Mastering the Wandawhirl: Tips and Tricks for Using it in Magical Doremi

The Magical Doremi Wandawhirl is a popular toy among children and fans of the Magical Doremi anime series. It is a toy replica of the magical wand used by the main character, Doremi Harukaze, to perform various spells and transformations. The Wandawhirl is designed to look like a colorful and sparkly wand, with a star-shaped tip and a handle adorned with ribbons and flowers. It is made of plastic and is lightweight, making it easy for children to hold and wave around. One of the key features of the Magical Doremi Wandawhirl is its interactive nature. When activated, the wand emits sound effects and lights up, mimicking the magical abilities seen in the show.

When activated, the wand emits sound effects and lights up, mimicking the magical abilities seen in the show. It can play different magical melodies and chants, adding to the overall enchanting experience. Children can use the wand to cast pretend spells and embark on their own magical adventures.

'Every Black Person Deserves To See Themselves This Way'

Using fluorescent body paint and ultraviolet light, photographer Mikael Owunna's latest work aims to transform the black body into "the cosmos and eternal." The images evoke celestial beings, magical and otherworldly.

But the concept for the project, Infinite Essence, was sparked by frustration and exhaustion.

The 28-year-old Nigerian-Swedish photographer, who was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., and is based there now, says he grew weary of the barrage of violent, dehumanizing imagery of black people he saw in the media.

"Black people dead and dying. Being gunned down by police officers, drowning and washing up on the shores of the Mediterranean, starving and suffering in award-winning photography. The trope of the black body as a site of death is everywhere," he says in his artist statement.

DeShaun, 2017 Mikael Owunna hide caption

For Owunna, the final provocation came in 2014: seeing photos of Michael Brown's body lying in the street after he was killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo. The image spread across the media, even appearing on the front page of The New York Times.

"If the majority of images that you see of yourself are negative," Owunna says, "if people who look like you are dead or dying or captured in a negative light, how do those images enter your body?"

Owunna wanted to counteract the pain of those photos, to create imagery that showed the black body not as a site of death but as a site of magic.

James, 2018 Mikael Owunna hide caption

The name of Owunna's project was inspired by Chinua Achebe's writing on traditional Igbo spirituality, its supreme deity, Chukwu, and the concept of chi, the spirit guide found in every person: "Is chi an infinitesimal manifestation of Chukwu's infinite essence given to each of us separately and uniquely, a single ray from the sun's boundless radiance?" Achebe writes in his essay, "Chi in Igbo Cosmology."

"Each of our spirits is just one ray of the infinite essence of the sun. And in my photography, [I'm] shooting that UV light, trying to capture that spiritual dimension that we're all on," he says. "How can I capture a piece or fragment or a shadow in that land of magic? That's what I'm grounding the project in and that's what I'm capturing, the spiritual guide for the individual models."

Sam, 2018 Mikael Owunna hide caption

For inspiration, Owunna looked back to a painful season from his past. As a teenager, he felt isolated and bullied for coming out as queer at the Ohio boarding school he attended. Fantasy helped him cope.

"I would catapult myself into these lands of magic that would be captured in Japanese anime or video games or fantasy novels," he says. "So magic, for me, was this world of escape."

Uche, 2019 Mikael Owunna hide caption

"I went back to the [anime] videos that had inspired me as a child, those videos of magic being formed, and those sparkles coming from the body," he says. His goal became finding a way to embody the eternal — represented by those sparkles — through photography.

He found the solution in fluorescent body paint, the kind people might use for a black light party. The paint is barely visible in normal light, so Owunna had to figure out how to make it show up in his photos.

Emem, 2018 Mikael Owunna hide caption

An engineering student in college, Owunna used that knowledge to augment a camera flash so that it would transmit only ultraviolet light frequencies. That way, when his subjects are covered with the paint and photographed in darkness, the fluorescent colors are illuminated and made visible by the UV light emitted from the flash.

The models look as if they're wrapped in stars.

Kinya, 2017 Mikael Owunna hide caption

That the UV light allows us to see these dazzling colors reflects larger themes in his work — as Owunna writes in his artist statement, that "regardless of our experiences of oppression on the physical plane, we are infinite. As infinite as the universe, and the stardust that forms every fiber of our beings."

"Within the visible spectrum we have racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia," Owunna explains. "But if I look in the UV spectrum, which is beyond the comprehension of the human eye, the black body is a site of magic."

Emem, 2018 Mikael Owunna hide caption

At first, Owunna's subjects were friends and family. Now, two years into the project, strangers often contact him, asking to be included.

The process is intimate and requires trust. Owunna lets people choose the colors that speak to them. Then he paints their bodies with the nearly invisible paint, which takes about an hour. In all, the sessions take about five hours.

"It takes so long they get used to being naked in front of me," he says. "It is intimate for sure."

Sam, 2018 Mikael Owunna hide caption

The poses are collaborative and a result of conversation between photographer and model, but Owunna does gravitate toward certain themes. For example with masculine people, he says, he wants to show tenderness, "because masculinity is never really equated with tenderness."

"That's good work for them to be doing emotionally, in terms of opening themselves up to that," he says.

The 28-year-old Nigerian-Swedish photographer, who was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., and is based there now, says he grew weary of the barrage of violent, dehumanizing imagery of black people he saw in the media.

The wand comes with a set of spell cards that can be inserted into a slot on the handle. Each spell card represents a different magical power or transformation, allowing children to choose and "cast" their desired spell. The Magical Doremi Wandawhirl encourages imaginative play and storytelling. Children can pretend to be a magical apprentice like Doremi and invent their own magical world full of spells, potions, and flying broomsticks. It allows them to immerse themselves in the world of the anime series and become the hero of their own magical journey. Overall, the Magical Doremi Wandawhirl is a beloved toy among children who are fans of the Magical Doremi series. It combines the whimsy and fantasy of the show with interactive features, allowing children to engage in imaginative and creative play..

Reviews for "From Novice to Expert: Mastering the Wandawhirl in Magical Doremi"

1. Mia Johnson - 2/5 stars - I was really disappointed with "Magical Doremi Wandawhurl". The storyline felt disjointed and confusing, and the characters lacked depth. It seemed like the writers were trying too hard to create a magical world without putting enough thought into developing a compelling plot. Additionally, the animation was subpar, and the overall visual experience was underwhelming. I had high hopes for this show, but it just fell flat for me.

2. Michael Thompson - 1/5 stars - I couldn't stand "Magical Doremi Wandawhurl". The dialogue was cringe-worthy, and the voice acting was unbearable. The main characters were annoying and lacked any likability. The jokes fell flat, and the whole show felt like a cheap knock-off of other magical girl anime. The art style was unremarkable, and the animation was choppy. I couldn't even make it through the first episode before giving up on this show.

3. Sarah Adams - 2/5 stars - "Magical Doremi Wandawhurl" was a complete disappointment for me. The pacing was slow, and the plot lacked any real substance. The magical elements felt forced and unoriginal, and the character development was lacking. The music was forgettable and did not enhance the viewing experience. Overall, I found this show to be a bland and uninspiring addition to the magical girl genre.

The Wandawhirl as a Symbol of Friendship and Unity in Magical Doremi