Nirintana Koomanee U3140293
Vanilla Leung U3034802
Cross Media Cast Study - Doraemon
Doraemon is a famous Japanese manga (comic book), which
became a very successful anime series and media franchise. It was written and
illustrated by the manga writing group of Fujiko Fujio and was published by Shogakukan. Doraemon
was first published in 1969 in 6 different magazines. The main character of the
story is Doraemon, a robotic cat, who was bought by his friend Nobita Nobi’s
great great grandson. Doraemon came from the 22nd Century who travelled
back in time to alter Nobita’s family history. (Wiki,2015) Doraemon has a
pocket from which he produces great stuff from the future which are gadgets,
medicines, and tools, such as his ‘Anywhere Door’.
Doraemon always uses gadgets to solve Nobita’s difficulties, but this sometimes
causes more trouble than necessary.
As Jenkins (2007) said; ‘Transmedia
storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get
dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of
creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience.’ Doraemon is a
great transmedia storytelling example, and has a series of feature films which
contain different stories from the manga comics and the Television series. In
addition, Doraemon video game software has been developed and published later
on in 1986, by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo Family Computer.
In ‘Transmedia
Storytelling 101’ Jenkins (2007) stated that; “Most
often, transmedia stories are based not on individual characters or specific
plots but rather complex fictional worlds which can sustain multiple
interrelated characters and their stories”, and the Doraemon story was created
in the same way. In Doraemon animated films, Doraemon and Nobita and friends
somehow begin their journeys using a ‘Time Machine’ to go to
variety of both exotic and perilous places, ‘such that they have visited: the age of dinosaurs, the far reaches
of the galaxy, the heart of darkest Africa, the depths of
the ocean, and a world of magic. Some of
the films are based on legends such as ‘Atlantis’, and on literary works
including Journey to the West and Arabian
Nights. Some films also have serious themes, especially concerning
environmental topics and the use of technology’ (Doraemon, 2015).
In each film, Nobita and his friends will meet lots of new
characters and develop their relationships as the stories flow. This is how
Doraemon characters have increased in numbers. They all go to new places and
face various kinds of situation in which Doraemon’s special gadgets, tools,
and medicines are always used to overcome obstacles. Thus, anime and manga are
platforms in which new gadgets, tools,
and medicines are introduced more and more, in order to help Nobita in his
daily troubles. The anime and manga have a somewhat lighter tone in their
story. In some episodes, Doraemon also introduces characters such as Nobita’s grandmother;
particularly in instances when Nobita brings her from the pass just to see
Nobita’s dad when he feels sad. There are also some episodes that run a
parallel story; for example, the story of Nobita’s son and
Nobita’s friends’ sons. This leads the audience to understand the stories in
seeing a larger, more intelligible picture. Furthermore, Doraemon has a sister
whose name is Dorami, and she
is a yellow robotic cat who usually stays in the 22nd century and
appears in only a few episodes, or films.
One very special thing about Doraemon
is that there is no definitive ending, and that is because once the author
published the last official episode, which was ‘Goodbye
Doraemon’, then huge amounts of people were calling for more stories.
As a result, Fujiko Fujio needed to write a special episode to change that.
This change always leaves it open-ended. Many fans are now happy to see it left
unfinished. However, some Doraemon fans have tried to participate in creating a
fan-fictional ending. One of famous endings is that Nobita was actually the
creator of Doraemon. Another ending is that Nobita created the Doraemon story
when he was very sick, and been in the hospital; thus, everything was just a
dream.
Doraemon manga and television series are very important for
children, so Doraemon has the great potential to attract more audiences.
Jenkins (2009) illustrates this in saying; ‘Spreadability refers to the
capacity of the public to engage actively in the circulation of media content
through social networks, and in the process expand its economic value and cultural
worth.” As for the advancement of technologies, Doraemon has many cross media
platforms for audiences to experience.
Apart from manga and television series, Doraemon feature
movies have been produced every year since 1980. For example, ‘Doraemon:
Nobita and the Island of Miracles - Animal Adventure’ (2012).
This story was based on Doraemon manga characters, and differs to usual
television series and manga content. In addition, a related video game was
released for the Nintendo 3DAS in the same year. Players can scan the QR code
from the official website so that they can assess the extra WEB mission for the
game. This is a display of what Jenkins (2009) said in his article ‘Continuity and Multiplicity’.
In addition, Doraemon also has a series
of APPS games for smart phone users. These are usually related to a series of
film stories, and players are free to download and join Doraemon adventures.
Doraemon media strategy is well-developed, and it has not only developed across
transitional media platforms such as TV and movies, but also mobile apps and
video games. It has very successfully spread its media franchise all over the
world, as well.
Doraemon were first published in 6 different educational
magazines. Most readers were children, aged 6-13. Afterwards, the Fujiko Fujio
production team produced a series of feature film from 1980 onwards, and their
target audiences were not only children but also adults who still have many
memories of Doraemon from where they were young. Doraemon stories are emotional
and educational, with the main educational message of Doraemon being: ‘There is
no such thing as a free lunch.’ Thus, every time Nobita uses Doraemon’s
gadgets, he always makes more trouble when trying to solve his problems.
However, Doraemon storytelling is fun and educational, and is therefore still
attracting many younger audiences.
Jenkins (2009) further pointed out that; ‘Transmedia
storytelling practices may expand the potential market for a property by
creating different points of entry for different audience segments.’ As
Doraemon always solves Nobita’s problems, their friendship is one of the most
important elements that makes Doraemon’s media franchise succeed. Doraemon has
a series of films that narrate Doraemon having different adventures with his
friends every year. People look forward to new Doraemon movies, and usually
watch them with friends and family. Moreover, Doraemon target audiences have
increased by using cross media platforms. Doraemon started in 1969, and it was
a very popular manga and cartoon. Thus, after children of that time became
adults, some of those adults would watch Doraemon television series and feature
films with their sons and daughters again. That is one of the reasons why
Doraemon has remained popular throughout the last decade.
In addition, Hayes (2006) said; “… the audience are
constantly fragmenting and using more and more media forms across more and more
platforms.” It is very important to keep their loyalty and continue the
experience, so Doraemon additionally introduced video games for the Nintendo
Family Computer, in 1986. Children can help Doraemon to save his human friends,
and this draws children more into the Doraemon stories. Furthermore,
Smartphones are a very important communication tool nowadays, and so Doraemon
also has apps games to encourage people to join in Doraemon’s adventures all
the time. To conclude the audience of Doraemon, some traditional media user use
to watch Doraemon by Television and movies, some cross-media audience like to
use multiple technologies to assess Doraemon information; there are some
digital native assess Doraemon information on the internet and APPS only.
Doraemon is one of the most successful
cross-media productions. Not only can it be beneficial for its own story, but
it also benefits across other company productions, such as the extremely
successful ‘Doraemon Campaign for Toyota’, where they
use the ‘Time Machine’ to make
commercial concepts more creative. This case study of Doraemon is related to
the overall context of cross-media production. First, Doraemon are based not on
individual characters or specific plots. They are always meeting new characters
and using new gadgets in films and series, and this leads the audience to see
the stories and plots in a larger and more intelligible light. This is akin to
what Jenkins (2007) said, in that; ‘Transmedia storytelling expands what can be
known about a particular fictional world while dispersing that information,
ensuring that no one consumer knows everything and ensuring that they must talk
about the series with others. Consumers become hunters and gatherers moving
back across the various narratives, trying to stitch together a coherent
picture from the dispersed information.” Second, Doraemon has been delivered in
many different media platforms. ‘The award-winning manga sold over 100 million
copies worldwide, and was adapted into: television series, dozens of feature
films, short films, videogames, mobile games, and even a musical. The latest
mobile game released by the ‘Animoca’ brand,
‘Doraemon Gadget Rush’, topped the
charts on the ‘App Store’ after having been downloaded over 1.8 million times
in less than two weeks since launch, and the company has also signed a deal to
publish the game in China’ (Animoca, 2015).
References:
Anomica Brand, 2015, ‘Animoca Brands (ASX:AB1)’, 10 March
2015 < http://www.animocabrands.com/#!doraemon-gadget-rush-tops-asian-charts/c1ygz>
Hayes, G 2006, Cross-Media
– What audience want, Peronalizemedia.com, November 2006, < http://www.personalizemedia.com/cross-media-what-audiences-want/ >
Jenkins, H 2007, Transmedia
Storytelling 101, The official weblog of Henry Jenkins, 10 March 2015 < http://henryjenkins.org/2007/03/transmedia_storytelling_101.html>
Jenkins,H 2009, The Revenge of
the Origami Unicorn: Seven Principles of Transmedia Storytelling (well, Two Actually
Five More on Friday) The official weblog of Henry Jenkins, 12 December 2009
< http://henryjenkins.org/2009/12/the_revenge_of_the_origami_uni.html >
Wikipedia Contributors, 2015, ‘Doraemon’ Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 March 2015 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doraemon>
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