Magical Doremi

Comparisons

General Changes

• Originally, the title of the show (Ojamajo Doremi) was based off of Doremi's name, as she is the eponymous character. In the 4Kids dub, they configured the pun so that it'd reflect off of Hazuki and Aiko as well as give them larger roles. For a better picture of what I mean, think of the Canadian dub of Cardcaptor Sakura, in which Syaoran was given a larger role than the one he originally had.
• The original background music is not kept and is replaced with a new soundtrack created by 4Kids. Occassionally sound effects from the original show are used, coupled with new sound effects added in by 4Kids.
• 4Kids' description of the show mentions that there are eight witch exams in total when there are actually nine in the original version.
• Most of the references to Japanese culture were edited or removed altogether, such as takoyaki (octopus dumpling balls) becoming chocolate doodles/cookies. Rather than having the show take place in Japan as it had been originally, the dub heavily implies that it takes place in the United States of America.
• Episode 29 was aired before episodes 27 and 28 (although it hardly bothered the storyline at all given the series' abundance of filler episodes).
• Episode 30 was never aired for unknown reasons. One can assume that it was probably because it involved 3rd graders walking through a graveyard at night with no parental supervision, which may appear inappropriate for the American audience. Additionally, the episode would be deemed "too controversial" for broadcasting due to heavy elements of religion: Yamauchi is a Buddhist, evidenced by the contents in his house, such as his ancestors' clothing and the large statue of the Buddha. It remains unknown as to whether or not 4Kids actually dubbed this episode, but it is unlikely that they did. However, its existence seems to at least have been acknowledged, as on their website, "30" was a number skipped on their episode listing.
• Episode 39 was skipped when the show first aired, but was broadcasted months after the series' finale.

Guideline to Comparisons

Part I

Part II