Doraemon

Doraemon
	File:Doraemon hat.jpg Dorameon with his classic smile
Genre	Comedy, Kodomo
Anime
Directed by	Tsutomu Shibayama
Studio	Asatsu DK
Related works
	List of Doraemon media;

Doraemon (ドラえもん) by Hiroshi Fujimoto, pen name Fujiko F. Fujio, is a Japanese manga about a robotic cat, Doraemon, who has travelled back in time from the future to aid a schoolboy, Nobita Nobi.

The stories first appeared in January 1970. They were simultaneously published in six different magazines. In total, 1,344 of the original stories were created. They are published by Shogakukan under the Ladybug (てんとう虫, Tentōmushi) comics brand, extending to forty-five volumes. They are collected in the Takaoka Central Library, Toyama, Japan, where Fujimoto was born.

Doraemon was awarded the grand prize of the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (手塚治虫文化賞) of 1997.

Setting

Doraemon was originally sent back in time by Nobita's great-great grandson, Sewashi, in order that his descendants reap the benefits of Nobita's success one day rather than be burdened by the considerable financial debts which his incompetence has led them to suffer in the original timeline.

The stories are formulaic, usually focussed on the main character of the story, Nobita Nobi. Doraemon possesses a four-dimensional pocket from which he can produce all manner of futuristic tools, gadgets and playthings from a future department store. Nobita Nobi, a poor athlete and scholar, who is weak-willed, lazy and beset by the local bullies, inevitably comes crying to Doraemon for some device to gain revenge, fix his problems, often involving academic failure, or show up the local rich boy (Suneo) who parades his acquisitions to arouse Nobita's jealousy. Nobita usually goes too far, and, despite Doraemon's best intentions and the technology of the 22nd century, gets into deeper trouble than before. Failing that, Nobita's friends steal the gadgets and end up misusing them. However, at the end of the day, there's usually retribution to the characters who end up misusing them, and a moral lesson is taught.

What makes Doraemon so lovable is that he is not perfect, despite the fact that he is supposed to be an "omnipotent" robot from the 22nd century. Doraemon has his own weaknesses, such as his insatiable love for dorayaki, a Japanese treat that is filled with sweet bean paste (this fact is often exploited by Nobita and his family/friends to persuade Doraemon to do something that he is reluctant to do), his fear of rats (because a robotic rat bit off his ears), or his tendency to panic during emergencies (characterized by him frantically trying to pull out a very much needed tool, only to produce a HUGE assortment of unrelated household items). He also has a wide variety of expressions, from the classic, wide-mouthed grin to extreme anger. This serves to make him all the more realistic, and approachable to audiences of all ages.

Origins

The original Doraemon manga appeared simultaneously in January 1970 in six different children's monthly magazines, divided by the year of study, called Yoiko (good children), Yōchien (nursery school), and Shōgaku ichinensei (first grade of elementary school), Shōgaku ninensei (second grade), Shōgaku sannensei (third grade), and Shōgaku yonensei (fourth grade). Later the series started also on Shōgaku gonensei (fifth grade) and Shōgaku rokunensei (sixth grade). Each story in each of the magazines was different, thus the author was originally creating more than six stories a month. In 1979, CoroCoro Comic was launched as a magazine of Doraemon. Original manga based on the Doraemon movies were also released in the CoroCoro magazine. The stories which were preserved in the Tentōmusi comics are the ones from these magazines.

Characters

Nobita Nobi (野比のび太, Nobi Nobita): Nobita is the main character in the series. He is a fourth grader in Tokyo. He is an only child and lives in a house. He wears glasses, a red or yellow polo shirt with a white collar, and blue shorts, and takes frequent naps. He often gets 0% in tests, is a poor athlete, and lacks talent in all sorts of activities/hobbies. He is, however, unrivalled in marksmanship and string games. Although Nobita is frequently portrayed as being cowardly and ignorant, he sometimes exhibits a very strong sense of righteousness, and will attempt to help sometimes entire civilizations, with the help of Doraemon's gadgets, of course. Unfortunately, the presence of these gadgets frequently lands Nobita into trouble by making him far too overconfident and careless.

Doraemon (ドラえもん): Doraemon is the assistant and helper of Nobita sent back in time by Sewashi.

Doraemon originally had ears but they were bitten off by a robot mouse back in the 22nd century. As a result, he has an excessive fear of mice, despite being a robotic cat. He is predominantly blue colored, the exceptions being his white face, hands, feet, and stomach.

In "The Doraemons" story arc, it is revealed that Doraemon's old paint color was yellow! After getting his ears gnawed off by the robot mouse, he slipped into depression on top of a tower. He drank a potion with a label having letters that resembled sadness. As he cried for a long time, his yellow color washed off and his voice changed due to the potion. He was later greeted by his sister, Dorami.

Doraemon's favourite food is dorayaki, a gong-shaped sweet. Many think that this is the origin of his name. However, it was revealed in one of the manga that his name originates from a Japanese word for "stray cat", dora neko, and the emon ending which is part of traditional Japanese names, as seen in, for example, Goemon.

Of the Doraemon characters, Doraemon is the only one to have changed since the beginning of the comic strip. He originally was stooped, had a body much larger than his head, and had a blue tail and flesh-coloured hands and feet. His body shape changed to having a head larger than the body, white hands and feet, a red tail and smaller body. The above picture of his first appearance shows the original Doraemon.

He weighs 129.3 kg and his height is 129.3 cm. He was manufactured (hence, his "birthday") on Sept. 3, 2112 at Matsushiba Robot Factory (Matsushiba robotto kojo)

Shizuka Minamoto (源静香, Minamoto Shizuka): Shizuka, usually called Shizu-chan or Shizukachan is a smart and kind young girl who is the object of Nobita's affections and his future bride. She has a habit of frequently bathing, leading to numerous accidental bath scenes (in one story, Nobita discovers that she takes baths every morning, noon, afternoon and evening). She is also known for attending piano classes, which is sometimes an excuse for declining to play with Nobita. However, she has never played the piano throughout the series (save for in the manga, in which she is occasionally forced to take lessons she resents and tries to get out of). Her true passions are sweet potatoes and violin, in which her playing is as bad as Jaian's singing.

Takeshi Goda (剛田武, Goda Takeshi): Takeshi, usually known by the nickname Jaian (ジャイアン) (which could be interpreted as "Giant") is big, strong, and quick-tempered. He is known for his confidence in his terrible singing and cookery. He frequently takes other children's toys and books without permission under the pretext of "borrowing" it, and regularly subjects the neighbourhood children to horrendous singing recitals (sometimes with his homemade dinner combo). Many of the stories revolve around Nobita and his friends' efforts to avoid Jaian's concerts. Although he bullies the other children (mostly Nobita), he is terrified of his mother. He founded his own baseball team named after himself. Strangely enough, Nobita is often blamed for the loss against its rival, the "Tyranos", yet Jaian and Suneo often force Nobita to play because they do not have enough players.

Although he often bullies other children, he also has a strong sense of justice, and will not hesistate to help Nobita and his friends when they are in real trouble (usually this occurs in the movie series).

He has a younger sister, Jaiko (ジャイ子), who wants to be a manga artist. She would have been Nobita's wife in the future had Doraemon not intervened.

Fujiko hasn't given her a real name.

In the bilingual English/Japanese edition of the Doraemon manga, Jaian's nickname is rendered "Gian," although Jaiko's nickname is unchanged.

Suneo Honekawa (骨川スネ夫, Honekawa Suneo): Suneo is the braggart who parades his material wealth in front of Nobita. He is often seen with Jaian, and bullies Nobita together with him. Several plotlines start with Suneo showing off some new video game, toy, or electronic item his family bought, or him needing Doraemon's help to do something. He is a talented artist and designer. He also has a younger brother, Sunetsugu (スネツグ), who was adopted into his uncle's family in New York. In some plot of the story, it is often seen that Suneo is a narcissist and loves to stare at himself in the mirror for long time, imagining things, and telling himself that he is the most good-looking guy in the world. He still need to wear diapers when he sleeps. He considers this as his secret weakness and according to his mother, it is his only weakness.

Minor characters

Hidetoshi Dekisugi (出木杉英才, Dekisugi Hidetoshi) is Nobita's classmate and rival for Shizuka's affections. He always gets 100% on school tests. His name literally means "brilliant over-achiever", and his last name is a pun on dekisugiru, which literally means "over achieving".
Dorami-chan (ドラミちゃん) is the younger sister of Doraemon. She lives in the 22nd-century Tokyo with Sewashi, Nobita's great-great-grandson. She likes melonpans. She is afraid of cockroaches. She seems to be superior to Doraemon. She sometimes visits Nobita with a time machine. See Dorami-chan (left side), Sewashi (right side).
Tameru Kaneo tends to accompany Suneo and Jaian. He has a friend (whose name is not mentioned) whom he always makes appearances with. "Kane o tameru" means "to save money" in Japanese.
There is also one character whose name isn't mentioned in the story, but makes regular appearances as a friend of Kaneo.
Mini-Doras are actually another of Doraemon's gadgets. They are mini versions of Doraemon, with different color varieties. They can think and feel for themselves, and can communicate with Doraemon in Mini-Dora language. They're really useful as mini helpers for all kinds of jobs (since they have the same properties as Doraemon).

Nobita's family

Tamako Nobi (野比玉子, Nobi Tamako) Nobita's mother. Endlessly either angry with Nobita for failing tests, or sending Nobita on errands.
Nobisuke Nobi (野比のび助, Nobi Nobisuke) Nobita's father. Laid back salaryman. Tends to be nice to Nobita. Cannot drive or quit smoking, and has a poor memory.
Sewashi (セワシ) Nobita's great-great-grandson. He feels sorry about the family's failure in life, and sent his robot pet Doraemon back to the past to look after Nobita.
Nobisuke (ノビスケ) Nobita's son, named after Nobita's father. He is a much better athlete than Nobita and is sly, he did not hesitate to beat young Nobita when young Nobita tried to stop Nobisuke from running away from home.

The Doraemons

The Doraemons (ザ☆ドラえもんズ, Za Doraemonzu) is a kind of an old boys' association of the Robot School (ロボット学校, Robotto Gakkō) which Doraemon attended. Each and every member enjoys dorayaki, but usually add their own preferred seasoning. All of the Doraemons have rock-hard heads they can use as a weapons, or to break out of prison (among other things), but this is even more enhanced in Doraemon, since he has no other special weapons, and has no ears or hat to get in the way when using this mode of attack. The members are:

Doraemon (ドラえもん) Enjoys his dorayaki plain.
Dora-the-Kid (ドラ・ザ・キッド, Dora za Kiddo) – He is good at quick shooting, but he has a fear of heights (acrophobia). He works for a sheriff's deputy in the 19th-century USA. Dora-the-Kid's weapon of choice is the Air Gun, which appears to be the front muzzle of a giant revolver that is equipped onto Dora-the-Kid's arm (He has no fingers to fire a regular pistol). The Air Gun shoots out a big blast of air that can knock down anyone that gets hit. His variation of Doraemon's four-dimensional Pocket is the four-dimensional hat (四次元ハット, yonjigen hatto) that Dora-the-Kid wears on his head. His girlfriend happens to be Dorami-chan, Doraemon's younger sister. Enjoys his dorayaki with ketchup and mustard on it.
Wang Dora (王ドラ, Wan Dora) – He is the smartest among the Doraemons and is a master of kung fu. He studies medicine in the Qing Dynasty, China while he works for an assistant of a doctor of Chinese medicine. He has a girlfriend, Mimiko (ミミコ), who is a nurse. In one of The Doraemons' manga shots introducing Wang Dora, he attempted to do Chun-Li's (from Street Fighter) Spinning Bird Kick (a move where the user would spin upside-down with his legs open to kick away his opponent in a fight), only to find it ineffective because Wang Dora's legs are too short. Wang Dora's variation of the four-dimensional pocket are his four-dimensional sleeves (四次元そでから, yonjigen sodekara) on his shirt. He is shy toward girls. Enjoys his dorayaki with soy sauce.
Dora-med III (ドラメッドⅢ世, Dora-meddo III Sansei) – He wears Arabian clothes and forecasts from the tarot. He lives in the Middle East, because he is hydrophobic. Needless to say, he can't swim. He is also quite proficient in magic and the black arts. His dream is to open a "Water Land" theme park for children who live in desert regions. When he gets angry, he grows several times his size (proportional to how angry he is,) becoming a giant. Dora-Med III's variation of the four-dimensional pocket is his four-dimensional magic lamp (四次元ランプ, yonjigen ranpu). Enjoys dry dorayaki—again, due to his hydrophobia.
Dora-nichov (ドラニコフ, Dora-nikofu) – He is taciturn (and can only communicate with growls, etc) and is extremely sensitive to the cold. He transforms himself into a wolf if he looks at something round; in this form he can attack enemies by biting or simply wreaking havoc, etc. In the short "The Doraemons" anime that introduced Dora-nichov he tried to cover his eyes with his hands to avoid looking at anything round, only to transform, because his hands are also round! He is able to blow fire out of his mouth by taking something hot like Tabasco. He lives in Russia. Dora-nichov uses the four-dimensional scarf (四次元マフラー, yonjigen mafurā) covering his face as an alternative to the four dimensional pocket. He usually doesn't eat dorayaki in front of others, because the round snack would let him transform, wreaking havoc, so it is unknown what his favorite kind of seasoning is.
El Matadora (エル・マタドーラ, Eru Matadōra) – He is very strong. He likes napping (siesta). He lives in the 17th-century Spain. He disguises himself by working for a dishwasher in a butcher's in the day, but his real job is to save the poor. He can transform into another form—Keikai-Dora. Keikai-Dora, an alter-ego that is a parody of Zorro. (Though this form isn't much different from his original appearance, except with his Magic Cloak pulled over the top of his head). Like Zorro, El Matadora in this form either leaves a "D" mark on his opponents' clothes during a sword fight or cuts off bad guys' pants. His dream is to be a matador. El Matadora is the only other Doraemon (other than Doraemon himself) to use the four-dimensional pocket. He likes dorayaki with spaghetti sauce. His Magic Cloak which can blow enemies away or deflect bullets, etc.
Dora-riño (ドラリーニョ, Dora Rīnyo) – He is very quick, but forgetful. He lives in Brazil. He spends days in playing Association Football with a Brazilian boy, Nobiño (ノビーニョ, Nobīnyo), and the Mini-Doras (ミニドラ軍団, Mini-Dora Gundan, lit. Mini-Dora Army). The Mini-Doras each have a miniature version of Doraemon's four-dimensional pocket that Dora-riño could take gadgets from, though the gadgets are equally as small as the Mini-Doras. He can attack enemies by kicking soccer balls at them. He enjoys dorayaki with tabasco. In some scenes of the manga, he can suddenly take out a strange item, like a pair of pants or a mask, suggesting he has access to hammerspace, though this fact has not been officially stated.

Source: Doraemon Characters (Japanese)

They are tightly united by a card called Shin'yū Tereka (親友テレカ, lit. close friend telephone card). They can call each other with the card everywhere and every time.

The Doraemons are collected into:

Tanaka (1995 – 2001), 6 vols.
Miyazaki & Mitani (1997 – 2001), special ed., 12 vols.
Mitani (1999 – 2002), the Robot Training School days ed., 3 vols.

all published by Shogakukan.

Allies Of The Doraemons

The Mysterious Theif Dorapan - He is a mysterious theif from France. He has a wand with a jewel on it used to change the material of one object into another (eg. paper --> water, rock --> china, etc.). He fears the dark and dogs. He likes eating dorayaki with cheese. Though often misunderstood for a "villain", he always steals for a reason, espsecially to help the poor. He was originally an enemy of The Doraemons, but that was because an evil scientist ordered him to be one. The Mysterious Theif Dorapan later banded with The Doraemons to defeat the evil scientist.
Jaidora - He is a fantastic cook. Strangely for his hobby, he wears glasses and can't see without them. His emotions change quite rarely, and he runs in circles frantically when in panic.
Dora Leonardo Da Vinci - He can make anything draws into a real object, which comes in handy. He was sent by the principal of Robot School to protect The Doraemons.
Dora Crybaby - He likes dressing up as a girl, much to the disgust of others. He can also summon roses to attack enemies, and scream loud enough to defeat enemies. (Hence his name). He was originally an enemy of The Doraemons, along with Dora Eater and Dradra Dora, but later banded up woth The Doraemons to defeat an enemy.
Dora Eater - He eats anything, including enemies. He's so fa

Dōgu

Doraemon can take out various devices (Dōgu; literally, devices or tools; 道具; see also chindōgu) from his four-dimensional pocket. Some of them are based on real-life Japanese household goods with a fanciful twists, others are tools that most of us would dream to have. Most often, these tools allow the characters to do what would otherwise be impossible in real life (like affecting the outcome of battles on TV, or walk on clouds). Whilst some of them might be possible to make in real life, many of these tools will only exist in our wildest imaginations.

Below is a short list of the dōgu that is used by Doraemon and his friends at some point or other. The list is by no means exhaustive, as the author has featured thousands of them during the entire series - estimated at around 4500.

The most complete list of Dōgu can be found here. DORAEMONs ITEM (Japanese Site)

Recurring Items

Time Machine

Time machine Doraemon's time machine is inside Nobita's desk. It looks like a simple platform with a console and lamp overhanging the console. This is a classic icon associated with the Doraemon series. Usually piloted by Doraemon himself. Dorami has her own Time Machine, which is plum shaped, suggesting that there are a variety of models available in the future. An alternative to it is the Time Belt.

Take koputā

Take Copter One of the main modes of transportation for the various characters is the take-koputā (literally, bamboo-copter; タケコプター) which combines the words take (bamboo in Japanese) and koputa – last half of the word helicopter (which is also used in Japanese). The device is a tiny cap with a propeller which you can put on any part of your body to gain the ability to fly. It is usually put on the head like a propeller beanie, but in the first few Doraemon episodes, it is placed on the waist.
Moshi mo box (もしもボックス) is a pun based upon the phrase "moshi moshi", the greeting used on the telephone, and moshimo, meaning 'what if?' The device is a phone booth into which the characters dial and propose a "what if" scenario which magically alters the world. Nobita has at various times wished for a world where money was not necessary (and storekeepers forced cash onto his hands upon attempting to purchase toys, and laws were enforced to ban the burying of money; in short, you purchase an item by receiving cash and robbed by being forced to take cash), a world without mirrors (where nobody had ever seen a reflective surface) and for a world where lazy people who napped would be hailed as celebrities.

Dokodemo door

Dokodemo door One of Doraemon's most famous devices is the dokodemo door (literally "anywhere door") a door which allows people to travel anywhere by simply going through the door. In an earlier chapter the door is able to travel to the end(or say, the border) of the universe, but in later chapters it is said to only be able to travel for a maximum distance of 100000 light years, which is still not technically wrong because people can use it multiple times to get to futher places.
Small Beam A flashlight-sized lamp that will shrink any object (including people) to miniscule sizes. The opposite tool is, of course, the large beam, which enlarges whatever it shines on.
Pass Loop A loop which creates a passage through a wall when placed upon a wall or floor.
Air Cannon A gun barrel that could be fitted through the arm and would fire a powerful burst of wind when the user says "bang".

One Shot Items (A Non-Exhaustive List)

Memory Bread A bread you imprint pages or write answers on. After one eats the bread, one will remember the content on the bread.
Restoring Beam A lamp which is able to restore any broken item to its original state.
Animal Biscuits Animal shaped biscuits that will transform a person into whatever animal the biscuit looks like for a short period of time.
Allmighty Pass A pass that grants the holder access to anywhere and anything without cost or identification. Nobita once used this to ride taxis without fare, go into pubs, and visit a famous star's home.
Deep Sea Cream Allows the user to go underwater for extended periods of time.
Fluffy Medicine Lightens the weight of the character taking this medicine, allowing him to float into the clouds.
Instant Christmas Tree A Christmas tree that grows instantly when you plant it. Similar tools include the instant vine, which grows into the sky in moments after planting.
Cloud hardening gas A gas which hardens clouds upon application, allowing characters to walk on them. Doraemon and his friends once used this gas to create a cloud city.
Bamboo Horse A horse/bamboo hybrid creature that is highly volatile in temperament. It needs to be fed carrots to pacify it. Doraemon gave it to Nobita so he could win a stilts walking contest.
Mini airplane A mini air plane in which you jump into it and fly around like a fly. It also has the ability to fire and when the plane is destroyed, the pilot will be ejected from it in a parachute.
Lightning Cloud A small portable lightning cloud that floats and has a trigger to immediately release lightning and loud thunder. Doraemon gave it to Nobita to help him get used to thunder.
Sticker of truth A rubber sticker of small size that could be stuck on anyone to make them tell the truth. Nobita once used it on Suneo.

History

Since the debut in 1970, the Doraemon 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 of Shogakukan. In 2005, Shogakukan published a series of five more manga volumes not reprinted in these forty-five books.

Fujiko's friends say that every main character represents elementary-school-student archetypes he noticed in his own school days.

TV series

After a brief and unpopular attempt at animation (in 1973 by Nippon Television Network) Doraemon remained fairly exclusive in the domain of printed pages until 1979 when the TV Asahi [1] (テレビ朝日) produced a series of Doraemon anime (1979 - ). This series became incredibly popular and Doraemon fever swept across Japan.

Celebrating Doraemon's anniversary, a new version of Doraemon has been telecast on TV Asahi with the new seiyu and staff since 15th April, 2005.

Films

In 1980, the first of a series of annual feature length animated films was made. The films have taken a slightly more adventure oriented tone 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 deepest depths of the ocean, and a world of magic. Some of the films are based on legends (e.g. Atlantis) and literature works (Journey to the West and Arabian Nights). Some films also have serious themes, especially on environmental topics and the use of technology.

See List of Doraemon films for a full list of features produced.

In July 2004, the Fujiko Movie Studio (藤子プロ) announced that the Doraemon film of 2005 was postponed until the spring of 2006 [2]. On 15th February 2005, Doraemon Channel released information about the film of 2006.

Voice actors

The main voices in Doraemon were provided by

Doraemon	Nobuyo Oyama (大山のぶ代)
Nobita	Noriko Ohara (小原乃梨子)
Shizuka	Michiko Nomura (野村道子)
Jaian	Kazuya Tatekabe (たてかべ和也)
Suneo	Kaneta Kimotsuki (肝付兼太)

From 1979 to spring 2005 they acted the main characters' voices of Doraemon. However, they gave up their parts to other people in the spring of 2005 due in part to the 25th anniversary of the Doraemon TV-series and their age.

See Mainichi Daily News and Kyodo.

On 13th March, 2005, TV Asahi [3] announced the new voice actors for the 5 main characters.

Doraemon	Wasabi Mizuta (水田わさび)
Nobita	Megumi Ohara (大原めぐみ)
Shizuka	Yumi Kakazu (かかずゆみ)
Jaian	Subaru Kimura (木村昴)
Suneo	Tomokazu Seki (関智一)

Analysis/significance

In 2005, the Japan Society of New York selected Doraemon as a culturally significant work of Japanese otaku pop-culture in its exhibit Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, curated by renowned artist Takashi Murakami. In Murakami's analysis, he states that Doraemon's formulaic plotlines typified the "wish fulfilment" mentality of 1970s Japan, where the electronics revolution glamorized the idea that one could solve their problems with machines and gadgets rather than hard work or individual intelligence.

Doraemon in the World

Nowadays, Doraemon is widely popular beyond Japan where Doraemon was born. The publishing dates below are slightly misleading, particularly in the Southeast Asian market. Doraemon has been published widely and without license in many countries until its actual publishing rights were obtained due to stricter regulations.

See

Series finale rumours

There are three current and often quoted urban legends that started spreading in late 1980s of an ending to the Doraemon series.

The first and the more optimistic ending was made public by Nobuo Sato several years ago. 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 every day to work hard in school, graduate with honours, and become that robotics technician. 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.

The second, more pessimistic ending suggests that Nobita Nobi is suffering from autism and that all the characters (including Doraemon) are simply fictional characters in his imagination. The idea that Nobita was a sick and dying little boy who imagined the entire series on his sickbed to help him ease his pain and depression no doubt angered quite a bit of fans. Many Japanese fans staged a protest outside the Head Quarter of the publisher of the series after learning about this suggestion. The publisher had to issue a public statement that this is not true. (This ending actually correlates to the ending for the series St. Elsewhere, which ended in 1988.)

The third ending suggests that Nobita fell and hit his head on a rock. He fell into deep coma, and eventually into a semi-vegetative state. To raise money for an operation to save Nobita, Doraemon sold all his tools and devices in his four-dimensional pocket. However, the operation failed. Doraemon sold all his tools except for one used for the last resort. He used it to enable Nobita to go wherever he wanted, whichever time era he wished to go. In the end, the very place Nobita wanted to go is heaven...

However, the plausibility of the issues was discussed here and it concludes that there is no ending to Doraemon. See [4] (Japanese).

Nevertheless, there are actually three official endings to Doraemon that were made. 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 [5]: Due to the fact that 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 was busy with other works. But Doraemon did not leave their minds and restarted from 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 Jaian. 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 Jaian 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, Jaian lets Nobita win for not giving up. Doraemon finds Nobita passed out and takes him home. Sitting beside sleeping Nobita and after a moment of thought, Doraemon returns to the future.
The animated version is completely similar but lenghtened. 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 Jaian, 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 Jaian 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. Jian 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 absense 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 extra portion of the above ending from the animated version is included in Book 7 of the manga series.

When the Fujiko Fujio duo broke up in the 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.

Source: All About Doraemon the robotic cat (Chinese).

Doraemon educational comics

Doraemon, Nobita, and the other characters also appear in various educational comics.

Dorabase

Dorabase is a baseball comic based on the Doraemon characters. This comic follows the story of other robotic cats that form a baseball club. Though it shows Doraemon in the beginning, it doesn't focus on Doraemon itself (because Doraemon must go back to the past to help Nobita). The group is led by Kuruemon, a cat that looks like Doraemon, only it has ears and black fur (Doraemon doesn't have fur). It features a lot of imaginary ability, and in the baseball game, is allowed to use up to 3 gadgets.

Other appearances

Doraemon is a popular character in Japan and appears in many places. For example, Doraemon is used as a promotional character by Art Hikkoshi Center" (アート引越センター, Āto hikkoshi sentā), a removals company, and by Cocos, a popular restaurant chain. He also appears in appeals for charity, the Doraemon fund.

Doraemon toys and novelty items are also often found in Japan, with literally thousands of items on sale.

External links