Doraemon (partially found first-adaptation anime series; 1973)

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Doraemon cel.jpg

A surviving cel from episode 3.

Status: Partially Found

Doraemon is a popular and long-running anime based on the manga of the same name by Fujiko F. Fujio. Its best-known adaptation originally ran from 1979 until 2005, while a reboot, that began airing a month after the first series' conclusion, is still airing to this day.

However, the very first attempt to adapt Doraemon to television had actually occurred in 1973, with a series produced by a company named NTV Video (previously known under the names of Japan Broadcast Film and Tokyo TV Movie). It aired on the (unrelated) NTV network. The series was broadcast from April 1st, 1973 until September 30th, 1973, for 26 episodes. Each consisted of 2 segments, making the series 52 shorts in total.

Broadcast and Cancellation

A picture from the episode "Operation Cupid Love-Love".

While the series did well in the ratings and was considered to be extended for another year, it encountered budget issues during its run, compounded by financial problems that the studio had, as well as the president of NTV Video abruptly resigning during the television run. The new president appeared not to regard the anime very highly, while the financial issues lead to the studio going bankrupt and being dissolved. Many of the staff that worked on the show wound up unpaid for their efforts due to this.

With the dissolution of NTV Video, the film reels to the series and other possessions wound up sold off to cover the debt, while other belongings in the studio and production materials were either thrown out in the garbage or destroyed in a kerosene fire. It has been erroneously reported that NTV deliberately organized a "cremation" fire and destroyed all the episodes; however, the production chief Masumi Jun (at the time credited under his real name, Hiroshi Shimosaki) has stated that this wasn't the case and has gone on to attempt to debunk the misconceptions surrounding the series' production and fate. Even so, a significant portion of the anime can be considered lost to some degree.

This version was briefly rebroadcast in 1979 but was abruptly pulled off television by order of Shogakukan, who did not want the new adaptation's reputation 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 this time period 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

A picture of Shizuka from the episode "Shizuka's Birthday."

In 1995, episodes 18 and 20 through 26 were found to be stored in Studio Rush (now known as IMAGICA). In 2003, other segments were found by the production chief of the show, Masumi Jun[1], though two remain without their audio tracks. In 1998, a videotape recording of episode 18B, "Crazy Stomach Clock," was found by a lady 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[2], 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, he received an audio recording tape from an anonymous person that contained the opening and credits along with a commercial for Nomura Securities.[3]

Video footage of the opening and ending credits do still exist as well, along with a pilot film that was produced in 1972. These are occasionally shown at Doraemon fan conventions in Japan, but cannot be released legally owing to rights complications due to the production studio being defunct. Some episodes of the series also only survive in still image form. It is unknown what may have happened to the other reels.

When asked about a possible release of the surviving footage, Masumi Jun, Chief Producer of Doraemon '73, 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

Episodes

Note: All of the titles end with "no maki" (の巻), meaning 'part' or 'chapter'.

Key: Found, publicly available or not, artifacts exist, like scripts or clips, or lost, possibly with images.

# 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 Bow-Bow Grasshopper Riot April 1st, 1973 In Jun storage. / 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 April 8th, 1973 In Jun storage albeit with no title card./ In Jun storage albeit with no title card.
3 弱味をにぎれの巻 / キューピッドですきすき作戦の巻 Understand the Weakness / Operation Cupid Love-Love April 15th, 1973 Lost, clip exists. / Lost, script and images as well as a 6-second 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 Rats Are As Weak As Cats / Defeat the Bully April 22nd, 1973 In Jun storage, albeit with no audio. / In Jun storage, albeit with no audio.
5 おせじ鏡の巻 / パパとママの結婚記念日の巻 The Liar's Mirror / Papa and Mama's Wedding Anniversary April 29th, 1973 In Jun storage. / Lost, images exist.
6 のろいカメラの巻 / 宝くじ大当り作戦の巻 Cursing Camera / Lottery Jackpot Strategy May 6th, 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 13th, 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 / Mystery of the Ghost House May 20th, 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 27th, 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 June 3rd, 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 June 10th, 1973 Lost, images exist. / Lost, images exist.
12 大リーグ赤バットの巻 / 男は力で勝負するの巻 Red Bat of the Major League / A Man Fights with Power June 17th, 1973 Lost. / In Jun storage.
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 June 24th, 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 July 1st, 1973 Clip in background of Japanese porno. / Lost.
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 July 8th, 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 / It's Summer! Let's Try to Ski July 15th, 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 July 29th, 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 5th, 1973 In Jun and IMAGICA storage. / In Jun and IMAGICA storage.
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 12th, 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 19th, 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 26th, 1973 In IMAGICA storage. / In IMAGICA 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 / Mangaka Training Sept 2nd, 1973 In IMAGICA storage. / In IMAGICA 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 Sept 9th, 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 Crayons / Shizuka's Birthday Sept 16th, 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 Sept 23rd, 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* Sept 30th, 1973 In IMAGICA storage, audio exists. / In IMAGICA storage, audio exists.

Gallery

The opening to the 1973 adaptation of Doraemon.

The ending to the 1973 adaptation of Doraemon.

External Links

References

  1. Masumi Jun's page, detailing the history and production behind the 1973 Doraemon. Retrieved 05 Jan '17.
  2. Hanaballoon's '73 page. Retrieved 05 Jan '17.
  3. The Infoseek blog Retrieved 13 Jan '18.