Ojamajo Doremi: Difference between revisions

''Ojamajo Doremi'' (Ojamajo being a [[Portmanteau]] of "ojama", meaning a hindrance and "majo", meaning witch) tells the story of Doremi Harukaze, the self-proclaimed "[[Butt Monkey|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.

 

 

In the second series (''Ojamajo Doremi # (Sharp)''), [[Late Arrival Spoiler|Onpu has reformed]] and Doremi gains a magical "daughter" called Hana that [[Has Two Mommies|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 [[Plot-Relevant Age-Up|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.

 

 

 

This series has a [[Ojamajo Doremi/Characters|character sheet.]]

 

{{tropelist}}

 

* [[Anime First]]

* [[Annoying Younger Sibling]]: Pop at first.

* [[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.

* {{spoiler|[[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.

** {{spoiler|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.

* [[Book Ends]]

* [[Brutal Honesty]]: Aiko and Momoko both had this flaw when they transferred. To a degree, also Onpu.

* [[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. {{spoiler|Subverted when we learn that she does so because of [[Heroic Self-Deprecation|self-esteem problems:]] Kaori views herself as ugly, thus she captures the world in her camera to hide her feelings of inadequacy.}}

* [[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.

* [[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.

* [[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''.

* [[Gray and Grey Morality]]: All of the characters are portrayed in a realistic manner and the villains all have credible [[Freudian Excuse|excuses]] to be doing what they're doing.

** To drive the point home, Doremi can be [[This Loser Is You|relatively selfish, greedy, and self-centered]]. On the other hand, she has shown a great many number of moments when she was compassionate and pure hearted and generally wanting to do the right thing no matter what.

* [[Hair Antennae]]: The FLAT 4 use this to cast magic. Also function as [[Idiot Hair]] most of time.

* [[He Didn't Make It]]: {{spoiler|Or rather, ''she'': [[Tear Jerker|poor Non-chan succumbs to her cancer]] at the end of ''Naisho'' episode 12.}}

* [[Ill Girl]]: Shiori Nakayama, Kayoko Nagato and [[Littlest Cancer Patient]] Nozomi.

* [[Image Song]]: The songs used could double as a [[Crowning Music of Awesome]].

* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: These were what the SOS Trio used as jokes, to everyone's dismay. Oddly, only Hazuki found them funny.

* [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Mecha]]: One episode of ''Motto'' involved Doremi turning into a [[Humongous Mecha]] in one of Nobuko's and Miho's mangas.

{{quote|'''Doremi''': To tell you the truth, I've always wanted to become a witch... [[Crowning Moment of Funny|"Please make me a witch? Please, please, pleaaaaase?!"]]}}

* [[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.

* [[Littlest Cancer Patient]]: Nozomi aka Non-chan. {{spoiler|And uncommonly for the trope, she actually ''does'' die.}}

* [[Loads and Loads of Characters]]: And how!

* [[Love Triangle]]: Somehow happened with both Doremi and Hazuki.

* [[Luke, You Are My Father]]: Faami, from the final episode of ''Naisho'', is {{spoiler|Doremi's granddaughter}}.

* [[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.

** 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 {{spoiler|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]]

* [[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.

* [[The Psycho Rangers]]: The Flat 4 in ''Sharp'': four apprentice wizards that oppose the girls.

* {{spoiler|[[King Incognito|Queen Incognito]]: The Queen of the Witches had been watching over the girls the entire time as Yuki-sensei}}.

* [[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!''.

* [[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.

* [[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'.

* [[Think Happy Thoughts]]: The way to destroy the six brambles of sadness and wake up Majotourbillon.

* [[This Loser Is You]]: Main character Doremi is [[Inept Mage|the most incompetent of the apprentices]].

** 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!")

[[Category:Anime of the 1990s]]

[[Category:Anime]]

[[Category:Ojamajo Doremi]]