Robot Cat from the Future

A big part of my childhood was the Doraemon manga comic series by the artist Fujiko F. Fujio. The series features a motley group of second graders set in 20th century Japan, and the titular character Doraemon, a robot cat from the 22nd century who for expository reasons (I'm not gonna get into detail for the sake of brevity), time travels to the main character Nobita's room to help him out in his everyday life. The series doesn't really have an overall arc, as it's more of a "slice-of-life" manga who's main purpose is to elicit laughs from the reader. However, as you'll see, there are many hero's journey elements.

Note: I read the Vietnamese translations of these comics, and actually didn't know it was a Japanese comic until much later in my life (despite numerous references to geological locations in Japan within the series).

Nobita is clumsy, lazy, weak, dumb, and not really hero material at all. Each chapter usually follows this progression. Nobita has a problem. Doraemon gives him a futuristic gadget to help him with that problem. Nobita then proceeds to misuse the gadget. A series of funny consequences follow, but the chapter always ends with Nobita learning something, like a moral. Within each chapter, there's kind of a mini hero's journey. Nobita always comes out after the end of the chapter a more developed human being than before.

Why did I enjoy this series so much? Well partly because of the wonder of "what will Doraemon pull from his magic pocket next?" But I think that most of all I could relate to Nobita. By giving him every bad quality in the book, there had to be some overlap. And to me, it wasn't hard to look up to him, because no matter how many times he was knocked down, he could get back up and keep going. This hardy determination is admirable, and even though the entire series doesn't really develop in terms of plot, you could feel Nobita becoming a fuller character. Before really thinking about this story, I would never have described it as a Hero's Journey, but now I think I understand why this part of my childhood really stuck out to me.


Comments

  1. David SunJanuary 20, 2019 at 9:10 AM

    I used to watch this show when I was younger (but in Chinese). I've forgotten most of the details, but I remember it being extremely funny. I understand why you relate so much with Nobita. Having a flawed hero makes the journey more meaningful. Additionally, it allows the reader to develop a connection with the hero. Relatability is an important part to a hero.

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  2. MarianoJanuary 24, 2019 at 8:37 AM

    Flawed characters are the best to follow, especially in a series like this. A flawed character needs good morals in order to enjoy following. From what you explained Nobita embodies a great hero since he's always learning for the better despite his clumsiness and other flaws.

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