Doraemon

***Doraemon*** is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko Fujio, the pen name of the duo Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko. The series has also been adapted into a successful anime series and media franchise. The story revolves around an earless robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a boy named Nobita Nobi (野比のび太, *Nobi Nobita*).

The first full story in the Doraemon manga series was published in January 1970. A pre-advertisement for the manga was published in six different magazines in December 1969. A total of 1,465 stories were created in the original series, which are published by Shogakukan. It is the best-selling manga for children and one of the best-selling manga in the world, and has sold over 100 million copies as of 2015.

The volumes are collected in the Takaoka Central Library in Toyama, Japan, where Fujiko Fujio was born. Turner Broadcasting System bought the rights to the Doraemon anime series in the mid-1980s for an English-language release in the United States, but cancelled it without explanation before broadcasting any episodes. In July 2013, Voyager Japan announced the manga would be released digitally in English via the Amazon Kindle e-book service.

Awards for Doraemon include the Japan Cartoonists Association Award for excellence in 1973, 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." A Ministry spokesperson explained the novel decision as an attempt to help people in other countries 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 India, its Hindi, Telugu and Tamil translation has been telecasted, where the anime version is the highest-rated kids' show; winning the *Best Show For Kids* award twice at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards India in 2013 and 2015. In 2002 *Time Asia* magazine acclaimed the character as an "Asian Hero" in a special feature survey. An edited English dub distributed by TV Asahi aired on Disney XD in the United States started on July 7, 2014. On August 17, 2015, another English dubbed version distributed by Luk Internacional began broadcasting on Boomerang UK. The film series is the largest by number of admissions in Japan.

## Plot

Doraemon, a cat robot from the 22nd century, is sent to help Nobita Nobi, a young boy, who scores poor grades and is frequently bullied by his two classmates, Takeshi Goda (nicknamed "Gian") and Suneo Honekawa (Gian's sidekick). Doraemon is sent to take care of Nobita by Sewashi Nobi, Nobita's future grandson, so that his descendants can improve their lives. Doraemon has a four-dimensional pouch in which he stores unexpected gadgets that help improve his life. He has many gadgets, which he gets from The Future Departmental Store, such as Bamboo-Copter, a small piece of headgear that can allow its users to fly; 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 that can turn an object new or old or a person young or old; Translator Tool, a cuboid jelly that can allow people to converse in any language across the universe; Designer Camera, a camera that produces dresses; and many more.

Nobita's closest friend and love interest is Shizuka Minamoto, who eventually becomes his wife in the future and has a child with him named Nobisuke Nobi (the same name as Nobita's father). Nobita is often bullied by Gian and Suneo, but they are shown to be friends in some of the episodes, and especially the movies. In most episodes, a typical story consists of Nobita taking a gadget from Doraemon for his needs eventually causing more trouble than he was trying to solve.

### Anime

After a brief first attempt at an 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 animated second attempt of *Doraemon.* This series became incredibly popular, and ended with 1,787 episodes on March 25, 2005. In Asia, this version is sometimes referred to as the Ōyama Edition, after the voice actress who voiced Doraemon in this series.

Celebrating the anniversary of the franchise, a third *Doraemon* animated series began airing on TV Asahi on April 15, 2005, with new voice actors and staff, and updated character designs. This version is sometimes referred to in Asia as the Mizuta Edition, as Wasabi Mizuta is the voice actress for Doraemon in this series.

On May 12, 2014, TV Asahi Corporation announced an agreement with The Walt Disney Company to bring the 2005 series to the Disney XD television 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 as yen notes being replaced by US dollar bills, and the setting being changed from Japan to the United States. Confirmed cast member of the new American adaptation include veteran anime voice actress Mona Marshall of *South Park* fame in the title role of Doraemon and Johnny Yong Bosch of *Power Rangers* and *Bleach* fame as Noby. The English dub is produced by Bang Zoom! Entertainment. Initial response to the edited dub was positive. The Disney adaptation began broadcast in Japan on Disney Channel from February 1, 2016. The broadcast offered the choice of the English voice track or a newly recorded Japanese track by the US cast.

In EMEA regions, the series is licensed by LUK International. The series began broadcast in the United Kingdom on August 17, 2015, on Boomerang.