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(Contains spoilers, but this thing is like 2 minutes long anyway so who cares)

Here's an odd little thing that not many people have heard of that I felt compelled to write a review on.

I first saw Natsumi Step when I was very, very young, maybe around 11 years old. I thought the video was cute and had a positive message about leaving behind your sadness and looking forward to the future. Nothing special at all, just a cute thing to waste 2 minutes on.

The flash animation starts with our protagonist, Natsumi, boarding on a transportation device in a happy, cartoony place. Said place is filled ... with odd yet cute animals, and Natsumi likes them so much that she gets off the ride to frolic with them. Flashbacks are shown from time to time, along with a necklace that Natsumi seems fond of.

The cat driver soon discovers that Natsumi has left, and goes back to pick her up. Natsumi waves goodbye to all the animals as she rides away into the sunset, where she throws the necklace into the sea. Then, the video is over, and you may feel that your time was utterly wasted on a lame flash video from 2003.

But as the synopsis so ominously says, "Things are not what it seems." At its surface it may seem childish and cute, but the real message behind it is a lot darker and not positive at all.

So what's the real story? Believe it or not, suicide and possible murder of Natsumi's ex-boyfriend.

It's heavily hinted that Natsumi committed suicide by jumping off at a train station after her boyfriend broke up with her, as shown in one of the flashbacks. The animation details her ride through heaven and eventual departure to hell.

It doesn't end there. The official website features an omake swf file of Natsumi crying. Her arms shake, then the video appears to end. However, if you right-click and click "play"... she raises a crowbar, her figure gets darker and expression more serious. Many people have taken this to mean that she killed her boyfriend with the crowbar before killing herself.

The art may be outdated and music too cutesy for some peoples' tastes, but the hidden lore surrounding the video is surprisingly interesting. Sure, the video's no masterpiece, but everyone's got 2 minutes to spare. Might as well spend it on a flash animation of a suicidal yandere girl.

"If you had a mysterious power, what would you do?"

And so, with these words, we are thrust into the world of Ojamajo Doremi. What does this mean in terms of story, exactly? The answer should be obvious. If you couldn't tell, this is a magical girl series, split into four seasons. This review will be focusing on the first season.

I first heard of this anime back when 4Kids dubbed it as Magical DoReMi. I didn't think much of it, to be honest. The dub work was rather mediocre, and it turned me away from the show for a while. Flash forward to 2010, and it ... is now one of my favorite magical girl anime.

Why is this, though? What makes this show different from other magical girl shows? Is it the plot? The art? What is it?

That, my friend, shall be explained. It is not the story, which is rather average for a magical girl's show. The art, while cute and charming, is rather simplistic.

It is the characters and how they interact with each other. Even minor, background characters without magical powers are given sufficient character development. However, this can be seen as a flaw as well. There is, unfortunately, a lot of filler present in this show. A high amount of the show is based on the protagonists' fixing of the problems of their fellow classmates. Even if the show does suffer from filler, some of the filler is actually enjoyable to watch, as it develops the main characters as well.

Overall, this show may not be special in terms of plot or art, but the true shining jewel of this anime is the development of characters and the amount of enjoyment presented. If you have the patience to watch a 51 episode-long magical girl anime, give this a try. You may find it to be worth it in the end.

(Also, this is my first review on the site, so I'm sorry if I missed out on any important details when it comes to reviewing. Thank you for taking your time to read this)