# Doraemon (1979 TV series)

Doraemon (ドラえもん, Doraemon) is a Japanese anime television series based on Fujiko F. Fujio's manga of the same name and is the successor of the 1973 anime. Produced by Shin-Ei Animation, Asatsu-DK and TV Asahi, Doraemon premiered in Japan on April 2, 1979, and has been dubbed for broadcast in 60 countries worldwide. The series lasted 26 years and had over 1787 episodes and 30 specials, making it the longest of the three animated shows created to date. This Doraemon anime series is sometimes referred to in Asia as the Ōyama Edition (大山版), after Nobuyo Ōyama, the voice actress who voices Doraemon in this series.
Two official English dubs of this anime series have been released, the first of which was called The Adventures of Albert and Sidney, which was produced in Canada by CINAR and aired exclusively in Barbados on CBC TV 8 during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the United States, the series was planned to air on Superstation WTBS, now known as TBS, but would never premiere for unknown reasons. The second dub was made in Singapore and aired on Channel i & Kids Central from 2002 to 2003 in Singapore. Additionally, an unofficial bootleg English dub by Speedy Video was produced and released exclusively in Malaysia on various VCDs.

## Premise

The series follows the title character, a cat-like robot from the 22nd century that goes to the present day to deal with an uneducated, naïve, and clumsy 10-year-old elementary school boy named Nobita Nobi and guide him in the proper direction for his future. Nobita's friends include Shizuka Minamoto, his love interest and closest best friend, as well as Takeshi Goda and Suneo Honekawa, who, while sometimes kind, frequently abused and bullied him.

## Cast and characters

Doraemon (1979-2005) cast :
| Voice | Voice | Character | Ref(s) |
| Japanese | English | Character | Ref(s) |
| Nobuyo Ōyama | A.J. Henderson | Doraemon (Albert) | |
| Noriko Ohara | Steven Bednarski | Nobita Nobi (Sidney) | |
| Kaneta Kimotsuki | Hossan Leong | Suneo Honekawa (Ricky) | |
| Kazuya Tatekabe | Gerald Chew | Takeshi "Gian" Goda (Buster) | |
| Michiko Nomura | Alison Darcy | Shizuka Minamoto (Lucy) | |
| Keiko Yokozawa | TBA | Dorami | |

## Production and broadcasting

Following the finale of the 1973 anime, the rights to the Doraemon manga were lost as Nippon TeleMovie Productions, who produced the 1973 anime, shut down on the same day as the show's series finale. However, Daikichirō Kusube gained the author's trust and secured the rights to Tokyo Movie, a production firm where he was in charge of sales at the time. Later on, in late 1976, the rights were transferred to Shin-Ei Animation as Tokyo Movie parted ways with Kusube which led to the latter becoming Tokyo Movie Shinsha. In late 1977, Kusube requested one out of two of the creators of Doraemon, Hiroshi Fujimoto, for permission to produce another anime based on the manga.
Isao Takahata, whom Kusube had asked to do, prepared a proposal and subsequently submitted it to Fujimoto, who agreed with the plan. Shin-Ei Animation originally began selling the rights to Yomiuri Television, where Juichi Sano produced a full-scale proposal, but the idea failed due to a lack of understanding among the station's upper management. Doraemon first began airing in Japan on TV Asahi on April 2, 1979.
Broadcast time for Doraemon (1979) :
| Television network | Broadcast date and time |
| Japan ||
| TV Asahi | Monday to Saturday, 18:50 - 19:00 JST |
| TV Asahi | Friday, 5:00 - 5:30 JST |
| TV Asahi | Friday, 18:50 - 19:20 JST |
| TV Asahi | Friday 19:00 - 19:30 JST |

### Casting
## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 234 | 234 | April 2, 1979 (1979-04-02) | December 31, 1979 (1979-12-31) |
| 2 | 255 | 255 | January 1, 1980 (1980-01-01) | December 30, 1980 (1980-12-30) |
| 3 | 151 | 151 | January 5, 1981 (1981-01-05) | December 25, 1981 (1981-12-25) |
| 4 | 48 | 48 | January 1, 1982 (1982-01-01) | December 24, 1982 (1982-12-24) |
| 5 | 51 | 51 | January 1, 1983 (1983-01-01) | December 30, 1983 (1983-12-30) |
| 6 | 50 | 50 | January 1, 1984 (1984-01-01) | December 28, 1984 (1984-12-28) |
| 7 | 51 | 51 | January 1, 1985 (1985-01-01) | December 27, 1985 (1985-12-27) |
| 8 | 49 | 49 | January 3, 1986 (1986-01-03) | December 26, 1986 (1986-12-26) |
| 9 | 59 | 59 | January 2, 1987 (1987-01-02) | December 26, 1987 (1987-12-26) |

## Music
### Opening themes

The opening theme used for the weekly Doraemon series airing between 1979 and 2005 was Doraemon no Uta (ドラえもんのうた), which was performed by five different performers over the course of its years:
| | Performer | Starting date | Starting episode | Ending date | Ending episode |
| 1. | Kumiko Ōsugi (大杉久美子) | April 2, 1979 | Episode 1 | October 2, 1992 | episode 1199 |
| 2. | Satoko Yamano (山野さと子) | October 9, 1992 | Episode 1200 | September 20, 2002 | episode 1681 |
| 3. | Tokyo Purin (東京プリン) | October 4, 2002 | episode 1682 | April 11, 2003 | episode 1705 |
| 4. | Misato Watanabe (渡辺美里) | April 18, 2003 | episode 1706 | April 23, 2004 | episode 1752 |
| 5. | AJI | April 30, 2004 | episode 1753 | March 18, 2005 | episode 1787 |
Two songs were used for a separate weekday Doraemon series which is a part of Fujiko Fujio Theater (藤子不二雄劇場, Fujiko Fujio Gekijoo), the first song being the same as the first song of the weekly series.
| | Name | Song Title | Starting date | Starting episode | Ending date | Ending episode |
| 1. | Kumiko Ōsugi (大杉久美子) | "Doraemon no Uta" (ドラえもんのうた) | April 2, 1979 | episode 1 | September 29, 1979 | episode 156 |
| 2. | Nobuyo Oyama, Koorogi '73 (大山のぶ代, こおろぎ'73) | "Boku Doraemon" (ぼくドラえもん) | October 1, 1979 | episode 157 | September 23, 1981 | episode 617 |

### Ending themes

The ending themes used for the weekly Doraemon series airing between 1979 and 2005 were:
| | Song Title | Performer | Starting date | Starting episode | Ending date | Ending episode |
| 1. | "Aoi Sora wa Pocket sa" (青い空はポケットさ) | Kumiko Ōsugi (大杉久美子) | April 2, 1979 | episode 1 | September 23, 1981 | episode 617 |
| 2. | "Maru-gao no Uta" (まる顔のうた) | Nobuyo Oyama (大山のぶ代) | October 1, 1981 | episode 618 | March 30, 1984 | episode 757 |
| 3. | "Santa Claus wa Doko no Hito" (サンタクロースはどこのひと) | Nobuyo Oyama (大山のぶ代) | November 18, 1983 | episode 738 | December 30, 1983 | episode 744 |
| 4. | "Boku-tachi Chikyuu-jin" (ぼくたち地球人) | Mitsuko Horie (堀江美都子) | April 6, 1984 | episode 758 | April 8, 1988 | episode 971 |
| 5. | "Aozora-tte Iina" (青空っていいな) | Mitsuko Horie (堀江美都子) | April 15, 1988 | episode 972 | October 2, 1992 | episode 1199 |
| 6. | "Ashita mo Tomodachi" (あしたも♥ともだち) | Yui Nishiwaki (にしわきゆい) | October 9, 1992 | episode 1200 | April 7, 1995 | episode 1346 |
| 7. | "Boku Doraemon 2112" (ぼくドラえもん2112) | Nobuyo Oyama, Koorogi '73 (大山のぶ代、こおろぎ'73) | April 14, 1995 | episode 1347 | September 20, 2002 | episode 1681 |
| 8. | "Mata Aeru Hi Made" (またあえる日まで) | Yuzu (ゆず) | October 4, 2002 | episode 1682 | April 11, 2003 | episode 1705 |
| 9. | "Tanpopo no Uta" (タンポポの詩) | The Alfee (ジ・アルフィー) | April 18, 2003 | episode 1706 | October 3, 2003 | episode 1729 |
| 10. | "YUME Biyori" (YUME日和) | Hitomi Shimatani (島谷ひとみ) | October 10, 2003 | episode 1730 | May 28, 2004 | episode 1757 |
| 11. | "Aa Ii na!" (あぁ いいな!) | W (ダブルユー) | June 4, 2004 | episode 1758 | March 18, 2005 | episode 1787 |
Three songs were used for the separate weekday Doraemon series. The start and end dates are not listed here, nor are the episodes they ran for.
| | Song Title | Performer |
| 1. | "Doraemon Ekaki-uta" (ドラえもん・えかきうた) | Nobuyo Oyama (大山のぶ代) |
| 2. | "Doraemon Ondo" (ドラえもん音頭) | Nobuyo Oyama, Koorogi '73 (大山のぶ代、こおろぎ'73) |
| 3. | "Dorami-chan Ekaki-uta" (ドラミちゃんのえかきうた) | Keiko Yokozawa (横沢啓子) |