Whoa. No, seriously, whoa. Based on what I read about this movie, I had a feeling it would be good on its own merits, but after finally seeing it...damn. This movie seriously blew my mind in all the best ways possible. I admit, my history with Ojamajo Doremi is rather spotty. I remember seeing pictures of the characters and fansites way back when I was a kid, and later, I saw the 4Kids dub of the first 26 episodes when it first aired, and then it got cancelled. I heard the rest of it was dubbed and streamed on 4Kids' website, but I never sought it out. I've only seen two episodes of the first season in Japanese, and one of the movies, and that's it. I know, I really need to watch the whole series one of these days, as I hear nothing but good things about it. So when I heard a new movie celebrating Doremi's 20th anniversary was coming out, and supposedly not based on any of the shows, I decided to check it out thanks to this review of it. Considering all the good things I heard about the original show, I thought I'd at least give this movie a try, since it's both filled with references to the show and newbie-friendly for anyone who hasn't seen it. What I honestly did not expect was for it to be absolutely one of the sweetest, most wholesome, most heartwarming, and most heartwrenching movies I've ever seen. In fact, I'm declaring this the best movie that ever came out in 2020!

Now, for any Doremi fans expecting this to be a new movie about the girls, you're out of luck. It's not about fighting an evil queen, there's literally no magic at all, and the girls we've come to know and love aren't the focus of the movie. This is because Ojamajo Doremi, in this movie, is a show that the three main characters watched and are fans of. Kind of like how Digimon Tamers made the first and second seasons into a show the main kids in that show watch. Anyway, the story centers on three very different women, living very different lives, and having to deal with various problems. Reika is a young woman trying to make ends meet and get into college, but is stuck in part-time jobs, her lazy boyfriend is constantly stealing her hard-earned money, and she herself is reeling from her family's divorce. Sora, a college student, is struggling with training to become a teacher, as she got too caught up in trying to help a special needs child, and begins to question whether she's fit to be a teacher. Mire works at a trade company, but is constantly belittled and degraded by her bosses for being a woman and for speaking her mind, and they waste no time taking all the credit for her achievements. The three find themselves meeting at a real life location used in their favorite show, and after finding out they're all fans of the Doremi anime, they decide to indulge in some anime tourism in order to find reprieve from their troubled lives and find solace in each other's company. It becomes an experience that the three of them will never forget.

For anyone wondering, although the movie is filled to the brim with references to the show and its characters, you don't need to have seen the show in order to enjoy this movie, thankfully. The movie tells its own original story about three completely new characters, all adults, and how they become friends through their shared love of their favorite children's show, and the hardships they face and overcome along the way. Basically, it's a low-key, slice-of-life road trip anime movie...and honestly, I really like this approach, as not only does it allow the movie to stand as its own entity without relying too much on the Doremi brand, so that it doesn't alienate newcomers, it also presents relatable conflicts and storylines that people in positions similar to the main trio can sympathize with. Even without the Doremi connection, this is a movie about the friendships you forge through shared passions and helping each other. The same story can be told using nearly any other anime one can find, but it's often more poignant when children's shows are involved. I mean, who hasn't befriended someone because they liked the same TV show? That's basically how I tried forging friendships as a kid, and I still do to this day! It really hits home whether you're into Ojamajo Doremi or not, and that kind of universal appeal is just amazing to me.

A lot of animation staff from the original series returned to make this movie, and although I haven't seen much of the series, I can recognize it's animation style from miles away, and based on stuff the staff worked on after this, such as Heartcatch Pretty Cure, it's very easy to recognize. Large, sparkly eyes, exaggerated cartoony expressions and movements for comedic scenes, zany animation, fluid and smooth movement, thick linework, all of it is on display here, and it surprisingly fits the movie's overall tone quite well. Animation isn't always about having great artwork or having the biggest budget, but being able to bring the characters to life, and I think the animators who worked on this pulled that off wonderfully. It helps that the background art is very pleasing to the eyes, filled to the brim with color and detail, and consistently excellent all around. The soundtrack is no slouch either, with no shortage of great tunes and a whole variety of instruments like saxophones, oboes, full on-orchestras, and every single piece of background music absolutely rocked. Also, the movie contains a much slower, more melancholy version of the first TV anime's opening theme, "Ojamajo Carnival!!" and the TV version is much more peppy, fast paced, squeaky, and akin to stuff you'd see on a Saturday morning cartoon. Honestly, I'm probably going to commit blasphemy for saying this, but...I actually like the movie's version of it better than the original, because I found the original to be way too obnoxious for my liking. The movie's slower, low-key version with its acoustic guitar, lovely piano tunes, and softer vocals is more my jam. Sorry!!

Of course, the heart and soul of this movie comes from the characters, especially the main trio. Not gonna lie, I love all these precious beans. Every single one of them is perfectly likeable and three-dimensional even with the movie's short run time, all displaying their strengths, flaws, weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and the things that make them who they are. They're a fun bunch with their own eclectic personalities and different approaches to life, making them the kind of people you know you want to root for. Even the minor characters they run into have more to them than just one character trait, with plenty of subtle nuances to their characters that make them stand out from the usual archetypes associated with them. The fun in the movie comes from seeing how these characters deal with and overcome the various adversaries that make up the roadblocks in their lives, and seeing them help each other through their hard times. Also, seeing Mire judo-throw Reika's awful boyfriend and tell him off was satisfying as hell. Best girl right there. Everything from the way these girls carry themselves to how they connect over their shared love of Ojamajo Doremi makes them all feel like people, their actions throughout the story are realistic, and the movie really wastes no time in showing what these girls are like, actually giving you good reasons to care about them. I can wholeheartedly say that Looking For Magical Doremi did a bang-up job in making me care about this loveable trio, and I want all three of them to be happy!

With all the praises I'm singing for this movie though, as far as flaws go, I can really only find two, and IMHO, they're pretty inconsequential. One is that Mire and Reika get into an argument about how the latter dealt with a recent event, and while I can understand where the other girls were coming from, I don't think they should have tried to paint Mire as completely in the wrong about what she said to Reika, because she's actually right. Could she have said what she said more delicately? Sure, but Mire is technically right about Reika's inaction during said event, and in some way, Reika did have a right to be told the truth. The second one is the scene at the very very end, just before the credits, as it comes across as a little too magical for an otherwise grounded story. But that's really it in terms of drawbacks, and even then, they didn't kill my enjoyment of the movie one bit. Actual hardcore fans of the Doremi franchise are bound to take issue with how different this movie is compared to the other ones, especially with it not being about the Doremi girls at all, and I can understand where they'd be coming from. I did read that the creators did originally want the movie to be about the 20-year-old versions of the Doremi girls finding a time capsule that they buried during their graduation, but had concerns that doing that would alienate viewers who weren't in that generation and figured the best way to go would be to appeal to a more general audience than just Doremi fans, so that newcomers could have an easier time watching the movie without feeling lost, if they hadn't watched the show. I personally think this was a good decision on their part, because it helps the movie stand on its own without relying too much on simply cashing in on the nostalgia, something other movies have a hard time doing. Plus, the story of the original Doremi girls is over, and they don't really need to overstay their welcome. Who says you can't try something new once in a while?

Whether you're a fan of Ojamajo Doremi or not, this is an absolutely amazing and wonderful movie that really deserves more love. Please watch it!!