Doraemon. Gadget Cat from the Future [Comic]

Suppose you are a 10-year-old boy. You are not good at school work, occasionally oversleeps and is late for school. Not good at sports either. Often you are a target of bully. Your school life might be full of troubles. Do you want someone for help? Doraemon is the cat-shaped robot from 22nd century who may cater to the need of the boy in distress. While Hagrid in Harry Potter series introduces Harry to the world of magics, Doraemon, the robot from the future, introduces Nobita 22nd century devices or tools to take care of the problems lying ahead. It really has post-war Japanese twist to classic fantasy tales.

The first volume of English version(either with Japanese or Chinese text) of Doraemon, the Gadget Cat from the Future has selected stories from Vol.1 to Vol.4 of original Japanese language comic books (Tentoumushi Print, 45 volumes in total). Most of the stories are targeted for elementary school children. (There are some material for pre-school children but most are edited out in Tentoumushi Print).
As you can see, the early Doraemon drama is set in 1970-74(depending on the school-grade the story was for) and Nobita the protagonist of the drama even has a definite birthday. He was born on August 7, 1964. (See MY BIRTHDAY). The author even prepared for the last episode in which Doraemon comes back to future(Vol.6 of original Doraemon comic book). It was the year every schoolchildren who enjoyed Doraemon story became fourth-grade elementary school student. (At that time Doraemon stories are for schoolchildren fourth grader or younger). And the author had another commitment back then. But the popularity of the comic was such that Doraemon keeps on running even today in the form of TV animation series and a number of offshoot adventure animation films using the characters of Doraemon comics. So later stories try not to indicate the date so as not to contradict previous stories. Most of the gadgets used in early stories are used only once because the most of the gadgets or devices are either have defects or might aggravate trouble with unintended or wrong use. TIME MACHINE inside the study desk of Nobita is often used in the early Doraemon stories. (See ALL THE WAY FROM THE FUTURE, MY BIRTHDAY and THE MEMORIES OF GRANDMA).

When this comic was out it received criticisms from adults saying that the comic nurtures dependency and has adverse effects for children. But if you read this comic over and over again you will see that sort of criticism is quite off the mark. By stressing the adverse effects of the gadgets the author rather stresses that there is no easy ways to solve your problems even with advanced technology.

Verdict: Early Doraemon stories are a bit poignant but enjoyable. Unmissable volume to find out how Doraemon came along to help Nobita.
Rating: 95 out of 100
Recommended for: Japanese comic fans who loves children's stories such as Lord of the Rings, Narnia series, Neverending Story and for intermediate to advanced Japanese language learners.