US Title: Now I Am a Witchling
The episode starts off with a narration on Doremi's part, complete with her uttering her soon-to-be-signature spell "Pirika Pirilala Poporina Peperuto" and summoning a new show to TV. There, she elaborates somewhat on what she plans to do as a Witch Apprentice.
Cue bouncy opening theme!
One average day in Misora, a young girl named Maki is visiting a dark shop. The proprietor, dressed in dark clothes and staring at her with red eyes, makes several creepy remarks regarding the wares before the young girl purchases them.
Meanwhile at a house, a young girl with red odango hair, Doremi Harukaze, is reciting a spell that she hopes will give her to courage to confess her feelings to a boy she likes. The boy in question is Igarashi. She is about to leave when her younger sibling, Pop Harukaze, catches her. Turns out, Doremi usually doesn't leave early and gets questioned accordingly. Doremi tries to get out of it with word play, but Pop doesn't buy it. Instead, their feuding parents, Haruka and Keisuke, end up getting into it (again), and it provides enough of a distraction for Doremi to get out.
Later, on the way to school, Doremi narrates and formally introduces herself to the audience. She hides from Igarashi and doesn't see him talking with Maki, who tells him that if he wins the upcoming soccer match, she'll let him on a secret. The two walk right on by Doremi's hiding spot, and Doremi scolds herself for letting the chance slip by.
In class, Doremi is studying from a book about witches instead of her textbooks. She is interrupted by her friend and fellow classmate, Hazuki Fujiwara, who tells her it is her turn to read. she ends up reading from her witch book instead and gets mocked for it, particularly by Tetsuya Kotake. This pisses her off, and both end up in the hall as punishment. Later still, after school, Doremi is asked if she's going to watch the soccer team practice, to which she refuses. She leaves, but it turns out she had her backpack upside down and ends up spilling everything.
On her way back, Doremi is contemplating why everyone thinks magic is weird when she finds herself on a deserted stretch of road that she doesn't recall taking. She notices a creepy building and decides to investigate. Turns out, it's the same one Maki visited earlier, and Doremi begins suspecting the proprietor is a witch. Especially when she starts lining up to the general description of witches from her witch book. The proprietor notices Doremi making the connections, begins panicking, and begging Doremi not to say it. She does, and she turns out to be correct.
Cue Forced Transformation. The newly identified witch ends up getting turned into a small green frog-like blob called a Witch Frog. The white cat who was lying in the witch's lap reveals she is a fairy; the witch's Fairy Companion. Doremi, weirded out by all of this, attempts to leave, but the witch frog and fairy stop her. They have decided that since Doremi caught her, she must become a Witch Apprentice so she may turn her back to normal. They introduce themselves as Majo Rika and Lala.
Doremi is scared of the prospect, but she reconsiders when she realizes she's going to become a real witch and promptly jumps at the call, much to Majo Rika's consternation. She is handed a box that conveniently holds three Transformation Trinkets, and she manages to grab one of them. Instead of waiting for instructions, Doremi starts pressing buttons and ends up summoning the apprentice uniform. Majo Rika tells her she has to put it on before the music stops, but Doremi has trouble getting it on, and it vanishes. Second time's the charm, but Majo Rika now finds Doremi questionable.
Doremi summons her Magic Wand and begins trying to cast spells. She conjures a steak and makes it bigger, but before she could dig in, it vanishes. Since she's new to magic, her spells won't last very long. Before Majo Rika could explain any more basics, Doremi summons a broom and begins flying. Haphazardly. Lala goes after her to keep her from getting into trouble, and the two end up at a soccer game between Doremi's school and a rival school.
Doremi sees what's going on and, in a panic, uses magic to stop time and move Igarashi out of harm's way. Unfortunately, this lets the opposing team score a point. She moves to hide, nearly getting caught in-uniform by Maki, and she sees that Maki has a charm from Majo Rika's shop. Once hidden, Lala informs Doremi that if anyone sees her as a witch apprentice, she will be transformed into a blob as well. Igarashi gets hurt off screen and Doremi witnesses Maki wishing to heal him. Her charm turns out to be fully magical and it heals him. However, it shatters, and she end sup suffering his wound. Doremi tries again, this time with the intention of making sure Igarashi scores a point, so she stop time again, and lines up a perfect shot.
She takes too long, unfortunately, and she gets nailed in the face by Igarashi's shot. Majo Rika appears just in time and uses her own magic to change Doremi out of her uniform before anyone could see her. Later, Doremi finds herself in the school clinic with Hazuki by her side. The two begin discussing events before overhearing Igarashi and Maki in the other room. Both spy on them, and is seen asking Maki out. She accepts, and Doremi laments her unrequited feelings for him.
Outside, Lala and Majo Rika discuss Doremi. The former believes it'll be fun having her around, but the latter considers her a pain in the neck.
Doremi comments on Igarashi and Maki being together, but Hazuki ruins it by mentioning that Doremi had a crush on him, too. This drops Doremi's mood as the episode ends.
Cue the On the Next episode preview, complete with a faster-paced and bouncier version of the opening tune! This is followed by the hopeful-yet-sad-sounding ending theme.
Tropes present in this episode:
- The Apprentice: Doremi becomes Majo Rika's apprentice here. If the title is any indication.
- Book and Switch: During class, Doremi is reading a book about witchcraft hidden inside a reading book. She humiliates herself by accidentally reading from the witch book when asked to read from a page.
- The Bully: Kotake takes this role during this episode, mocking Doremi first when she reads her witch book out loud and again when she accidentally spills her stuff.
- Butt-Monkey: Doremi. In this episode alone, she gets humiliated in class when she accidentally reads her witch book instead of her text book, spills her stuff when she wears it upside down, and gets nailed in the face by a soccer ball.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- The charm that Maki buys at the beginning of the episode is used later by her to heal Igarashi.
- The book descriptions of how to spot witches that Doremi reads at school are used as red flags for Rikka when Doremi visits her store.
- Child Hater: In a fit of anger, she expresses how she hates children after getting interrupted by Doremi. Unfortunately for her, that confirms Doremi's suspicions and accidentally outs her as a witch.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: Doremi. She is adorable, but she proves to be rather clumsy in her own right, given the amount of humiliation she receives.
- Cute Sports Club Manager: Maki Takahashi is the soccer club manager and has a crush on her sempai and the top scorer of the team, Igarashi, but is too shy to tell him (And coincidentally, so is he). She has a magical pendant purchased in Majo Rika's shop, and when Igarashi gets seriously hurt, Maki wishes that she can help him even if she hurts herself. Inadvertently, this activates the pendant's magic: Igarashi is healed but Maki is injured... yet as a plus, this lets them act on their feelings. Too bad Doremi also had a crush on him and thus couldn't say anything.
- Digging Yourself Deeper: Rikka already gave a suspicious impression on Doremi, given her looks and sinister laugh, but she seals her fate as a frog when she mentions that the charms she is selling are magical and how she hates being interrupted by children when Doremi interrupts her attempt to sell the charm.
- Establishing Character Moment: For three characters, and they do seem to get multiple moments each:
- Doremi: She is introduced as being boy-crazy but too shy to pursue them, even after "fortifying" herself with a spell. Later, she proves herself a poor student and a bit selfish, but compassionate enough to try giving Igarashi a clean chot.
- Majo Rika: She is introduced as being cold and brooding. She quickly quickly proves ill-tempered when Doremi keeps interrupting her creepy speeches and remains irritable. She does have enough responsibility to help keep Doremi out of trouble, though.
- Lala: She quickly proves just as irritable as her master is toward Doremi when she triggers the curse. However, she does prove to be more open-minded than her master and much more easygoing.
- Exposition Fairy: Lala explains many critical things to show Doremi the ropes while Majo Rika isn't around. She also warns her about what might happen should she be spotted wearing her uniform.
- Flying Broomstick: A staple of Witches. Doremi summons one and manages to ride it, but it doesn't respond too well since she is still a beginner. Majo Rika mentions being unable to ride one anymore due to her curse.
- Forced Transformation: When Doremi calls Majo Rika a witch, Majo Rika is forcibly transformed into a green blob-like frog. Later on the episode, Lala informs Doremi that she can't be seen in her witch outfit by anyone, or else she will be transformed into a blob-like frog as well.
- Jumped at the Call: Doremi is all too eager to become a Witch Apprentice.—Doremi: "To tell you the truth, I've always wanted to be a witch... Please make me a witch? Pleasepleasepleaaaaase?!"
- Large Ham: Doremi and Majo Rika. Both get over the top regarding their lack of luck and fury over being transformed, respectively.—Doremi:"I'm the unluckiest pretty girl in the while world!"
- Love Confession: Doremi tries this earlier with Igarashi but cannot muster up the courage to do so. She gets over him when she learns he already has a Love Interest.
- Oh, Crap!: Rika has this reaction before Doremi outs her as a witch
- Powers in the First Episode: Doremi becomes a witch apprentice, receives her Tap and apprentice uniform, and casts her first spell.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: One of the reasons why Doremi suspects of Rika being a witch is due to her red eyes.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After transforming Rika into a frog, Doremi initially attempts to leave the store, but is stopped by Lala and Rika.
- Time Stands Still: Two of Doremi's spells completely freeze time. She gets very little done with them.
- Transformation Trinket: The Apprentice Tap transforms Doremi into her uniform. However, it is on a timer, and if she takes too long, the uniform vanishes and she has to start again.
- Unishment: Doremi being forced into becoming a witch to restore Rika's body quickly becomes this, due to her being interested in magic.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Lala is first seen having assumed to form of a white cat. She resumes her true form after Doremi catches Majo Rika.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Doremi's first spell is to conjure a steak. Her second spell made it bigger. But before she could dig in, it vanished. All due to her being just a beginner.
