Doraemon
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| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doraemon_(2005_anime) |
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| http://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/ 1016?articleID=176644 |
I was 5 the first time I went to Malaysia and one of my most prominent memories was watching TV at my grandparents' house. The show that I remember watching to this day was Doraemon. Maybe it was the catchy theme song that I find myself to this day humming or the strange robotic cat and his human friend that caused this show to leave a huge imprint on my childhood.
Doraemon is a popular Japanese manga turned into an anime aimed towards kids. Growing up the plot always confused me but thankfully Wikipedia understands it A LOT better than I do. To summarize the 26 year long series, Doraemon is a robot cat sent back in time from the 22nd century to aid a young boy, named Nobita Nobi, doing poorly in school and being bullied. Every episode Doraemon helps him with a problem he has by created a gadget through his magical pocket.
In America we have have our own versions of educational cartoons to teach kids about bullying and other minor social issues in hopes that we create better citizens for the future. However, the cartoons on PBS and Nickleodeon hardly ever leave English speaking countries. What really surprised me, and ultimately impressed me, about Doraemon was the global spread of this manga turned into a series. It originated in Japan and is popular in China, Malaysia, Indonesia and surprisingly also in Spain. The popularity of this show globally is a nice showcase of Japan's culture influence in media.
In America we have have our own versions of educational cartoons to teach kids about bullying and other minor social issues in hopes that we create better citizens for the future. However, the cartoons on PBS and Nickleodeon hardly ever leave English speaking countries. What really surprised me, and ultimately impressed me, about Doraemon was the global spread of this manga turned into a series. It originated in Japan and is popular in China, Malaysia, Indonesia and surprisingly also in Spain. The popularity of this show globally is a nice showcase of Japan's culture influence in media.
Below the theme song to Doraemon so you can understand why it has been stuck in my head for the last 13 years:
While doing research to create this post I discovered a lot of interesting facts about Doraemon that I thought would be worth sharing:
- Doraemon is one of the best selling mangas globally
- Doraemon was the first anime ambassador of Japan
- Doraemon is used in multiple education mangas
- Doraemon is a special character for Tokyo's Olympic bid
Despite watching this show when I was younger I had to brush up on it as it was televised in Malay which I hardly know any of. Here are the sites I used:
IMBdWikipedia
Doraemon Fun Facts
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