Doraemon

is the first anime TV series based on Fujiko F. Fujio's manga of the same name. It was produced by Nippon TeleMovie Productions. It aired from April 1, 1973, to September 30, 1973. After the anime ended, Doraemon remained exclusively a manga after its reruns until 1979 when Shin-Ei Animation produced a more successful second anime adaptation, which officially ended in 2005; it was in turn replaced by a third anime adaptation shortly after which continues to air to recent days. The series is now considered as a piece of lost media due to its rarity and obscurity. Of the 52 segments, only 20 are known to survive in their complete form, with 4 other segments surviving in a near complete state. Cast and characters The voice cast was determined in cooperation with Aoni Production and Theatre Echo Kōsei Tomita and Masako Nozawa as Doraemon Masako Nozawa as Doraemon, Botako Yoshiko Ohta as Nobita Nobi Masako Ebisu as Shizuka Minamoto Shun Yashiro as Suneo Honekawa Kaneta Kimotsuki as Takeshi "Gian" Goda Noriko Ohara as Tamako Nobi Ichirō Murakoshi as Nobisuke Nobi Kazue Takahashi as Mrs. Honekawa Toshiya Ueda as Mrs. Honekawa Sanji Hase as Mr. Honekawa Osamu Katou as Mr. Honekawa, Sensei Masayuki Tatekabe as Sasuke Goda Keiko Yokoyama as Mrs. Minamoto Shinichi Kimotsuki as Yoshio Minamoto Keiko Yamamoto as Sewashi Nobi Sachiko Chijimatsu as Sewashi Nobi Masashi Amenomori as Sensei Keiko Yokozawa as Mii-chan Junko Hori as Gachako Noriko Tsukase as Damako Rihoko Yoshida as Jamako Production and broadcast The series was broadcast between May 25 to September 30, 1973, on Nippon Television. 26 episodes, divided into 52 individual segments were produced. A pilot film was produced in 1972 and shown to test audiences in January 1973. Audience included Doraemon creator Fujiko F. Fujio. They initially approved of the show, but when they were shown the progress, they apparently were angered by the fact that they changed Nobita and Doraemon's personalities. The show was frequently rebroadcast throughout the 1970s. The station, Toyama Television, was the last to air the show, airing from July 3 to July 24, 1981, and briefly again in August of that year. The station aired the show in individual segments. On August 3, the publisher of the Doraemon manga requested the station to cease airing the show, to make sure the reputation of the more famous and longer running 1979 series wasn't harmed.