The adventures of our little Gadget-whipping cat with his unfortunate companion continue in Doraemon Movie 43 as they are set for their 43rd instalment in the film series, titled ‘Doraemon: Nobita’s Earth Symphony.’ The original animation series is a popular name for children and teens alike. This has been the case for many years now.
Much like many long-running anime Doraemon also has seen its fair share of feature-length anime films. So much so that the famous title has already released 42 movies and that is a record. However, these films are not specialized ones like the Studio Ghibli titles for example – Grave of the Fireflies has made people burst into tears both young n’ old and garnered fans from all age groups.
Doraemon Movie 43 has been announced and only a poster was dropped. With a tentative release date in March 2024, it is quite surprising that there has been not much information to be found. The production studio, distribution company, and possible streaming platforms have not been announced. Heck, the trailer is not out yet. Forget the trailer, not even a teaser is out. So, everything about Doraemon Movie 43 right now is speculative.
Doraemon Origins
What is Doraemon exactly? Doraemon is a Japanese Kodomomuke Manga series written by Fujiko F. Fujio and was first serialized in December 1969. The story follows the life of Nobita Nobi, a clumsy and unlucky kid who is one day visited by a strange cat from the inside of his desk. The cat happened to be a robot sent by Nobita’s descendant from the 22nd Century, tasked with looking after Nobita and ensuring a better future for his descendants.
Being a robotic cat from the future, Doraemon has the ability to whip out all kinds of gadgets from his 4-dimensional pouch. According to the author, Doraemon has a total of 1,293 gadgets. With all the gadgets in his pouch, Doraemon’s most used ones are Anywhere Door (A door-frame-looking gadget that can transport the user anywhere in space), and Bamboo-copter (a cap made out of bamboo with propellers that allow users to travel long distances).
Impact Of Doraemon Anime
The anime series aired back in 1973 and it is still ongoing. Every episode of Doraemon is repetitive, with not that much change. The story goes the same direction, Nobita has a misfortune in his life, Doraemon lends him a gadget, Nobita goes overboard and either both of them or Doraemon alone fix Nobita’s mistakes. But despite the repetitive episode format, the show never bored us. It had a certain magic to keep us wanting more and the same with all the movies released so far with Doraemon Movie 43 a few months away.
Of course, the show is not all about Nobita and Doraemon, as the cast includes Shizuka, Nobita’s crush whom he aspires to marry in the future; Gian and Suneo, Nobita’s bully and occasional allies and of course, Nobita’s Parents and Teacher serving as background character. Apart from the main characters, the most notable ones are Dekisugi, a genius kid who receives Shizuka’s attention, much to Nobita’s chagrin; Sewasi, Nobita’s descendant from and Doremi, Doraemon’s sister from the 22nd Century.
The show has various running gags, from Nobita’s constant misfortune to Doraemon’s fear of mice because they once chewed off his ears. And of course, the antics that Doraemon and Nobita go through when one of Doraemon’s Gadgets goes overboard. The anime was very popular in Japan and the Foreign Ministry appointed Doraemon as the first “Anime Ambassador,” in 2008.
But what about Bangladesh? Well, to that I’d ask, were you living under a rock? When the anime aired in our country, it became a sensation among all the Dhakaiya Kids and beyond. All of us would sing the opening and ending themes (mostly because it was Hindi-dubbed), would buy and add stickers on our notebook featuring Doraemon and of course, make out scenarios of what we would do if Doraemon existed.
Journey To Doraemon Movie 43
Since 15 March 1980, Doraemon has released a total of 42 films and two special feature films that respect and follow the continuity. One could say that those two are spiritual successor films that give a proper end to our Gadget Cat from the Future. They are Stant by Me Doraemon (2014) and Stand by Me Doraemon 2 (2020). And no, Doraemon does not die.
Apart from those two films, Doraemon has released a total of 42 films that do not follow the main continuity and divert from it, but provide a great time. In those films, Doraemon and the Gang go to space to rescue and help a friendly alien, go back to the prehistoric era to save a small dinosaur, go across the seven seas and end up meeting real-life pirates, living out their lives in 101 Arabian Nights. And of course, the one that made me cry, the movie where they find a Giant Robot.
Why did the last one make me cry? Those who have seen it will know why. And I highly recommend that you give it a watch as well. Now back to the topic. Of all the 42 films that have been released since 1980, Doraemon’s last film was titled, ‘Doraemon: Nobita’s Sky Utopia’ which aired on 3rd March 2023. And of course, our Gadget Cat is going nowhere as he is returning with the gang for a 43rd outing.
Doraemon Movie 43 Expectations
Doraemon Movie 43 is titled, ‘Doraemon: Nobita’s Earth Symphony,’ a non-canonical sequel to the 42nd film titled, ‘Doraemon: Nobita’s Sky Utopia’ and it may be the first musical-themed movie in the Doraemon franchise. Being the first music-oriented movie of the franchise Doraemon Movie 43 gives a hint of unique promise.
The plot goes like this, “Doraemon, Nobita and the Gang go on an adventure, meet new friends, connect with people through music and save the World.” And of course, if there’s music involved, you can expect one person to rise above all. No, it’s not Shizuka. It’s our bulky guy Gian.
One of the main gags of Doraemon and one that is very memorable is Gian’s tone-deaf singing. His singing is so bad in the show, that the characters fear that they might go deaf. People, animals all living beings suffer. Not even a dinosaur could survive his singing, but of course, with his strength and dominating personality, he is pretty confident about his singing.
All jokes aside, much of Doraemon Movie 43 is still unknown, but you can expect the same Japanese Voice Actors from the previous film and the current series and expect Doraemon Movie 43 to release around March 2024. And of course, we’re left with the tagline from the film, “Music exists in everyday life. But, what if music disappears from the earth?”
A Familiar Touch
Doraemon has been a part of our life for a very long time. And his influence will still be present for many years to come. I remember struggling to show an anime to a cousin of mine who was 4 years old. He wanted to watch cartoons and started throwing tantrums. That’s when I whipped out Doraemon and he began to silently watch it.
With Doraemon Movie 43 around the corner and not much detail, we can hope to just patiently wait for our Gadget-whipping, mouse-fearing robot and his clumsy companion to arrive on the silver screen. And hopefully on the screens of our country.
