Doraemon

Doraemon(ドラえもん)is a Japanesemangaseries written and illustrated byFujiko F. Fujio. First serialized in 1969, the manga's chapters were collected in 45tankōbonvolumes published byShogakukanfrom 1974 to 1996. The story revolves around an earless robotic cat namedDoraemon, whotravels backfrom the 22nd century to help a boy namedNobita Nobi.
The manga spawned amedia franchise. Three anime TV series have been adapted in1973,1979, and2005. Additionally,Shin-Ei Animationhas producedover forty animated films, including two 3D computer-animated films, all of which are distributed byToho. Various types of merchandise and media have been developed, includingsoundtrack albums,video games, and musicals. The manga series was licensed for an English language release in North America, viaAmazon Kindle, by a collaboration of Fujiko F. Fujio Pro withVoyager JapanandAltJapan Co., Ltd.The anime series was licensed byDisneyfor an English-language release in North America in 2014, and LUK International inEurope, the Middle East and Africa.
Doraemonwas well received by critics and became a hit in many Asian countries. It won numerous awards, including theJapan Cartoonists Association Awardin 1973 and 1994, theShogakukan Manga Awardforchildren's mangain 1982, and theTezuka Osamu Cultural Prizein 1997. As of 2024, it has sold over 300 million copies worldwide, becoming one of thebest-selling manga seriesof all time. The character of Doraemon has been viewed as a Japanese cultural icon, and was appointed as the first "anime ambassador" in 2008 by the country'sForeign Ministry.
Nobita Nobiis a ten-year-old Japanese school boy, who is kind-hearted and honest, but also lazy, unlucky, weak, gets bad grades and is bad at sports. One day, a blue robot cat from the 22nd century named Doraemon is sent back to the past by Nobita's future great-great-grandson, Sewashi Nobi,  to take care of Nobita so that his descendants can have a better life. Doraemon has a four-dimensional pocket in which he stores tools, inventions, and gadgets from the future to aid Nobita whenever he is faced with a problem. Although Doraemon is a cat robot, he has a fear of mice because of an incident where robotic mice chewed off his ears. This is why Doraemon lost his original yellow color and turned blue, from sadness.
Nobita has three main friends:Takeshi Goda(nicknamed Gian),Suneo Honekawa(Gian's sidekick), andShizuka Minamoto, Nobita's best friend and love-interest. Gian is a strong, leading and domineering boy, but also loyal to his friends. Suneo is a wealthy and spoiled boy who uses his friendship with Gian to win the respect of other schoolmates. Shizuka is a gentle and kind girl who frequently plays with Nobita. Nobita has a crush on Shizuka; she is his prospective future wife (Nobita's future wife is initially Gian's younger sister). Although Gian and Suneo are Nobita's friends, they also typically bully and abuse him. Nobita normally responds by using Doraemon's gadgets to fight back against them, but Nobita has a tendency to get carried away with using the gadgets (or Gian and Suneo, if they steal it away), which typically results in unintended consequences for him and others.
In addition to Gian, Suneo, and Shizuka, Dorami and Hidetoshi Dekisugi are also recurring characters. Dorami is Doraemon's younger sister, and Dekisugi is a gifted student boy who as Shizuka's close friend, frequently attracts the jealousy of Nobita.
Doraemonis written and illustrated byFujiko F. Fujio, the pen name of Japanesemanga artistHiroshi Fujimoto.According to Fujio, it was originally conceived following a series of three events: when searching for ideas for a new manga, he wished a machine existed that would come up with ideas for him, he tripped over his daughter's toy, and heard cats fighting in his neighborhood.To set up the plot and characters, he used some elements from his earlier manga series,Obake no Q-Tarō, which involve anobakeliving with humans, with a similar formula.Fujio said that the idea forDoraemoncame after "an accumulation of trial and error", during which he finally found the most suitable style of manga to him.Initially, the series achieved little success asgekigawas well known at the time, and only became a hit after its adaptation into an anime TV series and multiple feature films.
Doraemonis mainly aimed at children, so Fujio chose to create the character with a simple graphic style, based on shapes such as circles and ellipses.He used the same sequences of cartoons with regularity and continuity to enhance the reader's ease of understanding. In addition, blue, a characteristic color of Doraemon, was chosen as the main color in magazine publications, which used to have a yellow cover and red title.Set inTokyo, the manga reflected parts of Japan's society, such as the class system and the "ideal" of Japanese childhood.Problems, if occur, were resolved in a way so as not to rely on violence and eroticism,and the stories were integrated with the concept of environmentalism.The manga also insisted on the ethical values of integrity, perseverance, courage, family and respect.
In order to underline the crucial role of the young generation in society, the manga's creator chose to have the act carried out in a "children's domain" where young people can live with happiness, freedom and power without adult's interference.As Saya S. Shiraishi noted, the existence of the "domain" helpedDoraemonto have a strong appeal in various Asian countries.DuringDoraemon's development, Fujio did not express a change in characters; he said, "When a manga hero become a success, the manga suddenly stops being interesting. So the hero has to be like the stripes on abarber pole; he seems to keep moving upward, but actually he stays in the same place."
According to Zensho Ito, Fujio's former student, the "length" of time in the universe is one of the ideas that inspired Fujio to makeDoraemon.Frequently displayed in its stories is Nobita's desire to control time, and there existtime-control gadgetsthat he uses to satisfy that desire, particularly the "Time Machine", which lies in his desk drawer.Unlike Western works on science fiction, the manga did not explain the theory nor the applied technology behind these tools, but instead focusing on how the characters exploit their advantages, making it more children-friendly.
The name "Doraemon" can be roughly translated to "stray". Unusually, the name "Doraemon"(ドラえもん)is written in a mixture of two Japanese scripts:Katakana(ドラ) andHiragana(えもん). "Dora" derives from "dora neko"(どら猫, stray cat), and is a corruption of nora (stray),while "-emon" (in kanji右衛門) is an old-fashioned suffix for male names (for example, as inIshikawa Goemon).Nobita's home address in Tsukimidai ("moon-view-heights"),Nerimarefers to Fujimidai ("Fuji-view-heights"), whereOsamu Tezuka's residence and animation studio is based.The name "Nobita Nobi" refers to "nobi nobi", meaning "the way a young child grows up free, healthy, and happy, unrestrained in any sense".
Gadgets, or "himitsu dōgu"(ひみつ道具), are Doraemon's tools from the future, usually used to help the characters. Fujio said that Doraemon has a total of 1,293 gadgets;according to a 2004 analysis by Yasuyuki Yokoyama ofToyama University, there are 1,963 gadgets found in 1,344 sketches.The most important gadgets include "Take-Copter", a small piece of headgear made out of bamboo that can allow its users to fly; "Time Machine", a machine used fortime travel; "Anywhere Door", a pink-colored door that allows people to travel according to the thoughts of the person who turns the knob; "Time Kerchief", a handkerchief which can turn an object new or old or a person young or old; "Translator Tool", a cuboid jelly that allow one to converse in any language; and "Designer", a camera used to instantly dress-up the user.
Saya S. Shiraishi wrote that most of the gadgets were "an impressive testimony to the standards of quality control and innovation that exist in the twenty-second century".The gadgets were an essential part of the series so as to reflect a positive point of view about the association of technology in children, and to express the wishes of modern society.
The series ceased its original run in 1994 and was not given an ending before Fujimoto's death in 1996; this has since aroused numerousurban legendsthroughout the years.One of the most well-known "endings" of the manga was by an amateur manga cartoonist under the pen name "Yasue T. Tajima", first appeared on the Internet in 1998 and made up into a manga in 2005. The story takes place when Doraemon's battery dies, and Nobita later grows up becoming a robot engineer, potentially revive Doraemon and live a happy life. Tajima issued an apology in 2007, and the profits were shared with Shogakukan and the copyright owner, Fujiko F. Fujio Pro.
Ryūichi Yagi andTakashi Yamazaki, the directors ofStand by Me Doraemon, confirmed that it had only one opening, while the ending has been rewritten several times.Because of this, Shogakukan had to clarify that only if the marriage of Nobita and Shizuka is finalized will the mission be accomplished, and then Doraemon will return to the future.
In December 1969, theDoraemonmanga appeared in six different children's monthly magazines published byShogakukan:Yoiko,Yōchien,Shogaku Ichi-nensei,Shogaku Ni-nensei,Shogaku San-nensei, andShogaku Yo-nensei. The magazines were aimed at children from nursery school to fourth grade. In 1973, two other magazines,Shogaku Go-nenseiandShogaku Roku-nensei(aimed at fifth-grade and sixth-grade students respectively), started publishing the manga. In 1977,CoroCoro Comicwas launched as the flagship magazine ofDoraemon.
Since the debut ofDoraemonin 1969, the stories have been selectively collected into forty-fivetankōbonvolumes that were published under Shogakukan'sTentōmushi Comics(てんとう虫コミックス)imprint from July 31, 1974, to April 26, 1996.These volumes are collected in the Takaoka Central Library inToyama, Japan, where Fujio was born.Between April 25, 2005, and February 28, 2006, Shōgakukan published a series of five manga volumes under the titleDoraemon Plus(Doraemon+), featuring short stories which did not appear in the forty-five original volumes;a sixth volume, the first volume in eight years, was published on December 1, 2014.Additionally, 119 unpublished stories were compiled into six colored-manga volumes under the titleDoraemon Kara Sakuhin-shu(ドラえもん カラー作品集,Doraemon Color Works), published from July 17, 1999, to September 2, 2006.Between July 24, 2009, and September 25, 2012, Shogakukan published amaster workscollection consisting of twenty volumes with all 1,345 stories written by Fujio.In December 2019, on the 50th anniversary ofDoraemon, a "Volume 0" was published by Shogakukan featuring six different versions of Doraemon's first appearance.
There have been two series of bilingual, Japanese and English, volumes of the manga by Shogakukan English Comics under the titleDoraemon: Gadget Cat from the Future, and two audio versions.The first series has ten volumes and the second one has six.21st Century Publishing House released bilingual English-Chinese versions in mainland China,andChingwin Publishing Groupreleased bilingual English-Chinese versions in Taiwan.
In July 2013, Fujiko F. Fujio Pro announced that they would be collaborating with ebook publisherVoyager Japanand localization companyAltJapan Co., Ltd.to release an English-language version of the manga in full color digitally via theAmazon Kindleplatform in North America.Shogakukan released the first volume in November 2013;by 2016, a total of 200 volumes have been published.This English version incorporates a variety of changes to character names; Nobita is "Noby", Shizuka is "Sue", Suneo is "Sneech", and Gian is "Big G", while dorayaki is "Yummy Bun/Fudgy Pudgy Pie".Also, by 2016, four volumes of the manga have been published in English in print byShogakukan Asia.
Shogakukan started digital distribution of all forty-five original volumes throughout Japan from July 16, 2015.
Doraemon's Long Tales, also known asDoraemon's Long Stories, is a manga and movie series ongoing since 1979, featuring longer and continuous narratives about the characters' adventures into various lands of science fiction and fantasy. The series consists of twenty-four tankōbon volumes published from 1983 to 2004.
Several spin-off manga series ofDoraemonhave been made.The Doraemons, a manga illustrated by Michiaki Tanaka based onDoraemon, was published by Shogakukan in sixtankōbonvolumes from 1996 to 2001.Between 1997 and 2003, Shogakukan also published fifteen volumes ofThe Doraemons Special, created by Yukihiro Mitani and Masaru Miyazaki as a complement part ofThe Doraemons, including twelve from the main seriesand three from theRobot Training School Edition.Dorabase, abaseball-themed manga written and illustrated by Mugiwara Shintarō, is another spin-off ofDoraemon; twenty-three volumes of the manga were published by Shogakukan from April 26, 2001, to October 28, 2011.
The first attempt of aDoraemonanimated series was in1973, byNippon Television. After a January 1973 pilot namedDoraemon Mirai Kara Yattekuru(ドラえもんが未来からやってくる,Doraemon Coming from the Future),twenty-six episodes, each with two segments, were broadcast on Nippon TV from April 1 to September 30 of the same year.The series was directed by Mitsuo Kaminashi with voice cast fromAoni Production; the character Doraemon was voiced byKōsei Tomita, then later byMasako Nozawa.Later in the series, the animation studio, Nippon TeleMovie Productions, went bankrupt, and the masters were sold off or destroyed.The series was re-aired on Nippon TV and several local stations until 1979,when Shogakukan requestedToyama Televisionto cease broadcasting.Some of the segments were found in the archives ofImagicain 1995,and some others were recovered by Jun Masami in 2003.As of 2013, 21 of 52 segments are known to survive, two of which have no audio.
Doraemonremained fairly exclusive in manga form until 1979 when an animation studio,Shin-Ei Animation(now owned byTV Asahi) produced an animatedsecond attemptofDoraemon.The series aired on TV Asahi from April 2, 1979.Ryo Motohira served as chief director from 1981, andTsutomu Shibayamafrom 1984.Eiichi Nakamura served as director of character designer,whileShunsuke Kikuchiwas the composer.Nobuyo Ōyamavoiced Doraemon in the series; because of this, inAsia, this version is sometimes referred to as the Ōyama Edition.In total, 1,787 episodes were produced and released inVHSandDVDbyToho.On April 15, 2005,a major renewalwas carried out, including the replacement ofvoice actorsand staff, and updated character designs.The third series is sometimes referred to in Asia as the Mizuta Edition, as a tribute for the voice actress for Doraemon,Wasabi Mizuta.It was released in DVD on February 10, 2006, under the titleNew TV-ban Doraemon(NEW TV 版 ドラえもん,Doraemon NEW TV Version)with Shogakukan Video banner.
In May 2014, TV Asahi Corporation announced an agreement withThe Walt Disney Companyto bring the 2005 series to the Disney XD television channel and Disney Channel in the United States beginning in the summer of that year.Besides using the name changes that were used in AltJapan's English adaptation of the original manga, other changes and edits have also been made to make the show more relatable to an American audience, such as Japanese text being replaced with English text on certain objects like signs and graded papers, items such asyen notesbeing replaced byUS dollar bills, and the setting being changed from Japan to the United States.Initial response to the edited dub was positive.The Disney adaptation began broadcast in Japan onDisney Channelfrom February 1, 2016. The broadcast offered the choice of the English voice track or a newly recorded Japanese track by the Japanese cast of the 2005 series.
The anime has also been aired in over sixty countries worldwide.It premiered inThailandin 1982,thePhilippinesin 1999,India in 2005,and Vietnam in 2010.Other Asian countries that broadcast the series includeChina,Hong Kong,Singapore,Taiwan,Malaysia,Indonesia, andSouth Korea.The series is licensed inEMEAregions by LUK International;it premiered in Spain in 1993and France in 2003.It has also been distributed in South American countries, including Brazil,Colombia,and Chile.In 2017, POPS Worldwide, a Vietnamese multimedia company, collaborated with TV Asahi to release the anime series onYouTubeand other digital platforms.
By 2024, there have been 43 annual feature-lengthanimated filmsproduced by Shin-Ei Animation and released by Toho.The first twenty-five films are based on the 1979 anime, while the rest are based on the 2005 anime.Unlike the anime and manga series, the films are more action-adventure oriented, taking the familiar characters ofDoraemonand placing them in a variety of exotic and perilous settings.
A3D computer animatedfilm,Stand by Me Doraemon,debuted in Japan on August 8, 2014.Directed byTakashi Yamazakiand Ryūichi Yagi,it combines elements from the short stories of the manga series: "All the Way from the Country of the Future", "Imprinting Egg", "Goodbye, Shizuka-chan", "Romance in Snowy Mountain", "Nobita's the Night Before a Wedding", and "Goodbye, Doraemon ..." into a new complete story, from the first time Doraemon came to Nobita's house to Doraemon bidding farewell to Nobita.The film was a box office success, grossing $183.4 million worldwide.A sequel,Stand by Me Doraemon 2, also directed by Yamazaki and Yagi, was released on November 20, 2020.
SeveralDoraemonshort films were produced and released between 1989 and 2004.These include2112: The Birth of Doraemon, a film about the life of Doraemon from birth before coming to Nobita;Doraemon: Nobita's the Night Before a Wedding, a film about the events related to the marriage of Nobita and Shizuka;The Day When I Was BornandDoraemon: A Grandmother's Recollections,the films about the relationship between Nobita and his parents along with his grandmother. Other short films focus onDoramiandThe Doraemons.In 1981, Toho releasedWhat Am I for Momotaro, a film aboutMomotarō, the hero of Japanese folklore.
In 1994, an educationalOVAwas made, titledDoraemon: Nobita to Mirai Note(ドラえもん のび太と未来ノート), where the main characters express the hope for a better Earth. The OVA was released in DVD along with the 13th issue ofFujiko F. Fujio Wonderlandmagazine in September 2004.A crossover episode ofDoraemonwithAIBOU: Tokyo Detective Duoaired on TV Asahi on November 9, 2018.
The soundtrack of the 1973 anime series was composed by Nobuyoshi Koshibe,who also arranged the opening theme song "Doraemon"(ドラえもん)and the ending theme song "Doraemon Rumba"(ドラえもん ルンバ), both performed by Harumi Naitō.For the 1979 anime, Shunsuke Kikuchi was the composer, who arranged "Doraemon no Uta"(ドラえもんのうた);it had been performed by numerous singers, includingKumiko ŌsugiandSatoko Yamano.When the anime got a reboot in 2005, Kan Sawada was the composer of the series.There are four other opening themes, including an instrumental version of "Doraemon no Uta" performed byTwelve Girls Band;"Hagushichao"(ハグしちゃお)performed byRimi Natsukawa;"Yume wo Kanaete Doraemon"(夢をかなえてドラえもん), the opening theme broadcast from 2007 to 2018;and "Doraemon" performed byGen Hoshino, broadcast since October 2019.
Numerous collections of theme songs of the anime series and feature films were initially available incassettes.Since the 1990s,Doraemonsongs have been released in CD, under the type ofsinglesandcompilation albums.Soundtracks ofDoraemonfeature films have been released byNippon Columbiasince 2001 in the album series "Doraemon Soundtrack History"(ドラえもんサウンドトラックヒストリー).
Doraemonhas been adapted into a musical, titledDoraemon the Musical: Nobita and the Animal Planet(舞台版ドラえもん のび太とアニマル惑星,Butaiban Doraemon: Nobita to Animaru Puranetto). Based on the 1990animefilmof the same name, it debuted atTokyo Metropolitan Art Spaceon September 4, 2008, running through September 14. Shoji Kokami was the director and writer, Makoto Sakamoto played Nobita and Reiko Suho as Shizuka; Jaian and Suneo were portrayed by Tomohiro Waki and Kensaku Kobayashi, respectively; Wasabi Mizuta voiced Doraemon.The musical was later revived and ran at Sunshine Theater, Tokyo from March 26 to April 2, 2017,then later in other prefectures includingFukuoka,Osaka,MiyagiandAichi.The 2017 revival is also directed and written by Kokami,with Mizuta reprising her role;Nobita, Shizuka, Jaian and Suneo were played by Yuuchi Ogoe, Hina Higuchi, Koki Azuma and Shō Jinnai, respectively.
Many Japanese-onlyvideo gamesbased onDoraemonhave been developed. For instance, in 1983,BandaidevelopedDokodemo Dorayaki Doraemon(どこでも ドラヤキ ドラえもん), an arcade game inspired byPac-Man.Doraemon, aNESvideo game made byHudson Soft, was released on December 12, 1986,and became one of the best-selling games of that year in Japan with over 1.15 million copies sold.On December 6, 2007,SegapublishedDoraemon Wii, the firstDoraemonvideo game released onWii.Doraemon can also be seen inNamco'sTaiko no Tatsujinrhythm game series, such as inTaiko no Tatsujin: Sesson de Dodon ga Don!(2017).The first Doraemon game to receive a Western release wasDoraemon Story of Seasons(2019).Card games withDoraemonthemes have also been made in several special occasions, sometimes to exploit the popularity of feature films.In 2016, a special edition ofUnoabout the series' characters was released exclusively in Japan, as a result of a cooperation betweenAsatsu-DKandMattel.
In Japan, theDoraemonmerchandising rights belong toShogakukan-Shueisha Productions, which has produced and distributed a wide range of products under its brand, such as toys, food, stationery,action figures,gashapon, shoes, clothing, and others.Several companies have collaborated on the creation and distribution of products on the series and its characters, includingSanrio,Converse,Moleskine,andESP Guitars, which has made guitars decorated withDoraemoncharacters;a further partnership ofDoraemonwithUniqloled to a line of clothing designed byTakashi Murakami.TheDoraemonfranchise has also collaborated with various Japanese brands, including Tsi Groove & Sports'sJack Bunny!!golf apparel brand,Unicharm'sMamiPokodiaper brand,and the video gamesLINE Pop 2,Monster Strike,andGranblue Fantasy.Viz Mediaowns theDoraemonmerchandising rights in North and Latin America,which has developedDoraemon-themed clothing and collectibles in collaboration with retail chainHot Topic,and themedHappy Mealsin a 2015 collaboration withMcDonald's.Viz Media Europe (nowCrunchyroll EMEA) manages the merchandising in Europe except Spain and Portugal;LUK International has obtained licenses in these two countries.
Characters fromDoraemonhave been used in advertising through specific agreements with Shogakukan. For instance, following theCool Japaninitiative promoted by theJapanese government,Sharp Corporationproduced a series of commercials featuring the characters of Doraemon and Nobita, which were broadcast in severalASEAN countries.In late 2011, Shogakukan andToyota Motor Corporationjoined forces to create a series of live-action commercials as part of Toyota's ReBorn ad campaign, which depicted the manga's characters two decades after being grown up, where Hollywood actorJean Renoplayed Doraemon.
Doraemonis considered one of the best-known manga of all time, a true Japanese cultural icon,and an essential part of family life of the Japanese post-war generation.Akihiro Motoyama observed that "mothers who watched the movies when they were children are now taking their own children to see them".It was also commercially successful: over108 millionbooks were sold in Japan by 1996.The 1979and 2005 anime seriesalso achieved high ratings on television. With the filmDoraemon: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum, theDoraemonanime film seriesreached 100 million tickets sold at the Japanese box office, surpassingGodzillaas thehighest-grossing film franchise in Japan.By 2015, it had sold over 103 million tickets, and was the largest franchise by numbers of admissions in the country.
Doraemonwas also a hit in Asia in general, and was considered one of the typical cases of Japanesesoft power,although it was published without a license in some countries.The anime television series is available in over 60 countries,and reportedly getting high ratings in at least 30 countries.However,Doraemonwas less successful in Western countries, because it was viewed as a children-only series, and there were some tight restrictions about publishing manga and broadcasting anime series there.The manga has sold over170 millioncopies worldwide by 2012;over 250 million by 2019;and over 300 million by 2024.Estimates show thatDoraemonhas generated at least more than$4.3 billionin merchandise sales by 2019,and over $1.7 billion from anime feature films by 2020,making it one of thehighest-grossing media franchisesof all time.
Outside Japan,Doraemonachieved particular success in Vietnam,with a record-breaking 40 million copies sold by 2006.The manga was first launched there in 1992 byKim Đồng Publishing House, but the copyright from Shogakukan was not fully acquired until 1996.In 1993, theVietnamese Ministry of Cultureconsidered the manga's publication to be "an impactful event for the improvement of children, youth and adult's likings ... [Doraemon] is a comprehensively educational book series which has the effect of developing children's personality".Doraemon is now a cultural icon in Vietnam, having featured in many cultural events.
Doraemonreceived favorable reviews.Mark Schillingwrote, "For kids whose lives are often so regulated, Doraemon represents a welcome breath of freedom and a glimpse of a funnier, friendlier world where all dreams, even foolish ones, can come true."Italian writer Massimo Nicora wrote that the manga "can be interpreted as a type of book that criticizes, with irony, the omnipotence of science that pretends to solve every problem with its tools", alluding to the fact that Doraemon's gadgets often end up making the problems even worse than they initially were, more than anything else. He added that it represents "the metaphor of the childish imagination, which always manages to find the most bizarre and original solutions, in a continuous game of transformation of reality".
Some critics considered that Nobita's flawed personality and modest background is different from the special or extraordinary characteristics usually seen in other typical anime and manga protagonists; this portrayal has been seen as reasons of its appeal as well as the contrary, especially in the United States.According to theItalian Parents Movement(Moige), in the manga, "the lazy Nobita does not know any kind of appreciable evolution", though there are still good points including "the criticism of bullying, the goodness that transpires from the little Nobita and the positive figure of Shizuka".
In his 2000 article, Leo Ching explained that the success ofDoraemonin Asia was because it had reflected the Asian values such as imagination and responsibility, the same reason thatOshin, another Japanese cultural export, became well known there.On the other hand, according to an analysis byAnne Allison, professor of cultural anthropology atDuke University, the strong point of it was not the variety of the gadgets, but the relationship between Doraemon and Nobita, which was particularly appreciated.Jason Thompsonpraised the "silly situations" and "old fashioned, simple artwork", with Doraemon's expression and comments adding to the "surrounding elementary-school mischief".On the manga's 50th anniversary, anop-edpublished onAsahi Shimbunstated that the manga "has already become a contemporary classic".
Doraemonhas received numerous accolades. It won theJapan Cartoonists Association Awardtwice in 1973 and 1994, the former for Excellence Award while the latter for Minister of Education, Science and Technology Award.In 1982, it received the firstShogakukan Manga Awardfor children's manga.In 1997, the manga won the Grand Prize at the firstTezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.The 1979 series won the award from theJapanese Agency for Cultural Affairsfour times for best television series in 1984, 1985, 1988 and 1989.
A 2006 poll among 80,000 Japanese fans for the 10th anniversary of theJapan Media Arts FestivalplacedDoraemonat fifth among the top ten best manga of all time.The 2005 and 2006 surveys conducted by TV Asahi found theDoraemonanime ranked fifth and third, respectively, among the 100 most favorite anime series of all time.In 2010, a survey conducted by researchers ofTokyo Polytechnic Universityfound that most responders consideredDoraemon, along withDragon Ballfranchise, to be the anime series that representsCool Japan.In a 2013 survey,Doraemonwas found to be the best anime recommended for foreign people.
Doraemonhas been blamed for having a negative impact on children, due to the controversial traits of the characters in the anime. The character has received criticism in China, where some media outlets considered Doraemon to be a politically subversive character and that it was a tool of Japan's "cultural invasion".Some education groups in Taiwan demanded the anime to be banned, as the plot involve bullying which would encouragecampus bullying.In 2016, a resolution to banHindidubbedDoraemonanime series was submitted in Pakistan.Around the same time, legal notices were served against several companies in India, targetingDoraemonandCrayon Shin-chanfor bans (which did not materialize), as having an adverse effect on children.Disney Channel India, the regional broadcaster of the anime, was banned in Bangladesh and Pakistan citing non-availability of localized dubs for content includingDoraemon.
TheDoraemonmanga has inspired many othermangakas; these includeEiichiro Oda, the creator ofOne Piecewith the idea of "Devil Fruits",andMasashi Kishimoto, the creator ofNaruto, who showed interest in drawing characters from anime shows during his childhood, including Doraemon.The manga has also been mentioned inGin TamaandGreat Teacher Onizuka.The character Doraemon is considered one of the cultural icons in Japan,and one of the most well-known characters in manga history;some critics compared his notability withMickey MouseandSnoopy.Mark Schillingnoted that Doraemon's "Take-Copter" is familiar among Japanese people "just as Snoopy's biplane is familiar to most Americans".
On April 22, 2002, on the special issue ofAsian HeroinTimemagazine, Doraemon was the only anime character to be named one of the twenty-two Asian Heroes, and was described as "The Cuddliest Hero in Asia".A 2007 poll byOriconshown that Doraemon was the second-strongest manga character ever, behind onlySon GokuofDragon Ball.Doraemon is also referred as something with the ability to satisfy all wishes.
In 2005, the Taiwan Society of New York selectedDoraemonas a culturally significant work of Japaneseotakupop-culture in its exhibitLittle Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, curated by renowned artistTakashi Murakami.In 2008, theJapanese Ministry of Foreign Affairsappointed Doraemon as the first anime cultural ambassador;a Ministry spokesperson explained the decision as an attempt to help people in other countries understand Japanese anime better and to deepen their interest in Japanese culture.On September 3, 2012, Doraemon was granted official residence in the city ofKawasaki, Kanagawa, one hundred years before he was born.In the same year,Hong Kongcelebrated the birthday of Doraemon 100 years early with a series of displays of the character.In April 2013, Doraemon was chosen as Japan's ambassador inTokyo's bid to host the2020 Summer Olympicsand2020 Summer Paralympics.He appeared in the2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremonyto promote the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
A Fujiko F. Fujio museum opened inKawasakion September 3, 2011, featuring Doraemon as the star of the museum.TheNational Museum of Singaporeheld a time-travelling exhibition in October 2020 as a tribute to the manga.After the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Shogakukan released an earthquake survival guidebook, which included the main cast of theDoraemonmanga series.TV Asahilaunched theDoraemon Fundcharity fund to raise money for natural disasters in 2004,and in 2011.In 2020, Mumbai's Sion Friends Circle group distributed food and books to kids using mascots, one being Doraemon, to help during theCOVID-19 pandemic.In Vietnam, a Doraemon scholarship fund was established in 1996,and the Doraemon character has been used for education of traffic safety.Doraemon's creator, Fujiko F. Fujio, received the Culture Fighter Medal from theVietnamese Ministry of Culturein 1996 for his contributions to young education through the manga.
Many prominent figures have been nicknamed after the cast ofDoraemon: politicianOsamu Fujimurais known as the "Doraemon of Nagatacho" due to his figure and warm personality,and sumo wrestlerTakamisugiwas nicknamed "Doraemon" because of his resemblance to the character.In 2015, a group of people in a drought-affected village in northern Thailand used a Doraemon toy to complete a rain-ritual, in order to avoid controversies that would occur by using real animals.
AparodyofDoraemoncreated by Hikari Fujisaki, titledNozoemon(のぞえもん), was first serialized inNihon Bungeisha'sComic Heavenmagazine in September 2014, with the compiled book volume released on June 9, 2015; however, it was discontinued in August 2015 due to content issues.