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Re-imagining of the 1996 Affectionate Parody Pretty Sammy series as a 2006 Magical Girl anime of the Cute Witch variety. Sasami Iwakura is a young girl with magical powers of a telekinetic type that her parents forbid her from using. This has led to her feeling isolated due to a belief of herself as some sort of freak. One day, she goes to the newly formed cooking club headed by Washu, a rather eccentric teacher that starts the club off by faking an attempt to kill her pet. After some hilarity, it turns out that the cooking club is a front for the magical girls club, with Sasami and Misao as the first members. Through this club, they meet more awakening magical girls and discover a masquerade involving a magical world.

This show manages the impressive feat of applying a Lighter and Softer tone to a pseudo-series that was already pretty light and soft to begin with. In this case, it cut the over-the-top style of parody in favor of more Fantastic Comedy Dom Com style. For example, Washu still has some shades of her pseudo-Ax-Crazy characterization, but it gets considerably toned down after her introduction. Because of this, the series most likely won't appeal to people that were expecting a continuation of the parody style, but for those that want a magical girl show of the more traditional kind, this is as good as any.


This show provides examples of:

  • A-Cup Angst: Makoto overhears some boys talking about her in episode 2. One of the laments that she's "small" everywhere, and then a fat boy mentions he's got bigger boobs, which doesn't sit well with her.
  • Adults Are Useless: Played mostly straight with the teachers. Largely averted with Daimon, Washu, and Sasami's parents.
  • Alternate Continuity: To Tenchi Muyo!.
  • Because You Were Nice to Me: Sasami's father seems to hold a lot of sway with Amitav throughout the series, and always seems excited to see him. Amitav reveals to Sasami in episode 25 that its because her father was the only person who noticed him while he was trapped/imprisoned, and also spent time with him and told him stories.
  • Big Bad: The Chief Sorceress, though the main threat turns out to be the evil spirit Keura.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:
    • The Chief Sorceress at first seems to be both a Reasonable Authority Figure and the Big Good, but is shown in the second season to be quite the opposite..
    • The World of the Witches as a whole. In the first season it's built up to be a true paradise, but the second season shows that it's like that because they rejected negative emotions and sealed them away in an unwilling Keura, and are willing to destroy the entire Earth.
  • Bittersweet Ending: In the end, Keura and the Chief Sorceress have been defeated, and the Shining Team are redeemed, but Amitav performs a Heroic Sacrifice that leaves him in a coma for an indefinite amount of time, though Sasami does promise to watch over him, and it's implied The Magic Goes Away, or at the least becomes much more subdued.
  • Bland-Name Product: One of Sasami's friends says she went to Des-sen-ney World in Florida.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: Misao, near the end of the series.
  • Break the Cutie: Misao and Sasami both suffer from this trope.
  • Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: Some butterflies of impending doom feature in the final events of the series.
  • Can't Catch Up: Misao feels this way towards Sasami later in the second season, regarding magic, or Monta.
  • Cat Smile: Washu displays one from time to time.
  • Cerebus Syndrome: While the first season focuses mostly on character interaction, cute moments, and comedy, the second season deals with a developing conspiracy, a main character's Face–Heel Turn, the world nearly being destroyed, and a pretty Bittersweet Ending. It's still not entirely dark, however.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: Anri.
    • Washu acts this way whenever Itoki gets a bit too friendly with Daimon.
    • Sasami falls into this trope during episode 25, when Makoto teases about stealing him away. She also gets jealous at how much Amitav seems to adore her father.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Oh, Amitav.
  • Covers Always Lie: The posters and Eye Catch heavily emphasize the magical girl outfits, but the girls rarely if ever wear them. In fact, their stated purpose at the beginning is to suppress the girls powers!
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: The Shining Team girls deliver one to Anri, Makoto, and Tsukasa in episode 21. Misao at first seems to do one towards Sasami, until the latter breaks free of her imprisonment by her sheer willpower.
  • Debut Queue: The first four episodes introduce the main girls of the show.
  • Demoted to Extra: While never main characters, Sasami's normal friends become far less important in season 2. The only one with any real importance is Monta, as he's the one who is the catalyst for her Face–Heel Turn.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Misao has one in episode 19, after giving Monta his favorite food, but he keeps thinking of Sasami instead. She then uses the card the other witches gave her earlier and goes to the witch's world with them. This ends up causing Misao's Face–Heel Turn.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: Amitav.
  • Emotionless Girl: Tsukasa never shows much emotion.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep":
    • The Chief Sorceress is only ever called by her title.
    • Monta's real name is Toshihiko Saruta. But Sasami always calls him Monta or Monta-head, at least in the English dub.
  • Evolving Credits: The opening for the second season changes things around but keeps the same song from the first. The ending for the second season changes entirely.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: The Chief Sorceress, who, even after the executives are healed by Sasami and her friends in episode 24, still wants to follow through with their original plan of destroying and rebuilding Earth as well as the world of the witches. Which seems a bit unusual seeing as how she initially seemed rather happy when the girls heal the executives.
  • Evil Costume Switch: Misao gets a cleavage-tastic outfit when she gets possessed by Keura. She also gets a different outfit when she joins the Chief Sorceress.
  • Expy: Sasami, Misao, Washu, and Mihoshi.
  • Eye Catch: Shows the main girls in their magical girl outfits.
  • Eyes Always Shut: Daimon.
  • Face–Heel Turn: For a large part of season 2, Misao leaves the group and joins the Chief Sorceress and The Shining Team.
  • Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Sasami's father doesn't want her using magic at all initially. But he has a good reason for it. He was once a watcher of the cauldron, which held all the witch's negative emotions, and because of his proximity to it while guarding it, he was able to utilize some magic, despite being a storyteller, or a human normally unable to utilize magic. He feared Sasami might be able to unlock the cauldron if she ever developed her magic skills enough. He's also completely in the right not to trust either the Chief Sorceress or the World of the Witches. He later averts the trope when he starts to see Sasami making decisions on her own and thinking about possible outcomes based on what she may do.
  • Favouritism Flip-Flop: Anri.
  • Fiery Redhead: Washu has a rather nasty temper, with at one point admitting she's using teaching the girls to relive stress.
  • Gag Dub: FUNi's English dub hits close to this at times.
  • Genki Girl: Sasami.
  • Girlish Pigtails: Sasami and Anri, to emphasize their Genki Girl and Clingy Jealous Girl traits respectively.
  • Good All Along: Itoki, which becomes a bit confusing when you consider earlier episodes.
  • Hair Antennae: Anri.
  • Heroic BSoD: Sasami goes through two, the first time when Amitav doesn't show up on their last day of camp, and the second after Misao chooses to go the world of the witches rather than stay with them in the human world.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: In the finale, Amitav helps seal Keura away at the cost of being in a seemingly permanent coma.
  • Hidden Purpose Test: Washu in the first episode talks about thinning out the crowd of girls in the cooking club, so she pretends to want to kill Ryo-Ohki, who then runs off. Only Sasami and Misao go after it, and after chasing it, they get trapped in a dungeon, and utilize their various magical skills, which is really what Washu wanted to see.
  • Hope Spot: Episode 24 feels like it could be where the show ends with a Happily Ever After: Misao goes through a Heel–Face Turn and reconciles with the Magical Girls Club, the executives are healed, and Amitav is free to come and live on Earth. The only thing wrong is that there are still two episodes left, with Sasami's father mentioning that as long as no one messes with Keura, everything should be fine. In the next episode, the Chief Sorceress does exactly that.
  • Huge School Girl: Tsukasa is quite tall compared to the other girls.
  • Idiot Hair: Makoto has three idiot hairs going off in unsymmetrical directions.
  • Important Haircut: Misao in episode 20, which solidifies her Face–Heel Turn, although the ending and opening for season 2 gives it away in earlier episodes.
  • In Name Only: Sasami and Washu. By contrast, Mihoshi is relatively intact since stupidity was her only real defining trait by this time anyway. Sasami's cooking skills are quite intact, though.
  • Large Ham: A few of the girls fall into this trope occasionally, usually Makoto or Anri. The gym teacher does it often as well.
  • Late for School: Mihoshi (the teacher) in the first episode, to the point where she forgets to put on her skirt.
  • Lethal Chef: Washu, which is highly ironic considering she's the cooking club's advisor.
  • Loners Are Freaks: Some people assume Misao to be this trope at first.
  • Love Hurts: After meeting Amitav in episode 6, Sasami grows enamored with him. However, he doesn't show up the next day when all of the magical girls were attending a bonfire event, and she goes through a Heroic BSoD until the end of episode 7.
    • Misao goes through this in episode 19, after Monta keeps reminiscing about Sasami despite the food she just made for him.
  • Love Triangle: Misao loves Monta, Monta loves Sasami, Sasami loves Amitav, and Amitav loves Sasami's dad. It's more like a love square, really.
  • The Magic Goes Away: Implied at the ending. It's at least become much more subdued.
  • The Masquerade
  • Mind-Control Eyes: Sasami's mother displays them after Chief Sorceress mind controls her to allow Sasami to go to camp again in the witch's world, along with the other girl's parents.
  • Motivation on a Stick: While riding on a cart pulled by an ox-like creature, Anri complains about how slow it is, so Washu pulls out an "Acceleration Device" that turns out to be a bundle of hay hanging from a stick. The ox takes off like a rocket and catches the hay once they reach their destination, with the quick stop flinging everyone out of the cart.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Misao on episode 21, when she fails to capture Sasami, and overhears some of the witches talking about how disappointed they are in her failure. She begins to regret hurting her friend who was trying to help, which helps start her Heel–Face Turn.
  • The Napoleon: Makoto is very short and very cranky about it.
  • Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book: Misao's drawing of Sasami in episode 5 is pretty creepy.
  • Nosebleed: Anri has one when she sees a doodle of herself and Tsukasa under an Umbrella of Togetherness. She also get one when they discuss the "Magical Girls' Special Assembly" saying that she will get to sleep with Tsukasa.
  • Papa Wolf: Tsukasa's father acts this way when she's introduced. He does fall out of the trope however, once he realizes his excessive parenting was causing trouble for her.
  • Parent Service: Itoki (that is, if the show even was aimed at kids).
  • The Power of Friendship: A powerful theme in this series, particularly in the second season.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Daimon and Sasami's father most of the time. Washu falls in and out of this trope.
  • The Mole: Itoki.
  • Rule of Symbolism: The Song of the Earth is full of it. It's especially blatant in this stanza:
  • She's a Man in Japan: In the English dub, Amitav's evil twin has a clearly feminine voice and is referred to as a she, while its more hinted at being a guy in the Japanese dub.
  • Shrinking Violet: Misao.
  • Shy Blue-Haired Girl: Misao.
  • The Stoic: Tsukasa.
  • Spoiler Opening: The updated opening and ending of season show Misao's haircut, and the ending heavily hints at her Face–Heel Turn.
  • Supreme Chef: Unlike Washu, Sasami is a pretty good cook. She even cooks for her parents instead of the other way around. And this version is not Really 700 Years Old.
  • Take a Third Option: Sasami does this at the end of the series when she tells the witches and her father not to seal up Amitav again, and instead uses her magic to get rid of the negative emotions storing up inside Keura/Amitav.
  • Take That!: To other Magical Girl Anime from the get go in the dub.
    Washu: "I'm not telling you to whore it up like high school girls..."
  • Terrible Artist: Monta makes fun of Sasami's crude drawing of Misao in episode 5.
  • Third-Person Person: Sasami in the Japanese dub. Averted in the English dub.
  • Time for Plan B: In episode 16, Daimon is given what looks like a grenade by Sasami's father. He is told to only use it in an emergency. Later, as he tries to escape with Washu and the girls, the Sorceress blocks their escape path. So he utilizes the item Sasami's father gave him. It turns out to be a portal back into the human world, which they then use to escape from the witch's world.
  • Traumatic Superpower Awakening: In episode 9, after the gym teacher threatens to get Washu fired, she ends up leaving despite the girls trying to help her out. Sasami gets overly emotional over it, and begins to glow radiantly. It causes Washu to reconsider quitting, and Tsukasa bops the gym teacher on the head, then they paint it as All Just a Dream so he doesn't get too suspicious about them being witches.
    • It happens again in episode 18, this time with Sasami and Misao while holding hands. They were able to cancel the magic Itoki had been using that episode, which also causes her to flee for the moment.
  • True Companions: Misao and the other girls grow into this late in the second season, after they are able to reconcile with her.
  • Wham Episode: Episode 16, when Washu and Daimon learn about the witch's real objective with the girls, to open up the cauldron. While Washu had a sort of rebellious attitude towards the witches before, this is the first time she's openly defied them.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: In the final episode, it isn't clear if Keura absorbing the Chief Sorceress' "evil energy" killed the Chief Sorceress or not.

 
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