As a result, the everyday lives of the residents of Tokyo underwent considerable transformation.” In a section on its website on Tokyo’s history, the Metropolitan Government describes the period as a time of mechanization: “Due to technological innovations and the introduction of new industries and technologies, this period (in the 1960s) saw the beginning of mass production of synthetic fibers and household electric appliances such as televisions, refrigerators and washing machines. Gadgets and appliances were becoming more ubiquitous and more affordable than ever before. When the series “Doraemon” first appeared in 1970, it was the advent of the technological age. This much is made clear in the first chapter of the original manga, with Nobita’s great-great-grandson saying, “He’s not that great of a robot.” It’s a brilliantly deprecating precedent to any series. Still, it may baffle those who aren’t familiar with the series that Doraemon’s eventual interventions - and even his ties to the future - aren’t as case study-worthy as his present-day portfolio would have you believe.Ī scene from the ‘Doraemon’ TV series | ©FUJIKO-PRO, SHOGAKUKAN, TV-ASAHI / VIA KYODO The faults in our starsĭoraemon is a robot but he’s also flawed. The cat’s reputation is most definitely built on trust, and that’s why the child he has been sent to help, Nobita Nobi, never asks his parents for help, instead showing his worst (whiny and begging) side to Doraemon when he makes a request for help. However, this level of fame and, more importantly, trust can’t simply be generated by being omnipresent. Parents who were into “Doraemon” as children can now go with their own children - it’s a truly generation-spanning franchise. To date, the film series has earned around ¥187 billion ($1.7 billion). Movies centering on the character are big news, having surpassed “Godzilla” (in 2015) as Japan’s most lucrative franchise. “I don’t think there’s a religious lineage you can trace from the Sun Goddess to Hello Kitty,” she says.Īs a brand, “Doraemon” makes money.

However, any cultural phenomenon is based on several coalescing forces, including “commercial factors” - or, at least, that’s what Freedman believes. How far “Doraemon” fills this role, especially given the series’ origins as an educational manga and its current status as a pop-culture touchstone, is debatable. “You do see a lot of anthropomorphism in religious tales in Japan.” “There are certain yōkai that stem from popular Buddhist tales and mukashibanashi (tales from long ago),” says Alisa Freedman, an assistant professor of Japanese literature and film at the University of Oregon.

Doraemon cartoon movie