Saturday has come again, and it’s absolutely time for some more Ojamajo Doremi. Doremi has entered a somewhat odd interim phase in its current arc; after Onpu’s dramatic debut and declaration of intent, she’s mostly just hung around, acting occasionally villainous but more often just indifferent to our heroines’ plights. Her nefarious benefactor Majo Ruka obviously has a legitimate stake in sabotaging Rika and her ojamajos, but Onpu mostly just seems down for whatever, and willing to work with any side if it sounds like fun.

In meta-genre terms, Onpu and Ruka’s appearance has kept Doremi focused on fanciful witch world conflicts, from the dramatic race of two episodes ago to the witch frog invasion last week. This makes sense; like with Ruka’s first appearance, it’s difficult to pull off a classic “one of our classmates has a problem”-style episode while also keeping things focused on the inter-witch drama, and so Doremi is temporarily prioritizing its magical worldbuilding over its moral lessons. Unfortunately, these episodes don’t tend to be as strong as Doremi’s standard material – the system of magic in this world is too arbitrary to really invest in, and these episodes tend to lack the satisfying emotional substance or thematic payoffs of the more realistic conflicts. Still, Doremi has always managed a reasonable balance of its various component materials, and I’m guessing this recent swing towards magical malevolence will pay off soon. Let’s see what schemes Ruka and Onpu cook up this time!

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Folks, it is absolutely time for more Ojamajo Doremi. With Doremi’s generous, handsome, and highly intelligent principle funder having recently stuffed the Doremi fund, we’re looking at Doremi Saturdays for a while to come, and I couldn’t be happier. The show’s last episode held to one of its less common modes – a wholly plot-focused adventure in the Witch World. Pitting Doremi, her friends, and their fairies against an uncommonly disciplined hare and an absurdly speedy tortoise, the episode was a gleeful celebration of Doremi’s very silly world, offering few life lessons beyond “if you’re making a hole for Doremi to crawl through, make sure to leave room for her hair orbs.”

That episode also saw the continuation of Onpu’s antagonism, though frankly, “briefly interrupting the girls for a conversation while shopping” isn’t exactly the height of villainy. Onpu is treading a difficult line of kinda sorta maybe attempting to sabotage the girls while also remaining their friends, which feels like a natural expression of her generally staged existence. Onpu likely sees friendship as perfectly compatible with villainy, because to her, both of these things are a kind of performance. The only thing she seems to genuinely care about is making sure she herself gets what she wants, and she seeks that goal with the bright smile and feigned innocence of a natural performer. We haven’t seen a single moment of true honesty from Onpu, and I’m eager to see the show actually investigate her character. Whether this particular episode focuses on her or not, I’m excited to see Doremi ramp up into another high-stakes arc. Let’s get right to it!

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Today we return to Ojamajo Doremi, in the grips of one more dramatic witch-on-witch arc! Last episode introduced Onpu, a child actress who absolutely made the most of her debut by dunking on Tamaki, grappling with Doremi, and ultimately using mind control powers to make sure she earned a romantic lead role. That episode was an utter joy in its own right, exemplifying Doremi’s more farcical material, and once again leaning heavily on the endearing rivalry between Doremi and Tamaki. Tamaki is a terrific antagonist, and framing an episode around “Tamaki is challenged by a new girl who’s EVEN MORE Tamaki” was a great idea, even before we got to the silly appeal of their various audition challenges.

Of course, once the battle was over and Onpu had claimed her prize, we swiftly learned that this was all the plan of an old foe – Rika’s long-time rival Majo Ruka. The last time Ruka appeared, we ended up running through an arc that saw the girls losing their shop altogether, a paradigm-shifting conflict that ultimately felt a little drawn out. Ruka’s material lacked the emotional thoughtfulness of Doremi’s classmate-focused episodes, and I felt it leaned into the show’s magical worldbuilding in a way all these vaguely defined spells couldn’t necessarily support. That said, Onpu has already proven herself to be a more compelling character than Ruka, and adding an antagonist who can interact with the girls on their own immediate level seems like a very good way to add some emotional bite to this conflict. In spite of her poise, I’m getting strong gremlin vibes from Onpu, and am eager to see how she continues to torment our heroes. Let’s dive right into another episode of Ojamajo Doremi!

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Settle in folks, it is absolutely past time for another dash of Doremi. I’m currently sitting near the end of a long and stressful workday, but my spirits have legitimately been kept high all day by knowing I’ve got a new Doremi episode waiting at the end. This show’s world is so inviting, cast so charming, and stories so suffused with empathy that it’s hard not to smile while watching. Doremi is a genuinely thoughtful and often dramatically creative children’s show, but it’s also just the most inviting comfort food of all time, and I’m always happy to return.

The show wasn’t really in comfort food mode last week, though – in fact, Aiko’s failed reunion with her mother was another of Doremi’s signature tearjerkers, and its nuanced, dramatically somber finale felt like one of the most painfully real moments of the show so far. After having her trust betrayed by her father and finding herself incapable of greeting her mother, Aiko ended up simply reflecting on her childhood memories, her friends by her side. Life can be frustrating like that; we’re often burdened with feelings that demand some sort of cathartic, coherent resolution, but the real world rarely offers neat conclusions for our personal stories. We’re often forced to find solace much in the way Aiko did; by accepting that the past is the past, our stories are still being written, and we can always rely on the support of our friends.

Anyway! Last episode was a truly great one, but given we just passed a big dramatic highlight, I’m guessing we’re in for some also-welcome farcical nonsense this time. Let’s get right to it!

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