Doraemon (character)

Doraemon
Doraemon character
Doraemon shown on the front and side of the JR ED79 Kaikyo train at Aomori Station
First appearance	December 1969
Created by	Fujiko Fujio
Voiced by	Japanese: Kōsei Tomita (1973) Masako Nozawa (1973, 1976) Nobuyo Ōyama (1979–2005) Kazue Takahashi (1980, yellow) Chisa Yokoyama (1995, yellow) Wasabi Mizuta (2005–present) English: Mona Marshall
Portrayed by	Jean Reno (2011–2012 TV commercials)
Profile
Relatives	Sewashi (owner) Nobita Nobi (friend) Dorami (sister) Mii-chan (girlfriend)

Doraemon (Japanese: ドラえもん^?) is a fictional character in the Japanese manga and anime series of the same name created by Fujiko Fujio, the pen name of writing team Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko. He is a male robotic cat that travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a preteen boy named Nobita. An "official" birth certificate for the character gives him a birth date of 3 September 2112 and lists his city of residency as Kawasaki, Kanagawa, the city where the manga was created. In 2008, Japan's Foreign Ministry appointed Doraemon the country's "anime ambassador".

Doraemon was originally conceived by Hiroshi Fujimoto following a series of three events. When searching for ideas for a new manga, he wished a machine existed that would come up with ideas for him, he tripped over his daughter's toy, and heard cats fighting in his neighborhood.

The name "Doraemon" can be translated 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" derives from "dora neko" (どら猫, brazen or stray cat), and is a corruption of nora (stray).

Doraemon is sent back in time by a young boy named Sewashi Nobi to improve the circumstances of his great great grandfather, Nobita, so that his descendants may enjoy a better future. In the original timeline, Nobita experienced nothing but misery and misfortune manifested in the form of very poor grades and bullying throughout his life. This culminates in the burning down of a future business he sets up which leaves his family line beset with financial problems. In order to alter history and better the Nobi family's fortunes, Sewashi initially wanted to send a super-robot to protect Nobita, but with his meager allowance he could only afford an imperfectly-made factory-rejected toy: an anthropomorphic robot cat called Doraemon.