Looking for Magical Doremi (魔女見習いをさがして, Majo Minarai o Sagashite) is a 2020 original theatrical anime film directed by Haruka Kamatani and Junichi Sato, written by Midori Kuriyama, and produced by studio Toei Animation. Staff credits also include music composer Keiichi Oku and cinematographer Tomokazu Shiratori. The film was first released in Japanese theaters in November 2020.
Background:
“A college student who wants to be an educator, despite losing self-confidence and worrying over her future: Sora Nagase – Nagoya. A company employee, repatriated from living abroad, having trouble fitting in at an organization related to work she wants to do: Mire Yoshizuki – Tokyo. A part-time worker saving up to go to college and follow her dream, all the while at the mercy of her good-for-nothing boyfriend: Reika Kawatani – Onomichi.
Age, personality, place of residence… Everything about these three is different. And each of them is totally bewildered by a life that’s not going the way they envisioned! The thing that brings these ladies together is Magical Doremi!?”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, May 2023.
The magical girl genre has had its share of well-known anime projects over the years, with the big ones being Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon during the 90s to early 00s followed by Puella Magi Madoka Magica in the 2010s. Toei Animation, who animated Sailor Moon, also worked on a few other magical girl titles that also had a following in many regions – Cutie Honey, Pretty Cure and a series called Magical Doremi, which is also known as Ojamajo Doremi.
Ojamajo Doremi first aired in Japan in 1999 and ran for two years across two shows, which then followed up with a few more shows throughout the mid-00s. Much like Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon and One Piece, the show was also released in North America edited for the English audience and in this case done by 4Kids in 2005 using the name Magical DoReMi.
As far as I’m aware, the Magical DoReMi series or any of the Ojamajo Doremi properties were not aired or released in the United Kingdom. Toei Europe in general has a track record of handling the UK market pretty poorly, and one notable example was their handling of the One Piece series as we only just got access to all of the episodes (minus the specials) for legal streaming just a few years ago compared to the US & Australia territories, who have had access for well over a decade.
Whilst Toei Europe is slowly improving on accessibility, the UK is still missing out on big properties including Fist of the North Star, Galaxy Express 999, Sailor Moon, Saint Seiya and many more. Which is why it’s a big deal to see a film like Looking for Magical Doremi make its way into the United Kingdom for theatrical and even home video, let alone being released before the United States or Australia.
Looking for Magical Doremi is a recent film by Toei Animation that celebrates the 20th anniversary of Ojamajo Doremi and fortunately you can jump right into the film without any prior knowledge of the original series and its instalments. The film made its UK debut during the We Love Anime film festival in 2021 where specific films including this one were released at select theaters, which also included one that was near me but I was unable to see them due to work constraints. Regardless, the films including Looking for Magical Doremi were licensed by Anime Limited which guaranteed a home video release.
Considering that Anime Limited also licensed a few other Toei Animation films (Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna and The First Slam Dunk), this could also be a good indication that there might be hope to see more of Toei’s properties in the future.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Anime Limited have a track record of providing niche and overlooked films with a collector’s edition package, and this includes Looking for Magical Doremi which also shares the same style that another niche film had received half a decade ago (The Case of Hana & Alice).
The package is presented as a rigid box with a slipcase housing a Scanavo case that includes the Blu-ray and DVD discs. Also included with the set is a 28-page booklet that features interviews, character profiles, a map and promotional artwork.
The artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray set is limited to 1000 units for SRP £39.99. A standard Blu-ray is planned to be released a few months after the release of this edition.
I pre-ordered my copy through Anime Limited’s store during their early bird sale at £24.99 but using their membership discount for £22.49.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with slipcase, digipack packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- 28-page booklet
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 22nd May 2023
The collector’s edition release for Looking for Magical Doremi contains the film on a single Blu-ray disc and DVD disc, with the encode and authoring produced by Com’on Screen.
Upon starting the disc you’ll be greeted by the option to choose between English and French. The audio options for selecting English include Japanese with English subtitles, English SDH subtitles and English subtitles with Audio Description. There’s also an English dub, which seems to have been produced somewhere in the Middle East (and probably the same group responsible for that Violet Evergarden Movie dub which was available on iTunes at one point). Selecting French will offer Japanese with French subtitles and the Soundtastic Studios French dub commissioned by @Anime.
The white subtitles are locked during playback, and the regions are locked to Blu-ray players set to B and DVD players set to 2 in NTSC format.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, French, Japanese |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese (with English Audio Description) DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English, French |
| Locked Subtitles | Yes |
| Discs | 1 BD-25 |
DVD Specs:
| Languages | English, French, Japanese |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2.0 French Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese (with English Audio Description) Dolby Digital 2.0 |
| Video | Standard Definition in NTSC format 1.78:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | 2 |
| Subtitles | English, French |
| Locked Subtitles | Yes |
| Discs | 1 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Japanese Trailers
- Character featured clips
- TV Advertising
DVD On-Disc Extra Features:
- Japanese Trailers
- Character featured clips
- TV Advertising
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Looking for Magical Doremi is available to order across multiple retailers in the United Kingdom. The collector’s edition Blu-ray & DVD can be acquired through Amazon UK, Anime Limited’s store, MVM’s Anime-on-Line and United Publications.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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