Doraemon (2005 TV series)

Premise

Doraemon is a cat-like robot from the 22nd century future who's sent to the present time to steer a 10-year old elementary boy named Nobita Nobi, an unintelligent, naive and clumsy boy, on the right path in order to secure his future. Nobita's closest friend and love interest is Shizuka Minamoto, while his frenemies who bully and tease him are Takeshi Goda and Suneo Honekawa.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Doraemon characters

Production and broadcasting

Beginning in 2004, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the then-ongoing 1979 anime and the release of Doraemon: Nobita in the Wan-Nyan Spacetime Odyssey, a significant revival of the Doraemon series began development, which would become the third series produced in the franchise. A trailer for the new Doraemon series was previewed for the first time on March 25, 2005, at the end of the first television broadcast of Doraemon: Nobita in the Wan-Nyan Spacetime Odyssey. A week after the 1979 anime finale broadcast on March 18, the television broadcast of the film contained goodbye messages from the 1979 anime voice actors Nobuyo Ōyama, Noriko Ohara, Kazuya Tatekabe, Michiko Nomura and Kaneta Kimotsuki, respectively. The anime officially premiered as a one-hour special on April 15 of that same year, less than a month after the 1979 anime had ended.

With the shift, the majority of the personnel from the 1979 anime stepped down, and were replaced by a new team for the new series, as well as the original voice actors. Sōichirō Zen, who had previously worked on the 1979 anime, served as the director of the 2005 anime for more than 12 years, from 2005 to 2017. Ayumu Watanabe had previously worked on the 1979 anime, beginning in the late 1980s, and after the transition, he was tasked with developing character designs for the series, where he worked for eight years.

The new series features updated versions of the characters, different settings, and a new soundtrack. Although the anime is more faithful to the original manga and volumes, some changes were made. Many of the episodes that adapted chapters from the manga were extended to either have a better conclusion or a good moral to the story. In addition, some elements from the manga were toned down. Some examples include all of Doraemon's gadgets that resembled medicine being changed to different appliances, and Nobita's dad (who smoked often in the manga) rarely smoking in the new series. All mini corners, partners, and next episodes previews in all episodes are cut to fit for the 30-minute block in international versions, except for Hong Kong, which are cut to fit for the 15-minute block in its time-slot. Since May 1, 2009, the series airs in high definition. The episodes are recorded at APU Meguro Studio.

First revealed in June 2017, starting on July 28, 2017, with the episodes "I'm Mini Doraemon" and "The Elephant and the Uncle", the show got overhauled visually to use more vivid colors, which included the poster artwork. The characters were altered to closely resemble their original designs. Shinnosuke Yakuwa, who directed several of the Doraemon films, joined the production team as head director for the anime in 2018, and was succeeded by Hirofumi Ogura in 2020. By 2023, the series' production staff had been divided into two groups.

Originally, the show aired on Fridays at 7:00pm from its premiere to September 29, 2017, the same network timeslot that the 1979 anime aired on from 1981 up until its conclusion in 2004. As of October 5, 2019, the anime now airs Saturday afternoons at 5:00pm on TV Asahi and other ANN stations.

The series has paid respect to past cast members, most recently Nobuyo Ōyama, the voice for Doraemon for the 1979 series who died on September 29, 2024. The episode "Emperor's New Clothes!? Ultra Yoroi" was scheduled to be rebroadcast, but it was replaced with a montage of clips from the 1979 anime honoring Ōyama's contributions to the series and the episode "Wolfman Cream". |+Broadcasting time for Doraemon (2005) ! colspan="2" |Japan |- !Television network !Broadcast date and time |- |TV Asahi

Casting

On November 22, 2004, The Asahi Shimbun revealed in an exclusive article that the series' five voice actors were considered by the production team to be replaced by a group of newer, younger voice actors, with their roles slated to begin in April of the following year, which was met with confusion and great public interest as the news of such a big change was very abrupt; many employees from TV Asahi learned about the news from the article, while the staff that worked on the anime were previously briefed.

One of the reasons for the new casting was because Nobuyo Ōyama, the original voice actress for Doraemon in the 1979 anime, wanted to step down since 2001 due to health issues she faced in July of that year. Furthermore, Michiko Nomura, who voiced Shizuka in the 1979 anime, quit the longest-running series Sazae-san to focus more on her management position duties at her husband's Ken Productions studio and left alongside the original cast. It was also due to the fact that most of the cast members by that time were in their mid 60s. The voice actors to the five main characters, Doraemon, Nobita, Shizuka, Gian, and Suneo, were chosen from a pool of 590 applicants. Auditions for the series were held in order to select a voice that would best fit the original anime's atmosphere, starting in December 2004. TV Asahi stated in March 2005 that they chose voice actors who sounded similar to the predecessors, so that there wouldn't be a significant change from the original voice actors to the new voice actors. The new voice actors for the new series were officially announced on March 13, 2005, and were also revealed on March 28 of that year during a news conference in Roppongi Hills.

Subaru Kimura, the voice of Gian in the anime, was the youngest member of the new cast that was confirmed, as he was 14 years old at the time. Subaru was formerly a member of a children's theater group, but he had no experience as a voice actor, and one of the reasons he auditioned for the job was just to gain popularity in class. Subaru was initially terrified at the auditions, but he finally landed the role of Gian. Wasabi Mizuta was chosen to play the title character and was approached by Kazuya Tatekabe, who had previously voiced Gian in the 1979 anime, to audition for the series. Mizuta was initially concerned about being fired, due to the negative criticisms about the sudden change in voice actors, but after Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 released, she continued with the role. Yumi Kakazu acquired the part of Shizuka, after previously having auditioned for the roles of Doraemon, Suneo, Nobita and Gian.

English dubs

Main article: List of Doraemon (English dub) episodes

There are three notable English dubs that were produced: Bang Zoom's American English dub, Red Angel Media's British/Hong Kong English dub (which aired on Boomerang), and EarCandy's South African English dub (which aired on Disney Channel).

In the United States, Doraemon: Gadget Cat from the Future was first announced in May 2014. Produced by Fujiko F. Fujio Pro, TV Asahi, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, and distributed by Viz Media, Gadget Cat from the Future aired on Disney XD from July 7, 2014, to September 1, 2015, for a total of two seasons and 52 episodes. The dub features veteran anime voice actress Mona Marshall in the title role of Doraemon and Johnny Yong Bosch as Nobita, who is known in the English dub as "Noby". In Canada, Gadget Cat from the Future briefly aired on Disney XD's Canadian feed, before being re-branded as Family CHRGD. In Australia, the series started airing on 26 January 2015 on Network Ten, before moving to Cartoon Network and Boomerang. It was announced that reruns of the American version would be re-imported to Japan and aired on Disney Channel Japan starting on February 1, 2016. The network also provides a Japanese dub of the version as a secondary audio feed.

The English dub has been heavily modified to meet American broadcasting guidelines, censoring content deemed inappropriate for American children, as well as replacing many Japanese cultural elements with American cultural elements. Some modifications include Americanized character and gadget name changes from the English version of the manga, an episode order completely different from the Japanese episode order, nudity being heavily censored by adding steam, cloud effects, or clothing, and some episodes having several minutes of footage cut.

However, certain uniquely Japanese characteristics - such as house structure, kneeling on the floor to eat, the side where cars drive, and Nobisuke Nobi (Toby Nobi)'s kimono - remain. Japanese food featured throughout the series were also localized: while Doraemon's favorite food, dorayaki, was kept in but referred as "yummy buns", others were edited out and replaced with Western equivalents, such as omurice becoming pancakes. All the background music and sound effects were replaced with new background music and sound effects deemed "easier for American children to empathize". At least one character's personality was also partially rewritten. Shizuka, renamed Sue in the English dub. is portrayed as more tomboyish and athletic than the Japanese version, although her sweet nature and kind personality were not changed. This is reportedly because her traditionally Japanese habits were perceived as being difficult for American children to understand in test viewings of the Japanese version.

In the United Kingdom, Gadget Cat from the Future was first announced by LUK International in mid-July 2015 and began broadcasting on August 17, 2015 on Boomerang. However, it finished its run sometime in January 2016 and has never been broadcast since, due to it being considered a failure in the British market and was removed from the Boomerang lineup in early 2016. This dub is believed to have covered 26 episodes, with some of these episodes having not been found. Unlike the previous English dub from the United States, this dub is more accurate to the original scripts from the Japanese version of the series, as well as the opening and episode orders. Two notable differences are that in this dub, the original title cards are retained, albeit with English localization, unlike the American dub, which superimposed the text over the episode and removed the Japanese title card. However, unlike the American dub, Japanese text in the episodes (e.g. signs) in the UK dub are unlocalized, with no subtitles or voiceover whatsoever translating them. Despite this dub being made for and to be broadcast in the United Kingdom only, it was produced in Hong Kong, where the dub was recorded at Red Angel Media. The names of the main characters are borrowed from the English dub from the United States.

In India, Doraemon was aired in English on Disney Channel in early 2020, and later on Disney Channel HD from August 14, 2023 to May 10, 2025. This dub was produced by EarCandy in South Africa and licensed by Spacetoon India, and covers seasons 15 and 16. Like LUK International's dub, this dub is more accurate to the Japanese version of the series, although some dialogue, such as references to beef or alcohol products, is muted to meet Indian broadcasting standards. Unlike the other two dubs, this dub consists of a very limited cast of only three actors who play the roles of every character.

Episodes

Main article: List of Doraemon (2005–2009) episodes, List of Doraemon (2010–2014) episodes, List of Doraemon (2015–2019) episodes, List of Doraemon (2020–2024) episodes

Mini corners and specials

In this Doraemon series, since 2005, there are two "mini corners" that were broadcast during the series' runtime: Doraemon Mini Theater from April to July 2005 and Dora Dora Mini Theater from October to December 2022. Like the 1979 anime, the series included holiday and birthday specials.

Theme songs

Opening themes

In Japanese, the series features a total of eight opening themes, with the first song being "Doraemon no Uta," which originally served as the opening theme for the whole 1979 anime. Beginning in October 2005, "Doraemon no Uta" was replaced for the first time by "Hagushichao". Most of the international versions of the series only use the third opening theme and their own endings.

As of November 2024, the current opening theme is "Yume wo Kanaete Doraemon", which is sung and performed by Mao. The song was previously used from 2007 to 2019. The last broadcast of the previous theme song, "Doraemon", was aired on November 2. The American dub uses its own unique opening sequence that compiles footage from the Japanese version. To explain the premise of the story, a narration by Doraemon about "why he came from the future" is utilized rather than an actual opening theme. The ending theme is an instrumental played over scenes from the second variation of the third Japanese opening theme.

Ending themes

Since the series incorporates all the credits into the opening theme, an ending theme is primarily absent. However, some episodes use an ending theme.

DVDs release

Notes

References

References

1. "スタッフ＆声の出演者｜ドラえもん｜テレビ朝日".
2. "「のび太のダンボール宇宙ステーション」｜ドラえもん｜テレビ朝日".
3. (25 February 2009). link
4. (9 May 2014). "Disney XD to run Doraemon anime in U.S. this summer". Rocket News 24.
5. (11 May 2014). "Doraemon Anime's Visual & Script Changes for U.S. TV Detailed". Anime News Network.
6. "Thespians | Talent".
7. [https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna23716592 NBC News]
8. (February 14, 2015). "Mizuta Wasabi bursts into tears after receiving encouragement from Doraemon's former voice actors!".
9. (2014-07-02). "Doraemon, Giovanni's Island Dubs Premiere in L.A. on July 5".
10. (2017-09-06). "松本保典の声優道 {{!}} 先輩から学ぼう！ {{!}} 声優グランプリweb".
11. "大原 めぐみ ケッケコーポレーション".
12. (2020-03-18). "【声優道】大原めぐみさん「声優になるのに年齢は関係ない！」".
13. (2022-03-04). "大原めぐみ「弱い自分も認められる」 大抜てきから苦悩の10年、のび太に学んだ自分らしさ".
14. (2019-04-19). "「『こんな巧い話があっていいのか』と思いました」――声優・木村昴が語る、ジャイアンと二人三脚する葛藤と、ヒプノシスマイクとの出会い【後編】".
15. 綾加, 川俣. (2023-06-17). "「ここは芸能界だよ。決して甘くないよ」セーラームーン声優・三石琴乃が明かした声優を続けることの「苦しみと喜び」".
16. ""スネ夫"関智一が明かした 「ドラえもん」声優陣のオーディション舞台裏 - スポニチ Sponichi Annex 芸能".
17. "番組表".
18. (2009-06-14). "新しいドラ声を聞いてみた".
19. (February 22, 2015). "声優交代から10年…新たに確立した新世代の『ドラえもん』".
20. (2017-07-12). "次回のドラえもんは７月２８日（金）。夏の１時間スペシャルだよ！｜ドラえもん｜テレビ朝日".
21. (2017-06-23). "ドラえもん：アニメが7月から"パワーアップ" 八鍬新監督「見たことのない『ドラえもん』に」".
22. "『ドラえもん』が新監督＆新チーフディレクターでパワーアップ！名作も再び！".
23. "『ドラえもん』がパワーアップ！ 有名原作のエピソードを続々放送".
24. Hodgkins, Crystalyn. (2019-08-22). "Doraemon, Crayon Shin-chan Anime Move to Saturdays After 15 Years on Fridays". Anime News Network.
25. "「ドラえもん」大山のぶ代さんを追悼 4分間の名シーン集で感謝…懐かしの「ぼくドラえもん」も流れる - スポニチ Sponichi Annex 芸能".
26. 大井義明. "「ドラえもん」12日の放送内容「一部変更」を告知 大山のぶ代さん訃報発表から一夜明け - おくやみ : 日刊スポーツ".
27. "{{!}} GMA Entertainment".
28. ""Doraemon" voice actors to be replaced by Nobuyo Oyama and five others".
29. "大山のぶ代 四半世紀続けた「ドラえもん」の声優交代へ {{!}} 時事用語事典 {{!}} 情報・知識＆オピニオン imidas - イミダス".
30. miya-neta. "「ドラえもん」声優５人、来春に若手と交代へ".
31. (13 March 2005). "Doraemon Voices Confirmed". [[Anime News Network]].
32. (2018-10-05). ""ジャイアンデビュー"から13年…木村昴、声優キャリアを振り返る「最初は記念受験のつもりだった」".
33. "声優・木村昴 「ドラえもん」オーディション受けた理由 「僕のミッションはその時点でコンプリート」 - スポニチ Sponichi Annex 芸能".
34. (February 14, 2015). "Mizuta Wasabi bursts into tears after receiving encouragement from Doraemon's former voice actors!".
35. (2023-02-25). "「合格するとは思わなかった…」アニメ『ドラえもん』源静香の声優 オーディション「秘話」と「試行錯誤」｜CHANTO WEB".
36. "TV Guide".
37. (30 January 2016). "Disney XD's Doraemon Adaptation to Run in Japan With Bilingual Tracks". [[Anime News Network]].
38. Season 1 episode 2A "Transformade"
39. Season 2 episode 15B "The Horizon Line"
40. "Attention all UK fans, Doraemon is coming to Boomerang".
41. "アニメ『ドラえもん』オープニングが5年ぶり変更へ 「夢をかなえてドラえもん」が特別仕様で復活".
42. n.a.. "テレビアニメ「ドラえもん」のオープニングが5年ぶりにリニューアル！".
43. "星野源による『ドラえもん』主題歌、今日で見納め！お馴染みの曲へ復帰…特別映像版に（オタク総研）".
44. ''Yume o Kanaete Doraemon''. (September 2007) ''Newtype USA''. Volume 6, Number 9, page 126.
45. (2007-04-28). "『ドラえもん』のオープニングが変わる!! ５月11日（金）から新テーマ曲登場＆ のび太たちが"イメチェン"だ！".
46. "2つの名曲が 超ヒットメーカーのアレンジで 新時代によみがえる！".
47. "「ドラえもん」TVアニメのオープニングが5年ぶりにリニューアル 11月9日から映画45周年記念の特別仕様に".
48. (2019-10-06). "土曜午後５時放送になった「ドラえもん」、ネット上で新オープニング映像＆主題歌に反響…「めっちゃ好き」、「なんかちょっと違う気がする」".
49. "Tani Yuuki、新曲「もしものがたり」がアニメ『ドラえもん』新ED曲に決定！「僕の中の『ドラえもん』を精一杯詰め込んだ曲」".
50. (January 2009). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-2-レンタル落ち". [[Amazon.co.jp]].
51. (January 2009). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-4-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
52. (17 March 2006). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-5-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
53. (17 March 2006). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-6-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
54. (13 October 2006). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-7-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
55. (13 October 2006). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-8-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
56. (10 November 2006). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-9-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
57. (10 November 2006). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-10-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
58. (9 February 2007). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-11-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
59. (January 2009). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-13-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
60. (January 2009). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-14-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
61. (2 March 2007). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-15-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
62. "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-16-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
63. (12 October 2007). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-17-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
64. (9 November 2007). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-19-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
65. (9 November 2007). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-20-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
66. (January 2009). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-22-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
67. (11 April 2008). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-24-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
68. (11 April 2008). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-26-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
69. (7 November 2008). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-30-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
70. (10 April 2009). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-35-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
71. "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-37-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
72. "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-43-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
73. (9 April 2010). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-45-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
74. "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-51-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
75. "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-53-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
76. "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-54-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
77. "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-55-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
78. "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-56-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
79. (9 September 2011). "/NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-57-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
80. "/NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-58-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
81. "/NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-59-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
82. (17 February 2012). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-61-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
83. (9 March 2012). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-64-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
84. "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-66-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
85. (12 October 2012). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-67-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
86. (9 November 2012). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-69-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
87. (8 February 2013). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-72-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
88. "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-76-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
89. "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-80-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
90. "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-82-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.
91. (5 November 2014). "NEW-TV版-ドラえもん-VOL-90-レンタル落ち". Amazon.co.jp.