Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (or simply Ninja Turtles) are a fictional team of four anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists. From their home in the storm sewers of New York City, they battle petty criminals, evil megalomaniacs, and alien invaders, all while remaining isolated from society at large. The characters initially appeared in comic books before being licensed for toys, cartoons, video games, films, and other merchandise. During the peak of its popularity in the late 1980s through early 1990s, the franchise gained considerable worldwide success and fame.

History

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles originated in an American comic book published by Mirage Studios in 1984 in Dover, New Hampshire. The concept arose from a humorous drawing sketched out by Kevin Eastman during a casual evening of brainstorming with his friend Peter Laird. Using money from a tax refund together with a loan from Eastman's uncle, the young artists self-published a single issue comic intended to parody four of the most popular comics of the early 1980s: Marvel Comics' Daredevil and New Mutants, Dave Sim's Cerebus, and Frank Miller's Ronin.
Much of the Turtles' mainstream success began when a licensing agent, Mark Freedman, sought out Eastman and Laird to propose wider merchandising opportunities for the offbeat property. In 1986, Dark Horse Miniatures produced a set of 15 mm lead figurines. In January 1988, they visited the offices of Playmates Toys Inc, a small California toy company who wished to expand into the action figure market. Development initiated with a creative team of companies and individuals: Jerry Sachs, ad man of Sachs-Finley Agency, brought together the animators at Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, headed by award-winning animator Fred Wolf. Wolf and his team combined concepts and ideas with Playmates marketing crew, headed by Karl Aaronian and then VP of Sales, Richard Sallis and VP of Playmates, Bill Carlson. Aaronian brought on several designers and concepteer and writer John Schulte and worked out the simple backstory that would live on toy packaging for the entire run of the product and show. Sachs called the high-concept pitch "Green Against Brick". The sense of humor was honed with the collaboration of MWS's writers. Playmates and their team essentially served as associate producers and contributing writers to the miniseries that was first launched to sell-in the toy action figures. Phrases like "Heroes in a Half Shell" and many of the comical catch phrases and battle slogans ("Turtle Power!") came from the writing and conceptualization of this creative team. As the series developed, veteran writer Jack Mendelsohn came on board as both a story editor and scriptwriter. David Wise, Michael Charles Hill, and Michael Reaves wrote most of the scripts, taking input via Mendelsohn and collaborating writer Schulte and marketing maven Aaronian.
The miniseries was repeated three times before it found an audience. Once the product started selling, the show got syndicated and picked up and backed by Group W, which funded the next round of animation. The show then went network, on CBS. Accompanied by the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987 TV series, and the subsequent action figure line, the TMNT were soon catapulted into pop culture history. At the height of the frenzy, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Turtles' likenesses could be found on a wide range of children's merchandise, from Pez dispensers to skateboards, breakfast cereal, video games, school supplies, linens, towels, cameras, and even toy shaving kits.
On October 21, 2009 it was announced that cable channel Nickelodeon (a subsidiary of Viacom) had purchased all of Mirage's rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property. Mirage retains the rights to publish 18 issues a year, though the future involvement of Mirage with the Turtles and the future of Mirage Studios itself is unknown. Nickelodeon plans to develop a new CGI-animated TMNT television series and will partner with fellow Viacom company Paramount Pictures to bring a new TMNT movie to theaters. Both are expected for 2012.

Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X

Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story (るろうに剣心 明治剣客浪漫譚, Rurō ni Kenshin Meiji Kenkaku Rōmantan^?), also known as Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai X, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The fictional setting takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story is about a fictional assassin named Himura Kenshin, from the Bakumatsu who becomes a wanderer to protect the people of Japan. Watsuki wrote this series upon his desire of making a shōnen manga different from the other ones that were published in that time, with Kenshin being a former assassin and the story taking a more serious tone as it continued. Although the tragic tone was highly expanded as the manga advanced, Watsuki became determined to give it a happy ending as it was aimed at teenagers.
The manga initially appeared in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from September 2, 1994, to November 4, 1999. The complete work consists of 28 tankōbon volumes, while years later it was reprinted into twenty-two kanzenban volumes. Studio Gallop, Studio Deen and SPE Visual Works adapted the manga into an anime series which aired in Japan from January 10, 1996 to September 8, 1998. Seasons 1 and 2 cover the first 151 chapters of the manga, however Season 3 is an original storyline. Besides an animated film, two series of original video animations (OVAs) were also produced. The first adapted stories from the manga that were not featured in the anime, while the second was also a sequel of the manga. Writer Kaoru Shizuka has authored three official Rurouni Kenshin light novels which were published by Shueisha. Several video games have also been released for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles.
The United States release of the manga has been completed by Viz Media. Rurouni Kenshin is subtitled "Wandering Samurai" in some English releases, as a rough translation of "Rurō ni" (流浪に, lit. "Wandering"^?). The TV series later licensed in North America and released on DVD by Media Blasters. The first two seasons aired on the United States Cartoon Network as a part of the Toonami Block, while the third season was only featured in DVD . The English-language versions of the OVAs as well the film is released as Samurai X, although the original title was included in the DVD releases. The first light novel has been translated by Viz and distributed in the United States and Canada. None of the video games of the series have been released in North America.
The series has been highly popular in Japan, the United States, Brazil and Europe. The manga has sold over 47 million copies in Japan as of 2007 while the anime has ranked between the 100 most watched series in Japan multiple times. The anime and manga have received praise and criticism from various publications for anime, manga and other media, with both having received good response on the characters' designs and the historical setting. The OVAs have also received praise due to their animation and music.

Plot

The story of Rurouni Kenshin takes place during the early Meiji era in Japan. It tells the story of a peaceful wanderer named Himura Kenshin, formerly known as the assassin "Hitokiri Battōsai". After participating during the Bakumatsu war, Kenshin wanders the countryside of Japan offering protection and aid to those in need as atonement for the murders he once committed as an assassin. When arriving in Tokyo in the 11th year of Meiji (1878), he meets a young woman named Kamiya Kaoru, who was in the middle of a fight with a murderer who claims to be the Hitokiri Battōsai from her swordmanship school. Kenshin decides to help her and defeats the fake Battōsai. After discovering that Kenshin is the real Battōsai, she offers him a place to stay at her dojo as she notes Kenshin is a gentle person instead. Kenshin accepts and begins to establish lifelong relationships with many people such as Sagara Sanosuke, a former Sekihō Army member; Myōjin Yahiko, an orphan from a samurai family; and a doctor named Takani Megumi. However, he also deals with his fair share of enemies, new and old, including the former leader from the Oniwabanshū, Shinomori Aoshi and his rival from the Bakumatsu Saitō Hajime.
After several months of living in the dojo, Kenshin discovers that his successor as assassin of the shadows, Shishio Makoto, plans to conquer Japan by destroying the Meiji Government, starting with Kyoto. Feeling that his friends may be attacked by Shishio's faction, Kenshin goes to meet Shishio alone in order to defeat him. However, many of his friends, including a young Oniwabanshū named Makimachi Misao, decide to help him in his fight. He decides to accept their help and defeats Shishio in a fight, who dies in the process due to the rise in body temperature caused by his burns. The anime adapts the manga until this part, later featuring new story arcs which were not featured in the manga.

When Kenshin and his friends return to Tokyo, Kenshin finds Yukishiro Enishi, who plans to take revenge by killing his friends. At this point it is revealed that, during the Bakumatsu, Kenshin used to be married to a woman called Yukishiro Tomoe, who initially wanted to avenge the death of her fiancé, whom Kenshin had killed, but instead both fell in love and got married. It is then discovered that Tomoe was part of a group of assassins that wanted to kill Kenshin, and Tomoe is betrayed by them and captured to use as bait. Kenshin rushes in to rescue her, killing both his assailant and accidentally Tomoe, who jumps in at the last minute to save Kenshin from a fatal attack. Wanting to take revenge for the death of his sister, Enishi kidnaps Kaoru and leaves behind a tortured figure bearing a stunning resemblance of Kaoru for Kenshin to find and momentarily grieve over. Once discovering that Kaoru is alive, Kenshin and his friends set to rescue her. A battle between Kenshin and Enishi follows and when Kenshin wins, he and Kaoru return home. Five years later, Kenshin has found true peace; he is married to Kaoru and has a son named Himura Kenji

Upin & Ipin

Upin & Ipin is a Malaysian television series of animated shorts produced by Les' Copaque Production, which features the life and adventures of the eponymous twin brothers in a fictional Malaysian kampung. Originally a side project for the blockbuster animated film Geng: The Adventure Begins, Upin & Ipin was introduced on TV9 in 2007 as a six-episode Ramadan/Eid special, to instil significance of the Islamic holy month amongst children. To date, the series has reached its fourth season, including another Ramadan special season in 2008, and, season three onwards, the year-long, secularly themed Upin & Ipin and Friends, the series' international debut via the Disney Channel Asia, which is not explaining Ramadan, but telling the lives of Upin and Ipin with their friends on the normal days. The show has a running gag in its English dub about the characters being confused and often saying "Huh?".

Production

The creators of Upin & Ipin are Mohd Nizam Abdul Razak, Mohd Safwan Abdul Karim and Usamah Zaid, who also are among the founding members of Les' Copaque. The trio were Multimedia University graduates who started off as animators in another local animation, till in 2005, they met a former oil dealer, Haji Burhanuddin Radzi, and his wife, Hajjah Ainon Ariff, to open Les' Copaque.
The first Upin & Ipin series were produced specially for Ramadan in 2007 as an edutainment programme to instil the significance of the holiest month of the Islamic calendar amongst its audience. According to Safwan, "We started this short four-minute animation series last year to test local market acceptance and to gauge how it would react to our story telling capabilities." The series of six animated shorts was well-received, which encouraged Les' Copaque to make another season of the Upin & Ipin for next year's Ramadan.
Nizam believed that the international animation market may be interested in a particular Malaysian cultural aspect made of a relaxed, unhurried kampung life. He explained in a 2008 report, "Famous animation series, such as Japan’s Doraemon, are based on their respective local rather than international culture. We believe we can do the same with ours." Moreover, the popularity Upin & Ipin not only in Malaysia, yet also in neighbouring Indonesia, moulded Les' Copaque into a well-known Malaysian firm.
The Autodesk Maya CGI software has been employed to animate Upin & Ipin (and the Geng film). In a 2009 Autodesk press conference, Fuad Md. Din, Les' Copaque's chief designer, remarked on Maya's ease of use, aside their long experience in using the software.
In 2009, Nizam, Safwan and Anas departed from Les' Copaque to found a new animation company, Animonsta Studios; yet Upin & Ipin remains in the works under the directorship of Haji Burhanuddin.
To date, there are about 70 creative and technical artists working in Les' Copaque Production. According to Hj. Burhanuddin, there are plans to push the numbers up to 120 people. Aside from developing the animation business, he aims to build a gaming side as well, "I also plan to introduce Upin & Ipin games in collaboration with UiTM. We have set up a dedicated team and UiTM is helping us on the content. We want to focus on mathematics in our games.”

Background

Further information: List of Characters in Upin & Ipin

Upin and Ipin are five-year-old Malay twins who live with their elder sister Ros and maternal grandmother Uda (whom they call Opah) in a wooden house in Kampung Durian Runtuh. They have lost their parents in their infancy. Upin and Ipin study in the village's Tadika Mesra (Friendly Kindergarten), where they befriend a motley bunch of classmates, including the adorable and right-thinking Mei Mei, a jocular and poetic Jarjit Singh, the firm but clumsy and short-tempered Ehsan, an easygoing and sarcastic Fizi (Ehsan's cousin), and an entrepreneurial and meticulous Mail.
The headman of Kampung Durian Runtuh is Isnin bin Khamis, better known as Tok Dalang, the wayang kulit champion. Tok Dalang keeps a cluster of rambutan trees for commercial purposes, and a rooster named Rembo. Among the village's other notable residents are Muthu, owner of the village's only food stall who lives with his animal whisperer son Rajoo and pet steer Sapy; Salleh (Sally), a waspish transgender-apparent, who owns a mobile library; and Ah Tong, a strident-voiced vegetable farmer. Kampung Durian Runtuh also invited an Indonesian girl named Susanti who moved in with her family



Kiteretsu Daihyakka

Kiteretsu Daihyakka

Kiteretsu Daihyakka (キテレツ大百科?, lit. Kiteretsu Encyclopedia) is a science fiction manga series by Fujiko Fujio which ran in the children's magazine Kodomo no Hikari from April 1974 through July 1977. The manga was later made into a 331-episode TV anime series which ran on Fuji TV from March 27, 1988 through June 9, 1996.


There are many similarities in the makeup and appearance of the main cast to the cast of Doraemon, which was also created by Fujio, though the content of the story is completely different.

The main character is a scientific genius grade school boy named Kiteretsu, who has built a companion robot named Korosuke. He frequently travels in time with his friends and Korosuke in the time machine he built. Miyoko is a girl in his neighborhood who is basically his girlfriend. Tongari is his rival, who happen to share some similar traits of Honekawa Suneo. Buta Gorilla (Kumada Kaoru) is a typical neighborhood bully, who also share similar traits of Gian (Takeshi Goda) except that he often antagonizes Korosuke.

Setting
The show is set in the fictional Hyōno-chō, which is set in an ambiguous location featuring a rural-style train station, a department store, and a shopping district. The fictional neighboring town of Urano-chō is where Miyoko's aunt lives. In the anime, Miyoko speaks in the dialect attributed to that town.

The fictional Hyakujōshima is the location of the Tongari family's vacation home. A family of kabocha farmers lives there and takes care of the place. The island is sparsely populated due to people moving away, and it is accessible from Tokyo via airplane and ferry.

Two fictional schools are mentioned in the series: Hyōno Elementary and Takao University. Hyōno Elementary is the public school Kiteretsu and his friends attend. During summer vacation, one of the lunch ladies uses the school to teach piano lessons. There is also a rumor the school is haunted.

It is unknown if Takao University is a private, national, or public university. Benzō-san was able to enter the university after attempting it six times during the series. Ten years from the time period of the series beginning, Kiteretsu, Miyoko, and Tongari enter this university to study.

Other locations in the series are actual locations, though some things may have been fictionalized to meet the story's needs.

Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール, Doragon Bōru?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 through 1995; later the 509 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the Chinese folk novel Journey to the West. It follows the adventures of Son Goku from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven mystical objects known as the Dragon Balls, which can summon a wish-granting dragon. Along his journey, Goku makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, most of whom also seek the Dragon Balls for their own desires.


The 42 tankōbon have been adapted into two anime series produced by Toei Animation: Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, which together were broadcast in Japan from 1986 to 1996. Additionally, Toei has developed seventeen animated feature films and three television specials, as well as a short-lived third anime titled Dragon Ball GT, which takes place after the events of the manga. In 2009, Toei began broadcasting a revised, faster-paced version of Dragon Ball Z under the name of Dragon Ball Kai, in which most of the material not featured in the manga is removed. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising such as a collectible trading card game, and a large number of video games.

The manga series was licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media, in the United Kingdom by Gollancz Manga, and in Australia and New Zealand by Chuang Yi. The anime series was licensed by Funimation Entertainment for an English language release worldwide, although the series has been dubbed several times by various studios. In China, a live-action film adaptation was produced in 1989. In 2002, 20th Century Fox acquired the rights to produce an American-made live-action film, which was released on April 10, 2009 to critical lambast.

Since its release, Dragon Ball has become one of the most popular manga series of its time in both Japan and North America. It enjoys a high readership, with over 150 million volumes of the series sold by 2007. Reviewers have praised the art, characterization, and humor of the story. Several manga artists have noted that the manga series was the inspiration for their own now popular works, including Naruto and One Piece. The anime is also highly popular, ranking number three among the best anime series of all time in 2006.

Plot

The series begins with a monkey-tailed boy named Goku befriending a teenage girl named Bulma, and together they go on a quest to find the seven magic Dragon Balls. Along the way, they meet and befriend a plethora of martial artists. Goku also undergoes rigorous training regimes and educational programs in order to fight in the World Martial Arts Tournament, a competition involving the most powerful fighters- in the world. Outside the tournaments, Goku faces diverse villains such as Emperor Pilaf, the Red Ribbon Army, the demon Piccolo Daimao and his offspring Piccolo Jr., who eventually becomes Goku's ally.

As a young man, Goku meets his older brother Raditz, who tells him that they come from a race of extraterrestrials called Saiyans. The Saiyans had sent Goku to Earth as an infant to conquer the planet for them, but he suffered a severe head injury soon after his arrival and lost all memory of his mission. Goku refuses to help Raditz continue the mission, after which he begins to encounter other enemies from space, most notably the Saiyan prince Vegeta, who becomes his rival and, eventually, his ally as well. He later encounters Frieza, the galactic tyrant responsible for the destruction of the Saiyan race, whose actions cause Goku to transform into a legendary Super Saiyan. After an epic battle on the planet Namek, Goku defeats Frieza, avenging the lives of billions across the universe.

Four years later, a group of androids from the former Red Ribbon Army appear, seeking revenge against Goku. During this time, an evil life form called Cell emerges and, after absorbing two of the androids to increase his power, holds his own martial arts tournament to decide the fate of the Earth, but is eventually defeated by Goku's first child Son Gohan. Seven years later, Goku is drawn into another battle for the universe against a magical monster named Majin Buu. Joined by Vegeta and Gohan, Goku succeeds in destroying the evil half of Buu and the good half of Buu settles down with them. Ten years later, at another World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku meets the evil Buu's human reincarnation, Uub. At the end of the series, Goku takes Uub away on a journey to train him as the Earth's next defender.

Naruto

Naruto

Naruto (NARUTO—ナルト—?, romanized as NARUTO) is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become a Hokage, the ninja in his village that is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of all. The series is based on a one-shot comic by Kishimoto that was published in the August 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump.

The manga was first published by Shueisha in 1999 in the 43rd issue of Japan's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. Currently, the manga is still being serialized with fifty-one tankōbon volumes released so far. The manga was later adapted into an anime, which was produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. It premiered across Japan on the terrestrial TV Tokyo network and the anime satellite television network Animax on October 3, 2002. The first series lasted 220 episodes, while Naruto: Shippuden, a sequel to the original series, has been airing since February 15, 2007. In addition to the anime series, Studio Pierrot has developed six movies for the series and several original video animations (OVAs). Other types of merchandise include light novels, video games and trading cards developed by several companies.

Viz Media has licensed the manga and anime for North American production. Viz has been publishing the series in their Shonen Jump magazine, and as well as the indidividual volumes. The anime series began airing in the United States and Canada in 2005, and later in the United Kingdom and Australia in 2006 and 2007, respectively. The films, as well as most OVAs from the series, have also been released by Viz, with the first film premiering in cinemas. The first DVD volume of Naruto: Shippuden was released by Viz in North America on September 29, 2009, and it started broadcast on Disney XD in October of the same year.

The manga has sold over 100 million copies in Japan. Serialized in Viz's Shonen Jump magazine, Naruto has become one of the company's best-selling manga series. The English adaptation of the series has also appeared in the USA Today Booklist several times and volume 11 won the Quil Award in 2006. Reviewers from the series have praised the balance between fighting and comedy scenes, as well as the characters' personalities, but have criticized it for using standard shōnen plot elements.

Plot

Naruto Uzumaki is a young boy who has the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed within him. Twelve years before the start of the series, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox attacked the ninja village Konohagakure, slaughtering many people. In response, the leader of Konohagakure and its ninja military – the Fourth Hokage – sacrificed his life to seal the demon inside Naruto when he was a newborn. Konohagakure, however, regarded Naruto as if he were the demon fox itself and mistreated him throughout most of his childhood. A decree made by the Third Hokage, who replaced the Fourth Hokage after his death, forbade anyone mention the attack of the demon fox to anyone else. This included Naruto, who was not aware of the demon inside of him.

Years later, Naruto is tricked by the renegade ninja Mizuki into stealing a forbidden scroll, but he is stopped by his teacher, Iruka Umino. When Iruka almost dies while protecting Naruto from Mizuki, Naruto uses a Jutsu he learned from the scroll that creates multiple clones of himself, Shadow Clone Technique, to defeat Mizuki. This encounter leads Naruto to realize that he is the container of the demon fox.

The main story follows Naruto and his friends' personal growth. Naruto befriends two comrades, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, who are assigned with him to form a three-person team named Team 7 under an experienced sensei named Kakashi Hatake. Like all the ninja teams from every village, Team 7 is charged with completing missions requested by villagers, such as doing chores or being bodyguards. During the course of their missions, Naruto befriends other characters that he meets throughout the series. Team 7 learns new abilities, get to know each other, and experience a coming-of-age journey as Naruto dreams of becoming the Hokage of Konohagakure.

After several missions, Kakashi allows Team 7 to participate into a ninja exam in which they can improve their ranks, and thus, take part in more difficult missions. During the exams, Orochimaru, a criminal at the top of Konohagakure's most wanted list, attacks Konoha and kills the Third Hokage in an act of revenge. This forces one of the three legendary ninja, Jiraiya to search for his former teammate Tsunade, who has been nominated to become the Fifth Hokage. During the search, it is revealed that Orochimaru desires to acquire Sasuke Uchiha due to his powerful genetic heritage. Believing Orochimaru will be able to give him the strength needed to kill his brother Itachi, who destroyed his clan, Sasuke goes to him in search of power. Tsunade sends a group of ninja including Naruto to make Sasuke return to Konoha, but Naruto is unable to defeat him and bring him back to the village. Naruto does not give up on Sasuke, however, and he leaves Konoha to train for two-and-a-half years under Jiraiya's tutelage in order to prepare himself for the next time he encounters Sasuke.

After the training period, a mysterious organization called Akatsuki attempts to capture the nine powerful tailed beasts including the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed inside of Naruto. Several ninjas from Konohagakure, including Team 7, fight against the Akatsuki members and search for their teammate Sasuke. Although they manage to save Gaara the host of the One-Tailed beast, Akatsuki is successful in capturing seven of the creatures. In the meantime, Sasuke betrays Orochimaru and faces Itachi to take revenge. Although Itachi dies in battle, Sasuke is later told by the Akatsuki founder Madara Uchiha that Itachi was ordered by Konohagakure's leadership to destroy his clan. Saddened with this revelation, Sasuke joins forces with Akatsuki to destroy Konohagakure. Meanwhile, as several Akatsuki members are defeated by the Konohagakure ninja, their leader, Pain, invades the village to capture Naruto. However, Naruto defeats Pain's multiple bodies and convinces the real one to leave Akatsuki.

With Pain having left, Madara announces that he wants to obtain the nine tailed beasts in order to perform an illusion powerful enough to control humanity. All of the leaders of the five ninja villages refuse to aid him, and instead, join forces to confront him.

Doraemon

Doraemon

Doraemon is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio (the pen name of Hiroshi Fujimoto) and Fujiko A. Fujio (the pen name of Motō Abiko) which later became an anime series and an Asian franchise. The series is about a robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a schoolboy, Nobita Nobi (野比 のび太, Nobi Nobita?).

The series first appeared in December 1969, when it was published simultaneously in six different magazines. In total, 1,344 stories were created in the original series, which are published by Shogakukan under the Tentōmushi (てんとう虫?) manga brand, extending to 45 volumes. The volumes are collected in the Takaoka Central Library in Toyama, Japan, where both Fujiko Fujio were born. Viz Media bought the license to the Doraemon manga in the 1990s for an English-language release, but ultimately decided not to publish it due to the possible controversy surrounding its content.[citation needed] However, Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (The 26th film in the franchise) got a private screening in Washington D.C. in November 2008.

A majority of Doraemon episodes are comedies with moral lessons regarding values such as integrity, perseverance, courage, family and respect for elders. Several noteworthy environmental issues are often visited, including homeless animals, global warming, endangered species, deforestation, and pollution. Miscellaneous educational topics such as dinosaurs, the flat Earth theory, wormhole traveling, Gulliver's Travels, and the history of Japan are often covered.

Doraemon was awarded the Japan Cartoonists Association Award for excellence in 1973. Doraemon was awarded the first Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga in 1982,and the first Osamu Tezuka Culture Award in 1997. In March 2008, Japan's Foreign Ministry appointed Doraemon as the nation's first "anime ambassador."Ministry spokesman explained the novel decision as an attempt to help people in other countries to understand Japanese anime better and to deepen their interest in Japanese culture." The Foreign Ministry action confirms that Doraemon has come to be considered a Japanese cultural icon. In 2002, the anime character was acclaimed as an Asian Hero in a special feature survey conducted by Time Asia magazine.

Name

The name "Doraemon" translates roughly to "stray". Unusually, the name "Doraemon" (ドラえもん?) is written in a mixture of two Japanese scripts: katakana (ドラ)　and hiragana (えもん). "Dora" is from "dora neko" (stray cat, どら猫), and is a corruption of nora (stray). "Emon" is a component of male given names, such as Goemon, though no longer as popular as in the past."Dora" is not from dora meaning gong, but due to the homophony, the series puns on this, with Doraemon loving dorayaki.

Plot

The first appearance of Doraemon, who came via the time machine.Doraemon is sent back in time by Nobita Nobi's great-great grandson Sewashi to improve Nobita's circumstances so that his descendants may enjoy a better future. In the original timeline, Nobita experienced nothing but misery and misfortune throughout his life. As a result of this, Nobita's failures in school and subsequently, his career, have left his family line beset with financial problems. In order to alter history and better the Nobi family's fortunes, Sewashi sent him a robot called Doraemon.

Doraemon has a pocket from which he produces many gadgets, medicines, and tools from the future. The pocket is called yojigen-pocket, or fourth-dimensional pocket. Some of the gadgets are based on real Japanese household devices with fanciful twists, but most are completely science fiction (although some may be based on folklore or religious stories). Thousands of dōgu have been featured in Doraemon. The number of dōgu has been approximated at 4,500. It is this constant variety which makes Doraemon popular even among adult readers/viewers. In the series, the availability of dogu depends sometimes on the money Doraemon has available, and he often says some dogu are expensive in the future. The more famous ones include the "bamboo-copter", a small head accessory that allows flight; the "Anywhere Door", a door that opens up to any place the user wishes; and the "Time Machine". Some of the recurring dōgu appear also in Fujiko F. Fujio's other works such as 21-emon, Kaibutsu-kun, Kiteretsu Daihyakka, Mikio to Mikio or Pāman.

Although he can hear perfectly well, Doraemon has no ears: his robotic ears were eaten by a mouse, giving him a series-long phobia of the creatures.

The stories are formulaic, usually focused on the everyday struggles of fourth grader Nobita, the protagonist of the story. In a typical chapter, Nobita comes home crying about a problem he faces in school and/or the local neighborhood. After hearing him out, Doraemon always offers helpful advice to his problem(s), but that's never enough for Nobita, who is consistently looking for the "quick, easy" way out (which offers insight to the viewers as to why Nobita's life turned out the way it did). Finally, after Nobita's pleading and/or goading, Doraemon produces a futuristic gadget out of his aforementioned pouch to help Nobita fix his problem, enact revenge, or flaunt to his friends. The only main female character is Shizuka Minamoto (源 静香, Minamoto Shizuka?), who serves as a semi-romantic girlfriend of Nobita, but otherwise a supporting, minor character. Nobita's main human friends include Gian, a known bully, and Suneo, a gloating spoiled wealthy kid. There are many recurring supporting characters, such as Dekisugi, Nobita's parents, his school teacher, his descendants from the future, and Doraemon's sister, Dorami.

Nobita usually goes too far, despite Doraemon's best intentions and warnings, and gets into deeper trouble than before. Sometimes, Nobita's friends (usually Suneo or Jaian) steal the gadgets and end up misusing them. However, by the end of the story, there is usually retribution to the characters who end up misusing them, and a moral is taught.