Iconic comedy anime series has been airing in 35 territories in Asia and Europe.
Doraemon, which is one of the most popular animated series in Japan, is finally set to make its debut in the United States.
According to the business news website Nikkei Asian Review on Friday, The Japanese television network TV Asahi has reached an agreement with Disney to broadcast the iconic anime dubbed in English.
It is set to air on Disney XD in the United States in the summer season.
The report also states that the program’s key audience will be for younger elementary school students, and will be shown five (5) times every week.
It also states that the Japanese network, together with subsidiary Shin-Ei Animation and manga published Shogakukan will entrust the English language dubbing to its local studio.
The report also adds that the story and names of the characters, as well as the “gadgets” shown will be modified to fit into the American audience.
Unlike the pirated copies distributed in the country, the depiction of violence, discrimination and sexual images may be edited or removed from the American version, which opens the possibility for distributing it to other English-speaking markets.
Though it is unknown if the program will be a part of the country’s Educational/Informational (E/I) programming category for children.
Doraemon is sent back in time by a young boy named Sewashi Nobi to improve the circumstances of his 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 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. (Summary from Wikipedia)
Doraemon has been airing in Japan for more than four (4) decades, with three (3) anime series & multiple anime movie adaptations. It is also airing in over 35 territories across Asia & Europe.
In the Philippines, Doraemon first premiered on terrestrial network GMA Channel 07 in December 1999, and is dubbed in Filipino.
The anime is considered as one of the country’s popular anime titles together with Yu Yu Hakusho (better known as Ghost Fighter), Slam Dunk, Flame of Recca, and Zenki.
SOURCE: Nikkei Asian Review
