Ojamajo Doremi

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
(Redirected from Magical Doremi)
The Ojamajo (left to right): Momoko, Aiko, Doremi, Hana, Hazuki and Onpu.

"If you had magic, what would you do?"

Toei Animation's Cute Witch Cash Cow Franchise from 1999 to 2003, spanning four year-long television series and one OAV.

Ojamajo Doremi (Ojamajo being a Portmanteau of "ojama", meaning a hindrance and "majo", meaning witch) tells the story of Doremi Harukaze, the self-proclaimed "unluckiest pretty girl in the whole world", who dreams of becoming a witch just like in the stories she reads. One day she stumbles across a mysterious shop run by an old woman who fits the profile of a witch to a tee. Doremi calls her out on it, and suddenly the woman transforms into an ugly little frog thing: turns out she really was a witch, and this is what happens when a human correctly identifies one.

The ex-witch, Majorika, takes her on as an apprentice witch so that Doremi can eventually gain enough magical power to change her back. The thing is, Doremi is horrible when it comes to learning the trade, which leads to Majorika branding her an ojamajo. Not soon afterwards, Doremi's two friends Hazuki Fujiwara and Aiko Senoo get in on the act, and in the latter half of the series, Onpu Segawa- another apprentice witch who uses magic for selfish reasons- turns up as an antagonist of sorts.

In the second series (Ojamajo Doremi # (Sharp)), Onpu has reformed and Doremi gains a magical "daughter" called Hana that she has to raise for one year. The third series (Mo~tto! Ojamajo Doremi) introduces American witch apprentice Momoko Asuka to help the group pass a test to become formal witches. This test involves turning their shop into a bakery for the season. The fourth and final television series (Ojamajo Doremi Dokka~n!) has Hana force-grow herself to the same age as Doremi so she can attend school with her "mommy". An OAV followed (Ojamajo Doremi Na-i-sho) that was set during Mo~tto and focused on various secrets held by the main characters.

The franchise was your standard Magical Girl affair, though there was very little evil-fighting. The series was instead driven by the characters and their development not only as Cute Witches but as people (much like most other anime series directed by Junichi Sato). Admittedly, it suffers from a lot of Filler, and depending on how cynical you are, you could consider every series after the first to be Post Script Seasons. But it was a massively popular series in Japan and has its fair share of high points.

The series has been dubbed into several languages and released in multiple countries under the name Magical DoReMi. In America it was licensed by 4Kids, becoming the first version not to call the main character "Doremi" (instead they called her Dorie, turning Hazuki and Aiko into Reanne and Mirabelle respectively to retain the pun in the title). While the first twenty-six episodes were aired on television, the last twenty-five were only available online. Now set to get a light novel sequel set in high school penned by staff writer Midori Kuriyama and illustrated by original character designer Yoshihiko Umakoshi.

This series has a character sheet.

Tropes used in Ojamajo Doremi include:

Momoko: I really don't like people like Tamaki-san, but you see her type no matter which country's school you are in.

    • Lovable Alpha Bitch: Spoiled Brat as she is, Tamaki isn't completely evil either. Her focus episode in the first season has her going through an Heroic BSOD when she doubts that her Bumbling Dad truly loves her and bonding with Ill Girl Shiori.
    • She gains even more sympathetic development during Motto, where her self-centered and bratty behavior is revealed to be caused by her loneliness and insecurity. Momoko sees through this and becomes close friends with her, and also helps others to see Reika's true self.
  • Alternative Foreign Theme Song
  • Anime First
  • Annoying Younger Sibling: Pop at first.
  • The Apprentice: Doremi and the other girls
  • Art Evolution: The girls change outfits and get taller in the second half of the series, but the overall designs get better in the second half of Sharp.
  • Balloon Belly: Lala in Ojamajo Doremi Sharp ep. 16; Hazuki and Aiko in Ojamajo Doremi Dokkan! ep. 12.
  • Bare Your Midriff: Isn't Momoko's outfit pretty risque for 5th-6th grade girls!?
  • Becoming the Mask: Akatsuki in Sharp started off by getting close to Doremi for the sole purpose of using her to get to Hana. Eventually, he developed genuine feelings towards her and ultimately made his Heel Face Turn.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: Happens a lot between Doremi and Kotake, as they're often at odds with each other. However, they occasionally do have an Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other moment.
  • Big Bad: Majotourbillion, the previous Witch Queen
  • Big Damn Heroes: In episode 14 of Dokkaan, Doremi saves Hana from certain death at the tentacles of a plant monster.
  • Biker Babe: Their teacher, Seki-sensei.
  • Bittersweet Ending: The first two seasons. Especially the first. (Right after they've become full-fledged witches, Onpu falls into a Convenient Coma as bad Karma hits her for repeatedly using her powers for mind control (even when, that particular time, she had actually used them to save herself and the others), so Doremi and the other girls have to practically give up everything to save her).
    • And in the penultimate episode; the girls must chose between becoming witches and saying goodbye to their family, or stay human but leaving Hana and the Witch World until she become the great Queen.
  • Black Best Friend: One of Momoko's American friends, Beth.
  • Blond Guys Are Evil: Leon in Sharp.
  • Book Ends
  • Brutal Honesty: Aiko and Momoko both had this flaw when they transferred. To a degree, also Onpu.
  • Bumbling Dad: Practically all the fathers, to some degree. Special mention goes to Reika's father and Kenji (Aiko's dad).
  • But Now I Must Go: At the end of the final series, the girls must choose between becoming full-fledged, immortal witches and live in the Witch World or remaining as humans and staying in their own world. Only Hana leaves for the Witch World while the rest of the girls decide that they will stay in the human world.
  • Call Back: Dokkan contains numerous references to events and characters that haven't been mentioned since the first two seasons. Done to even greater extent in the light novel, which is pure Continuity Porn.
  • Calling Your Attacks: Lampshaded: One of the reasons for the Royal Patraine upgrade was that Oyajide could counter their spells before they could finish.
  • Camera Fiend: Kaori Shimakura. Subverted when we learn that she does so because of self-esteem problems: Kaori views herself as ugly, thus she captures the world in her camera to hide her feelings of inadequacy.
  • Can't Catch Up: Doremi's little sister Pop, who (being five years old) progresses at a much slower rate than the rest of the girls: it takes her four seasons to achieve what the other six manage in one season, and even then doesn't get her crystal until the final Magical Stage. Mind you, this is not because she's not as good as Doremi; she's far more adept. It's just that you can only go to the Witch World at night—and she can't stay awake that long, no matter how hard she tries.
  • Catch Phrase: Doremi's "I'm the unluckiest pretty girl in the whole world!"
  • Character Development: A lot of it for main characters and classmates alike.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: Doremi becoming a witch was planned by the Queen the entire time, who had been watching out for her since the girl was five years old!
  • Christmas Cake: Seki-sensei
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Majoruka's fairy Hehe is only seen in the original Ojamajo Doremi series and does not make an appearance in subsequent sequels, nor does Majoruka make a comment as to where she is. This is because Hehe's voice actress, Hiroko Konishi, decided to step away from voice acting in 2000.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: Miho Maruyama gives off this vibe in Motto! episode 8.
  • Daddy's Girl: Played with rather interestingly in the first season: the reason behind Reika Tamaki's Rich Bitch behavior is that her dad spoils her rotten... and dad's reason to do it is that he feels guilty for letting Reika get seriously injured due to his carelessness.
  • Dancing Theme: "Ojamajo Ondo de Happipi!"
  • Face Heel Turn: Oyajide in Sharp.
  • Fake Band: The Maho Dou, who sing the opening theme songs. Later on, the main girls form an in-show band to record a song together.
  • Fandom Gank: It's ending left fans wondering, "Why was the tone change?" The anime/manga begins as cutesy and even not life-threatening, but then...BAM! A fandom gank.
  • Fan Nickname: Season one is sometimes called Ojamajo Doremi Carnival to distinguish it from the rest of the series. This nickname may have been born out of confusion, since the name of the season's opening theme is "Ojamajo Carnival."
    • Another fan nickname for the first season is Ojamajo Doremi Mujirushi. The Japanese word mujirushi literally means unlabeled.
    • Amongst the show's fansub community, the first season is usually referred to simply as S1 (short for Season 1 if you couldn't guess.) Sharp is also frequently referred to as #, since that's how it's spelled in the title. Oddly enough, Motto and Dokkan don't get any nicknames (Unless you count Motto and Dokkan as being short for Motto! and Dokkan!).
      • One of the fansubbers here: M and D make for very poor and vague nicknames. S1 and # are much more obvious and stand out as to what they represent.
    • In the Festival Episode of Dokkan, Hana-chan meets an unnamed boy whom a good portion of the fandom calls Kyo.
      • That's because his name was given as "Kyosuke" in the sketches of of the Memorial Book. So technically it's kind of canon.
  • Five-Man Band: The Ojamajo are usually banded in five, since Hana is special and doesn't need to participate in Magical Stage. Pop was more or less considered part of the five in the first series and Sharp since she kind of was in-and-out, but by Motto! was replaced by Momoko.
  • Flying Broomstick
  • Frilly Upgrade: Avoids this by giving the cast an entirely new wardrobe in each season. In Motto, their uniforms were even reversible!
  • Genki Girl: Doremi, Momoko and 11-year-old Hana-chan.
  • Genre Savvy: Aiko, primarily in the first part of the first series.
  • Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Doremi's mother has such a moment when Doremi blames herself for getting Hana sick.
  • Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Every time a witch is found out...
  • Gratuitous English: Alexander T. Oyajide. Leon's occasion of habitually throwing English in his speech was hilariously Lampshaded by Aiko:

Aiko: "Me, me, me, me!" Would you quit it with your half-hearted English?!

Doremi: To tell you the truth, I've always wanted to become a witch... "Please make me a witch? Please, please, pleaaaaase?!"

  • Kansai Regional Accent: Aiko, born and raised in Osaka.
  • Late Arrival Spoiler: Hana becoming a witch apprentice is technically a surprise spoiler to newcomers who haven't seen the show, yet Dokka~n! makes this unavoidable due to its First Episode Spoiler. Toei doesn't help this either in since they throw her image around Dokka~n! promotions and merchandise like free candy.
  • Light Novels: It has been recently announced that Ojamajo Doremi will have a lightnovel continuation titled Ojamajo Doremi 16 chronicling the ojamajo's reunion in 10th grade although based on translations of press releases onpu is not as of yet around at the reunion of the ojamajo. An official release of the news concerning the light novel can be found here
  • Littlest Cancer Patient: Nozomi aka Non-chan. And uncommonly for the trope, she actually does die.
  • Loads and Loads of Characters: And how!
  • Lonely Rich Kid: Hazuki, Tamaki to some degree
  • Love Confession: Doremi wants to give one to Igarashi-sempai, but at the end of the series someone confesses to her!

Kotake: Well, yeah it's true you're a total klutz, but I...I...well to say it, everyone here loves you!

    • Kimitaka also confesses to Pop before he moves away.
  • Love Triangle: Somehow happened with both Doremi and Hazuki.
  • Luke, You Are My Father: Faami, from the final episode of Naisho, is Doremi's granddaughter.
  • Magic A Is Magic A: Magic can pretty much do anything without consequence as long as you're powerful enough, except for a small number of forbidden acts which are defined very early on: revival from the dead, healing, and Mind Control.
  • Magical Incantation: Each girl has their own specific magic spell for common magic as well as a variant for casting Magical Stage. The 4Kids dub ended up creating unnecessary work for themselves by ditching the standard "Incantation+What I Want+Appear" formula by having the girls create rhymes on the spot.
  • Magic Wand: An odd variant: all the Pollons used in the series are actually musical instruments from the Witch World, but not used via Magic Music.
  • Mama Bear: All the girls in Sharp, especially Doremi in the last few episodes.
  • Maternally Challenged: Are little girls really ready to take care of a newborn?
    • Played straight with a vengeance in Motto! Ojamajo Doremi episode 32. Momoko works her hardest to become a "Mama" for Hana-chan (she wanted Hana to treat her the same as she did the more experienced Ojamajos), but not only does she repeatedly have trouble, she accidentally puts Hana's life in danger by letting her eat too much pudding and giving her a stomachache. Aiko, on behalf of all the Ojamajos, threatens to never let Momoko near Hana again, sending Momoko into a Heroic BSOD. It took a pep talk from Onpu to get Momoko's motivation back.
  • Merchandise-Driven
  • Meaningful Name: Hana in Japanese means flower (justified because it was Doremi who named her), and Tourbillon in French means spiral.
  • Mid-Season Upgrade: Royal Patraine
  • Mind Screw: Onpu has a Mind Screw Character Development episode in Na-i-sho when she recounts what it really means to be herself in spite of her Idol Singer career, where she has to take on roles and display a public image that is not exactly who she really is.
  • Mundane Utility: Use your awesome magical powers to... bake. Subverted when they decide to take care of Hana without magic.
  • Named After Someone You Love: George, Majotourbillon's husband, made a cake name after her named "Tourbillon My Love".
  • Name's the Same: Remember Nozomi, the Littlest Cancer Patient from Na-i-sho? Well, later on, a certain other Magical Girl Cash Cow Franchise by Toei eventually named one of its leads Nozomi. Said lead, to boot, also shares a lot of traits with Doremi (most notably the pink-colored outfits and the clumsiness).
    • That's a typical Magical Girl formula, though, and "Nozomi" isn't an unusual name in Japan...
  • New Transfer Student: Aiko, Onpu, and Momoko. (And Hana-chan, technically.)
  • No Export for You: Only the first series made it to the US, and it doesn't seem like the other series, films, and other parts of the franchise will make it (and on the off-chance they do, it's an almost certain fact that 4Kids won't be handling them since Toei cut off all ties with them due to One Piece).
  • Noblewoman's Laugh: Reika Tamaki, naturally.
  • Nobody Poops: Averted at least twice, with Pop (a Potty Failure) and Pao-chan (poops out the jewels he makes -- sound familiar?).
    • Hana-chan, as a baby, averts this, too.
  • Non-Serial Movie: Completely averted in the Sharp movie (which takes place right before episode 40), but the Motto movie's very vague (though it ties in with the series).
  • Odango: Doremi, and HUGE ones at rate.
  • Off-Model: Ojamajo Doremi suffers notoriously from this, especially during Motto! and Dokkan! If the episode doesn't consist of a magical power-up, or isn't extremely emotional, you can count on some very awful animation.
    • Hazuki gets this pretty bad, as she is gradually Demoted to Extra. Even in the first season, however, there are two notable instances. One where she walks into a room and has no legs, and another where her and a side character switch eye colors.
    • And, especially later in the show, hands get increasingly more frequently drawn as just stumps or balls. Although one could argue that this is just stylization, the fact that gets more common, along with increasing off-model-ness, shows otherwise. Again, Hazuki gets the worst of it (along with her glasses almost permanentally falling into Opaque Lenses territory), especially since she is usually the farthest in the background.
    • To be fair, there are at times where they do it on purpose for comedy.
  • Official Couple: Sometime after Ojamajo Doremi Dokka~n!, Hazuki and Yada get together, as they're mentioned to have been dating for quite a while in the Light Novel. Also, Doremi and Kotake get together after having a significant amount of Unresolved Sexual Tension between them.
  • Opaque Lenses: Hazuki, when she gets scared
  • The Ojou: Reika, Hazuki to some degree
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: Nice job concealing your true self, Majorika... Not to even mention Oyajide!
  • Parental Abandonment - Parents as People: Hazuki (parents are caring but always busy), Reika (likewise, but combined with Bumbling Dad factor), Shiori (mom is dead, is a bit distanced from her Overprotective Dad), etc.
  • Picky Eater: Hana during Motto! Though later in the season, Hana isn't as responsible for this as she is earlier in the season: the former Witch Queen's predecessor casts a curse on Hana that makes her hate vegetables, resetting a problem that the Ojamajos had previously solved using carrot cake.
  • Pet the Dog: Reika is a selfish and shrill Ojou, but an episode in the first season showed her feeling genuinely insecure about her dad's love and taking the local Ill Girl Shiori under her wing.
  • Power Crystal: Used to fuel the girls' magic in the first season.
  • Precision F-Strike: The fansubs for Naisho have some swear words...most notably the childhood marriage episode.
  • Prince and Pauper: In the second episode, Doremi uses magic to swap bodies with Hazuki.
  • The Power of Friendship
  • Power Trio: Used to be this with Doremi, Hazuki, and Aiko in the first season, with Pop as the Tagalong Kid (even though she still kind of is...) and when Onpu was not officially part of the group. Lampshaded by Onpu occasionally in talk segments of CDs and in Ojamajo Doremi #, where she feels left out because they have been friends longer with each other than with her.
  • The Psycho Rangers: The Flat 4 in Sharp: four apprentice wizards that oppose the girls.
  • Queen Incognito: The Queen of the Witches had been watching over the girls the entire time as Yuki-sensei.
  • Role Called
  • Running Gag: Doremi's bad luck, Seki-san throwing her chalk, Doremi's parents always fighting (he's a Bumbling Dad, she's a Tsundere), Hazuki's "Majorika Majorika"-ing when she's scared... to name a few.
  • Scary Shiny Glasses: Hazuki Fujiwara's glasses did this at some point in the second episode of Ojamajo Doremi DOKKAAN!.
    • That actually seems to happen often in the last two seasons.
  • Sentai: The Battle Rangers
  • Shaggy Dog Story: Count how many times they decide to give up their powers after working so hard to attain them. And then regain them again anyway.
  • Ship Sinking: Aiko makes it ambiguous as to whether she likes Anrima or not, but they begin dating after Ojamajo Doremi Dokka~n! However, Aiko mentions in Ojamajo Doremi 16, they've broken up.
  • Shown Their Work: In episode 40 of Dokka~n, the back of a postcard from Italy is briefly seen. It is filled with hand-written text, perfectly readable and in correct Italian. Whoever they consulted for this scene must have given a hand on Ashita no Nadja (the next series by the same staff), since a couple of letters in perfect Italian are seen there too.
  • Slipknot Ponytail: Doremi's odangos are surprisingly durable for their size... except when her crystal shatters in the end of Sharp.
  • Stock Footage: All transformations, spells, and a few other scenes for good measure.
  • Surprisingly Good English: True, Momoko's inflection is a bit odd, as is some of the phrasing of the English (calling her earring a "pierce"), but it is undeniably much better than most anime characters'.
  • Talking to Himself: Nami Miyahara voices both Momoko and Masaru, and there is an episode where they interact.
  • The Faceless: The Queen of Witches, at least until episode 50 of Dokkan
  • The High Queen
  • Third Person Person: Hana.
  • Think Happy Thoughts: The way to destroy the six brambles of sadness and wake up Majotourbillon.
  • This Loser Is You: Main character Doremi is the most incompetent of the apprentices.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Doremi loves her steak. Pity she never gets any. Meanwhile, Aiko likes takoyaki, Hazuki likes chiffon cake, Onpu likes crepés, Momoko likes strawberry tarts, and Hana gets a Sweet Tooth for pudding to match Pop.
    • The dub changed takoyaki to "chocolate doodles," a type of cookie.
  • Transformation Name Announcement: "Pree-ty Wit-chi (character name)-chi!" (In the dub, "Fa la de la dong ding, now I am a witchling!")
  • Transformation Sequence: With a twist: The girls must complete their transformation before the music coming from their Tap ends.
  • Transformation Trinket: Doremi Tap (1st season), Rhythm Tap (Sharp), Parara Tap (Mo~tto!), Cologne Tap (DOKKAAN!), Puarin Compact (DOKKAAN!)
  • Translator Microbes: Momoko's magic gives her a greater grasp of Japanese than normal; later, she uses the headset on her baker's outfit to translate her speech perfectly. Eventually, she learns enough that she doesn't need it any more.
  • Unlucky Childhood Friend: Doremi never gets a stable boyfriend. But at least got married. To whom we may never know.

Fami: "The fact that I'm here is proof!"

  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Applied to Masaru Yada regarding his delinquent tendencies.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: The girls use their magic to transform into cute little animals a lot. Their fairies also transform into their respective owners when they need to go somewhere without arousing suspicion... but they retain their Pokémon-Speak vocabulary.
  • Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Hey! Aren't those girls flying around on broomsticks? Seems pretty boring to me!
  • Wham! Episode: Episode 22 of Sharp. Up until then, it was just the girls trying to raise Hana. After this episode, they have to protect her from being captured and generally forces them to be on higher alert.
  • Where Are They Now? Epilogue
  • Who Wants to Live Forever?: In Dokkan 40, Doremi befriends the witch Mirai Sakura living in the human world, who is forced to constantly move around and part from the people she loves due to her long lifespan. Made even worse by leaving it ambiguous whether she does it to be not found out as a witch, or because she can't bear the pain of having to see them grow old and die before her.
    • A major part of the former Witch Queen Majotourbillion's backstory.
  • Why Did It Have To Be Ghosts?: Hazuki is deathly afraid of ghosts to the point that in a drama CD, she practically goes insane at Yamauchi's ghost story.
    • Momoko later picks up this fear as well.
      • To top it off, both of them have an exorcist spell thought up by the girls: "Majorika! Majorika! Majorika! Majorika!" It seldom works.
      • It's not really an exorcist spell; they say it because thinking of Majo Rika is supposedly a be a funny distraction for them. Like going to a 'happy place' (even though no place with Majo Rika would be happy...) But when others ask about it they do say it's an exorcist spell.
  • Wise Beyond Their Years: Pop Harukaze
  • Wizarding School: The girls have to learn how to use magic and pass a series of tests to be granted additional powers.
  • Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: The previous Witch Queen, who is villain for the second half of the series, is a tamer version of this trope (as she only tries to prevent interaction between humans and witches).
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