Image from here. And if you don’t recognize these people (at least the robotic cat), then this post probably isn’t for you.

(Then again, there’s always that handy place Wikipedia. Be warned there are some really absorbing ‘ending’ spoilers there – I probably spent more time reading the entire thing than typing this post :P )

(Alternatively, you can read this post.)

Okay good, we all savvy about arguably the most loved blue-time-travelling-cat-robot-thingy-evar now?

I certainly doubt I’m the only one, but Doraemon as an anime has been a part of my viewing life since I was a wee little kid (nyeh, not much has changed since then :P ). While I sort of recall watching when I was young (and on this point, my parents assure me well enough. They say it’s where I picked up my Malay – well duh, I had to watch dubs then – which is sort of being reflected in how I’m picking up moonspeak -_-”) Before the advent of satellite television in Malaysia (tell me, have they fixed the “I can’t watch shit when it’s raining” problem yet?), RTM’s Malay-dubbed version (LOL, I don’t know what’s funnier, that I linked RTM, or that Radio Televisyen Malaysia isn’t even the first search result on the list) of Doraemon was very much the staple of my childhood days. I also became very addicted to the (translated) manga volumes I used to read when I went tot he hairdresser (that and Lao Fu Zi comics XD)

Back then though, the concept of Doraemon as anime never occurred to me, at most it was ‘yet another Cartoon’ (*gasps*, not the C word!). Eventually the very Japanese nature of the show would become very apparent to my ignorant self (thankfully, they spared the OP song from being dubbed – it’s so ridiculously catchy), but anime or not, there’s still a timeless appeal about the show (maybe it’s because we’re still quite some time away from the 22nd century the blue cat robot supposed hails from :P ). So I don’t actually follow the show anymore (not that there’s any actual plot, despite the dozens of movies that have been produced, it’s just Doraemon thanklessly helping out Nobita who’ll never grow up or learn to unfail himself from life), but I know the nostalgia will always be there with me.

Oh noes, they’re taking over the world!

Reason enough for this sudden random post, perhaps? Really, you can thank my Japanese Conversation class today, where (I’m not sure how this happened, since I was phased out enough from the lack of sleep and the “Name That Prefecture!” quiz we had in Japanese Culture directly before *collapses*) our jolly old teacher decided to play a random episode of Doraemon for us XD God, the wave of giggly nostalgia that passed through the classroom as Doraemon no Uta started playing (5 out of 6 of us were pretty much in familiar territory. I’m guessing they don’t broadcast Doraemon in Uzbekistan?).

The actual Japanese voices for the characters though may come as a surprise to those like me who grew up on foreign language dubs of the show though (I do remember watching random episode in its native Japanese on Crunchyroll some time back, and I still haven’t gotten used to them voices), but it doesn’t change the fact that Doraemon is Doraemon, Gian(t) is Gian, Shizuka is Shizuka, and Nobita is fail as always (Oh and Shinyu, if I remember how it was dubbed in Malay, is really Suneo, more about him later :P )

Interestingly enough, I did come across the (current) Doraemon seiyuus on a TV special a while back (this was when in the dark ages without internet access when I first arrived I’m guessing). It was really some “Top 30 Anime Character Seiyuus Celebs Want to See” or something to that effect, basically they featured 30 anime characters requested by random celebrities who wanted to know what their favourite character’s voice actors were really like. Note that this was probably a show catered to a more general public audience, who would favour the old school stuff they grew up watching before moving on into RL, not really the hardcore otaku of today. No surprise that I didn’t recognize half the characters and know most of the shows by ‘classic’ reputation alone, but it was still great fun to watch (especially when the seiyuus reenact the fan favourite lines upon reques, and you can still hear the PASSION behind their veteran-status :D ) and even more so when it came to a character/seiyuu I actually knew (Mitsuishi Kotono got featured for her role as Sailor Moon Eva’s Misato)

It was just a matter for a Doraemon character to appear on the list though, and though I didn’t put too much hope on it, I was really praying for Suneo – which is ironic really since he’s one of the characters I never actually liked in the series. So when it was eventually revealed that certain celebs actually wanted to know the talent behind that snotty character after all, I was ridiculously overjoyed beyond any viable reason! For I knew well enough even then that that GODLY VOICE is none other than…

WAKIO NORIMOTO SEKI TOMOKAZU!!! *squeals!!! XDDD*

(Yea, I realize ‘godly voice’ when it comes to male seiyuus ‘rightly’ belongs Norio, but I really can’t think of something suitable to express how ridiculously fanboy/girl-y to watch my favourite seiyuu on TV – so much so that I actually flipped out my camera to take a ’screenshot’ despite knowing full well it’ll turn out horribly =P)

Well, it actually didn’t matter which character from the show was picked since they eventually featured all the main seiyuu during the segment, (saving the requested character’s one for last), but I felt it was so worth it to watch Seki on screen (he completely slayed me in the Saiunkoku special ). And though I still think Suneo is snotty as ever, it was still oh so awesome to watch Seki in action when he was asked to do a few lines, and even asked ‘Shizuka‘ out for tea XD

(Also props to this fella for originally voicing Suneo in the previous versions of the anime)

Okay, so I totally went off tangent for a while there. Point is, Doraemon = Nostalgia = Love (kinda dulled over the years, but still there) from this little panda who wishes some of those contraptions will someday become reality (the staple Door to Anywhere would be awesome, though I’ll settle for that stick that can lift on-screen objects through TV screens… :P ).

Now if you excuse me, I’ve got to go search for a Doraemon no Uta that isn’t sung by the Lucky Star girls…