Disney is well known and popular in Japan as well as anywhere else on the planet. Nevertheless, there is a small blue Japanese cartoon character that is on an equal level of popularity with Mickey Mouse: Doraemon (ドラえもん) 

Doraemon is a fictional character in the Japanese manga and anime series of the same name created by Fujiko Fujio, the pen name of writing team Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko. He is a male robotic cat that travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a preteen boy named Nobita. An “official” birth certificate for the character gives him a birth date of 3 September 2112 and lists his city of residency as Kawasaki, Kanagawa, the city where the manga was created. 

Doraemon was created on 3 September 2112 by the Matsushiba Robot Factory. He has a fourth-dimensional pocket from which he produces gadgets, medicines, and tools from the future. The 1995 film shows his original appearance; when first created Doraemon had ears and was painted yellow, but he turned blue after sobbing because rats ate his ears.

Doraemon is sent back in time by a young boy named Sewashi Nobi to improve the circumstances of his great great grandfather, Nobita, so that his descendants may enjoy a better future. In the original timeline, Nobita experienced nothing but misery and misfortune manifested in the form of very poor grades and bullying throughout his life. This culminates in the burning down of a future business he sets up which leaves his family line beset with financial problems. In order to alter history and better the Nobi family’s fortunes, Sewashi initially wanted to send a super-robot to protect Nobita, but with his meager allowance he could only afford an imperfectly-made factory-rejected toy: an anthropomorphic robot cat called Doraemon.

In terms of popularity the character has been compared to Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse and the character is considered to be an iconic figure in Japan. In a survey conducted by the Oricon in 2007 among 1,000 people, Doraemon was ranked as the second strongest manga character of all time, behind only Dragon Ball protagonist Son Goku.

In 2008 the character of Doraemon was appointed as an “anime ambassador”by the Japanese foreign ministry to help promote Japanese anime worldwide and in 2013 Doraemon was considered to be the most popular character among Japanese children in a survey held by Video Research Ltd, a position the character had held in the survey since June 2009. 

There is an incredible amount of Doraemon merchandise in Japan; where did you spot the iconic face already?