DORAEMON

Doraemon is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio (the pen name of Hiroshi Fujimoto) which later became an anime series and 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.
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. Fujio was born in Toyama.
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, endangered species, deforestation, and pollution. 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 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.

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.

Characters

Doraemon:

Seiyū: Kōsei Tomita→Masako Nozawa (1973), Nobuyo Ōyama (1979~March 2005), Wasabi Mizuta (April 2005~) Seiyū (Golden): Kazue Takahashi→Chisa Yokoyama English Verison: Janet Magentorio (1973), Phillipsommer Thorton (1979-1990), Tom Kenny (1990-Present) Doraemon is the titular robotic cat sent back in time by Sewashi to aid Nobita. He possesses a fourth-dimensional pocket from which he can acquire various kinds of futuristic tools, gadgets, and playthings from a future department store. Doraemon originally had ears but they were bitten off by a robotic mouse in the 22nd century. As a result, he developed a morbid fear of mice despite being a robotic cat. He also has the tendency to panic during emergencies, characterized by him frantically trying to pull out a very much-needed tool from his pocket, only to produce a huge assortment of unrelated household items. Doraemon's physical appearance changed as the manga progressed. At first, he was predominantly blue, with a blue tail, a white stomach, and flesh-coloured hands and feet. He also stooped, and had a body much larger than his head. In later issues, he sported a smaller body, white hands and feet, and a red tail--the appearance most identify him with today. In "The Doraemons" story arc, it is revealed that Doraemon's original paint color was yellow. After getting his ears gnawed off by a robot mouse, he slipped into depression on top of a tower, where he drank a potion labeled "sadness". As he wept, the yellow color washed off and his voice changed due to the potion. Doraemon weighs 129.3 kg (285 lbs) and measures at 129.3 cm (4'3") tall. He is able to run at 129.3 km/h (80.3 mph) when scared and jump 129.3 m (424.2 ft) when threatened. His maximum power is 129.3 bhp. His wrist, head, and chest circumference are all 129.3 cm. His feet is 129.3 mm in diameter. He is manufactured on September 3, 2112 (12/9/3), at the Matsushiba Robot Factory. Doraemon is considered a substandard product because many of his robotic features (ie. radar whiskers and cat-calling bell) malfunctioned after production. One can turn off Doraemon by pulling his balloon tail. Doraemon's favourite food is dorayaki, a Japanese treat filled with red bean paste. Speculations led to dorayaki being the origin of his name. However, it was revealed in one of the manga chapters that his name originates from the Japanese word nora neko for "stray cat", and the -emon ending which is part of traditional Japanese names, as seen also in, for example, Ishikawa Goemon. In the 2007 birthday episode, 'MS-903' is used to call Doraemon by the factory owner where Doraemon is produced. Doraemon usually uses the phrase "nanoda".

Nobita Nobi:

Seiyū: Yoshiko Ōta (1973), Noriko Ohara (1979~March 2005), Hiroko Maruyama (Stand-in for Ohara), Megumi Ōhara (April 2005~), Carleya Newton (1973-1978, English), Marluxiana Fennhairs Kyotoian (1978-1989, English), Debi Derryberry (1989-Present, English) Seiyū (Teenage): Makiko Ōmoto (2000), Mai Kadowaki (2005), Peter Lollar Vexoff (2000-Present) Seiyū (Adult): Kōzō Shioya (1984), Shingo Hiromori (1987~1990), Noriko Ohara (2000~2004), Tōru Ōkawa (2005), Hideyuki Hori (2006), Martundy Karter (1984-1991, English), Dan Green (1991-Present, English) Nobita is the main character of the series and the center of the story. He is a fourth grader[4] in Tokyo's Nerima Ward and an only child. He wears glasses, a red or yellow polo shirt with a white collar, and blue shorts. Nobita's character flaws are endless: he is lazy, uncoordinated, dim-witted, frail, plain-looking, unlucky, and bad at sports. Nobita's typical day consists of arriving late on classes, scoring zeros in his tests, getting lectured by his teacher, being bullied by his classmates Gian and Suneo, falling into curbside rain gutters, being chased by dogs, and getting scolded by his mom for his sloth and poor academic results. Despite his flaws, Nobita possesses some unique talents such as his unrivaled marksmanship and ability to weave intricate string figures. Although Nobita is usually portrayed as being cowardly, he has often risked his life to help save others or even entire civilizations (as seen in full-length stories). He has a tendency of acquiring a grade of zero every once out of five tests and has only scored perfect once in his lifetime.

Shizuka Minamoto:

Seiyū: Masako Ebisu (1973), Michiko Nomura (1979~March 2005), Yumi Kakazu (2005~), Michako Pollar (1973-1992, English), April Stewart (1992-Present, English) Seiyū (Teenage): Rei Sakuma (2000), Nami Percival (2000-Present, English) Shizuka, usually called Shizu-chan or Shizuka-chan, is the smart, kind, and pretty neighborhood girl who is the object of Nobita's affections. She takes baths several times a day. Nobita often disrupts her in the bath due to some misuse of Doraemon's gadgets, resulting in Nobita's head getting dunked. She is also known for taking piano lessons unwillingly, which is sometimes used as an excuse for declining to hang out with Nobita. Her true passions are sweet potatoes, which she'd rather keep to herself out of the knowledge of others, and the violin, in which her playing is as atrocious as Gian's singing. Due to Doraemon's intervention, Shizuka will become Nobita's wife in the future timeline.

Takeshi Goda:

Seiyū: Kaneta Kimotsuki (1973), Kazuya Tatekabe (1979~March 2005), Subaru Kimura (April 2005~), Billybot Kaysonare (1973-1993, English), Rob Paulsen (1993-Present, English) Seiyū (Teenage): Kujira (2000), Phil Lollar (2000-Present, English) Takeshi, usually known by the nickname "Gian" from English word "giant", is the big, strong, and quick-tempered local bully. His nickname may be derived from giant. He is known for his confidence in his terrible singing voice. He regularly subjects the neighborhood children to horrendous singing recitals, which is sometimes combined with his equally bad homemade dinner. He also frequently steals other children's toys and books under the pretext of "borrowing" them, unless the toy is damaged. This is how most fans considered Gian to be a major antagonist mostly to Nobita and his friends. However, he does not hesitate to help them, including Nobita when they are in real trouble, which often occurs in the movies. Several of the stories revolve around Nobita and his friends' efforts to avoid Gian's concerts or in one particular episode or chapter, which summarize his friends avoid visiting Gian's house on his birthday because of his selfish nature. After reflecting on one event about his birthday, Gian thought of himself why he wasn't popular among his peers. After getting a lecture from Doraemon to see what an unruly character he is, Gian realize that he should've been a better person and he begs Doraemon to give him another chance. However, things didn't go exactly as planned when his friends at school or at the streets mock him to see how weird Gian was acting and get kicked by Suneo after learning his attempt to become gentle to his peers. This led him to lose control of his temper and start attacking his friends again. Although he bullies the other children (mostly Nobita), he is terrified of his mother, who runs the local grocery store. He founded his own baseball team named after himself. Although Nobita is often blamed for the losses against the baseball team's rival, the "Tyranos", Gian and Suneo still force Nobita to play because they do not have enough players. Gian also has a younger sister named Jaiko, whom he adores.

Suneo "Kurt" Honekawa:

Seiyū: Shun Yashiro (1973), Kaneta Kimotsuki (1979~March 2005), Naoki Tatsuta (Stand-in for Kimotsuki), Tomokazu Seki (April 2005~), Gawain Byron Samuel (1973-1990, English), Jeff Garcia (1990-Present, English) Seiyū (Teenage): Tomokazu Seki (2000), Max Donald Magic (2000-Present, English) Suneo is the fox-faced (inherited from his mother) rich kid who loves to flaunt his material wealth before everyone. He is often seen with Gian, serving as Gian's lackey while they bully Nobita together. Some of the stories start with Suneo showing off some new video game or toy which evokes Nobita's envy. He has an extensive knowledge of science, and is a talented artist and designer. In some scenes, Suneo is seen as a narcissist who loves to stare at himself in the mirror while telling himself that he is the most handsome guy in the world. He is still a bed-wetter and needs to wear diapers when he sleeps, despite being in the fourth grade. He considers this humiliating habit his secret weakness. Suneo is also very self-conscious about his height, being the shortest kid in his class.

Hidetoshi "Logan" Dekisugi:

Seiyū: Sumiko Shirakawa (1980~March 2005), Shihoko Hagino (TV Asahi Announcer, May 2005~), Jasohino Gackyo (1980-1985, English), Dante Basco (1985-Present, English) Seiyū (Adult): Shinya Ōtaki Hidetoshi is Nobita's classmate and rival for Shizuka's affections. He always gets perfect scores on his tests, but never shows off his abilities. He willingly helps Nobita whenever he has philosophical or scientific questions. His name literally means "brilliant over-achiever", and his last name is a pun on dekisugiru, which means "over achieving". Unfortunately for Nobita, Shizuka tends to prefer the company of Hidetoshi, who is more of her intellectual equal.

Dorami:

Seiyū: Keiko Yokozawa (1979~March 2005), Chiaki (tarento) (September 2006~) English Verison: Jean Summers Beth (1979-1989), Lara Jiller Miller (1989-Present) Dorami, also known as Dorami-chan, is the sister of Doraemon. She happens to be about 2 years younger than him. Strangely enough, they are siblings due to the fact that they shared half of the oil from a can. She lives in the 22nd-century Tokyo with Sewashi, Nobita's great-great-grandson. She is yellow and has ears that resemble a large red bow. She likes melonpan and is afraid of cockroaches. She is also shown to be a more advanced robot than Doraemon (Dorami is able to produce 10,000 horse power, in comparison to Doraemon's 129.3). She sometimes visits Nobita with a time machine when Doraemon is "off-duty." She also has her own spin-off manga.

Mini-Doras:

Seiyū: Chie Kitagawa (1990), Rei Sakuma (1994~March 2005), Tomato Akai (October 2005~), Taxter Tabitha (English) Mini-Doras are actually gadgets of Doraemon. They are mini versions of Doraemon, each with a different color. They can think and feel for themselves, and communicate with Doraemon through the "Mini-Dora" language. They act as helpers for all sorts of tasks, such as repairing the internal mechanism of Doraemon.

Sensei (Mr. Baxman):

Seiyū: Osamu Katō→Masashi Amenomori (1973), Ritsuo Sawa (1979), Osamu Katō→Unknown→Kazuhiko Inoue (~September 1981), Ryōichi Tanaka (October 1981~March 2005), Wataru Takagi (April 2005~), Kerron Myke (1973-1994, English), Brickus Robinhair (1994-Present, English) Nobita's homeroom teacher. He is a strict taskmaster who often punishes Nobita for failing to do his homework. The punishments range from standing in the hallway to sweeping the classroom after-school. He often pays unexpected visits to the Nobi’s in order to inform Mrs. Tamako about Nobita’s recent zeroes on exams. He also usually sees Nobita in streets and often scold him to study hard and for getting low scores during exams. His real name is unknown and he is only referred to as "Sensei", but in the NTV anime his name is given as Ganari.