Ojamajo Doremi
Ojamajo Doremi, alternatively titled Magical Doremi in English, is a Japanese fantasy magical girl anime television series produced by Toei Animation. It focuses on a group of elementary school girls, led by Doremi Harukaze, who become witch apprentices. The series aired in Japan on ABC, TV Asahi, and other ANN affiliates between February 1999 and January 2003, spanning four seasons and 201 episodes, and was followed by an original video animation series released between June and December 2004. An English-language version of the first season, produced by 4Kids Entertainment, aired in North America in 2005.
Ojamajo Doremi has inspired two companion films, manga adaptations, video games, and a light novel sequel series. A 20th anniversary film titled Looking for Magical Doremi was released on November 13, 2020.
Plot
''Ojamajo Doremi''
Doremi Harukaze, a third-grade elementary schoolgirl living in the fictional Japanese town of Misora, comes across a magic shop known as the Maho-dou and accidentally discovers that its owner, Majo Rika, is a witch. Due to a curse placed on any witch whose identity is exposed by a human, Majo Rika is transformed into a witch frog. Wanting to return to her original form, Majo Rika makes Doremi her witch apprentice, giving her the ability to cast magic. Determined to become a fully-fledged witch capable of turning Majo Rika back into a human, Doremi has to pass nine different witch tests while also keeping her identity a secret from other humans. Doremi is soon joined by her two best friends, Hazuki Fujiwara and Aiko Senoo, and later by her younger sister, Pop Harukaze, who all become witch apprentices.Midway through the series, Doremi and the others come across a rival witch apprentice, Onpu Segawa, who has been using forbidden magic to influence people's memories. After passing the final witch test, their identities are revealed to their families and friends. Onpu wipes the memories of those that attempt to expose them to prevent their identities from being revealed. She uses forbidden magic too many times, losing control of it. In order to save Onpu from an eternal sleep, the girls give up their magical powers to awaken her.
''Ojamajo Doremi Sharp''
Entering fourth grade, Doremi and the others sneak into the Witch World to visit Majo Rika. They witness the birth of a magical baby who is named Hana and will be the candidate for the next queen. As witch law dictates that whoever witnesses a magical baby's birth must take care of it for a year, Doremi and the others are once again made witch apprentices, tasked with raising Hana. While also taking care of the Maho-Do, which has now become a gardening store, the girls must ensure Hana's growth and help her pass several health examinations held by the Witch World's head nurse, Majo Heart.Meanwhile, a wizard named Oyajide attempts to kidnap Hana to help aid the Wizard World, later enlisting the help of four young wizards known as the Flat4, who tried to get close to Doremi and the others to kidnap Hana but liked them later. The witch apprentices help mend relations between the Witch World and Wizard World. However, Hana's powerful magic catches the attention of the former Witch Queen's predecessor, who slept in the cursed forest for a long time. She curses Hana to make her ill, and only the Love Supreme Flower that grows in the cursed forest can heal her. In the end, Doremi and the others succeed in picking the flower but are cursed to fall into an eternal slumber.
''Mōtto! Ojamajo Doremi''
The Queen of the Witch World makes Doremi and the others into witch apprentices again and tasks them to pass six pâtissier exams to become fully-fledged witches. With the Maho-do remodeled into a bakery, the witches are joined by Momoko Asuka, a returnee from the United States who initially lost experience with the Japanese culture.Midway through the series, Hana is afflicted by a curse from the past queen again, causing her to have a dislike for vegetables which are necessary for her magical growth, prompting Doremi and the girls to get another chance to take care of Hana and help her get over her pickiness. After curing Hana's pickiness and passing the patissière exams, the girls appeal to the past queen, Majo Tourbillon, who had detested humans ever since she lost her human husband and grandchildren. They make her favorite dessert in her memory, the cake her husband made when he proposed to her. She reverts the curse placed upon the Love Supreme Forest, where her true form is found sleeping, protected by magical vines.
The OVA series, Ojamajo Doremi Na-i-sho!, takes place during this time frame.
''Ojamajo Doremi Dokkān!''
Hana, who wants to be human, uses all of her magic to physically age into a sixth grader. This results in the Maho-Do being transformed into a crafts shop and Hana's magical crystals shattering, requiring Doremi and the others to supply her with the energy needed to become a witch's apprentice. Meanwhile, the Queen discovers Majo Tourbillon's power will eventually cause both worlds to be put to sleep. As such, the Queen tasks the girls, who are assisted by Majo Tourbillon's fairy, Baba, to recreate various handmade gifts that Majo Tourbillon's six grandchildren had made and received from her in order to remind her of the happy times and break the vines imprisoning her. These vines soon start sprouting black flowers that cause people and magical beings alike to be affected with laziness, with the girls enlisting the help of Hana and a white elephant named Pao to put a stop to it.After resolving Majo Tourbillon's misunderstanding with her grandchildren, she lifts the witch frog curse. She reminds Doremi and the others that if they become full witches, they will live longer than ordinary humans. The Ojamajos decide not to become witches and learn that they can do anything even without using magic, and they combine their respective crystal fragments into a new crystal ball for Hana. The series ends with their elementary school graduation and Majo Rika, having been reverted to a witch, returning Hana to the Witch World. Although they each go their separate ways, their friendship remains the same, and they continue to move towards their dreams.
Characters
Ojamajos (Witch Apprentices)
;;
;
;
;
;
;
Media
Anime
Ojamajo Doremi is produced by Toei Animation and ABC. In Japan, the show aired on each of the ANN TV stations, TV Asahi, Nagoya TV and Broadcasting System of San-in Inc. The show replaced the time slot for Yume no Crayon Oukoku after its end and lasted from February 7, 1999, to January 30, 2000, with a new episode airing every week. The series soon followed with direct sequels, Ojamajo Doremi #, Mōtto! Ojamajo Doremi, and Ojamajo Doremi Dokkān! until January 26, 2003. Each series lasted from 49 to 51 episodes. On June 26 to December 11, 2004, a thirteen-episode original video animation series, Ojamajo Doremi Na-i-sho was produced which takes place during the third season.A 26-episode short ONA series, titled Ojamajo Doremi: Comedy Theater, began streaming on Toei Animation's YouTube channel from March 23, 2019. In this series Doremi and her friends as high school students. A five-episode spin-off adaptation of the picture book Ojamajo Doremi Story Picture Book: The Best Present, called Ojamajo Doremi: Heartwarming Theater was exclusively produced as a reward for the Ojamajo Doremi 20th Anniversary Thanks Festival crowdfunding campaign in 2020.
Toei Animation commissioned an English dub of the pilot episode from Ocean Productions to shop for potential licensors. 4Kids Entertainment licensed the first season in North America under the title Magical DoReMi, which aired on 4Kids TV for the 2005–2006 broadcasting season. Magical DoReMi was heavily edited and localized for US audiences and episode 30 is skipped in the English dub.
Manga
From 2000 to early 2003, the monthly manga magazine Nakayoshi ran a manga adaptation of Ojamajo Doremi illustrated by Shizue Takanashi. The manga saw several changes from the original story, such as the introduction of Bow, a new character original to the manga. The chapters were compiled into tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. Four volumes were released in total — the first three were under the title Ojamajo Doremi, covering the events of the original series and Ojamajo Doremi #. The last volume was adapted from the Mōtto! Ojamajo Doremi story arc and was titled eponymously to it.Films
''Ojamajo Doremi #: The Movie''
Ojamajo Doremi #: The Movie was the first theatrical release for the series and was directed by Takuya Igarashi. Roughly twenty-seven minutes long, it was released on July 8, 2000, for the 2000 Summer Toei Anime Fair. The Digimon movie was split into two parts and Ojamajo Doremi #: The Movie was screened in between.In the movie, Pop has just passed one of her witch exams, but gets into a heated argument with Doremi because Hana followed her into the Witch World. Initially unbeknownst to everyone, the flower Pop brought home from the Witch World is really the Witch Queen Heart, the Queen's favorite flower, which grants any wish it hears regardless of any possible dangers until it begins to bear seeds. One of the wishes it had granted involves turning Doremi into a mouse, unknowingly made by Pop over her anger towards Doremi. While Pop goes to search for her sister, the other girls track down the runaway flower before it starts to reproduce.
''The Secret of the Frog Stone''
Mōtto! Ojamajo Doremi: The Secret of the Frog Stone was the series' second theatrical release. It was directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and hit theaters on July 14, 2001, screened between Digimon Tamers: Battle of Adventurers and Kinnikuman: Second Generations.During Doremi and her friends' summer vacation, they visit her grandparents in the fictional mountains of Fukuyama, where they hear of a mysterious legend of Mayuri and Zenjuro, two star-crossed lovers that died in the Edo period. During the next morning, when they investigate the forest, the girls get lost and face the Curse of the Full Moon, which makes them unable to use magic. Meanwhile, due to a traumatizing memory, Aiko develops a fear of Doremi's grandfather.