s work always feels like a bit of a surrealist nightmare

Doremi’s friends appear before her, their overbearing faces too close to the screen, another consistent hallmark of Yamauchi’s work. Onpu says “you’re a failure as a mother,” and a drop of shimmering water shatters sideways across Doremi’s face. Yeah, we are in deep Yamauchi territory now

The relative agency of individual episode directors within a larger production is another reason I love great children’s anime. There seems to be less of a mandate to maintain a specific directorial vision in these long-running productions with lots of directors, and so great individual creators can really stick out on shows like this or Precure. The intensely collaborative and creatively fragmented nature of anime is one of its most unique features as an art form, and children’s anime often serves as the clearest demonstration of that feature

The OP for this season is entirely Hana-centric. I wonder if we’ve just ditched the Bad Items conceit?

We return to the Maho-dou at night, as Onpu is once again singing a lullaby to Hana. The quiet sanctity of the moment is conveyed through our distant perspective, her song half-glimpsed over the strange geometry of the Maho-dou, as if the viewer is taking care not to disturb the two of them

If moving into Doremi’s later seasons means the show will now have the confidence to embrace more extended tone sequences like this one, I’ll be very happy. I remember John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats reflecting on the benefits of gaining an audience that has confidence in your work – when you don’t have to immediately present a hard sell for your potential audience, you can embrace more daring and potentially less immediately enticing artistic choices, knowing your audience will hopefully follow along

“Doremi is a Failure as a Mama!?”

Another interesting layout choice, as we get a partial shot of the store’s Open/Closed sign, which Aiko spins from behind, thus revealing her own face. Yamauchi absolutely loves these dynamic closeups that briefly leave us unsure of our place within the environment. He’s an artist who’s uniquely capable of finding otherworldly mystery or terror in the everyday, and it’s no surprise to me that he’s worked very successfully with Kunihiko Ikuhara

Dodo is very happy to finally be a fairy senpai for Fafa

Oh goddamnit, I just got the gimmick of their names – Do Re Mi Fa. I am stupid

The store is visited by Takahashi, the manager of the soccer club. Jeez, did we last see her during the first episode of the first season?

“Yes, I’m Harukaze Doremi, the one who was hit in the face by the ball.” This is the ultimate Doremi introduction

“The items we sell have the same power as magic goods.” Do they??? I know it’s not a load-bearing piece of worldbuilding, but I’m always entertained by the vaguely threatening nature of the Maho-dou’s business plan

I really like Doremi so earnestly admitting she had a crush on Igarashi, but gave it up. It’s pretty mature of her to be able to talk so frankly with his current girlfriend

Apparently they’ve been drifting apart since Igarashi’s going to a private middle school. Doremi’s being very understanding, and actually picking out thoughtful gifts for her. Go Doremi!

Doremi takes Hana-chan for a stroll. Uh oh

They pass by the spot of Takahashi’s date, where Doremi sees that Takahashi has apparently been stood up. You gotta take care of the baby first, Doremi!

More dynamic layouts that increase our sense of involvement in this argument, by placing us directly between Igarashi and Takahashi, and getting us involved in the geometry of the fence between them

I love the radiant colors of this park they’re in. The general beauty of the flowers is conveyed through a pastel rainbow across the grass

Takahashi and Igarashi’s argument is a classic disagreement – Takahashi feels ignored and unappreciated, which Igarashi responds to with explanations as to why he must work hard at soccer. Takahashi isn’t looking for explanations, though – she just wants understanding and solidarity. Responding to someone earnestly expressing their hurt feelings with “well, you shouldn’t feel that way logically” is rarely an effective communication tactic

Doremi briefly sets up a rainy day romantic encounter, but having been abandoned, Hana starts crying and enhances the power of the magic

God, all the shots of this park are so beautiful. This show’s background designs are always a treat, but this episode’s on another level

“You protected me.” “Of course I did. You’re my precious girlfriend.” There it is. Takahashi didn’t need to be told why Igarashi hasn’t had time for her lately – she knows all that already. She needed the emotional reassurance that she is still important to Takahashi, and that his current responsibilities don’t mean his feelings for her have changed

Wonderful pastels for this sequence as well, as their feelings carry them into a garden that actually feels somewhat like the Witch World

I like the visual metaphor of the broken pot of flowers still blooming after their reconciliation. A tidy message that echoes the results of their conversation – sometimes our bonds will be damaged, and sometimes we’ll have disagreements with the people we love, but everything can be mended, and love can bloom even if its original form is altered

Aw jeez, now Hana’s come down with a fever

The chiming background music and Yamauchi’s signature extreme closeups combine to enhance the intensity and delicacy of the moment. As a general rule, the camera holding closer to characters tends to tonally imply intensity, vulnerability, or confusion (particularly when you’re close enough that their form blocks your view of their surroundings), whereas distant shots carry a sense of emotional remoteness as well, and often a sense of “rightness” that carries from objects looking secure in their environment

Pop and Majo Rika tell Doremi off, and she runs away. Another classically Yamauchi shot as she flees from the Maho-dou, with the intense fisheye curvature of the road creating an unfamiliar, forbidding landscape of a very familiar setting

Doremi relates what happened to her mom, and her mom actually slaps her cheek. Doremi hasn’t been considering Hana’s feelings, even now – when she fails as a mother, her first thought is about how badly that makes her feel, not Hana’s condition. But being a parent demands putting aside your own immediate emotional needs

I like the sort of blurred picture postcard style they use for these freeze frames. It’s not exactly Dezaki style postcards; more like the shot’s been printed on heavy construction paper. It definitely conveys the sense of timelessness they’re going for

“Can you do that, Doremi?” “It’s something a mother should be able to do.” I love that resolution – her thoughts are no longer on her own fears or limitations, but instead the simple, powerful “I’ll do what a mother has to do”

The rest of the gang are amazed by Doremi’s motherhood level up

Oh my god, Aiko and Hadzuki transform into Hana’s “mom and dad.” Amazing

The episode ends on both a dramatic and visual bookend, as Doremi repeats the nighttime lullaby sequence that Onpu opened the episode with

And Done

Oh man, that episode was so, so good. Ojamajo Doremi episodes are pretty much always full of key life lessons for their intended audience, but they’re rarely so deeply felt as this episode, with both Doremi’s shame at her failure and pride at embracing greater responsibility coming through clearly in this episode’s dramatic turns and evocative storyboarding. Yamauchi’s presence added so much to this episode, instilling the happy scenes with a sense of dreamlike wonder, and the tense scenes with a nightmarish claustrophobia and sense of disorientation. And through it all, the central theme of the responsibilities we bear to the people we love came through clearly, illustrated in the drama and the joy of both Takahashi and Hana’s experiences. This show is a masterpiece.

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