Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina – 08 – The Dollmaker

I already adored Elaina, but now I have one more reason to love her: she’s as creeped out by dolls as I am! And, I imagine, most people? Who really wants dozens of tiny figures staring at you from a shelf? To each their own; I just feel like that’s a bit odd!

Despite the propensity of creepy dolls in this nation, Elaina sticks around, and learns from a fellow Witch, Sheila, that someone known as the “Ripper” has been going along “taking the lives” of women. Elaina also enters a store run by a kooky, sleep-deprived dollmaker who is also the world’s worst ventriloquist. Even though she’s giving the dolls away, Elaina would rather not take one.

She asks Elaina to look out, and Elaina being Elaina, she doesn’t commit to anything; you gotta admire her devotion to her independence. However, after stowing the doll in her hotel room in a closet so it won’t stare at her in the night, Elaina wakes up to find she’s the latest victim of the Ripper. Going by the adage “hair is a woman’s life”, the Ripper took her “life!”

A furious Elaina brings in Sheila, who is the second statuesque woman in as many weeks to declare Elaina “thin”, adding insult to injury. They discover the hotel room doll is gone and only its hair remains in the closet. Makee no mistake: Elaina is pissed that her ashen locks have been chopped, and she openly wishes the death penalty on whomever’s responsible!

After Shiela interrogates the innkeeper, she and Elaina learn that high-quality dolls with human hair are often sold at a late night “secret auction” in the city. The two dress the part, complete with masks, to indicate that they belong among those who “look like they’re doing something they shouldn’t”.

The auction turns out to be full of what I would call hardcore dolltakus—people harboring an obsession for dolls Elaina simply doesn’t get, even though she herself is pretty doll-like and she’s pretty in love with herself! That’s not a bad thing at all, mind you; just an observation!

When the lot comes up in which a doll looking like the one in her hotel is sporting her ashen hair, Elaina puts an end to the auction…with her wand. She takes the stage, rips it’s head off and stomps on it, demanding the Ripper to show themselves. She’s not fuckin’ around.

The Ripper turns out to be…the kooky dollmaker, because DUH. She also proves to be far kookier than I imagined, as she seems to basically get off on strong facial expressions, be they happiness, sadness, or anger. Yes, she makes a profit with the auction, but she gives all the money to charity.

That’s nice, but it doesn’t move Elaina in the least, so she conjures a giant golden birdcage with which Sheila can deliver her to the Magic Association. Also, as I suspected, Elaina doesn’t stick with her new bob cut, as she’s able to use magic to restore her hair to its original length. She also still maintains the Ripper deserved the death penalty.

When Sheila arrives at the UMA branch with her prisoner, she’s approached by Saya, and that’s when we learn Sheila has been Saya’s mentor all this time. When Sheila describes the traveling witch she met as having ashen hair and a dolphin brooch, Saya unilaterally takes over the Ripper’s interrogation, inadvertently making a face that causes the dollmaker to cry out in ecstasy. Alrighty then!

Read Crow’s review of episode 8 here!