We are in 1982 when in Italy, on Rai2, it airs for the first time Doraemon. The anime is based on the manga written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio and tells us about the beautiful friendship born between a robot cat from the future, Doraemon, and a lazy and messy child with a very big heart, Nobita. The adventures of this bizarre pairing take place in a very long series of episodes, over 1700, lasting about 10 minutes, which give us big laughs but also many lessons.
Doraemon: the plot
The arrival from the future
A voice, then a drawer that opens and from which a big blue cat with a 'very round head' comes out. Thus begins Doraemon, a title which is also the name of one of our two protagonists. This big cat (which on several occasions will be mistaken for a giant badger, causing his anger!) Comes from the 22nd century, so from a distant future for the times in which the story is set, and has a very specific goal: help little Nobita Nobi. “I came here to save you from a frightening fate! I know your future and unfortunately I have to tell you that nothing good is in store for you ”, he tells him. Nobita is scared, but more than by Doraemon's words, by the fact that in front of him is a big talking cat.
However, the cute robot does not arrive alone: from the drawer comes another child who looks a lot like Nobita. It is about Sewashi Nobi, for an descendant of Nobita hailing from the 22nd century, gone back to reveal the truth about his future to him in the hope that he will do the best to change it. After explaining to Nobita that he arrived in his time thanks to a time machine that, by a strange chance, opened its door in his desk drawer, Sewashi reveals to the child that he is his great grandson.
Nobita's tragic future
Unfortunately, his future is far from bright. Sewashi and Doraemon reveal to Nobita that 19 years later he will marry not with his beloved Shizuka, but with Jaiko, Gian's younger sister (a bully who constantly targets him). Through a photo album, he is shown not only his marriage to Jaiko and the many children they will have together, but also his bankruptcy career. Nobita will not be admitted to university, at 28, unemployed, he will decide to start his own business but, at 33, his fireworks factory will burn down. Finally, at the age of 35, his company will go bankrupt, ending up in debt. But that's not all: these debts will be handed down from generation to generation up to that of Sewashi, who admits to being poor.
The adventures of Nobita and Doraemon
Nobita is desperate and ready to do anything to change his future. His great-grandson then announces that it will be possible to do so thanks to the help of Doraemon. His mission will be to help Nobita overcome his laziness and get him to engage in study, so that he can change his future for the better. The undertaking, however, is quite difficult: the child is a real slacker, not sporty at all and even a little unlucky. However, Doraemon has a very special weapon with him: i chiusky. These are special gadgets that come from the future and that fish from its magical pocket on the belly. Thanks to these, the robot cat will be able to help his friend on many occasions.
Over the course of the many adventures that Doraemon e Nobita they will live in the various episodes, we will learn about the young protagonist, his fears, his friends, his parents and his love. His friends / enemies will often put a spoke in his wheel, making him necessary for the intervention of the big robot cat: Suneo, rich child brought for sports and good for studies, Nobita's true rival, e Gian, neighborhood bully who often beat up the poor protagonist to steal toys or comics from him. When Nobita learns that in the future he will marry Jaiko, he is desperate not so much because she is Gian's sister, rather because the child is madly in love with his friend. Shizuka. It is also for her that he tries to improve: by changing his future he could also change his wife.
Doraemon: the ending
How Doraemon ends? The question of the ending of the cartoon is actually a bit complicated, this is because it should be clarified that this has had three different series. The first is from 1973 but in Japan it was not very successful, which is why it did not arrive in Italy. The second is from 1979, and finally the most recent from 2005.
In the anime
There is no real ending in the cartoon. The last episode, which precedes the 2005 reboot, presents yet another adventure of little Nobita and Doraemon in the episode entitled "The reality repeater". In this, the protagonist receives compliments from his teacher at school but Doraemon is incredulous so he uses a chiusky to relive that moment. Too bad that this gadget will not just entice Nobita who will decide to steal it, once again messing up.
In the manga
The situation within the manga is quite different. Here the ending is there and it is also happy: thanks to the various adventures lived with Doraemon and his help, Nobita manages to learn from his mistakes every time. This will greatly change his future: once an adult, Nobita will marry his beloved Shizuka and it will take place at the working level. Doraemon, having fulfilled his intentions, decides to return to the future, while remaining friend of Nobita forever.
I finali fake
Over the years, various Doraemon endings have been released, some tragic others with striking twists. In some cases it was believed it was the true conclusion of the manga, also because pages were drawn so faithful to the urinal that it seemed impossible it was not. The truth is that these are always fakes.
Two are the most famous.
One of the most famous fake endings circulating on the web would like Doraemon belonging only to Nobita's imagination. The baby, finished in eat, in fact he would have dreamed of his friend from the future and all their adventures, which ended when he woke up from a coma. Once conscious, it turns out that Doraemon is nothing more than a puppet who has always been by his side during the days he was in the hospital.
In another ending, always very credible due to drawings very similar to the original ones, Doraemon drains his batteries and shuts down. Nobita, desperate, looks for a solution and even travels into the future. Unfortunately, even if the batteries were changed, the robot cat would lose his memory and all the memories of his friendship with Nobita. The protagonist, however, does not give up and decides to commit himself throughout his life in the study of a method that can 'bring back to life' Doraemon. The happy ending will come but only after Nobita's graduation.
Doraemon, not just laughter: the important themes of the story
Those of Doraemon and Nobita are fun adventures, which surely make the reader / viewer smile, but they are only one side of the coin. The truth is that Fujiko F. Fujio's manga focuses on delicate themes, first of which bullying. On many occasions Nobita is in fact aiming for the attacks of Gian, ready to beat him in front of his friend Suneo. It is interesting to see how Doraemon always tries to help his friend deal with these attacks and, in general, competitiveness in school life and not. The robot cat serves as a metaphor: helping children with childhood challenges.
But Nobita is not just talking about bullying and school problems. Our protagonist at just 10 years old is already an apathetic child, who prefers to stay at home to sleep and eat rather than stay in the open air; who loves comics but hates school books and study. Features that will be its undoing in the future. A denunciation, therefore, to open our eyes to the danger of youthful depression. Indicative is the fact that the manga numbers were published on two educational magazines for children.
Manga, movies and other curiosities
As we have already mentioned, the Doraemon manga was created by Fujiko F. Fujio and published in Japan from 1969 to 1996. In Italy, the manga was published by Star Comics. From this they were drawn three anime series, respectively from 1973, 1979 and 2005, but they are not the only contents born from Fujio's work. Since 1980, gods have been created almost annually feature films (well 38!). Instead, in 2014 it arrived in Italy Doraemon - The movie, entirely made with 3D technology. However, there are also two spin-offs, video games and a musical (Doraemon the musical - Nobita and animal planet) from 2008.
There are many curiosities about the world of Doraemon, starting with names chosen for the protagonists. As is often the case in Japanese manga, the name often contains the essence of the character itself. So it is definitely for Nobita, clearly a play on words, which however has a meaning rather than fit, since it means "one who takes it easy". Same thing goes for Doraemon which comes from the Japanese expression dora neko (“Stray cat”), but at the same time it also recalls the 'gong', or the roundness that the cat has in its physicality. It also refers to dorayaki, the typical Japanese sweets of which Doraemon is greedy. Finally, the suffix -emon is typical of traditional male names. Curious to discover that today, in Japan, 'doraemon' has become a commonly used expression used to indicate something that can make wishes come true, a sort of 'Aladdin's lamp'.
Doraemon: the acronym
La first theme song of Doraemon for the Italian episodes it was 'Il gatto Doraemon', a song written by Cesare De Natale and sung by Oliver Onions, a musical group formed by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis. The final theme of these episodes, entitled 'The song of Doraemon', is instead a re-adaptation of the Japanese one Boku Doraemon.
Since 2003, the episodes and films broadcast by Mediaset are accompanied by a single (initial and final) theme, entitled Doraemon, sung by Cristina D'Avena and by the choir of I Piccoli cantori di Milano.
The characters
Here are the main protagonists of the anime.
Doraemon: is a robot cat from the 22nd century. Protagonist together with Nobita of a thousand adventures.
Nobita Nobi: he is a lazy and listless child but with a big heart.
Shizuka minamoto: Nobita's friend since childhood, he is in love with her and dreams of marrying her.
Suneo Onekawa: 'friend' of Nobita, in reality he continually shows off his wealth and skills.
Takeshi Goda (Gate): he's a bully who often targets Nobita.
Nobisuke Nobi: Nobita's dad
Tamako Kataoka: mother of Nobita
Dorami: Doraemon's younger sister.
You are eager for a little more 80s nostalgia? We recently ventured into the adventures of the three thieves featured in Cat eyes, in the troubled history of Lady Oscar, between Sorgenti Maledette with Ranma 1 / 2, among the thousand messes of Pollon, among the sporting challenges of Holly and Benji e Mila and Shiro. But also a lot, more!
Doraemon - Nobita collection (5 DVD movies) Edition ...
- Audience Rating: Not rated
