Doraemon started out as a manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio. In 1973, Nippon Television produced an anime based on the manga; however, this anime didn’t last long, because it didn’t catch on with the Japanese audience. Six years later, TV Asahi began producing another anime version of Doraemon. This new anime program became very popular, and ended up running until March 25, 2005; at the end of its run, 1,049 episodes had been produced. The celebrate Doraemon’s anniversary, a new series began airing on April 15, 2005; this new series featured new voice actors and staff, as well as updated character designs.

The series is about a robotic cat named Doraemon. He travels back in time to from the 22nd century to help a fourth grade schoolboy named Nobita Nobi. Doraemon is sent back in time by Sewashi, who is Nobita’s great-great grandson. Before sending Doraemon back, Nobita’s failures left his family line with financial problems. So, Sewashi sends Doraemon in the hopes that he can help improves Nobita’s chances, so his descendants can enjoy a better future. When Doraemon is with Nobita, he can produce a futuristic gadget out of his pocket to help Nobita fix whatever problem he is dealing with. Unfortunately, Nobita tends to go too far, and ultimately gets into more trouble than before. Sometimes, Nobita’s friends steal the gadgets and end up misusing them.

Besides Doraemon and Nobita, other characters include: Shizuka (the smart and pretty girl that Nobita has a crush on), Takeshi (the neighborhood bully that is known by his nickname of “Gian,” which is taken from the English word, “giant”), Suneo (a rich kid that likes to flaunt his wealth, and is also Gian’s lackey), and Dorami (Doraemon’s younger sister that lives in the 22nd century with Sewashi; sometimes, she visits Nobita with a time machine when Doraemon is “off duty”).

Many episodes of Doraemon are comedies that include a moral lesson, such as honesty, perseverance, and courage. Other topics that have been covered include homeless animals, endangered species, deforestation, pollution, dinosaurs, Gulliver’s Travels, and the history of Japan.

In 1980, Toho began releasing a yearly feature-length animated Doraemon film; so far, 27 films have been released in Japan. It has been announced that the Doraemon film, Nobita and the Green Giant Legend 2008 will be dubbed into English and released in the United States in December 2008. Doraemon has also starred in eleven anime specials, and has been the star of several videos games in Japan over the years.

Doraemon is considered a cultural icon in Japan. On April 22, 2002, he was voted one of the 22 Asian Heroes by Time Asia magazine. He has also been appointed as the first “anime ambassador” for Japan.