Watching a new anime and— wait, is that a canonically left-handed character?!
Seriously though, I’ve barely seen anyone talk about A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace, but I’m enjoying it very much. Very funny yet surprisingly heartfelt show. There’s probably a lot here that speaks to creatives, as well as folks in any field who are early in their careers. Not that I would know anything about that…
Well, that took a dark turn.
This shot wasn’t in the manga, so someone on the anime production team had to have made the deliberate choice to add it.
Also, not the first time the anime has implied that Shizuka’s twintails have bones in them…
I’ve been seeing this anime meme going around lately, so of course I decided to adapt it specifically for Doraemon movies. I tried to avoid repetition and so made do with my second-place candidate for some of these categories, but I’m not going to complain about getting to yap about moreDoraemon movies…
Self-indulgent thoughts below.
Favorite of all time:Nobita and the Birth of Japan (2016 version). A remake that fixes the biggest problems of the original and does just about everything right.
Favorite opening sequence:Nobita and the Windmasters (2003). Early 2000s art style + “Doraemon no Uta” is a winning combination. Bonus points for pirate Shizuka.
Favorite ending sequence: It might actually be Nobita and the Birth of Japan (2016) again… but the runner-up would probably be Nobita’s Earth Symphony (2024). I’m a sucker for end credits that also serve as a story epilogue, and “Time Paradox” is a wonderful ending tune.
Favorite visuals:Nobita’s Art World Tales (2025). Maybe it’s recency bias, but it’s fitting that a movie about art is a strong contender in this regard. The homages to famous artworks in the opening sequence are amazing.
Most rewatchable:Nobita’s Chronicle of the Moon Exploration (2019). It’s not quite in my top 10 Doraemon movies, but I’m reminded why I like it every time I watch it. Fun world-seeding scene in the beginning, gradual world-building revelations, ample use of foreshadowing, letting every main character contribute… The solemn, dialogue-free sequence where everyone prepares to travel to space with Doraemon’s balloon is really beautiful as well. Honorable mention to Nobita’s Earth Symphony, which I also consistently have a good time rewatching.
Favorite Doraemon moment:Nobita and the Kingdom of Clouds (1992). It would be a spoiler to elaborate, but if you’ve seen the film, you know the one. Less noble but also worthy of mention are the scenes with malfunctioning Doraemon, which are pretty funny.
Favorite Nobita moment:Nobita and the Legend of the Sun King (2000). Nobita gets to show off his best qualities while acting as a foil for Prince Tio.
Favorite Gian moment:Nobita’s Great Adventure into the Underworld (1984). This is a surprisingly Gian-heavy story considering that he saves everyone twice. It’s unfortunate that the remake robbed him of both moments.
Favorite Suneo moment:Nobita’s Little Star Wars 2021 (2022). Out of the main Doraemon characters, poor Suneo arguably gets the fewest noteworthy moments in the movies, but this one is undoubtedly his story. The original Nobita’s Little Star Wars isn’t bad in this department either, but I think the remake fleshes Suneo out just a little more.
Favorite movie character: Probably Quiz the robot parrot from Nobita’s Treasure Island, but I already used that one, so going with a classic in Piisuke from Nobita’s Dinosaur (1980).
Favorite villain:Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil (1983). Say what you will about this movie, but the nature of the ultimate antagonist sure leaves an impression.
You love that everyone hates:Nobita’s Diary on the Creation of the World (1995). I understand why many viewers find this one boring, but as a paleontologist I can’t bring myself to agree. It’s a very experimental movie that’s far from flawlessly executed, to be sure, yet I still enjoy it conceptually.
Favorite short film:Nobita’s the Night Before a Wedding (1999). Covered in my review, but I’ll reiterate that in my opinion, this is a serious contender for the best animated work in the entire Doraemon franchise.
Favorite use of gadget: The Promise Promiser in New Nobita’s Great Demon (2014). It doesn’t hurt that the way it pays off at the climax doubles as a good moment for Shizuka as well. (The original Nobita and the Haunts of Evil used the gadget similarly, but I think the remake is simply a better movie overall.)
I’m probably one of about five English speakers in the world who is willing to do this meme, but here’s the template in case any of the others are out there reading this!
Oh my gosh, this Doraemon reference in Deaimon.
To be honest, I found this year’s Doraemon birthday special to be something of a weirdly paced, disjointed mess, but at least it had…
Agent Shizuka:
Shizuka and Suneo tag-team:
Shizuka and Gian being sheepish together (and Suneo bearing the brunt of their impulsiveness):
It’s official: next year’s Doraemon movie will be a remake of Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil (1983), the oldest Doraemon film that had not yet received a remake!! They were pretty subtle in the teaser for this in the last movie, only revealing that it would be set under the sea without giving away signature elements of the original work.
I’m extremely curious about how they’ll handle some of the themes here… Also, assuming they don’t change the plot drastically, Shizuka will have an important role in this one. 😄
Animals aren’t a major focus in Nobita’s Art World Tales, but the way they were drawn is… vividly accurate.
This bit from Nobita’s Art World Tales was too funny.
Doraemon Movie Review: Nobita’s Art World Tales (2025)
What is Doraemon? The title character of the Doraemon manga and anime is a blue robotic cat from the 22nd Century who keeps an array of high-tech gadgets in a portable pocket dimension on his belly, and has traveled from the future to improve the fortunes of a hapless schoolboy named Nobita. Although relatively obscure in the English-speaking world, Doraemon is a Mickey-Mouse-level cultural icon in East Asia (and some other regions, too). The Doraemon franchise was a big part of my childhood, and there are still elements of it that I enjoy now.
Doraemon has released theatrical films almost annually since 1980, most of which involve Nobita and his friends (kind Shizuka, brash Gian, and crafty Suneo) getting swept into adventures thanks to Doraemon’s gadgets. Despite being of potentially broad appeal to fans of science fiction and animated films, there are very few English reviews of the Doraemon movies, so I’ve embarked on a project to write about all the films, for as long as I continue watching them, at least.
For links to all of my Doraemon movie reviews, see here.
Movie premise: Nobita and his friends travel through a painting and end up in 13th-Century medieval Europe.
My spoiler-free take: I may have bought into the hype just a bit too much… but it’s a solid Doraemon movie nonetheless.
