Doraemon

Doraemon (ドラえもん) by Fujio Fujiko[?] (藤子不二雄) is a Japanese comic about a robotic cat from the future who has travelled back in time to aid the thoroughly hapless Nobita Nobi in order that his descendants reap the benefits of Nobita's success one day rather than be burdened by the considerable financial debts which his incompetence has led them to suffer in the original timeline.

The stories are seemingly formulaic but vastly entertaining. Doraemon possesses a fourth-dimensional pocket from which he produces all manners of futuristic tools, gadgets and playthings. Nobita, a poor athlete, poorer scholar, weak-willed, lazy and beset by the local bullies inevitably comes crying to Doraemon for some device to gain revenge/fix his problems/or show up the local rich boy who parades his wealthy acquisitions to arouse Nobita's jealousy. Unfortunately Nobita usually goes too far and despite Doraemon's best intentions and the technology of the 22nd century gets into deeper hot water than before.

Other characters are Shizuka, a young girl who is the object of Nobita's affections, Gian, a bully whose name is based on the English word giant, quick-tempered and possessed of a truly horrendous singing voice, and Suneo, the braggart who parades his material wealth in front of Nobita.

Doraemon's various devices mix the mundane everyday items of Japan with a fanciful twist. For instance the main mode of transportation for the various characters is the Takecopter which combines the words taketombo-a child's propeller toy with helicopter. The device itself appears to be a simple propeller which the characters place on their heads to gain the ability to fly. Another device the Moshimo Box is a pun based upon the word Moshimoshi-the greeting used on the telephone and Moshimo-meaning what if? The device is a phone booth into which the characters dial and propose a what if scenario which magically alters the world. Nobita has at various times wished for a world where money was not necessary (and storekeepers forced cash onto his hands upon attempting to purchase toys), a world without mirrors (where nobody had ever seen a reflective surface) and for a world where lazy people who napped would be hailed as celebrities.

Since its debut in 1970 Doraemon stories have appeared in a variety of anthology magazines published by Shogakukan and have been collected into 45 books. After a brief and unpopular attempt at animation Doraemon remained fairly exclusively the domain of the printed page until 1979 when the Asahi company produced a series of Doraemon cartoons. These cartoons were incredibly popular and Doraemon fever swept across Japan. In 1980 the first of a series of annual feature length animated films was made. The films have taken a slightly more adventure oriented tone taking the familiar characters of Doraemon and placing them in a variety of exotic and perilous settings. Nobita and his friends have visited the age of the dinosaurs, the far reaches of the galaxy, the heart of darkest Africa (where they encountered a race of sentient bipedal dogs), the deepest depths of the ocean, and a world of magic.

Doraemon remains popular today and has continued to be produced despite the death of creator Fujiko.