Jason’s Random Thoughts

Doraemon , a futuristic catlike robot from the 22nd century, has been inaugurated as the official cultural ambassador for anime. The ambassadorship was created by the Foreign Ministry as part of their diplomatic measures to foster cultural exchanges with other countries.

Anime Continues to Boom Internationally

Anime and manga has continued to grow in popularity over the last few years all over the world, and it’s hard not to see some of the influences of this mega-industry in several of the western movies and TV series now.

During the 80’s and 90’s, Western heroes often came in the very same format: incredibly skilled men who excelled at their given profession. As anime moved from a fringe culture to a fully grown phenomenon, writers started incorperating some of the common character attributes that we would see in the popular shows. Namely, the reluctant or otherwise very human nature of the hero. There are still quite a few heroes in North American TV and movies that are written to run into any situation with the ability to handle whatever might come, but more and more, we’re seeing a Japanification of the characters, allowing viewers to relate on a personal level to the people we’re watching.

Nobita and Prime Minister Fukuda

One Interesting observation that I’ve recently learned is that Nobita, Doraemon’s best friend in the series, shares similar Chinese characters as Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (福田康夫). The Chinese name of Nobi Nobita (野比のび太) spells similar to Nobi Yasuo. To add to the fun, Japan’s Prime Minister bears a striking resemblance to the 4th Grade boy that Doraemon had travelled to the past in order to help. Unfortunately, it seems that the similarities don’t end there, as Nobita has been described the following way:

Nobita is the biggest loser of all anime history. Nobita is clumsy, crys a lot, gets zeros on all his tests, sucks at all sports, and always gets bullied by Jyian and Suneo. He is the boy that Doraemon helps A LOT. He is the one that messes up everything that Doraemon gives him. Now that I think of it, Doraemon is pretty stupid to give him all the gadgets. Without the help of Doraemon, he would probably be dead right now.

Aside from the presence of Doraemon, that sounds quite a bit like the current Prime Minister.

The Perfect Ambassador

I’ve been a fan of Doraemon for over a decade and, after reading countless mangas and watching hundreds of episodes, I’m glad the title of ambassador was given to the timeless character. There are countless others that come to mind when I think about classic anime characters, but no other is half as popular as the blue cat with no ears.

What do you think of Japan’s move to name this anime character as an ambassador? Is just another example of Japanese oddities? Would you have selected someone else?

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