Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m thinking it’s right about time to check in with our ojamajos, and see how the hair-raising project of raising a witch baby is progressing. Our last episode was actually a great victory for the team, as they rallied from the disgrace of their last monthly check-in with a standout performance at the witch baby olympics, steering Hana and her companions through an obstacle course that involved labyrinths, treacherous ball pits, and even a raging river.
It was a terrible display of parental responsibility for the witch authorities, but a triumph for our girls, who earned a double stamp for successfully keeping everyone’s babies alive. And with that high-octane drama concluded, I imagine we’re now in for a more subdued episode, as we perhaps return to the poignant personal concerns of Doremi’s classmates. Regardless, this show is always a rewarding fusion of pathos, whimsy, and visual beauty, so I’m sure we’re in for something special. Let’s get to it!
Episode 18
Our cold open reveals a raging argument between Doremi and Dodo, with Dodo hefting up a comically oversized bindle and declaring her intention to leave forever. It is extremely hard to take outbursts from these two seriously
This OP is always such a strong declaration of visual intent; the sharp-angled Umakoshi expressions, the profound fluidity and momentum of that penultimate panning cut. There are plenty of excellent aesthetic approaches to animation, but Doremi undeniably embodies one of the art form’s finest visual philosophies
Our first moments once again celebrate the joy of watching a new sibling grow older, as well as the importance of being attuned to the non-verbal ways they might express their needs. This season is determined to turn its audience into perfect older siblings!
Doremi fails to properly affix the milk bottle’s cap, and thus accidentally pours it all over Hana-chan. Nice detail that we could actually see the cap was unevenly screwed on
“She hates me now!” A difficult but important lesson here, in that you can’t really apologize or “make up” for inciting the unhappiness of a very small child. Attempting to hurry through the process of reconciliation will often only upset the child further; sometimes you just have to remove yourself from the situation, accept you made a mistake, and understand that babies cry loudly but aren’t great at holding grudges
“Dodo Runs Away From Home!!” Jeez, this is just not Doremi’s day
It’s apparently a busy day at the Maho-dou, with dozens of customers lining up for flowers. So glad they switched to selling flowers from like, macaroni paintings and play-do statues
Nice demonstration of the diverse range of this show’s character designs, as we see a small army of boys in various shapes and sizes all listening to Onpu talk about roses
“And please come to my next concert.” Get that cross-promoting bag, Onpu
Excellent progression of ridiculous faces as Hana roughs up Doremi
“We already decided not to use magic when taking care of Hana-chan.” Magic occupies a unique space in this narrative, in that it’s basically abundant and limitlessly powerful when it comes to their nonsense adventures, but can never be used to provide a shortcut when it comes to the grounded human drama. A solid way to balance this franchise’s silliness and sturdy moral lessons
I suppose other magical girl franchises achieve that balance in their own ways – in shows like Pretty Cure and Sailor Moon, magic is basically just used for fighting, while human problems require human solutions
Remarkable how much expressive detail they can get out of the individual lines of Doremi’s face. This side-pout evokes a sense of depth purely through the overlay of her cheek line and goofy fish lips
Dodo volunteers to help, which unfortunately convinces Doremi that Dodo can handle all her unwanted chores
Dodo’s face is another exercise in visual design minimalism, capable of evoking all sorts of emotions with just three lines and a circle. Our ability to humanize even the most abstracted of face-like objects is a great gift to animation
“Clean the table and set it.” As ever, Pop is the only sibling who’s got her shit together
With Doremi’s bad mood offered ample fuel at home and at work, she continues to neglect the needs of those around her, stirring Dodo’s frustration all the further. Anger tends to demand an outlet, but we can’t let that outlet be the people we love!
Much of the appeal of this episode is just watching Dodo struggle to complete exceedingly un-fairy-size physical tasks. I’m sorry Dodo, but your suffering is indeed very funny
Doremi once again takes out her frustrations regarding her pathetic witch plant husbandry on Dodo, prompting her to at last run away from home. Love her constant Pokemon-patter of angrily saying her own name, and I have to hope the explanatory letter she leaves behind is also just “Dodo dodo dodo” over and over again
“If this seed dies, I can’t cast magic anymore!” But the degree of your frustration does not imply an equivalent right to take out that frustration on others. It sucks, Doremi! The world is full of things that will anger and disappoint us, and yet we must never allow that to serve as justification for mistreating others
The letter turns out to just be a bunch of scribbles that vaguely resemble musical notes. Well, the effort is appreciated, Dodo
Love that Onpu’s fairy is also the most low-affect, and largely indifferent to the silly drama of its peers
“There are times when people want to be left alone, right? So I let them go.” Very mature of you, Roro
Then Onpu herself jets, offering a carefree goodbye as she heads off to work. Love her utter indifference towards Doremi’s bad day
Oh my god, we’re getting rebellious hooligan Dodo, complete with a mini-pompador, extended seifuku, and Kamina shades. Would the kids who are watching this live actually recognize this aesthetic? I feel like it’s more of an ‘80s look, but am certainly delighted to see Dodo rocking such a classic style
Perhaps in deference to this consideration, we actually have another similarly styled character say they’ll “become a delinquent,” underlining the implication of Dodo’s new aesthetic
Feels a bit rude of Aiko to immediately suspect Dodo is hiding in a garbage can
Meanwhile, Doremi is still at the Maho-dou terrorizing Hana-chan. Truly a low point for our chief ojamajou
Hana’s tantrum serves as an awkward mirror of Doremi’s behavior; Hana can’t really control her emotions, but Doremi should at this point be able to temper her feelings for the sake of the people around her
Considering how much Dodo and the others have helped with Hana-chan, Doremi at last recognizes her own role in this situation
I like this beat of Doremi disobeying Majo Rika’s orders by using a magical seed to find Dodo. After an episode of her acting unusually callous, it seems perfectly appropriate for her to redeem herself by disobeying orders due to her full understanding of another’s feelings
Oh my god, these sad, feeble Dodo noises are heartbreaking
Ooh, love this rousing flute track they’re using for their reunion
“Well, it was a bit out of fashion.” Hey, sukeban fashion’s never out of style!
Also quite like Onpu’s quiet gestures of support throughout this episode; she’s not one for sappy emotional declarations, but she still cares about her friends as much as any of them
And Done
Thus Doremi’s magical sprout emerges at last, after a well-earned reconciliation with our poor bedraggled Dodo. This was certainly far from Doremi’s finest hour, but it’s frankly even more crucial to show our youthful missteps than our great victories, and her unjustly transposed feelings of rejection and resentment felt very true to life. Doremi’s strength is obviously not that she succeeds effortlessly the first time; it’s that she keeps trying, whether it comes to magic or babysitting or respecting the feelings of her loved ones. Her failures teach audiences that it is okay to fail, and her victories demonstrate that all of us are capable of rising to greatness.
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