Doraemon is a popular and long-running franchise which started with a manga of the same name by Fujiko F. Fujio. Its best-known adaptation is an anime that originally ran from 1979 to 2005. The show was then given a reboot that began airing a month after the 1979 series' conclusion, and it still airs to this day.
However, the earliest known attempt to adapt Doraemon to television had actually occurred in 1973, with a series produced by a company named Nippon TeleMovie Productions (previously known under the names of Japan Broadcast Film and Tokyo TV Movie). It aired on the Nippon TV network (unrelated to Nippon TeleMovie Productions). The series was originally broadcasted from April 1st, 1973 to September 30th, 1973, for 26 episodes, with each consisting of 2 segments.
While the anime did well in the ratings and was considered to be renewed for a second season, the studio encountered budget issues during the show's initial airing, as the president of NTV Video abruptly resigned during its run and the new president disliked the series, so the studio lost its funding. Much of the show's staff were unpaid for their efforts due to this.
With the dissolution of Nippon TeleMovie Productions, the film reels to the series and other possessions were sold off to cover the debt, while everything else was trashed. This is why the show never received any official home video releases. The production chief Masumi Jun (at the time credited under his real name, Hiroshi Shimosaki) has debunked the myth that the anime failed to attract an audience and thus NTV deliberately organized a "cremation" fire to destroy everything.
This version was rebroadcast throughout the 1970s and was last known to have been briefly rebroadcast in August 1981 when it was abruptly pulled off television at the request of Shogakukan, who did not want the reputation of the 1979 anime to be affected by the existence of the previous one, or for child viewers to be confused with the two different versions. It is possible that recorded videos from 1973 to 1981 may exist in some form.
While Hiroshi Fujimoto (aka "Fujiko F") was disappointed in the choice of studio to adapt Doraemon and the changes made to Nobita and Doraemon's characters, it is said that upon the closing of the NTV studio, he did not hold any hard feelings against the staff and expressed the hope that they could work on a new attempt at Doraemon in the future.
Surviving Material[]
In 1995, episodes 18 and 20 through 26 were found to be stored in Studio Rush (now IMAGICA). In 2003, other segments were found by Masumi Jun, though two remain without their audio tracks. In 1998, a videotape recording of episode 18B, "Crazy Stomach Clock," was found by a woman named Yoshiaki Ueda. The tape was lent to a friend who went by the alias, Hanaballoon. The person hosted a blog on the 1973 anime, and thus a page that includes audio clips to the tape was made but has since been deleted.
On September 3rd, 2004, an Infoseek blog was created by a Japanese student that would be discussed collecting rare adverts and scarce information at the time. On December 25th, of the same year, he received an audio recording tape from an anonymous person that contained the opening and credits along with a commercial for Nomura Securities.
A pilot film that was produced in 1972 is also known to survive, and it is occasionally shown at Doraemon fan conventions in Japan, but it cannot be legally released due to rights complications that are exacerbated by the animation studio being defunct. Many episodes of the series also only survive in still images in newspapers or other media. It is unknown what may have happened to the other reels.
The opening credits, the variant of the closing credits when Kōsei Tomita voiced Doraemon, previews of the segments making up episode 3 and a clip of "Love, Love This Camera" are the only surviving clips of the show available online that are neither hoaxes nor have been taken down.
The full audio of episode 26 is currently online along with advertisements during its original airing as well as audio clips from the segments "A Man Fights with Power" and "Crazy Stomach Clock".
The full versions of the songs used in the Opening and Ending as well as two of the known filler songs have been uploaded to Youtube.
When asked about a possible release of the surviving footage, Masumi Jun responded:
Dear American fans of Doraemon
Thank you for the email. In 1973 we broadcasted NTV Doraemon (NTV Doraemon and Old Dora is what the Japanese call Doraemon '73), for a long time I thought that it was completely forgotten. So in 2003, I made a website about it. I got lots of emails from people saying that they wanted to see clips from the show. So I made a membership page with a Username and Password and uploaded the Opening and Ending.
Within a few minutes, I had heard that someone with access to the page had uploaded both clips onto another page (2chan). I removed the clip from my site right away. But because I gave it away only for a moment it is now all over YouTube and other sites.
Due to me uploading it I got in some trouble with the law, I am resolving the issue now but because of that, I will refrain from uploading the footage online. Though I have made it available at lectures and such for research use.
While Doraemon is still on the air, I am not allowed to release the footage. I hope you understand.
-Signed Masumi Jun
Updates[]
- A scrapped segment titled "The Dullness is Frustrating" is known to have entered production but was cancelled before completion and was then replaced by "The Flattering Mirror".
- "Nendoron Riot/Goodbye Doraemon" is currently the only full episode to exist online – albeit in audio form only – and is available here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
Episodes/Segments[]
- Note: All of the titles end with "no maki" (の巻), meaning 'part' or 'chapter'.
| # | Original title | English translation | Air date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 出た！！ドラえもんの巻 / ペコペコバッタ大騒動の巻 | Doraemon Came Out!! / The Apology Grasshopper Riot | Apr 1, 1973 | Pilot film version in Jun storage, full TV broadcast version lost. / Lost, images exist. |
| 2 | 屋根の上のすてきな子の巻 / のび太のご先祖さんの巻 | Nice Girl on the Roof / Nobita's Ancestors | Apr 8, 1973 | In Jun storage, title card missing. / In Jun storage, title card missing. |
| 3 | 弱味をにぎれの巻 / キューピッドですきすき作戦の巻 | Grasping the Weakness / Operation Cupid Love-Love | Apr 15, 1973 | Lost, clip exists. / Lost, script and images as well as a clip exist. |
| 4 | ねずみに弱い猫もあるの巻 / ガキ大将をやっつけろの巻 | Some Cats are as Weak as Rats / Defeat the Bully | Apr 22, 1973 | In Jun storage, audio missing. / In Jun storage, audio missing. |
| 5 | おせじ鏡の巻 / パパとママの結婚記念日の巻 | The Flattering Mirror / Papa and Mama's Wedding Anniversary | Apr 29, 1973 | In Jun storage. / Lost, image known to exist in series outro. |
| 6 | のろいカメラの巻 / 宝くじ大当り作戦の巻 | The Cursing Camera / Lottery Jackpot Strategy | May 6, 1973 | Lost, script exists. / Lost, script exists. |
| 7 | 決闘！のび太とジャイアンの巻 / わたしは誰でしょうの巻 | Duel! Nobita and Gian / Who Am I | May 13, 1973 | Lost, script exists. / Lost, script exists. |
| 8 | アベコンベ騒動の巻 / おばけ屋敷の謎の巻 | Abekonbe Riot / The Mystery of the Ghost House | May 20, 1973 | Lost, script exists. / Lost, script and images exist. |
| 9 | クイック・スロー大作戦の巻 / のび太は雨男の巻 | The Quick-Slow Great Strategy / Nobita, the Rain Man | May 27, 1973 | Lost. / Lost, script and images exist. |
| 10 | ウルトラミキサーの巻 / ねがい星流れ星の巻 | Ultra Mixer / Wishing Star, Shooting Star | Jun 3, 1973 | Lost. / In Jun storage. |
| 11 | ふしぎなふろしきの巻 / のび太のおばあちゃんの巻 | The Mysterious Cloth / Nobita's Grandma | Jun 10, 1973 | Lost. / Lost, images exist. |
| 12 | 大リーグ赤バットの巻 / 男は力で勝負するの巻 | The Red Bat of the Major League / A Man Fights with Power | Jun 17, 1973 | Lost. / In Jun storage, audio clips exist online. |
| 13 | ガチャ子登場の巻 / おしゃべり口べにの巻 | Gachako's Appearance / The Talking Lipstick | Jun 24, 1973 | Lost, images exist. / Lost. |
| 14 | すきすきカメラの巻 / 天の川でデイトしようの巻 | Love, Love This Camera / Date in the Milky Way | Jul 1, 1973 | Lost, clip exists in background of Japanese pornographic film. / Lost, images exist. |
| 15 | へんなロボットカーの巻 / ニコニコせっけんの巻 | Weird Robot Car / Smiling Soap | Jul 8, 1973 | Lost, images exist. / Lost. |
| 16 | おれ署長のだいりの巻 / さあ夏だ！スキーをやろうの巻 | My Chief of the Inner Palace / Now It's Summer! Let's Try to Ski | Jul 15, 1973 | Lost. / Lost. |
| 17 | 成績表はいやだなあの巻 / 自分のかげをつかまえろの巻 | I Hate Report Cards / Catching My Shadow | Jul 29, 1973 | Lost, images exist. / Lost. |
| 18 | 潜水艦で海へ行こうの巻 / くっるたハラ時計の巻 | Going to Sea in a Submarine / Crazy Stomach Clock | Aug 5, 1973 | In IMAGICA and Jun storage. / In IMAGICA storage, audio clips exist online. |
| 19 | キャンプ騒動の巻 / 忘れな草って何だっけの巻 | Camp Riot / Who is Going to Forget? | Aug 12, 1973 | Lost, images exist and clip in IMAGICA storage. / Lost, clip in IMAGICA storage. |
| 20 | クーラーパラソルの巻 / いつでも日記の巻 | Cooler Parasol / Always Diary | Aug 19, 1973 | In IMAGICA storage. / In IMAGICA storage. |
| 21 | 宿題おばけが出たの巻 / お天気ボックスの巻 | The Homework Ghost Came Out / Weather Box | Aug 26, 1973 | In IMAGICA and Jun storage. / In IMAGICA and Jun storage. |
| 22 | ぼくに清き一票をの巻 / まんが家修行の巻 | I Have One Vote of Betrayal / Manga Artist Training | Sep 2, 1973 | In IMAGICA and Jun storage. / In IMAGICA and Jun storage. |
| 23 | すてきなガールフレンドの巻 / 花いっぱい騒動の巻 | Nice Girlfriend / Flowery Riot | Sep 9, 1973 | In IMAGICA storage. / In IMAGICA storage. |
| 24 | そっくりクレヨンの巻 / 静香の誕生日の巻 | Entirely Crayon / Shizuka's Birthday | Sep 16, 1973 | In IMAGICA storage. / In IMAGICA storage. |
| 25 | 宇宙飛行士になりたいの巻 / まいごマゴマゴ大騒動の巻 | Becoming an Astronaut / Lost and Confused Riot | Sep 23, 1973 | In IMAGICA storage. / In IMAGICA storage. |
| 26 | ネンドロン大騒動の巻 / さようならドラえもんの巻 | Nendoron Riot / Goodbye, Doraemon | Sep 30, 1973 | In IMAGICA storage, full audio exists online. / In IMAGICA and Jun storage, full audio exists online. |