perhaps the most famous manga character in all of japan ** doraemon.almost the equivalent of mickey mouse in the u.s.,doraemon and h** namesake series symbolize to many the foibles and adventures of childhood.characters from doraemon are referenced in adult manga,doraemon's face graces candy,and just about anyone you ask in japan would recognize the name and the round face with the round button nose,long wh**kers,big smiling mouth,and collar with a bell.
penned by famous children's mangaka abiko motoo and the late fujimoto hiroshi,who for a long time co-authored the series and called themselves"fujiko fujio,"doraemon was a big hit in the 1970s that continued through the 1980s,and even into the 1990s(though with only fujimoto hiroshi on the project,writing as"fujiko f.fujio").the children who first grew up reading doraemon are now adults r**ing up through japanese society.
what ** doraemon?it ** a humorous children's manga(later a tv-series)about a boy named nobi nobita who ** so unlucky,weak and lazy that h** descendants had to send the family robot back in time to help him out.that robot ** doraemon(where the"dora"** presumably based on the word"dora-neko,"or stray cat),and h** four-dimensional pocket produces any number of futur**tic gadgets and devices meant to help nobita become something other than a complete failure in adulthood.though smart and caring,doraemon has h** own foibles,and h** partnership with nobita produces both triumphs and d**asters,hilarious situations and occasional poignant moments.
as a"gag"manga for children,the series has no real progression;our hero ** always a fourth-grader,and rarely do changes carry over from story to story.as a glimpse into japanese family life,though,doraemon ** priceless.we see nobita's parents as very typical for japan of the 1970s,with the father a stocky and mellow salaryman,and the mother a hardwo**ng housewife whose job it ** to make sure nobita studies hard and does h** chores.although ferocious when angry,she ** also caring and smart;at heart she just wants her son to grow up to become a decent,hardwo**ng adult with a bright future.nobita's friends include the class bully nicknamed gian(presumably based on the word"giant"),the class rich kid suneo who usually acts as gian's lieutenant,the gentle and smart girl shizuka and the occasionally appearing super-brilliant dek**ugi(which can be read as"over done"or"overly perfect").there's also their schoolteacher,a stern man who has no compunction against sending nobita off to stand in the hallway for being late.in all th**,doraemon acts as the childhood friend or older sibling we all w**h we could've had:caring,smarter than us,with a sense of justice,imperfect and fallible enough to not be irritating,and with a magic pocket that can produce the solution to any problem.
a typical doraemon story starts with nobita suffering from the abuses of gian and suneo,or doing badly in school,coming home crying,and being comforted by a tried but true doraemon.doraemon patiently(or resignedly)digs into h** four-dimensional pocket and produces a new gadget that(it seems)might offer the perfect cure for the problem.until nobita or h** friends get too greedy(and even doraemon's been known to screw things up from time to time).
for example,after a day of forgetting h** books at home and h** pack at school,doraemon produces a handbag that allows one to reach in and pick up something far away.nobita retrieves h** pack from school.and then promptly rushes out to show off the handbag to h** friends.to prove its abilities,he grabs h** mother's glasses from the handbag—which doesn't impress anyone—and then goes on to pull out suneo's narc**s**tic diary and even gian's suspiciously wet futon.but when he returns home,h** mother ** angry about her glasses—and she quickly finds the handbag very useful for retrieving her wayward son!doraemon also sometimes carelessly le**es devices lying around.nobita once found a time vending machine,which allowed the user to buy products from other times with modern money:thanks to inflation,of course,things from the past cost much less in absolute yen terms.nobita uses it to buy boxes of cheap 1933 cigarettes for h** father and a mountain of jars of ink for h** mother,and even fails to buy a camera from the year 745.but when doraemon warns him not to use the machine for making a profit,nobita naturally rushes off to do so.with h** new earnings,he decides to buy something different—candy from 100 years in the future,indescribably delicious.unfortunately,he forgot about cost inflation.and he finds himself 230,000 yen in debt to the machine,which ** now demanding its payment!almost every story brings a new gadget at play:a camera that turns objects into two-dimensional photos that need hot water to revert to normal(don't ask how nobita returned to normal after he used it on himself!a deluxe light that converts anything it shines on into a deluxe model(which surpr**ingly makes some people unhappy);a cloud-shaping machine that alters the clouds in the sky(but don't let it overheat!the fl**or-sharing gum,which allows one to taste what someone else eats(great for rich friends,but very bad if a stray dog chews it);or the helping pill,which makes those who swallow it help out anyone they meet in need(and of course,nobita winds up swallowing it instead of h** friends).a few gadgets,though,return once in a while or are standard"staples"of the series.for example,the dokodemo doa("wherever door"),which allows one to go anywhere;the moshimo box("what if phone booth"),which allows one to go to an alternate world where a suggested proposition ** true;the time machine in nobita's desk drawer,which allows one to tr**el to any time;the take-copter,a tiny helicopter-style blade to wear on one's head,that allows one to fly;the time-cloth,which makes objects it ** wrapped around younger or older;and of course,doraemon's four dimentional pocket itself,which produces all these items.the stories,however,are not really about the gadgets;they are about nobita and h** dec**ions.the gadgets serve only as outlets for h** character to shine through,whether in moments of greed,indignation,remorse or compassion.h** m**takes,moments of weakness and occasional moments of br**ery are what make the stories.and ultimately,the stories h**e a moral core.nobita's m**use of the gadgets usually bring dire consequences back on h** head,but when he champions justice and acts for worthy reasons,he usually manages to do lasting good.thankfully,nobita ** at heart a good kid with a compassionate heart,if fraught with flaws.
a prime example of th** ** the story where a new transfer student turns out to be even worse off than nobita:slower,weaker and with even poorer test scores.nobita ** overjoyed to find someone worse than himself,so he studies with,races against and plays games with the new kid;and in each case the new boy fares worse.at last,nobita even gets him drafted into gian's dreaded baseball games instead of himself.but doraemon brings out a film viewer in which characters can be switched.he shows that nobita's actions to the new kid were just like suneo's usual beh**ior to nobita:condescending,arrogant,mean and self-serving.nobita sees the truth in th**,and when he sees gian and suneo beating up the other kid over h** poor baseball performance,exactly where nobita would h**e been,nobita jumps in and takes the beating instead.
indeed,a number of doraemon stories depart from a simple gag routine and take a long,steady look at **sues of moral and ethical importance.stories h**e been told about environmental **sues,caring for pets,self-sacrifice for another's sake,br**ery in the face of danger,parental love and guidance,and the importance of reading.if not concerned with ethics,some stories are educational,touching on subjects ranging from biology,h**tory,genetics,archaeology and geology(or even the notion of economic inflation,as mentioned above).when these elements are combined with comedy,familiar characters and a plethora of fun and fantastic gadgets,there ** very little doubt about why doraemon became as popular as it did,or why so many japanese can look back it with such fondness.
for anyone who has the chance to read doraemon,it offers an excellent look at child's eye view of japanese home life of the 70s,and should not be m**sed.
here's about the main characters from the classic series:
nobi nobita:the only child in h** family,nobita unfortunately inherited h** dad's poor academic ability and h** mother's poor athletic ability(along with her bad eyesight).h** only two talents are cat's cradle and shooting,skills that are almost completely useless in modern japanese society.
doraemon:a cat-based robot from the future,doraemon has a four-dimensional pocket filled with useful gadgets.doraemon loves dorayaki(a snack food made with sweet bean paste),hates being cold and he absolutely loathes rats and mice,to the point of digging out a nuclear bomb from h** pocket when he thinks they're around.
nobita's mother:a classic japanese mother,good at lecturing nobita,scary when angry and overall a sharp cookie.she also cares very much for her son,and ** just as quick to bring him a snack when it looks like he's actually studying as she ** to yell at him when he's goofing off.
nobita's father:a laid back japanese father and salaryman.normally cheerful,he's ready to offer a lecture or two to h** son about the hard times when he was a boy,during the war era.h** nemes** appears to be learning to drive a car,though h** inability to quit smoking has come up as a plotline as well.
gian:gian(takeshi)** the local bully,who forces everyone to do things h** way,who takes other kids' toys,and who beats up those who oppose him.h** dream ** to become a singer,and he periodically forces other kids to come and l**ten to h** mind-numbing,ear-warping"concerts."once in a while he acts kindly towards others,but that's rare.h** family ** ...