Doraemon

The all-time hit children's manga classic of Japan, Doraemon.

Where to start? Doraemon apparently first appeared in 1969 or 1970 (it ran as a manga series starting about 1974), with the infamous something-wonderful-pops-out-of-the-desk-drawer story. Since then, it has gone on to become one of Japan's most popular and well-loved manga series, and Doraemon is now perhaps one of the most recognized faces in all of Japan. The comedy series is still continuing, though it suffers from the defection of one of the two original writers. From my own point of view, Books 1 through 30 are probably the classic Doraemon, and the stories seem to solidify and improve at around book 6 (before that, the drawing style is a little old-fashioned, and the plots are a little thin).
The first story explains the premise of the entire series. Nobi Nobita (Nobita being the first name), is a fourth-grade boy who wears glasses and lives in a subsection of Tokyo. One day, a strange being pops up in his desk drawer --- a round, blue cat-style robot (minus ears), who fails to introduce himself and instead eats Nobita's afternoon snack and then goes back into the drawer. The matter is eventually straightened out and explained. Nobita's great-great-grandson (or something like that) lives in the 22nd Century --- except, thanks to Nobita's mistakes, the entire family is living in poverty. To rectify this, Nobita's descendent is sending his robot Doraemon (not a very high-quality robot) back to the past, to help prevent Nobita from making mistakes. Of course, this is a difficult task, since Nobita is the weakest and least intelligent child in his class. And initially, Doraemon isn't the smartest of robots, either. He does, however, have a 4-dimensional pocket on his front, which contains all manner of cool gadgets from the 22nd Century, and it is with these toys that Doraemon will try to save Nobita from a future of poverty and failure.
With this premise, Doraemon and Nobita go on to become (as I've said), one of Japan's most famous duos. Nobita, as class weakling and dunce, needs lots of rescuing, and Doraemon is obliged to give him the right gadget to fix his situation. Unfortunately, Nobita also has the bad habit of misusing the gadgets and landing himself in yet more trouble --- unless some of his school friends get their hands on the gadgets and get themselves into even worse trouble. This is usually the source of the series' comedic humor. However, Doraemon has another, more serious side; starting around Book 8, the volumes begin to close with a story that is longer and more serious than the others. Often touched with a bit of educational science, moral teaching and a hint of conservationism, these stories usually involve Nobita and Doraemon and friends working together to solve a larger problem.
(As a warning to sensitive American readers, Doraemon, even though a children's manga, does include things like nudity and streaks of traditional Japanese sexism! For example, poor Shizuka, the main heroine, starts off as the brightest of the children --- yet as the series progresses, becomes more of a bath-addict (facilitating numerous bathtub scenes) and becomes number two in intelligence to the brilliant boy Dekisugi ("Dekisugi" is a pun on the word "overbuilt" or "too good")).
For all his flaws (laziness, stupidity, and cowardice (and occasional attacks of megalomania and selfishness)), Nobita is one of the neighborhood's nicest and most sensitive children, and it is his desire to see justice done that drives the best Doraemon stories. And it is probably why Doraemon himself does not fling up his hands in defeat --- though surely it must be tempting, after so many hundreds of stories starting off with Nobita running home in tears, crying "Doraemon! Do something!"
Among some of Doraemon's most commonly produced gadgets are: the Wherever Door (you can walk through it to wherever you want to go), the air gun (a tube you slip over your finger; it produces a pulse of air to knock out your enemies), the What If phone box (allows user to enter a world in which some condition is changed "What If mirrors didn't exist?" (the name is a Japanese pun)), the personal copter (a little beanie that you stick on your head, which lets you fly), and the Gulliver Tunnel (lets you shrink). Another often used device is the time machine, which is, of course, located in Nobita's desk drawer. But aside from these frequently used devices, Doraemon always seems to have something new in his pocket. He has produced miniature spy satellites, car simulators, water-warding rope, portable holes, cardboard games that you step into to play, super food seasoning, a fashion "bug" (virus), time mirrors, ice construction sets, real-item encyclopedias, and everything else that could possibly make life a little more interesting. (Speaking of which, it's interesting to note that many Doraemon devices would be civil liberty and personal rights nightmares in the U.S.).
Of course, the gadget doesn't necessarily make the story. As far as plots go, Nobita is the protagonist, and usually makes the right decisions in really important matters.
In one story, Nobita's efforts to save a stray dog and cat eventually lead him try to save a whole group of stray animals (his mother is NOT pleased). In desperation, he and Doraemon are forced to send the animals back in time --- after increasing their intelligence and giving the animals a hamburger-making machine. Back in the present day, Nobita's friends find a newspaper article about a lost civilization that left behind miniature buildings --- large enough for maybe a dog or cat --- and even a statue of a godlike, winged creature whose face just happens to look like Nobita's.
In another story, Nobita and Doraemon decide to help a group of hunters who are tracking down a wolf family in the wilds. Nobita, disguised as a wolf, finds the wolves --- who, welcoming him as a friend, tell him about the pain of surviving in a world rapidly being taken over by humans. When his disguise wears off, the wolves try to attack Nobita --- but Doraemon rescues him. When Doraemon suggests turning the wolves in, however, Nobita refuses. Together, they somehow persuade the hunters that the area has no wolves.
Of course, there are utterly silly stories, too.
In one silly story, Nobita uses an illness-transferring device to help his sick father (who needs to go to a business meeting), and then runs around trying to find someone to give his new cold to. Unfortunately, the school bully is unexpectedly sympathetic ("Wanna come to my place? I've got medicine that'll help you"), and Nobita can't bring himself to infect him. Luckily, he and Doraemon happen to run into a man who wants his cold --- because he happens to have a crush on a local nurse. And so, in the end, everyone is happy ... strangely enough.
In another silly story, Nobita is deeply touched by his teacher's morale-raising lecture, but can't seem to convey the "touching" part of it to anyone else. Doraemon then produces for him a microphone/speaker that makes anything he says deeply inspiring. Nobita of course runs off to show it off to his friends; they are all busy watching the local videotaping of a popular idol. Nobita is determined to inspire and move them more than the celebrity can; unfortunately, he has gotten his microphone switched with a baby's toy, and has to recover it. Finally, with the microphone in his back pocket, he rushes over to his friends to impress them --- but accidently farts while trying to pull the microphone out of his pocket. There is a moment of stunned silence. The last panel shows Nobita fleeing in sheer embarrassment from a mob of pursuing people who are shouting, "What a deeply moving fart that was!"
Doraemon manages to slip in the moral teachings with a good amount of subtlety.
For example, Nobita once manages to pick up a cloning device, with which he makes clones of his "friends," the cunning Suneo and brutish Gian. The clones arrive at 4th-grade age but with the minds of babies. Nobita raises them in a trans-dimensional room, thinking of raising the clones into his well-behaved, friendly, (submissive) friends/"children." However, the clones' minds mature rapidly, and they begin to figure out that Nobita is weaker and not as bright as they are. Since they watch TV, they realize there is a world outside their room which Nobita is not showing them. So they revolt. Doraemon finds out what has happened, but explains to Nobita that since the clones are living people, they can't be arbitrarily destroyed. ("Maybe we can convince them to live on another planet," Doraemon suggests). However, the clones discover the cloning apparatus by accident, and hit the equivalent of the "Undo" button, thus un-creating themselves and saving everyone a lot of headache.
Other fun stories:
Nobita's father wants to get a driver's license, even though the mother makes the side comment that since he isn't cut out for driving, it would be safer for the world if he didn't. Nobita and Doraemon set up a miniature roadway for the father to practice with, using the Gulliver Tunnel to shrink him. (Of course Doraemon and Nobita have to test-drive the roads first). Nobita's father, deeply touched, starts using the roadway. Becoming bold, he takes his miniature car out to the real roads ("Where of course I can't hurt anyone!") and promptly has a major accident with a little boy's toy truck, demolishing the miniature car. "Maybe he really isn't cut out for driving," Nobita and Doraemon mutter.
Nobita finds an egg that Doraemon has left lying around, and adopts it. Doraemon takes too long to remember what egg it was --- a wind storm egg --- and it hatches. (Yes, future science has created a sentient wind storm). The cute little whirlpool of air, lovingly raised by Nobita and fed with hot air from candles, gradually becomes a minor menace. Nobita's parents demand that the little whirlpool leave. But that night, a major typhoon arrives off the Japanese coast and threatens the Nobi house. The little whirlpool leaps out into the howling winds and battles the far larger typhoon, subduing it and saving the house. In the morning, both storms are gone, having dissipated in the battle....
One day, Doraemon has to leave on business. Unfortunately, Nobita's parents have already left town on other business, thinking Doraemon would be around to take care of Nobita. This now leaves Nobita alone. Desperately, Nobita begs Doraemon to stay. To help him, Doraemon leaves a robot rope that can take up the shape and function of just about anything. At first Nobita doesn't like the odd-looking thing, but after it kicks out an intruder, helps him with baseball, cooks dinner, and acts as a horse, he's converted. Meanwhile, Doraemon is so worried about Nobita that he cuts short his business and returns home --- only to find Nobita engrossed in a game with the rope, and practically oblivious to Doraemon's return.
In another story, Nobita has to read a book for a class assignment. Since he hates reading books (as opposed to comic books), Doraemon produces a book-helmet that causes the wearer to recite the contents of a book. The brilliant boy Dekisugi is convinced to recite a book for Nobita (he's shown around the future as a pre-payment). He does so, and Nobita is drawn into the adventure story. Finally, late at night, Dekisugi is too tired to continue, and is allowed to go home. Nobita wants to find out what happens in the story so much that he sits down and starts reading the book himself. His parents come in and tell him not to stay up all night reading, but Doraemon holds them back. "Don't make him stop --- he's finally discovered the joy of reading!"

---

Doraemon co-creator Fujimoto Hiroshi (Fujiko F. Fujio) died on Sept. 23, 1996, of liver failure at age 62; he is survived by his wife Masako and three daughters. Co-author Motoo Abiko (Fujiko Fujio A), who split off in 1987, said "We separated because we would go our own ways. But we both wanted to create the same comics." (From CNN and the Japan Times) Apparently, Mr. Fujimoto initially came up with Doraemon in 1969 (or 1970) after tripping on his young daughter's toy, hearing a neighborhood cat fight, and wishing he had a machine to generate a new manga concept. Between the toy's shape, the cats' yowling, and the longing for a machine to solve his problems, he came up with a robot cat with a pocket containing all sorts of problem-solving gadgets. (From a supplement to a children's manga magazine many years ago).
The maintainer would like to thank both creators of Doraemon for writing a manga that helped the maintainer to understand and come to terms with Japanese culture. Many times as a child, the maintainer found the family life within Doraemon to be a mirror of the maintainer's own home life, a home life not reflected in the American TV sitcom shows. For a young nisei in America, the mirror and the dreams within it were a priceless gift. Domou arigatou gozaimashita, sensei!


CREDITS TO: http://www.mit.edu/people/rei/MANGA/Doraemon.html

DORAEMON

—by Eri Izawa

Perhaps the most famous manga character in all of Japan is Doraemon. Almost the equivalent of Mickey Mouse in the U.S., Doraemon and his namesake series symbolize to many the foibles and adventures of childhood. Characters from DORAEMON are referenced in adult manga, Doraemon's face graces candy, and just about anyone you ask in Japan would recognize the name and the round face with the round button nose, long whiskers, big smiling mouth, and collar with a bell.
  Penned by famous children's mangaka Abiko Motoo and the late Fujimoto Hiroshi, who for a long time co-authored the series and called themselves "Fujiko Fujio," DORAEMON was a big hit in the 1970s that continued through the 1980s, and even into the 1990s (though with only Fujimoto Hiroshi on the project, writing as "Fujiko F. Fujio"). The children who first grew up reading DORAEMON are now adults rising up through Japanese society.
  What is DORAEMON? It is a humorous children's manga (later a TV-series) about a boy named Nobi Nobita who is so unlucky, weak and lazy that his descendants had to send the family robot back in time to help him out. That robot is Doraemon (where the "Dora" is presumably based on the word "dora-neko," or stray cat), and his four-dimensional pocket produces any number of futuristic gadgets and devices meant to help Nobita become something other than a complete failure in adulthood. Though smart and caring, Doraemon has his own foibles, and his partnership with Nobita produces both triumphs and disasters, hilarious situations and occasional poignant moments.
  As a "gag" manga for children, the series has no real progression; our hero is always a fourth-grader, and rarely do changes carry over from story to story. As a glimpse into Japanese family life, though, DORAEMON is priceless. We see Nobita's parents as very typical for Japan of the 1970s, with the father a stocky and mellow salaryman, and the mother a hardworking housewife whose job it is to make sure Nobita studies hard and does his chores. Although ferocious when angry, she is also caring and smart; at heart she just wants her son to grow up to become a decent, hardworking adult with a bright future. Nobita's friends include the class bully nicknamed Gian (presumably based on the word "giant"), the class rich kid Suneo who usually acts as Gian's lieutenant, the gentle and smart girl Shizuka and the occasionally appearing super-brilliant Dekisugi (which can be read as "over done" or "overly perfect"). There's also their schoolteacher, a stern man who has no compunction against sending Nobita off to stand in the hallway for being late. In all this, Doraemon acts as the childhood friend or older sibling we all wish we could've had: caring, smarter than us, with a sense of justice, imperfect and fallible enough to not be irritating, and with a magic pocket that can produce the solution to any problem.
  A typical DORAEMON story starts with Nobita suffering from the abuses of Gian and Suneo, or doing badly in school, coming home crying, and being comforted by a tried but true Doraemon. Doraemon patiently (or resignedly) digs into his four-dimensional pocket and produces a new gadget that (it seems) might offer the perfect cure for the problem...until Nobita or his friends get too greedy (and even Doraemon's been known to screw things up from time to time).
  For example, after a day of forgetting his books at home and his pack at school, Doraemon produces a handbag that allows one to reach in and pick up something far away. Nobita retrieves his pack from school...and then promptly rushes out to show off the handbag to his friends. To prove its abilities, he grabs his mother's glasses from the handbag—which doesn't impress anyone—and then goes on to pull out Suneo's narcissistic diary and even Gian's suspiciously wet futon. But when he returns home, his mother is angry about her glasses—and she quickly finds the handbag very useful for retrieving her wayward son!
  Doraemon also sometimes carelessly leaves devices lying around. Nobita once found a time vending machine, which allowed the user to buy products from other times with modern money: thanks to inflation, of course, things from the past cost much less in absolute yen terms. Nobita uses it to buy boxes of cheap 1933 cigarettes for his father and a mountain of jars of ink for his mother, and even fails to buy a camera from the year 745. But when Doraemon warns him not to use the machine for making a profit, Nobita naturally rushes off to do so. With his new earnings, he decides to buy something different—candy from 100 years in the future, indescribably delicious. Unfortunately, he forgot about cost inflation...and he finds himself 230,000 Yen in debt to the machine, which is now demanding its payment!
  Almost every story brings a new gadget at play: a camera that turns objects into two-dimensional photos that need hot water to revert to normal (don't ask how Nobita returned to normal after he used it on himself!); a deluxe light that converts anything it shines on into a more deluxe model (which surprisingly makes some people unhappy); a cloud-shaping machine that alters the clouds in the sky (but don't let it overheat!); the flavor-sharing gum, which allows one to taste what someone else eats (great for rich friends, but very bad if a stray dog chews it); or the helping pill, which makes those who swallow it help out anyone they meet in need (and of course, Nobita winds up swallowing it instead of his friends). A few gadgets, though, return once in a while or are standard "staples" of the series. For example, the Dokodemo Doa ("Wherever Door"), which allows one to go anywhere; the Moshimo Box ("What If Phone Booth"), which allows one to go to an alternate world where a suggested proposition is true; the time machine in Nobita's desk drawer, which allows one to travel to any time; the take-copter, a tiny helicopter-style blade to wear on one's head, that allows one to fly; the time-cloth, which makes objects it is wrapped around younger or older; and of course, Doraemon's four dimentional pocket itself, which produces all these items. The stories, however, are not really about the gadgets; they are about Nobita and his decisions. The gadgets serve only as outlets for his character to shine through, whether in moments of greed, indignation, remorse or compassion. His mistakes, moments of weakness and occasional moments of bravery are what make the stories. And ultimately, the stories have a moral core. Nobita's misuse of the gadgets usually bring dire consequences back on his head, but when he champions justice and acts for worthy reasons, he usually manages to do lasting good. Thankfully, Nobita is at heart a good kid with a compassionate heart, if fraught with flaws.
  A prime example of this is the story where a new transfer student turns out to be even worse off than Nobita: slower, weaker and with even poorer test scores. Nobita is overjoyed to find someone worse than himself, so he studies with, races against and plays games with the new kid; and in each case the new boy fares worse. At last, Nobita even gets him drafted into Gian's dreaded baseball games instead of himself. But Doraemon brings out a film viewer in which characters can be switched. He shows that Nobita's actions to the new kid were just like Suneo's usual behavior to Nobita: condescending, arrogant, mean and self-serving. Nobita sees the truth in this, and when he sees Gian and Suneo beating up the other kid over his poor baseball performance, exactly where Nobita would have been, Nobita jumps in and takes the beating instead.
  Indeed, a number of DORAEMON stories depart from a simple gag routine and take a long, steady look at issues of moral and ethical importance. Stories have been told about environmental issues, caring for pets, self-sacrifice for another's sake, bravery in the face of danger, parental love and guidance, and the importance of reading. If not concerned with ethics, some stories are educational, touching on subjects ranging from biology, history, genetics, archaeology and geology (or even the notion of economic inflation, as mentioned above). When these elements are combined with comedy, familiar characters and a plethora of fun and fantastic gadgets, there is very little doubt about why DORAEMON became as popular as it did, or why so many Japanese can look back it with such fondness.
  For anyone who has the chance to read DORAEMON, it offers an excellent look at child's eye view of Japanese home life of the 70s, and should not be missed.
  Here's more about the main characters from the classic series:

    •       Nobi Nobita: The only child in his family, Nobita unfortunately inherited his dad's poor academic ability and his mother's poor athletic ability (along with her bad eyesight). His only two talents are cat's cradle and shooting, skills that are almost completely useless in modern Japanese society.
•       Doraemon: A cat-based robot from the future, Doraemon has a four-dimensional pocket filled with useful gadgets. Doraemon loves dorayaki (a snack food made with sweet bean paste), hates being cold and he absolutely loathes rats and mice, to the point of digging out a nuclear bomb from his pocket when he thinks they're around.
•       Nobita's Mother: A classic Japanese mother, good at lecturing Nobita, scary when angry and overall a sharp cookie. She also cares very much for her son, and is just as quick to bring him a snack when it looks like he's actually studying as she is to yell at him when he's goofing off.
•       Nobita's Father: A laid back Japanese father and salaryman. Normally cheerful, he's ready to offer a lecture or two to his son about the hard times when he was a boy, during the war era. His nemesis appears to be learning to drive a car, though his inability to quit smoking has come up as a plotline as well.
•       Gian: Gian (Takeshi) is the local bully, who forces everyone to do things his way, who takes other kids' toys, and who beats up those who oppose him. His dream is to become a singer, and he periodically forces other kids to come and listen to his mind-numbing, ear-warping "concerts." Once in a while he acts kindly towards others, but that's rare. His family is relatively poor. His mother slaps him when she finds him beating up other kids.
•       Suneo: The local rich kid, Suneo finds his surest safety in obeying Gian and being his lieutenant, but Suneo secretly resents the stronger boy. His family often goes on expensive trips to which Suneo usually invites Shizuka and Gian, but not Nobita. Suneo has a narcissistic streak a mile wide and loves showing off what his wealth can buy him.
•       Shizuka: The nicest girl in the neighborhood, Shizuka is also smart, pretty and gentle. Her hobby unfortunately is frequent bath-taking in the later books (yes, Japanese children's comics have nudity), but overall, she is one of Nobita's protectors and his favorite friend. In the future (as seen by time travel) it seems that she will become his wife, although Nobita was originally going to marry Gian's obnoxious younger sister. Doraemon, it appears, was at least partially successful in changing Nobita's fate.
•       Dekisugi: A sometimes-appearing character, Dekisugi is Nobita's main rival for Shizuka. Handsome, athletic and smart, he appears to have no real flaws.
•       Dorami: Doraemon's younger sister, who is apparently a somewhat better grade of robot. Her application of futuristic gadgets is usually more intelligent than her elder brother's, but she knows that Nobita and Doraemon are the best of friends. Dorami appears only occasionally, usually when Doraemon is in his periodic "off" state (necessary for robot health).
•       The teacher ("Sensei"): The teacher is a fairly stern man who often sends Nobita off to stand in the hallway (a traditional Japanese school punishment). He doesn't hesitate to lecture poorly performing students if he runs into them on the street.
•       Nobita's Grandmother (father's side): A small, gentle woman who died some years before, she makes a very rare appearance once in a while when Nobita goes time traveling. Remarkably, she accepts his story about coming from the future, and always treats him with kindness.

CREDITS TO:http://www.ex.org/4.8/35-manga_doraemon.html

Doraemon  is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio (the pen name of Hiroshi Fujimoto) and Fujiko A. Fujio (the pen name of Motō Abiko) which later became an anime series and an Asian franchise. The series is about a robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a schoolboy, Nobita Nobi ( Nobi Nobita?).

The series first appeared in December 1969, when it was published simultaneously in six different magazines. In total, 1,344 stories were created in the original series, which are published by Shogakukan under the Tentōmushi manga brand, extending to forty-five volumes. The volumes are collected in the Takaoka Central Library in Toyama, Japan, where both Fujiko Fujio were born. Viz Media bought the license to the Doraemon manga in the 1990s for an English-language release, but ultimately decided not to publish it due to the possible controversy surrounding its content.[citation needed] However, Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (The 26th film in the franchise) got a private screening in Washington D.C. in November 2008.

A majority of Doraemon episodes are comedies with moral lessons regarding values such as integrity, perseverance, courage, family and respect for elders. Several noteworthy environmental issues are often visited, including homeless animals, global warming, endangered species, deforestation, and pollution. Miscellaneous educational topics such as dinosaurs, the flat Earth theory, wormhole traveling, Gulliver's Travels, and the history of Japan are often covered.

Doraemon was awarded the Japan Cartoonists Association Award for excellence in 1973. Doraemon was awarded the first Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga in 1982, and the first Osamu Tezuka Culture Award in 1997. In March 2008, Japan's Foreign Ministry appointed Doraemon as the nation's first "anime ambassador." Ministry spokesman explained the novel decision as an attempt to help people in other countries to understand Japanese anime better and to deepen their interest in Japanese culture." The Foreign Ministry action confirms that Doraemon has come to be considered a Japanese cultural icon. In 2002, the anime character was acclaimed as an Asian Hero in a special feature survey conducted by Time Asia magazine.

Name

The name "Doraemon" translates roughly to "stray". Unusually, the name "Doraemon" is written in a mixture of two Japanese scripts: katakana and hiragana . "Dora" is from "dora neko" (stray cat,), and is a corruption of nora (stray). "Emon" is a component of male given names, such as Goemon, though no longer as popular as in the past. "Dora" is not from dora meaning gong, but due to the homophony, the series puns on this, with Doraemon loving dorayaki.
Plot
Main article: List of Doraemon characters
The first appearance of Doraemon, who came via the time machine.

Doraemon is sent back in time by Nobita Nobi's great-great grandson Sewashi to improve Nobita's circumstances so that his descendants may enjoy a better future. In the original timeline, Nobita experienced nothing but misery and misfortune throughout his life. As a result of this, Nobita's failures in school and subsequently, his career, have left his family line beset with financial problems. In order to alter history and better the Nobi family's fortunes, Sewashi sent him a robot called Doraemon.

Doraemon has a pocket from which he produces many gadgets, medicines, and tools from the future. The pocket is called yojigen-pocket, or fourth-dimensional pocket. Some of the gadgets are based on real Japanese household devices with fanciful twists, but most are completely science fiction (although some may be based on folklore or religious stories). Thousands of dōgu have been featured in Doraemon. The number of dōgu has been approximated at 4,500. It is this constant variety which makes Doraemon popular even among adult readers/viewers. In the series, the availability of dogu depends sometimes on the money Doraemon has available, and he often says some dogu are expensive in the future. The more famous ones include the "bamboo-copter", a small head accessory that allows flight; the "Anywhere Door", a door that opens up to any place the user wishes; and the "Time Machine". Some of the recurring dōgu appear also in Fujiko F. Fujio's other works such as 21-emon, Kaibutsu-kun, Kiteretsu Daihyakka, Mikio to Mikio or Pāman.

Although he can hear perfectly well, Doraemon has no ears: his robotic ears were eaten by a mouse, giving him a series-long phobia of the creatures.

The stories are formulaic, usually focused on the everyday struggles of fourth grader Nobita, the protagonist of the story. In a typical chapter, Nobita comes home crying about a problem he faces in school and/or the local neighborhood. After hearing him out, Doraemon always offers helpful advice to his problem(s), but that's never enough for Nobita, who is consistently looking for the "quick, easy" way out (which offers insight to the viewers as to why Nobita's life turned out the way it did). Finally, after Nobita's pleading and/or goading, Doraemon produces a futuristic gadget out of his aforementioned pouch to help Nobita fix his problem, enact revenge, or flaunt to his friends. The only main female character is Shizuka Minamoto ( Minamoto Shizuka?), who serves as a semi-romantic girlfriend of Nobita, but otherwise a supporting, minor character. Nobita's main human friends include Gian, a known bully, and Suneo, a gloating spoiled wealthy kid. There are many recurring supporting characters, such as Dekisugi, Nobita's parents, his school teacher, his descendants from the future, and Doraemon's sister, Dorami.

Nobita usually goes too far, despite Doraemon's best intentions and warnings, and gets into deeper trouble than before. Sometimes, Nobita's friends (usually Suneo or Jaian) steal the gadgets and end up misusing them. However, by the end of the story, there is usually retribution to the characters who end up misusing them, and a moral is taught.


 Media
Main articles: List of Doraemon media and List of non-Japanese Doraemon versions

 Manga

In December 1969, the Doraemon manga appeared simultaneously in six different children's monthly magazines. The magazines were titled by the year of children's studies, which included Yoiko (good children), Yōchien (nursery school), and Shogaku Ichinensei (first grade of primary school) to Shogaku Yonnensei (fourth grade of primary school). By 1973, the series began to appear in two more magazines, Shogaku Gonensei (fifth grade of primary school) and Shogaku Rokunensei (sixth grade of primary school). The stories featured in each of the magazines were different, meaning the author was originally creating more than six stories each month. In 1977,CoroCoro Comic was launched as a magazine of Doraemon. Original manga based on the Doraemon movies were also released in CoroCoro Comic. The stories which are preserved under the Tentōmushi brand are the stories found in these magazines.

Since the debut of Doraemon in 1969, the stories have been selectively collected into forty-five books published from 1974 to 1996, which had a circulation of over 80 million in 1992. In addition, Doraemon has appeared in a variety of manga series by Shōgakukan. In 2005, Shōgakukan published a series of five more manga volumes under the title Doraemon+ (Doraemon Plus), which were not found in the forty-five Tentōmushi pipi volumes. Many other series have since been produced, some not from official supplies.

Doraemon was discontinued in two media because readers were advancing in grades and an ending was believed to be needed. These two are not reprinted.

    * In the March 1971 issue of the magazine Shogaku 4-nensei: Because visitors from the future were causing too much trouble, the government in the 22nd Century passed a bill to ban time-travelling altogether, meaning Doraemon would have to return to his time era. He leaves Nobita.

    * In the March 1972 issue of the magazine Shogaku 4-nensei: Doraemon, for some reason, had to go back to the future but fakes a mechanical problem so that Nobita would let him go. Nobita believes him and promises to wait until Doraemon gets well. Realizing that Nobita can handle his departure, Doraemon tells the truth and Nobita accepts. Doraemon returns to the future.

The third ending was actually meant to be the official ending due to low TV ratings and the Fujiko Fujio duo being busy with other works, but Doraemon did not leave their minds and restarted in the next month's issue. In 1981, this episode was made into anime (called "Doraemon Comes Back"), and in 1998, this was released as an anime movie.

    * In the March 1973 issue of the magazine Shogaku 4-nensei, Nobita again returns home after losing a fight against Gian. Doraemon then explains that he has to return. Nobita tries to have Doraemon stay but after talking it over with his parents, he accepts Doraemon's departure. They take a last walk in the park. After they split up, Nobita encounters Gian and gets into a fight again. After a long duel with Nobita trying to win at all costs so that Doraemon can leave without worries, Gian gave up (which gave Nobita the win) because no matter what, Nobita refuses to stay down. Doraemon finds Nobita passed out with a bloody mouth and takes him home. Sitting beside the sleeping Nobita, Doraemon returns to the future. This story was reprinted in the last chapter of the manga Book 6.

When the Fujiko Fujio duo broke up in 1987, the very idea of an official ending to the series was never discussed. Since Fujiko F. died in 1996 before any decisions were reached, any "endings" of Doraemon are fan fiction. However, it is apparent from many episodes and movies where Nobita travels to the future that in the end he does marry Shizuka, leads a happy life and separates with Doraemon, although Nobita and his friends fondly remember him.

One of the most prolific fanfiction endings was by Nobuo Sato. In this ending, Doraemon's battery power ran out, and Nobita was given a choice between replacing the battery inside a frozen Doraemon, which would cause it to reset and lose all memory, or await a competent robotics technician who would be able to resurrect the cat-robot one day. Nobita swore that very day to work hard in school, graduate with honors, and become that robotics technician. In the future, it was revealed that Japan has become a Republic, and Hidetoshi Dekisugi is the President. He successfully resurrected Doraemon in the future as a robotics professor, became successful as an AI developer, and thus lived happily ever after, thus relieving his progeny of the financial burdens that caused Doraemon to be sent to his space-time in the first place. A dōjinshi for this ending was made by a "Tajima T Yasue" in 2005, and it sold 13,000 copies before Shogakukan halted its publication. Tajima apologized to Shogakukan in 2007 and paid an undisclosed amount of money for settlement.


After a brief and unpopular animated series in 1973 by Nippon Television, Doraemon remained fairly exclusive in manga form until 1979 when a newly formed animation studio, Shin-Ei Animation (Now owned by TV Asahi) produced an anime series of Doraemon. This series became incredibly popular, and ended with 1,787 episodes on March 25, 2005.

In the ending of the first series, Nobita finds a box the shape of Doraemon in his drawer. The next day, which happens to be April Fool's Day, Nobita is jeered at by Suneo and Gian, the latter tricking him about Doraemon's return. He happily runs home and asked his mother whether Doraemon came back and finds out the truth. Nobita couldn't stand it and opens the box. Inside of it was a bottle of liquid. He hears Doraemon's voice explaining that the potion is called Uso 800 (Lies 800) it is used to make all untruths the drinker says true. Nobita uses it to play a few tricks on Gian and Suneo, like first taking cover then say that the weather sure is good, which becomes a lie and it started to rain heavily before he said it is raining heavily and the rain stopped. Gian and Suneo was scared away after a few tricks and when Nobita mentioned what is happening. Nobita was very happy at first but quickly loses interest in the absence of Doraemon. As he walks home, due to his earlier questioning if Doraemon returned or not, his mother asked him if he could find Doraemon, he unwittingly said, in great disappointment, the truth about Doraemon never coming back, just like what Doraemon told Nobita before his departure. Since the potion was still in effect, when he arrives his room he finds Doraemon there, and they have a happy reunion, but due to the effects of the potion, all his greets and joyful words have to be spoken in the opposite way like I am so unhappy that we can never be together again.. The extended ending from the animated series was eventually adapted to the first story of Book 7 in the manga series, with a few changes (i.e. Instead of hearing Doraemon's voice explaining the use of the potion, he finds a card inside the box describing the use of the potion).

Celebrating Doraemon's anniversary, a new Doraemon series produced by the same team as the 1979 series (in association with Studio Pierrot), began airing on TV Asahi on April 15, 2005 with new voice actors and staff, and updated character designs.
 Feature films

In 1980, Toho released the first of a series of annual feature length animated films based on the lengthly special volumes published annually. The films are more action-adventure oriented and unlike the anime and manga, some based on the stories in the volumes, they have more of a shōnen demographic, taking the familiar characters of Doraemon and placing them in a variety of exotic and perilous settings. Nobita and his friends have visited the age of the dinosaurs, the far reaches of the galaxy, the heart of darkest Africa (where they encountered a race of sentient bipedal dogs), the depths of the ocean, and a world of magic. Some of the films are based on legends such as Atlantis, and on literary works such as Journey to the West and Arabian Nights. Some films also have serious themes, especially on environmental topics and the use of technology. Overall, the films have a somewhat darker tone in their stories, unlike the manga and anime.

The most recent Doraemon film, Nobita and the New Steel Troops: ~Angel Wings~, will be released in both conventional 2D, and IMAX 3D on March 5, 2011. It will be the first 3D film in the franchise.

 Musicals

Doraemon the Musical: Nobita and the Animal Planet (Utaiba Doraemon: Nobita to Animaru Puranetto?) was a 2008 musical based on the 1990 anime film of the same name.

The musical debuted at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space on September 4, 2008 running through September 14.Wasabi Mizuta voiced Doraemon.


 Video games

There are nearly 50 Japanese-only video games ranging from trap-em-ups to RPG games, that began with the Emerson's Arcadia 2001 system. For a complete list of these games see List of Doraemon media. Doraemon can also be seen in Namco's popular Taiko no Tatsujin rhythm game series like Taiko no Tatsujin (11 - 14 only), Meccha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS: 7tsu no Shima no Daibouken, Taiko no Tatsujin Wii, Taiko no Tatsujin Plus, and Taiko no Tatsujin DS: Dororon! Yokai Daikessen!!. The Japanese version of Microsoft's 3D Movie Maker contained a Doraemon-themed expansion pack.


CREDITS TO:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doraemon