Doraemon (ドラえもん, Doraemon?) is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio (the pen name of Hiroshi Fujimoto) 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.
In March 2008, Japan's Foreign Ministry appointed Doraemon as the nation's first "anime ambassador."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."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.
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, Tentōmushi?) manga brand, extending to forty-five volumes. The volumes are collected in the Takaoka Central Library in Toyama, Japan, where Fujio was born.
A majority of Doraemon episodes are comedies with moral lessons regarding honesty, perseverance, courage, etc. 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 also covered.
Doraemon was awarded the first Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga in 1982, and the first Osamu Tezuka Culture Award in 1997.
Main article: List of Doraemon characters
The names of the characters in Doraemon have been changed to various, completely separate names throughout other languages. For example, the main character, Nobita, is Jingu in Korean.
The only main female character is Shizuka, who serves as a semi-romantic girlfriend of Nobita, but otherwise a supporting, minor character.
Nobita's main human friends, Suneo and Gian, are both bullies to him when they are around together. However, Suneo seems to warm up kindly to Nobita if Gian is not with them. This suggests that Suneo is allied with Gian for only his power, so that he is well-protected from attack.
Nobita's robot ally, Doraemon, is from 22nd century Tokyo, and has a wealth of tools from the future that enable Nobita and him to help fend for themselves. Still, the tools often cause mishaps and instead become a burden.
There are many supporting characters, such as Nobita's parents.
