MAHO Dou
About
The MAHO Dou （MAHO堂） (translates to "Magic Hall") is a shop owned by Majorika located in Misora City near Misora Public Park. It is also where Majorika, Lala, and Hana-chan live. Although an ordinary shop at first glance, it contains a portal to the Witch World and also serves as a headquarters for Doremi and the girls to practice magic. Due to Majorika's physical state, Doremi and the girls are the MAHO Dou's sole employees. In the past, the MAHO Dou was owned by the Queen of the Witch World, and it is considered good luck for someone to run it.
The MAHO Dou is very mysterious and attracts people with strong wishes. No one can arrive at the MAHO Dou at random; there is always a reason if a visitor finds him or herself in front of the store.
MAHO Dou
The MAHO Dou was originally called Makihatayama Rika no Mahou Dou （巻機山リカの魔法堂） (Makihatayama Rika's Magic Hall) and was a magical charms shop until Doremi turned Majorika's life upside-down. The fact that Majorika owned this shop made her a target of rivals, especially with Majoruka. In the hallway, one of the doors lead to the Witch World.
After Doremi accidentally made a knight's armor destroy the shop, Doremi, Hazuki, Aiko, and Lala redid the shop (without magic), and made the shop more cheerful-looking to attract more visitors. The shop name was even changed to fit the new look as the girls considered the old one too weird. Majorika used to sell magical pendants, but Doremi and the girls expanded what could be sold by creating various charms out of magical clay.
Flower Garden MAHO Dou
Because Doremi and the girls were taking care of Hana-chan, the Queen insisted on changing the theme of the shop to be more suitable for the baby. With Magical Stage and the Queen's orders, the original MAHO Dou became a flower shop to sustain the Lifewood, a magical tree found only in the Witch World. The Lifewood is Hana-chan's crib and adjusts to her physical needs; it is located in the greenhouse, which is in the backyard. The backyard also is the place where many flowers are planted and nurtured. The stairs from the Lifewood lead to the second floor, where there are windows on the floor to check up on the first floor. The name of the shop was also changed to Flower Garden MAHO Dou （フラワー・ガーデン MAHO堂） although it is continuously referred as simply the "MAHO Dou."
The portal to the Witch World is in the fountain in the backyard, and it only works when the moon is smiling. To open it, the girls tap their feet on the water and enter via the front.
Sweet House MAHO Dou
With Magical Stage and the Queen's orders, the Flower Garden MAHO Dou became the Sweet House MAHO Dou （スイート・ハウス MAHO堂） to be more suitable for their situation. Because the girls needed a place to perfect their pastries, the Sweet House became an opportunity to polish these skills. Behind the store front, there is a wide kitchen with confectionary ovens. Up on the stairs leads to a candy-making machine, and the second floor is Hana-chan's room, where the Lifewood tree continues to blossom. Outside of the MAHO Dou, there is a patio where Doremi and the girls can serve their customers. The backyard garden contains a round door that serves as a portal to the Witch World. It will only open when the moon is smiling at night.¹
Oshare ZAKKA MAHO Dou
When Hana-chan used her magic to age her body, her magic also changed the MAHO Dou into the Oshare ZAKKA MAHO Dou （おしゃれZAKKA MAHO堂） (Dress-up and Misc. Goods MAHO Dou). The building itself is now surrounded by a fully grown Lifewood. Unlike the previous shops, there are not as many subdivisions in the building. The main room is not only where tapestries, beaded jewelry, and ribbons are sold, but it is also their workshop. On the second floor, there is Hana-chan's room, exclusive with a comfortable bed, mirror, and nightstand. In the backyard, there is a circle-shaped door on the branches of the Lifewood that is the portal to the Witch World which will open only when the moon is smiling.¹
Monroe's Magical Shop
Although it is called Monroe's Magical Shop, this place is also referred to as "New York's MAHO Dou." In size, the magical shop is smaller than the MAHO Dou. This place was Majomonroe's shop prior to her death, and was a patissierie. Inside the shop, there is a bar stand where sweets are served, and down in the hallway behind the stand, there is a kitchen specifically designed to create sweets, and a door that leads to the Witch World. Majomonroe's room is upstairs.
Bus
When Majoruka took over the MAHO Dou, Doremi and the girls renovated an old bus and used it as their shop instead. Since getting back the MAHO Dou, they only use it when they are traveling.
Band
Although not necessarily a "real" band, sometimes when Onpu performs concerts and her usual back-up band is not around, she uses the help of Doremi, Hazuki and Aiko. Doremi becomes the guitarist, Hazuki the keyboardist, and Aiko the drummer. So far this "band" has only made two appearances in the entire series. Because Doremi, Hazuki, and Aiko don't know how to play their respective instruments, the music that the "band" plays actually comes from a tape recording.
Pop, Momoko, and Hana-chan were never in the group because Pop did not appear in those episodes, Momoko was not in the second series and was separated from the group while looking for Beth, and Hana-chan was a baby during both times.
In real life, the group songs released on CDs where Doremi and the girls sing together credits "MAHO Dou" as the singers. This vocal group consists of the voice actresses for Doremi, Hazuki, and Aiko (later including Onpu, Momoko, and Hana-chan as the series went on). Since they are a voice cast group, the group produced music exclusive to only the show and did not branch out when it ended.
Name
The shop's name was changed because Doremi, Hazuki, and Aiko found the original name creepy. However, they all found the "Mahou Dou" part of the name the only "good" part. Hazuki suggested that they put the name into romanji, and from then on, Makihatayama Rika's Magic Hall became simply "MAHO Dou."
Interestingly, the letters of the MAHO Dou spell out the names for the witch cast. It's intriguing to think whether this was done on purpose by the producers or not.
- M: Momoko
- A: Aiko
- H: Hazuki
- O: Onpu
- Do(u): Doremi
While in hiragana, "mahou" (translates to "magic") is spelled phonetically with the characters ma-ho-u, when the "u" is not a detached sound, some people tend to drop the "u" out of the romanization for better pronunciation, and this is clearly one of the many examples of this act. ("Dou" should also follow the idea, but I tend to keep the "u" whenever it is necessary.)
English romanizations are sometimes found in the show on the equipment inside of the MAHO Dou. Alternative rewrites of the name include "MAHODO."
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