Other appearances

Doraemon is a cultural phenomenon in Japan and can be seen 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?), by a moving company, and by Cocos, a restaurant chain. Doraemon also appears in appeals for charity, the "Doraemon Fund". Doraemon toys and novelties are also often found in Japan, with literally thousands of items for sale.

Doraemon, Nobita, and the other characters also appear in various educational manga. Doraemon is also mentioned in several anime and manga by other mangakas.

Doraemon is referenced in the current Blue Man Group show running in Tokyo. The Blue Men play a short snippet of the show's theme song, and one dons Doraemon's beanie.

The Japanese guitar company, ESP Guitars, makes a Doraemon shaped guitar.

There are nearly 50 Japanese-only video games ranging from Action Adventure, to RPG games, that began with the Emerson's Arcadia 2001 system. For a complete list of these games see List of Doraemon media.

The music video for the single "From a Distance" off of the Bicycles & Tricycles album by ambient house act, The Orb revolves around Doraemon.

Doraemon can be seen in Taiko no Tatsujin 11 and 12, Meccha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS: 7tsu no Shima no Daibouken, and Taiko no Tatsujin Wii.

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Tools

Doraemon's tools

Doraemon can take out various devices known as tools from his fourth-dimensional pocket. Some of the gadgets are based on real Japanese household devices with fanciful twists, but most are completely science fiction (although some may be based on folklore or religious stories).

Thousands of tools have been featured in Doraemon. Estimates have placed the number of tools at approximately 4,500.

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Other dōgu

Of the approximately 4,500 different dōgu featured in Doraemon, most appear only once:

* Adaptation beam (テキオー灯, Tekiō Tou?) is another often-used gadget which enables the user to adapt to any kind of hostile environments, including outer space and deep undersea.
* Air glue allows the user to stick things in the air.
* Air Crayons (空気クレヨン, Kuuki Kureyon?) are used to draw things in the air, which then become real. Also there is a air eraser for erase the drawings.
* Air tubes are nose plugs that allow the user to breathe freely underwater.
* Almighty pass (オールマイティパス, Ōrumaiti Pasu?) is a passport which grants the holder access to anywhere and anything without cost or identification. Nobita once used the pass for free taxi rides, going into pubs, and visiting a famous celebrity's house. The pass is very expensive and has an expiration date which requires renewal.
* Animal biscuits (変身ビスケット, Henshin Bisuketto?, it means Transforming Biscuit) are animal crackers which transforms the consumer into the animal the biscuit is shaped after for a short period of time.(It effect works until 5 minutes)
* Antenna allows the user to be prepared for hazards in advance (though the wearer won't know what will actually happen). For instance, the antenna induced Nobita's future dad (Nobisuke) to bring a spare pair of pants before going out because it knew he will be splashed with water from a puddle later.
* Anything Mine Gas is a gas that makes anything sprayed with it attracted to the sprayer and flee from anyone else.
* Anywhere Gas serves the same function as the Anywhere Door (Dokodemo Door) except it's in the form of a pink mist emitted by a machine. It was used once in the "Nobita and the Animal Planet" movie before blowing up at the end. The product itself was removed from the 22nd Century market due to its instability and customer complaints.
* Apartment tree is a self-growing underground apartment that completes in 10 minutes. However, it can only provide living spaces for 24 hours (one day), after that the spaces provided will be refilled by earth.

* Bamboo horse (ウマタケ, Umatake?, A play on takeuma, which means "bamboo stilts") is a hybrid creature combining the horse and the bamboo, but is highly temperamental. It needs to be fed carrots and cared for to become loyal. Doraemon gives one to Nobita in order for Nobita to win a stilts walking contest.
* Bird hats are hats shaped like heads of birds. The wearer will have the same ability as the type of bird worn. For example an owl hat will make the wearer inactive during daytime, while an albatross hat requires the wearer to sprint before flying.
* Bomb of Equality is a miniature missile launching platform. It holds a bomb which can be filled with the "essence" of a person (such as a solution of dirt under his fingernail), and launched to explode into ashes. Then, for the following day, everybody within the explosion radii of the bomb will share the "essence" provider's characters, habits, or even bad lucks.

* Chocolate Heart (ココロチョコ, Kokorotyoko?) is heart-shaped chocolate that causes the consumer to have the same idea as, or agree with, the person who eats the first piece.
* Choto Ma-timer A time stopping Pocket Watch. With a simple touch of its upper button, time freezes around the user, as another touch restores Time Flow. (Seen on "The Night before the Wedding" Special.)
* Cloud hardening gas (雲かためガス, Kumokatame Gasu?) is a gas which solidifies clouds upon application, allowing the clouds to be walked upon. Doraemon and his friends once used this gas to construct a cloud city in the movie Nobita and the Kingdom of Clouds.
* Confessors' Crickets (ペコペコバッタ?) are small robotic crickets which enter a designated target's nostrils and forces the person to confess everything he/she did wrong--from silly blunders to major crimes. The crickets can only be expelled from their targets through a forced sneeze induced by pepper.

* Deep sea cream allows the user to go underwater for extended periods of time without need for air or insulation from the cold.
* Duplicating mirror is a mirror that allows one to duplicate any object by putting the object in front of the mirror. After a few seconds, the reflection becomes real and the user can reach inside the mirror to retrieve the duplicate.

* Epidemical viruses are black powder used to spread a popularity trait to everyone.

* Fairy-tale glasses a pair of glasses with the ability to enable the wearer to talk to animals and plants.
* Forgetful stick a stick which would make a person forget things, that happened on a particular time frame, once hit with. The time frame can be set using a dial.
* Fluffy medicine considerably lightens the weight of the users, allowing them to float into the sky. Taking too much at once can be disastrous.

* Horror Story Lamp anything said by the will-o-wisp will actually happen, in a logical way. For example, when Nobita said plates would shatter and a knife would enter a room, but a thief entered the house.

* Instant Christmas tree is a Christmas tree that grows instantly when planted. Similar tools include the instant vine, which grows into the sky moments after planting.
* Invisible Lacquer is a spray-can filled with a lacquer that makes anything sprayed invisible. Nobita steathily took it from Doraemon to play pranks on his friends and family.

* Lucky Star An edible Star-Shaped sweet which grants its user 3 hours of striking Luck. Nobita used it to rescue one of his friends in Nobita and the Animal Planet movie with some cunning and startling luck.
* Lightning cloud is a small floating cloud which unleashes lightning bolts when activated by a pulling switch. Doraemon gives it to Nobita to help him overcome his fear of thunder. The lightning bolts are not as strong as the real thing but powerful enough to frighten people and wreak havoc.

* Magic Hands are gloves that, well... It puts your arms to shame. Nobita used them to pick on people without actually standing next to them.
* Magic Mouth seen in an eyecatcher, it allows the wearer to eat from a distance.
* Magic Oshiri is a (rubber?) torso which causes pain to that area when spanked. Its like Magic Hands made for spanking.
* Mecha Maker is a machine which remembers the user's drawing of a giant mecha (usually of science fiction origin) of his/her own desigh, and feed on raw materials (Nobita used old toys, for example) to build the design into a functional mecha. The constructed mecha will be powered by the user via a remote control. The size and toughness of the constructed mecha depend on the quality and quantity of raw materials fed into the machine.

* Memory bread (アンキパン, Anki pan?) is a bread used to imprint pages, which after ingestion, will imbue the consumer with the content imprinted on the bread. However, after a day everything you memorized goes away. While studying for an exam, Nobita ate too much bread that he got an indigestion and had to start all over.
* Memory Disc an LP disc that stores a person's memory. The stored memory is then played in a special LP player. Nobita used it to help his Mommy find her wallet.
* Mini-airplanes are miniature toy airplanes (modeled after WWI aircraft) which can be piloted. The users shrink themselves down by stepping on the airplane's cockpit, after which they can engage other users in dogfights. The pilot is automatically ejected with a parachute after their plane is shot down.

* Personal guardian is a small human-shaped toy dressed as a samurai with a wooden sword that will protect from attack the person who gives him an old Japanese coin. Doraemon gave it to Nobita to protect himself from Gian and Suneo, with the later stole it from him. Nobita asked Doraemon for a second guardian, but both guardians had the same weakness: Shizuka.
* Present root (プレゼントルーツ, Purezento ruutsu?) is an antenna and a monitor that serves to trackback the origin of presents. Doraemon and Nobita used it to discover what was a mysterious big prize that Gian won in a TV program and steadfastly refused to tell them what it was. It turned out to be a giant teddy bear.

* Remote control for persons (人間リモコン, Ningen rimocon?) is a remote control that works on people. By putting a sensor on the person, the one with the remote controller can make this person go faster, rewind or pause. Doraemon uses it to make Nobita do his homework in the homonym episode, but then Nobita misuses it as always.
* Restoring beam is a lamp which is able to restore broken items back to their original state.
* Reverse bulbs are light bulbs which will turn surrounding areas to darkness when switched on.
* Samurai's Top-Knot is a fake top-knot modelled after the hairstyle of a samurai. Once placed onto the user's head, it will allow the user to perceive his/her surrounding world as that of ancient Japan (in particular Senkoku Period, the time where samurai thrived), and will change the user's speech pattern to a samurai's formal style. According to Doraemon, this is a common toy in the 22nd century for the children to "play samurai".
* Sea water filter is a straw-like device that instantly filters seawater when the user drinks through it.
* Secret keeping dog is a piggy bank-like dog. The user writes his or her secret on a piece of paper and feed it to the dog for safekeeping. But when the dog is fed with too many secrets, it will expel all the papers from its mouth.
* Shadow separation scissors are scissors which can turn a person's shadows into physical beings which then can be commanded by its owner. However, the shadow must be "glued" back after a certain amount of time or it will replace the owner and turn the owner into its shadow.
* Shocker Gun is a gun that emits a strong electrical beam, powerful enough to bring down a horse.
* Sniffy octopus is an octopus that spits out a substance which makes a person extremely annoying.
* Sticker of Souls are colourful stickers that can be stuck on any non-organic objects, such as furnitures and toys. This allows the items in question to be come anthropomorphic (as they are given "souls") and will express their feelings aloud. They will even act on their own to take actions against those who misuses them.
* Sticker of truth is a small rubber sticker which can be stuck to anyone in order to make the wearer tell the truth. Nobita once used it on Suneo because Suneo was flattering people for his own selfish motives.
* Superhero belt is a belt with a slot and a button on the buckle. When the user wears it on his/her waist and says "Suit On!", the clothing he/she wears will immediately transforme into a costume that resembles a superhero's garb. Then the user can write a made-up "superhero move" on the card included in the belt and insert it into the slot on the buckle, and actually perform that move, no matter how fat-fetched that "move" sounds. (Nobita invents a move called "Machine-gun Fist" which allowed him to perform a series of rapid punches; and Shizuka invented one called "I-Am-Sorry Ray" which allowed her to shoot a ray out of her finger and whoever got hit will immediately apologize.) However, the spelling of the move's name is critical to the performance of it.
* Super-strength candy is a candy that gives the person who ates it Superman-like strength. A nagging robot salesman left Doraemon a sample, that he threw into the trash. Nobita recovered it, ate it and tried to use it to get revenge on Gian and Suneo, not knowing the sample had a three-minute limit. He used the form in the sample box to buy a full one from the future, but Shizuka's toddler cousin ate it by accident and Doraemon went to the future to buy another candy to counteract the super-strength candy.
* Time camera is a camera capable of taking pictures in the past. The camera takes a picture that shows what the scene was according to the time set by its user. Nobita used it to find his dad’s missing wallet.
* Time TV is a portable television which can broadcast events from the past or the future.
* Transformation ring and cards is a tool that can transform a person to an animal. There are the animal cards that if the user inserts a card in the slot in the circle the person will transform to that animal. Nobita used it to transform in to a fish but putted the circle half part of the body only so he transformed in to the merman. In order to use it, the user must first naked.

* Water pressure gun is the underwater version of the air pressure gun. It was used by Nobita in one story to fend off a shark attack.
* Weather Machine is used in many episodes to freely control weather. Works by inserting weather cards into the machine.

* Underwater firewood is firewood that can be burned underwater.

* Yume-corder literally "dream recorder", it records and plays the most cherised dream of any person. Nobita wanted it to record Shizuka's dream, but ended up recording not only hers, but Doraemon, Suneo and Giant's as well. He wanted to know who Shizuka wanted to marry, only to discover she hasn't decided yet (her fiancé's face was blank on her dream).

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Recurring Dōgu

List of Recurring Dōgu




Fourth-dimensional pocket (四次元ポケット?)
The inside of this pocket connects to the fourth dimension and acts like a wormhole (see also: hammerspace). It is usually shown attached to Doraemon's abdomen. Doraemon has a spare pocket which connects to the same location. Nobita has used the spare pocket on occasion, often for mischievous purposes but sometimes for helpful purposes (for example, he used it to save Doraemon on the movie Nobita to Buriki no Rabirinsu [Nobita and Tin-Plate Labyrinth]).

Time machine (タイムマシン?)
The entrance to Doraemon's time machine is in Nobita's desk drawer. The time machine looks like a simple platform with a control console, and a clock with five hands overhanging the console. Doraemon is often seen piloting the time machine. Dorami has her own time machine shaped like a tulip, suggesting a variety of models available in the future. The time machine can create an exit in a specific place spatially as well as temporally. An alternative to the time machine is the time belt, which does not change the wearer's location relative to Earth. The presence of this machine is not known by Nobita's mother.

Take-copter (タケコプター?)
One of the main modes of transportation for the various characters is the take-copter, which combines the words taketombo (竹とんぼ, lit. bamboo dragonfly, the Japanese name for the bamboo-copter?), and part of the word herikoputā (ヘリコプター?), which means helicopter. The take-copter was also called the heri-tombo (ヘリトンボ?) in early stories. The device is a propeller attached to a tiny suction cup which can be attached to enable flight. Ever since the first few Doraemon stories, the take-copter is seen attached to the head instead of the waist, similar to a propeller beanie, due to a mishap with Nobita's shorts. The take-copter has also been attached to objects to enable its flight. One of its disadvantage is its short battery life.

Moshimo-box (もしもボックス?)
The moshimo-box is a pun based on the Japanese greeting used on the telephone moshi moshi, and the phrase meaning "what if", or moshimo. The device is a telephone booth where the characters dial a number and propose a "what if" scenario which alters the world. Nobita has wished for a world where money was not necessary, and purchasing an item meant receiving cash, and being robbed meant being forced to take cash, causing store clerks to force cash onto his hands upon attempting to purchase toys. Nobita has also wished for a world without mirrors, and for a world where lazy people who napped would be hailed as celebrities. But any situation caused by using this telephone booth may be reverted by using this telephone to make a phone call to request for "Reverting/Restoring to the original situation". This used to be the ending of the story that mentions about the telephone booth.

Dokodemo door (どこでもドア, lit. anywhere door?)
One of Doraemon's most commonly used gadgets is the dokodemo door, a door which allows travel to anywhere by simply going through the door. In an early story, the door is able to travel to the end of the universe, but in later chapters, the door is said to only be able to travel a maximum distance of 100,000 light years and cannot access other dimensions. Another limitation of the door is that it can only safely connect two known locations in its mapping computer, which also has a limited range of information based on Time as shown in the movie "Nobita's Dinosaur."

Time Furoshiki (タイムふろしき, lit. Time wrapping cloth?)
Another frequently used gadget, the time cloth has the ability to advance or reverse time depending on which of its two different colored sides are used. When an object is wrapped around with one face outward, the flow of time reverses, causing the object to become newer. When wrapped around the other way, time moves forward, causing the object to become older. It was first used by Nobita to turn old appliances to new appliances to make money, but its uses extend to many other things, such as converting an object back to its starting material, repairing broken machinery, aging or de-aging people, and restoring millions-of-years old fossils. When picked up, of course, the holder does not age, which means the cloth is only activated upon covering an item, hence it can floating over objects with no user and still change the time of objects.

Small light (スモールライト?)
Small light is a lamp similar to a flashlight that will shrink objects and people to minuscule sizes. Its opposite is the big light (ビッグライト?), which enlarges objects and people. Another tool that is used in a similar capacity is the Gulliver Tunnel, which causes a person to grow or shrink depending on which entrance he takes; however, its ratio of shrinking and enlarging is fixed. Unlike the Gulliver Tunnel, however, the effect of the Small light is not permanent and will wear off after a period of time has passed (seen in the series to be anywhere from a few hours in the comics to a few days in the movie Doraemon: Nobita's Little Star Wars)

Pass Loop (通り抜けフープ, Tōrinuke Fūpu?)
A loop which creates a passage through a solid object such as a wall when placed upon it. Nobita has used this to escape from when his mother locked him in a storage shed, and to install watching gadgets in the movie theater.

Air cannon (空気砲, Kūkihō?)
A gun barrel worn on the arm used to fire a powerful burst of air which can knock out the victim when the user says "bang". Later models, featured in the long manga and movies, are fired with a trigger.

Translation konjac (ほんやくコンニャク, hon'yaku-konnyaku?)
A piece of konjac jelly which enables a person to understand and speak any known language in the universe. The effect begins after the person ingests the jelly, but the duration of the effect is unknown. While the ones Doraemon uses are usually unflavored, in the story Nobita's Birth of Japan (のび太の日本誕生?), he used one labeled to be miso flavored, suggesting the existence of various flavors, which are more expensive.

Clothes Changing Camera (着せ替えカメラ, Kisekae kamera?)
A camera that uses a picture of clothing instead of film, and changes the clothes of the person in the viewfinder to the clothing in the picture. It may also be used with no picture or an incomplete picture, with embarrassing results. The story about Doraemon's fourth-dimensional dustbin shows that the damaged camera will make the person naked (ie. when Shizuka used the damaged camera on Nobita, he turned naked). The camera is often used in the long stories and movies, where the gang must disguise themselves in unfamiliar places to avoid attracting undue attention, or to provide with a second change of clothes such as bathing suits.

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Dōgu

List of Doraemon's Dōgu

Doraemon can take out various devices known as dōgu (道具, lit. gadget?) from his fourth-dimensional pocket. Some of the gadgets are based on real Japanese household devices with fanciful twists, but most are completely science fiction (although some may be based on folklore or religious stories).

Thousands of dōgu have been featured in Doraemon. Some[who?] have placed the number of dōgu at approximately 4,500. It is this constant variety which makes Doraemon popular even among adult readers/viewers. In the series, the availability of dogu depends sometimes on the money Doraemon has available, and he often says some dogu are expensive in the future.

Some of the recurring dōgu appear also in Fujiko F. Fujio's other works such as 21-emon, Kiteretsu Daihyakka, Mikio to Mikio or Pāman.

Doraemon's Dōgu Tool

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Other characters

Gariben-kun (ガリベンくん?)
Seiyū: Mayumi Tanaka

A rival to Hidetoshi Dekisugi. He appears to be a soft-spoken and decent boy, however deep down inside he resents Deskisugi of being better at anything than him. In one chapter, he makes cruel prank calls to his rival, telling Dekisugi to go to hell every night. This problem caused Hidetoshi's grades to drop, and Doraemon decided to use a specific gadget to teach Gariben a lesson. Gariben begged Hidetoshi not to tell the teacher or the rest of the class about it, and the latter forgave him, on the condition that he promise not to do it again.

Tame-kun (多目くん?)

(本屋のおじさん?)

An owner of bookstore, who often expels anyone who stand and read comics, magazines, or novels in his bookstore for free (usually Nobita).

Funyako Funyao (フニャコフニャ夫?)

A parody of Fujiko Fujio. He was often being lectured or complained by other people saying that his comic book idea was overdue.

会社社長

Tsubasa Ito (伊藤翼?)
Seiyū: Mayumi Shō (1985~1986), Sanae Hukayuki (1992), Haruna Ikezawa (2003),　Masayo Kurata (2006)

Moteo Mote (茂手もて夫?)

Jaiko's boyfriend.

(ドンジャラ村のホイ?)

(キー坊?)

(島山あらら?)

Kaminari (神成?)
Seiyū: Banjō Ginga (1981), Shingo Kanemoto (1985~1990), Takeshi Watabe (1991~March 2005), Katsuhisa Hōki (July 2005~)
An old man who lives next to the vacant lot where Nobita and the gang play baseball. They sometimes "accidentally" throw baseballs, rocks, or even one of Doraemon's gadgets through his window, breaking it and sometimes knocking over his prized bonsai. The children refer to him as Kaminari-oyaji (雷おやじ,, Old Man Thunder?), because he shouts so loud that they scatter. Kaminari is his family name.

Koike (ラーメンおじさん（小池さん?)

Sumire Hosino (星野スミレ?)

She is a professional singer and has a necklace with a photo of her friend. This friend had gone away from Japan, but she is certain that he'll return.

(18エモン?)

(19エモン?)
21-emon's grandfather, who was an owner of a nearly dilapidated hotel, Tsuzureya (つづれやホテル

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Characters - Animal

Animal

Nora Neko no Kero (のらネコのクロ?)

Nora Inu no Kero (のらイヌのクロ?)

Mii Chan (ミイちゃん?)
Seiyū: Unknown→Mari Mashiba→Junko Asami→Kumiko Watanabe→Midori Nakazawa→Motoko Kumai→Fujiko Takimoto→Sachi Matsumoto(1981~March 2005)
A regular female cat from Nobita's timeline, who either hangs out or goes on dates with Doraemon.

Muku (ムク?)
Seiyū: Tesshō Genda (1981), Kazuyo Aoki→Kazuya Tatekabe (~March 2005), Yasuhiro Takato (May 2007)
Gian's pet dog. At first Gian didn't want him around and tried to get rid of him, but after he saved Gian from being eaten by a lion that had at first tried to eat Nobita, Gian warmed up to him.Also known as Buzo.

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Characters - Robots

Robots

Gatchako (ガチャ子?)
Seiyū: Junko Hori (1973)

Toraemon (トラえもん?)
Seiyū: Keiko Yamamoto (1979)

Noramyako (ノラミャー子?)
Seiyū: Yūko Minaguchi (1995 film), Ai Nonaka (2007)
Doraemon's girlfriend from the 22nd Century.

Pawaemon (パワえもん?)
Seiyū: Mitsuaki Madono (2007)

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Characters - Goda family

Goda family


Jaiko (ジャイ子?)
Jaiko is Giant's younger sister, who would have been Nobita's wife in the future had Doraemon not intervened. She appears in the very first chapter of the manga, even before the introduction of Gian. Her name Jaiko is usually considered a nickname, but Fujiko never gave her a real name. An aspiring mangaka, Jaiko goes by her amateur mangaka pen name Christine Goda (クリスチーネ 剛田, Kurisuchīne Gōda?), and sometimes submits her manga to publishing companies for prizes. She mostly fails in these contest because her storytelling is still rough. She is sometimes referred to as Hana.



Giant's Mother
Seiyū: Kazuyo Aoki (1979~March 2005), Miyako Takeuchi (April 2005~)
She's the owner of a small but successful shop, as well as the only person that Giant is deathly afraid of. Her constant abuse and cruel punishment suggests that Gian may have inherited his mother or ancestor's bullish trait.

Giant's Father
Seiyū: Masayuki Katō (1979~1980), Yū Shimaka (1987), Daisuke Gōri (November 1987), Yū Shimaka (1993)
Appeared in only one or two stories. Seen with a crewcut and big-sized.

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Characters - Honekawa family

Honekawa family

Suneo's Mother
Seiyū: Kazue Takahashi (1973), Yoshino Ōtori (1979~March 1991), Mari Yokō (April 1991~March 2005), Minami Takayama (April 2005~)

She loves Suneo very much and spoils him rotten. She sports curly hair and is often seen showing off her jewellery or branded handbags.

Suneo's Father
Seiyū: Unknown (1973), Osmau Katō (1979~March 2005), Kaneta Kimotsuki (Stand-in for Katō, May 1989~January 1990), Hideyuki Tanaka (June 2005~)

He appears less frequently than Suneo's mother, distinguishable with straight hair and a mustache. He is often the one who initiates holiday tours that Suneo would invite his friends for.

Sunetsugu (スネツグ?)
Seiyū: Naoki Tatsuta (1985), Yuki Kaida (2006)
Suneo's younger brother who lives in New York with his uncle (who is single and raised him like a son). He has a great respect for his older brother, but only because of Suneo's arrogant brags and lies in their correspondence.

Sunekichi (スネ吉?)
Seiyū: Issei Futamata (1984~March 2005), Takumi Yamazaki (December 2005~)
Suneo's college age cousin.

スネ夫の曾祖母

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Characters - Minamoto family

Minamoto family

Shizuka's Mother
Seiyū: Keiko Yokozawa (1979~1981), Masako Matsubara (August 1981~March 2005), Ai Orikasa (April 2005~)
Shizuka's mother. She's kind, but can also be quite exigent on Shizuka sometimes.

Yoshio Minamoto (源義雄, Minamoto Yoshio?)
Seiyū: Masayuki Katō (1979~1980), Masaru Ikeda (1981), Akira Kume (1999), Aruno Tahara (July 2005~)

Shizuka's Father. He is rarely seen in the series. His most well-known appearance in the series was in the future when he had a long talk with adult Shizuka over her choice to marry Nobita, and giving support for her decision.

美術評論家のおじさん

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Characters - Nobi family

Nobita family




Nobita's father and laid-back salaryman. He is very considerate of Nobita, often seen arriving home from work to placate Tamako's anger towards Nobita; this habit may come from Nobisuke's own childhood, since his father (and Nobita's grandfather) was very similar to Tamako. He has trouble quitting smoking and is self-conscious about his inability to pass the driving test. He also has a poor memory and sometimes arrives home drunk from nightly business meetings. He was once an aspiring art student. He also likes golf, which most Japanese businessmen and employees play.

Tamako Nobi (Rukia Nobi) (野比 玉子, Nobi Tamako?)
Nobita's stay-at-home mother. She is usually seen scolding Nobita or sending him out of the house (a typical Japanese household punishment used by parents, unlike grounding which is a North American-only punishment). She actually loves her son very much, but is disappointed by his lazy attitude and academic failures. Several episodes involve Nobita trying to avoid his mother’s scolding by using Doraemon’s gadgets. Her maiden name is revealed to be 'Kataoka'. She also disliked animals. She has a tendency of stopping Nobita from going out to play and force him to study. However, on cold weather days, she almost always urges Nobita to go out and play.

Sewashi (セワシ?)
Nobita's great-great-grandson, he is the one who sends Doraemon back to the past to look after Nobita. Sewashi first bought Doraemon in 2112 when Doraemon still had ears and his original factory paint. He sent him because his pocket money was too less due to Nobita's academically and economically medium status. Sewashi is also the owner of Doraemon's sister, Dorami.

Nobisuke (ノビスケ?)
Nobita and Shizuka's son, named after Nobita's father. He is a better athlete than Nobita and far more clever. In one of the stories, he did not hesitate to beat up young Nobita when young Nobita tried to stop him from running away from home. Also, he is shown as being a bully and brave enough to bully Gian and Suneo's son.

Nobirou Nobi (野比のび郎, Nobi Nobirou?)
The younger brother of Nobisuke (Nobita's father). He is an excellent athlete and seems to be successful. He adores his brother very much, and is welcomed the most by his nephew in New year occasion.

Tamao Kataoka (片岡玉夫, Kataoka Tamao?)
Tamako's younger brother and Nobita's uncle.

Nobita's Grand Mother

Mother of Nobisuke Nobi. Before the main storyline, Nobita adored her quite often until she passed away when he's in kindergarten. When Nobita travels to the past, she always recognizes him as her grandson.

Nobita's Grand Father

Nobita's Grand Father, he was very strict and very rude to Nobisuke (Nobita's father). After all he loved him very much. He seen only one time in this show where his all nature was identified clearly.

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Characters - Sensei

Sensei (Mr. Baxman) (先生?)


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 (我成?).

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Characters - Mini-Doras

Mini-Doras (ミニドラ[たち]?)



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.

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Characters - Dorami

Dorami (ドラミ?)


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" or to help Doraemon with something. She also has her own spin-off manga.

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Characters - Hidetoshi Dekisugi

Hidetoshi Dekisugi (出木杉 英才, Dekisugi Hidetoshi?)


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.

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Characters - Suneo Honekawa

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. He has the habit to invite Gian and Shizuka to something or someplace, but always leave Nobita out with one excuse or another.

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.

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Characters-Takeshi Goda

Takeshi Goda (剛田 武, Gōda Takeshi?)
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" (ジャイアン, Jaian?) 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, though he considers himself a great singer. He regularly subjects the neighborhood children to horrendous singing recitals, which is sometimes combined with his equally bad homemade dinner and his atrocious fashion sense. 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.

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Characters - Shizuka

Shizuka Minamoto (源 静香, Minamoto Shizuka?)
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 (静ちゃん?) or Shizuka-chan (静香ちゃん?), 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, and the mother of his son.

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Characters - nobita

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. Nobita also has a talent for finding unusual applications for Doraemon's gadgets, and to abuse them, which usually gets him into trouble.

Despite everything, Doraemon succeeds on his mission, as seen in several episodes in which they travel to the future and the short Nobita's the Night before a Wedding. Nobita eventually marries Shizuka and has a son who, in a generational role reversal, bullies Gian's son.

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Characters - Doraemon

Doraemon characters

The only main female character is Shizuka Minamoto (源 静香, Minamoto Shizuka?), who serves as a semi-romantic girlfriend of Nobita, but otherwise a supporting, minor character. Nobita's main human friends include Gian, a known bully, and Suneo, a gloating spoiled wealthy kid. There are many recurring supporting characters, such as Dekisugi, Nobita's parents, his school teacher, his descendants from the future, and Doraemon's sister, Dorami.

Main characters

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

Doraemon (ドラえもん?)
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 (and the 2112: The Birth of Doraemon short film), 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 (マツシバロボット工場?). 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.

Due to this malfunction, Doraemon did poorly at the robot's school and during the final presentation show, he performed badly and nobody wanted to hire him, until baby Sewaishi pushed the button. His parents were a bit reluctant, but since Sewashi liked him, they hired Doraemon, and he took care of him until Sewaishi himself send him to the past to take care of Nobita (2112: The Birth of Doraemon).

Doraemon's favourite food is dorayaki (どら焼き?), 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 (のら猫?) for "stray cat", and the -emon (衛門?) ending which is part of traditional Japanese names, as seen also in, for example, Ishikawa Goemon.[1][2][3] In the 2007 birthday episode, 'MS-903' is called Doraemon by the factory owner where Doraemon is produced.

Doraemon usually uses the phrase "nanoda".

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FINALE RUMORS

Series finale rumors

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 most 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 very day to work hard in school, graduate with honors, 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. A dōjin manga for this ending was made by a "Tajima T Yasue" in 2005, and it sold 13,000 copies before Shogakukan halted its publication. Tajima apologized to Shogakukan in 2007 and paid an undisclosed amount of money for settlement.[8]

* The second, more pessimistic ending suggests that Nobita Nobi is suffering from autism and that all the characters (including Doraemon) are simply his delusion. 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 lot of fans. Many Japanese fans staged a protest outside the headquarters 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 a deep coma, and eventually into a semi-vegetative state. To raise money for an operation to save Nobita, Doraemon sold all the tools and devices in his four-dimensional pocket. However, the operation failed. Doraemon sold all his tools except for one used as a last resort. He used it to enable Nobita to go wherever he wanted, whichever time or era he wished to go. In the end, the very place Nobita wanted to go was heaven.

The plausibility of these issues was discussed here and it was concluded that there is no ending to Doraemon.[9]

There are 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:[10] 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 Gian. 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 Gian 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, Gian gave up (which gave Nobita the win) because no matter what, Nobita refuses to stay down. Doraemon finds Nobita passed out with a bloody mouth and takes him home. Sitting beside sleeping Nobita and after a moment of thought, Doraemon returns to the future. (It is also found at the last chapter of the manga Book 6).

* The animated version is completely similar but lengthened. 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 Gian, 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 Gian 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. Gian 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 absence 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 extended ending from the animated series was eventually adapted to the first story of Book 7 in the manga series, with a few changes (i.e. Instead of hearing Doraemon's voice explaining the use of the potion, he finds a card inside the box describing the use of the potion).

When the Fujiko Fujio duo broke up in 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.

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Plot summary

Plot summary


The first appearance of Doraemon, who came via the time machine.
Doraemon is sent back in time by Nobita Nobi's great-great grandson Sewashi to improve Nobita's circumstances so that his descendants may enjoy a better future. In the original timeline, Nobita experienced nothing but misery and misfortune throughout his life. As a result of this, Nobita's failures in school and subsequently, his career, have left his family line beset with financial problems. In order to alter history and better the Nobi family's fortunes, Sewashi sent him a robot called Doraemon.
Doraemon has a pocket from which he produces many gadgets, medicines, and tools from the future. The pocket is called yojigen-pocket, or 4-dimensional pocket.
Although he can hear perfectly well, Doraemon has no ears: his robotic ears were eaten by a mouse, giving him a series-long phobia of the creatures.
The stories are formulaic, usually focused on the everyday struggles of fourth grader Nobita, the protagonist of the story. In a typical chapter, Nobita comes home crying about a problem he faces in school and/or the local neighborhood. After hearing him out, Doraemon always offers helpful advice to his problem(s), but that's never enough for Nobita, who is consistently looking for the "quick, easy" way out (which offers insight to the viewers as to why Nobita's life turned out the way it did). Finally, after Nobita's pleading and/or goading, Doraemon produces a futuristic gadget out of his aforementioned pouch to help Nobita fix his problem, enact revenge, or flaunt to his friends.
Nobita usually goes too far, despite Doraemon's best intentions and warnings, and gets into deeper trouble than before. Sometimes, Nobita's friends (usually Suneo or Jaian) steal the gadgets and end up misusing them. However, by the end of the story, there is usually retribution to the characters who end up misusing them, and a moral is taught

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HISTORY

History of Doraemon

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.

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DORAEMON

Doraemon (ドラえもん?) is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio (the pen name of Hiroshi Fujimoto) and Fujiko A. Fujio (the pen name of Motō Abiko) 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 (野比 のび太, Nobi Nobita?).

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 (てんとう虫?) 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,[4] 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."[5] 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."[6] 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.

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