==JAPAN: KM== [People]

Do you have any character defects or weaknesses? Do you feel inferior to people? Are you the person who canft identify not only with a hero, of course, but with a good person? Do you think you are a hopeless case? You may answer to any of these questions, gYesc.h But donft worry. Fujiko F. Fujio, Doraemonfs creator said, gEveryone has so-called elements of Nobita. They may be etightly-contained@Nobita,f ehalf-Nobita,f or edistantly like Nobita.f To some degree or another, these are elements everyone has.h Nobita is a central character of gDoraemon,h the most famous series of comics which have already been sold about one hundred million copies all over the world. As we know, Nobita has many faults, cries easily, and is poor at studying and doing exercise. However, why has he been accepted as the famous comicsf main character? Why is gDoraemonh so popular even among adults? Today, I want to discuss the series of comics gDoraemonh with a focus on the meaning of living like Nobita.
gDoraemonh not only has familiar stories but also gives us dreams and hopes. The comic describes the normal world in which we would have lived. Moreover gDoraemonh is different from other fiction comics (what is called ones about a hero) in that its characters are normal kids (except Doraemon) and that it describes a normal life. Then Doraemon varies daily life with his secret items. Thus, the readers can empathize with the story easily and be amused by its dream-inspiring life drawing upon Nobitafs experience.
The relationship between Nobita and Doraemon, however, is little different from one-sided emotional dependence, and it gets some criticisms. The main storyline of gDoraemonh is summarized as follows. Although Nobita is a blundering boy, he tries his own right, but he is always bullied by his friends, Jyaian and Suneo. He runs all the way home and pleads with Doraemon for help. Every time he calls on Doraemon, Doraemon helps him by using secret items. Sometimes parents of the readers donft accept this relationship because he isnft independent. However, Takeo Doi, a psychiatrist mentions in his book, gThe Second Arc of Anatomy of Dependenceh that the emotional dependence can be split between a gstraightforward and sound oneh and a gnarcissistic one.h He also says that the former is maintained based on mutual trust, while the latter is characterized by self-righteousness and demanding. On the same note, Professor Yasuyuki Yokoyama of Toyama University who has been engaged in the academic study of gDoraemonh analyzes as follows. gIt is not until he learns by mistakes he wonft make it that he turns on Doraemon. Nobita doesnft only depend on secret items. In addition, at first the secret items are available but after all they donft go to the root of the problem and they leave the words that it is best to cope with problems using one's own power.h Doraemon often helps Nobita but he doesnft just spoil him but says, gThink with your head and overcome on your own! I absolutely observe you from a distance.h This is ideal personal relationship which we rarely get, especially adult readers.
The attraction of Nobita is that he is conscious that his present self is not good and on that basis, he tries to change himself. The important point of gDoraemonh is that it is a story of changing the future and that its characters believe that they can change their future. In the story, Doraemon was sent back to the 20th century by Nobita's grandson to help Nobita. Nobita looks for some small ways to change his present self in his way.@Although gTime Machineh is used in gDoraemon,h its stories are developed based on the presupposition that the future is not decided and can be changed the whole time.
The additional attraction of gDoraemonh is people surrounding Nobita who say sometimes hard and sometimes kind words. Nobita is surrounded with many people who make him good-natured and brave.@ Today on the web, there are various sites and BBS of gDoraemon,h where adults talk about lines or scenes in gDoraemon.h They may want to be spoken to with those words which Nobita received in the comics because they have fewer opportunities to be surrounded with people caring about them in their actual lives.
As we have seen, we receive many important things from gDoraemonh which adults canft usually receive, identifying ourselves with Nobita. Fujiko F. Fujio, Doraemonfs creator said to us, gEveryone wants to be better than their present self and tries to get better. But every day we make no progress, repeating the same mistakes. However, I think, all in all, that may be human nature.h The readers of gDoraemonh feel empathy toward Nobita and try to be brave as he tries in the comic, feeling the care of other characters in it.@This is why people continue to read gDoraemonh well into adulthood and love its main character Nobita.

"Getting It Together gDoraemonh is my favorite comic, so I have many things to talk about it. However, it was difficult to write about the comic from different points of view. I think I could put together what I wanted to say. I hope this essay will be an opportunity for you to get interested in gDoraemonh and change your opinion about it.