Doraemon

This article is about the media franchise. For the title character, see Doraemon (character). For other uses, see Doraemon (disambiguation).

Doraemon
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Doraemon
ドラえもん
Genre
Manga
Written byFujiko F. Fujio
Published byShogakukan
English publisher
ImprintTentōmushi Comics
MagazineCoroCoro Comic and other Shogakukan children's magazines
DemographicChildren
Original run1969 – 1997
Anime television series
Other media
Spin-off manga
A timeline of magazines in which the manga's chapters (blue) or its long stories (red) were published[3][4]

Doraemon (ドラえもん) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. First serialized in 1969, the manga's chapters were collected in 45 tankōbon volumes published by Shogakukan from 1974 to 1996. The story revolves around an earless robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a boy named Nobita Nobi.

The manga spawned a media franchise. Three anime TV series have been adapted in 1973, 1979, and 2005. Additionally, Shin-Ei Animation has produced over forty animated films, including two 3D computer-animated films, all of which are distributed by Toho. Various types of merchandise and media have been developed, including soundtrack albums, video games, and musicals. The manga series was licensed for an English language release in North America, via Amazon Kindle, by a collaboration of Fujiko F. Fujio Pro with Voyager Japan and AltJapan Co., Ltd. The anime series was licensed by Disney for an English-language release in North America in 2014, and LUK International in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Doraemon was well received by critics and became a hit in many Asian countries. It won numerous awards, including the Japan Cartoonists Association Award in 1973 and 1994, the Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga in 1982, and the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 1997. As of 2024, it has sold over 300 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling manga series of all time. The character of Doraemon has been viewed as a Japanese cultural icon, and was appointed as the first "anime ambassador" in 2008 by the country's Foreign Ministry.

  1. ^ "Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions grants merchandise rights for beloved Doraemon franchise to Viz Media for Americas region". Viz Media. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  2. ^ Ong, Bang (August 28, 2015). "10 Asian heroes we worshipped while growing up". Stuff. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  3. ^ Fの森の歩き方 [How to walk in the forest of F] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2010. p. 3. ISBN 978-4-091-43434-0.
  4. ^ ドラえもん完全作品リスト 改訂二版 [Perfect data of the Doraemon] (in Japanese). Tokyo: NeoUtopia. 2000.