This article is for the character itself. For the original manga, go to Doraemon (manga), for the anime serieses either go to Doraemon (1973 anime) or Doraemon (1979 anime). For other uses, go to Doraemon (disambiguation).
Doraemon
Doraemon is the protagonist and title character of all Doraemon media (including in perticular the original manga and the anime shows to name a few). In Japan, even after nearly 40 years of the character's first appearance in the original manga, he is now considered a cultural icon and was voted one of Time Asia magazine's 22 "Asian Heroes" on April 22nd, 2002.
Description and Origins
Doraemon is a blue robotic cat from the 22nd century, who weighs 129.3 kg (285 lbs) and measures at 129.3 cm (4'3") tall. He is manufactured on September 3rd in the year 2112, at the Matsushiba Robot Factory. Doraemon is considered a substandard product because many of his robotic features (ie. radar whiskers and cat-calling bell) malfunctioned after production. His favourite food is dorayaki, a Japanese treat consisting of two pancake-like patties wrapped around a filling of sweet red bean paste.
According to a story arc in the spin-off manga series, "The Doraemons", Doraemon's original paint color was yellow. He changed color after getting his ears gnawed off by a robot mouse, which caused him to slip into depression on top of a tower, where he drank a potion labeled "sadness" and as he wept, the yellow color was washed off and his voice changed due to the potion. These events are what caused Doraemon to have such a huge fear of mice, despite the fact he's actually a robot cat and these events were also animated into a 2005 intro to the current anime series.
Doraemon also has a fourth-dimensional pocket on his body from which he can acquire various colourful and futuristic gadgets, tools and playthings from a future department store, mostly each one he acquires in each story are to help out Nobita Nobi with anything he has trouble with in the story. 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.
Purpose in the "Doraemon" Storyline
In the original storyline to the manga, Doraemon is sent back in time to the present day to aid Nobita Nobi, a highly-unluckly forth-grader from Nerima in Tokyo, by his great-great-grandson Sewashi. He sent Doraemon to the present day to help out his great-great-grandfather so that Doraemon will help improve Nobita's circumstances so that his decendants, including Sewashi, could enjoy a better future. When Doraemon is "off-duty", his sister Doraemi goes back in time from 2112 to the present day to visit Nobita.
Legacy
- Has had 28 feature-length theatrical animated movies, each one released in Japanese cinemas annually each year (except in 2005), to his name.
- Has had over 40 video games to his name.
- Was voted one of Time Asia magazine's 22 "Asian Heroes" on April 22nd, 2002.