Doraemon - Main Characters

Doraemon

Doraemon possesses a fourth-dimensional pocket from which he can acquire various kinds of futuristic tools, gadgets, and playthings from a future department store. Doraemon originally had ears but they were bitten off by a robotic mouse in the 22nd century. As a result, he developed a morbid fear of mice despite being a robotic cat. He also has the tendency to panic during emergencies, characterized by him frantically trying to pull out a very much-needed tool from his pocket, only to produce a huge assortment of unrelated household items. Doraemon's favourite food is dorayaki, a Japanese treat filled with red bean paste.

Doraemon is considered a substandard product because many of his robotic features (ie. radar whiskers and cat-calling bell) malfunctioned after production. One can turn off Doraemon by pulling his balloon tail.

In the 2007 birthday episode, 'MS-903' is used to call Doraemon by the factory owner where Doraemon is produced.

Doraemon usually uses the phrase "nanoda".


Nobita Nobi

Nobita is the main character of the series and the center of the story. He is a fourth grader in Tokyo's Nerima Ward and an only child. He wears glasses, a red or yellow polo shirt with a white collar, and blue shorts. Nobita's character flaws are endless: he is lazy, uncoordinated, dim-witted, frail, plain-looking, unlucky, and bad at sports. Nobita's typical day consists of arriving late on classes, scoring zeros in his tests, getting lectured by his teacher, being bullied by his classmates Gian and Suneo, falling into curbside rain gutters, being chased by dogs, and getting scolded by his mom for his sloth and poor academic results.

Despite his flaws, Nobita possesses some unique talents such as his unrivaled marksmanship and ability to weave intricate string figures. Although Nobita is usually portrayed as being cowardly, he has often risked his life to help save others or even entire civilizations (as seen in full-length stories).


Shizuka Minamoto

Shizuka, usually called Shizu-chan or Shizuka-chan, is the smart, kind, and pretty neighborhood girl who is the object of Nobita's affections. She takes baths several times a day. Somehow, Nobita always seem to unintentionally walk in on her (via the Dokodemo Door) while she is still in the bathtub. She is also known for taking piano lessons unwillingly, which is sometimes used as an excuse for declining to hang out with Nobita. Her true passions are sweet potatoes and the violin, in which her playing is as atrocious as Gian's singing. Due to Doraemon's intervention, Shizuka will become Nobita's wife in the future timeline.


Takeshi Goda

Takeshi, usually known by the nickname "Gian" from English word "giant", is the big, strong, and quick-tempered local bully. His nickname may be derived from giant. He is known for his confidence in his terrible singing voice. He regularly subjects the neighborhood children to horrendous singing recitals, which is sometimes combined with his equally bad homemade dinner. He also frequently steals other children's toys and books under the pretext of "borrowing" them, unless the toy is damaged. This is how most fans considered Gian to be a major antagonist mostly to Nobita and his friends. However, he does not hesitate to help them, including Nobita when they are in real trouble, which often occurs in the movies.
Several of the stories revolve around Nobita and his friends' efforts to avoid Gian's concerts or in one particular episode or chapter, which summarize his friends avoid visiting Gian's house on his birthday because of his selfish nature. After reflecting on one event about his birthday, Gian thought of himself why he wasn't popular among his peers. After getting a lecture from Doraemon to see what an unruly character he is, Gian realize that he should've been a better person and he begs Doraemon to give him another chance. However, things didn't go exactly as planned when his friends at school or at the streets mock him to see how weird Gian was acting and get kicked by Suneo after learning his attempt to become gentle to his peers. This led him to lose control of his temper and start attacking his friends again.
Although he bullies the other children (mostly Nobita), he is terrified of his mother, who runs the local grocery store. He founded his own baseball team named after himself. Although Nobita is often blamed for the losses against the baseball team's rival, the "Tyranos", Gian and Suneo still force Nobita to play because they do not have enough players.
Gian has a younger sister named Jaiko, whom he adores.


Suneo Honekawa

Suneo is the fox-faced (inherited from his mother) rich kid who loves to flaunt his material wealth before everyone. He is often seen with Gian, serving as Gian's lackey while they bully Nobita together. This is only because Suneo avoids being suffered under the wrath of Jian's bullish trait. Some of the stories start with Suneo showing off some new video game or toy which evokes Nobita's envy. He has an extensive knowledge of science, and is a talented artist and designer.

In some scenes, Suneo is seen as a narcissist who loves to stare at himself in the mirror while telling himself that he is the most handsome guy in the world. He is still a bed-wetter and needs to wear diapers when he sleeps, despite being in the fourth grade. He considers this humiliating habit his secret weakness. Suneo is also very self-conscious about his height, being the shortest kid in his class.


Hidetoshi Dekisugi

Hidetoshi is Nobita's classmate and rival for Shizuka's affections. He always gets perfect scores on his tests, but never shows off his abilities. He willingly helps Nobita whenever he has philosophical or scientific questions. His name literally means "brilliant over-achiever", and his last name is a pun on dekisugiru, which means "over achieving". Unfortunately for Nobita, Shizuka tends to prefer the company of Hidetoshi, who is more of her intellectual equal.



Nobisuke Nobi

Nobita's father and laid-back salaryman. He is very considerate of Nobita, often seen arriving home from work to placate Tamako's anger towards Nobita; this habit may come from Nobisuke's own childhood, since his father (and Nobita's grandfather) was very similar to Tamako. He has trouble quitting smoking and is self-conscious about his inability to pass the driving test. He also has a poor memory and sometimes arrives home drunk from nightly business meetings. He was once an aspiring art student. He also likes golf, which most Japanese businessmen and employees play.


Tamako Nobi


Nobita's stay-at-home mother. She is usually seen scolding Nobita or sending him out of the house (a typical Japanese household punishment used by parents). She actually loves her son very much, but is disappointed by his lazy attitude and academic failures. Several episodes involve Nobita trying to avoid his mother’s scolding by using Doraemon’s gadgets. Her maiden name is revealed to be 'Kataoka'.




Sensei

Nobita's homeroom teacher. He is a strict taskmaster who often punishes Nobita for failing to do his homework. The punishments range from standing in the hallway to sweeping the classroom after-school. He often pays unexpected visits to the Nobi’s in order to inform Mrs. Tamako about Nobita’s recent zeroes on exams. He also usually sees Nobita in streets and often scold him to study hard and for getting low scores during exams. His real name is unknown and he is only referred to as "Sensei", but in the NTV anime his name is given as Ganari.


Dorami

Dorami, also known as Dorami-chan, is the sister of Doraemon. She happens to be about 2 years younger than him. Strangely enough, they are siblings due to the fact that they shared half of the oil from a can. She lives in the 22nd-century Tokyo with Sewashi, Nobita's great-great-grandson. She is yellow and has ears that resemble a large red bow. She likes melonpan and is afraid of cockroaches. She is also shown to be a more advanced robot than Doraemon (Dorami is able to produce 10,000 horse power, in comparison to Doraemon's 129.3). She sometimes visits Nobita with a time machine when Doraemon is "off-duty."


Mini-Doras










Mini-Doras are actually gadgets of Doraemon. They are mini versions of Doraemon, each with a different color. They can think and feel for themselves, and communicate with Doraemon through the "Mini-Dora" language. They act as helpers for all sorts of tasks, such as repairing the internal mechanism of Doraemon.


Sewashi


Nobita's great-great-grandson, he is the one who sends Doraemon back to the past to look after Nobita. Sewashi first bought Doraemon in 2112 when Doraemon still had ears and his original factory paint. He is also the owner of Doraemon's sister, Dorami.