Doraemon Vol.1

This story is about a boy named Nobi Nobita. Nobita is the kind of boy that gets bullied, is the last one picked, and does not do well in school. He's a shy boy who wishes he was well liked among his peers and wished he did better at school. Because of Nobita's poor performance in school and bad luck, when he goes into the work force his family becomes poor. Even his great, great...great grand-children are poor because of the huge unpaid debt Nobita left behind. Nobita's great-great grandson from the future, Sewashi, comes up with an idea to deal with the problem. Sewashi sends Doraemon to the past using a time machine. The plan is Doraemon will help Nobita become a responsible and successful adult so that Sewashi's family will not be poor. Doraemon is a cat-like-robot. He was built by an engineer that wanted to create a robot that would be a friend to children who did not fit in and had no friends. Doraemon gets his name because he loves dorayaki (a Japanese snack that is like a pancake sandwich with red bean paste inside). Doraemon and Nobita become good friends. Doraemon pulls out different objects out his pocket (that looks like a pouch on his belly) and saves Nobita every time he is in a pinch at school or with the bully. Doraemon's pocket is 4-dimentional, which means anything and everything can fit inside. Each episode of the comic is based on Nobita's pinch with something and Doraemon coming to the rescue with a different tool from the future. Doraemon occasionally becomes concerned with Nobita's dependence on him. Doraemon's intention is that his tools will help Nobita grow up to be a responsible person, but Nobita often uses Doraemon's tools to shortcut his problems. Nobita's misfortune, weakness and mistakes despite his honest desire to be a good person is used to touch the reader. Doraemon's friendship to Nobita and support when he is bullied is touching to all readers who have been in unfortunate events. Doraemon's friendship to Nobita is what made this title extremely popular for 30 years and still ongoing. Fujio Fujiko (the author) uses Doraemon as a role model to teach important lessons to children. Nobita is an only child. The main characters also include his friends Shizuka (the girl Nobita likes), Suneo (a rich boy who's bragging makes Nobita feel left out) and Gian (the bully that picks on Nobita). This may depend on the publisher, but I know in the original versions that Tentomushi Comics printed the last chapter usually has a very strong moral message behind the episode. The genre is comedy. The title was originally for elementary school children, but because of its great success for 30+ years it has become a story for all ages. To give you an idea of the popularity, I think in Japan Doraemon has done more than Mickey Mouse or Charlie Brown and it has definitely done more than the Simpsons has done in North America. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the theme of Doraemon is centered around moral char

Doraemon, one of the most sold Japanese comics in Anime history, will be sure to catch the kids in the U.S. Recently Kodansha International made English translation of this long selling popular comics with Japanese notes. The cat-robot from 23rd century, Doraemon, is dispatched to 20th century Japan to help his owner's ancester Nobita a typical weak boy who are often picked on by the bully, Gian. Inside the kangaroo-pouch-like pocket on the belly of the plump human-sized cat robot lie a wide variety of techno gadgets from 23rd century which might help or not help the bullied. Surprisingly the gadgets similar to a few of the Doraemon gadgets might have been already in use in Japan. This manga shows good old high-economic growth era Japan during 70s or 80s. Doraemon's gadgets are really convenient but the catches are :if Nobita become overdependent on them something terrible occurs and that may be the very reason why this manga appeal to the large number of readers including Asian residents. Reccomended for large number of Japanese anime fans. Good for elementary school children because most of the comics are targeted for them.