mini book club: 003
My next childhood favorite to share at mini book club today, is a mega Japanese classic… DORAEMON!
Doraemon is a robot cat from the 22nd century who is sent to the past to help Nobita by his future grandchild. A cat? Where are the ears you ask? They were chewed off by robot mice, so Doraemon has a fear of mice. And then he turned blue (originally yellow) from sadness. But the best thing about Doraemon is that little pocket on the front. It’s filled with super helpful, fun, and cool gadgets.
My favourite and most classic gadget is Dokodemo Door (Anywhere Door). It can take you anywhere you want! And I would watch always wishing I had one to easily go to Japan to visit relatives.
I always thought Nobita was super annoying. And now that I think about it, most of the other human characters are… But I loved Doraemon and imagining what it would be like to go on adventures with him and his handy gadgets.
I didn’t only read the comics, but watched the anime too. My grandma would record the tv and send video tapes every couple of months that I would watch over and over again. I still remember the opening song and little tune that starts each episode. (The anime still exists, plus movies every year, but I can’t watch anymore since I’m too used to the original voice casting)
Outside of the main manga series, there are spinoff books too. My favourite of the bunch are when Doraemon’s friends come visit and they go on a big adventure. Together they’re called The Doraemons (written and illustrated by a different author duo with approval from Fujiko F. Fujio). Usually one of the friends find themselves in trouble and the rest come to help and in the end work together to save the day.
And that’s a very light intro to the wonderful world of Doraemon!
