Sunday 18 April 2010

The Doraemons

(ザ☆ドラえもんズ, Za Doraemonzu?) is a manga series, a spin-off of long-running series Doraemon. It is published by Shogakukan and authored by Doumei Tanaka (田中 道明, Tanaka Dōmei?).
Plot and characters
The Doraemons is a kind of an old boys' association of the Robot School (ロボット学校, Robotto Gakkō?) which Doraemon attended. Each and every member enjoys dorayaki, but usually add their own preferred seasoning. All of the Doraemons have rock-hard heads they can use as a weapons, or to break out of prison (among other things), but this is even more enhanced in Doraemon, since he has no other special weapons, and has no ears or hat to get in the way when using this mode of attack. The members are:
Doraemon (ドラえもん) Enjoys his dorayaki plain.
Dora-the-Kid (ドラ・ザ・キッド, Dora za Kiddo?) – (Seiyū: Yoku ShioyaChisa YokoyamaKeiichi Nanba) He is good at quick shooting, but he has a fear of heights (acrophobia). Kid was the third smartest in The Doraemons behind Wang Dora and Dora-Nichov. He works for a sheriff's deputy in the 19th-century USA. Dora-the-Kid's weapon of choice is the Air Gun, which appears to be the front muzzle of a giant revolver that is equipped onto Dora-the-Kid's arm (He has no fingers to fire a regular pistol). The Air Gun shoots out a big blast of air that can knock down anyone that gets hit. His variation of Doraemon's four-dimensional Pocket is the four-dimensional hat (四次元ハット, yonjigen hatto?) that Dora-the-Kid wears on his head. His girlfriend happens to be Dorami-chan, Doraemon's younger sister. His only rival at shooting is Nobita. Enjoys his dorayaki with ketchup and mustard on it.
Wang Dora (王ドラ, Wan Dora?) – (Seiyū: Kumiko NishiharaMegumi Hayashibara) He is the smartest among the Doraemons and is a master of kung fu. He studies medicine in the Qing Dynasty, China while he works for an assistant of a doctor of Chinese medicine. He has a girlfriend, Mimiko (ミミコ?), who is a nurse. In one of The Doraemons' manga shots introducing Wang Dora, he attempted to do Chun-Li's (from Street Fighter) Spinning Bird Kick (a move where the user would spin upside-down with his legs open to kick away his opponent in a fight), only to find it ineffective because Wang Dora's legs are too short. Wang Dora's variation of the four-dimensional pocket are his four-dimensional sleeves (四次元そで, yonjigen sode?) on his shirt. He has one weakness omen. Enjoys his dorayaki with Rāyu, Vinegar and soy sauce.
Dora-med III (ドラメッドⅢ世, Dora-meddo Sansei?) – (Seiyū: Masaharu Satou) He wears Arabian clothes and forecasts from the tarot. He lives in the Middle East, because he has aquaphobia. Needless to say, he can't swim. He is also quite proficient in magic and the black arts. His dream is to open a "Water Land" theme park for children who live in desert regions. When he gets angry, he grows several times his size (proportional to how angry he is,) becoming a giant. Dora-Med III's variation of the four-dimensional pocket is his four-dimensional magic lamp (四次元ランプ, yonjigen ranpu?). Enjoys dry dorayaki—again, due to his aquaphobia.
Dora-nichov (ドラニコフ, Dora-nikofu?) – (Seiyū: Mie SuzukiToshiharu Sakurai) He is taciturn (and can only communicate with growls, etc) and is extremely sensitive to the cold. He was the second smartest in The Doraemons behind Wang Dora. He transforms himself into a wolf if he looks at something that looks like the moon; in this form he can attack enemies by biting or simply wreaking havoc, etc. In the short "The Doraemons" anime that introduced Dora-nichov he tried to cover his eyes with his hands to avoid looking at anything round, only to transform, because his hands are also round! He is able to blow fire out of his mouth by taking something hot like Tabasco. He lives in Russia. Dora-nichov uses the four-dimensional scarf (四次元マフラー, yonjigen mafurā?) covering his face as an alternative to the four dimensional pocket. He usually doesn't eat dorayaki in front of others, because the round snack would let him transform, wreaking havoc, so it is unknown what his favorite kind of seasoning is.
El Matadora (エル・マタドーラ, Eru Matadōra?) – (Seiyū: Kazue IkuraKyousei TsukuiRyuusei Nakao) He is very strong. He likes napping (siesta). He lives in the 17th-century Spain. He disguises himself by working for a dishwasher in a butcher's in the day, but his real job is to save the poor. He can transform into another form—Keikai-Dora. Keikai-Dora, an alter-ego that is a parody of Zorro. (Though this form isn't much different from his original appearance, except with his Magic Cloak pulled over the top of his head). Like Zorro, El Matadora in this form either leaves a "D" mark on his opponents' clothes during a sword fight or cuts off bad guys' pants. His dream is to be a matador. El Matadora is the only other Doraemon (other than Doraemon himself) to use the four-dimensional pocket. He likes dorayaki with spaghetti sauce. His Magic Cloak which can blow enemies away or deflect bullets, etc. His current crush is Karumin. His boss daughter.
Dora-rinho (ドラリーニョ, Dora Rīnyo?) – (Seiyū: Teiyū Ichiryūsai) He is very quick, but forgetful. He lives in Brazil. He spends days in playing Association Football with a Brazilian boy, Nobinho (ノビーニョ, Nobīnyo?), and the Mini-Doras (ミニドラ軍団, Mini-Dora Gundan?, lit. Mini-Dora Army). The Mini-Doras each have a miniature version of Doraemon's four-dimensional pocket that Dora-rinho could take gadgets from, though the gadgets are equally as small as the Mini-Doras. He can attack enemies by kicking soccer balls at them. He is a friend of Nobininyo, Nobita Brazilian counterpart. He enjoys dorayaki with tabasco.
They are tightly united by a card called Shin'yū Tereka (親友テレカ?, lit. close friend telepathy card). They can call each other with the card everywhere and every time.
Allies Of The Doraemons
Principal Teraodai (寺尾台校長, Teraodai-kōchō?) - (Seiyū: Ichirō Nagai) The principal of the Robot School and the inventor of the cat robots.
The Mysterious Thief Dorapin - (Seiyū: Akira Kamiya) He is a mysterious thief from France, clearly modelled after Arsene Lupin. He has a wand with a jewel on it used to change the material of one object into another (eg. paper -> water, rock -> china, etc.). He fears the dark and dogs. He likes eating dorayaki with cheese. Though often misunderstood for a "villain", he always steals for a reason, espsecially to help the poor. He was originally an enemy of The Doraemons, but that was because an evil scientist ordered him to be one. The Mysterious Thief Dorapent later banded with The Doraemons to defeat the evil scientist.
Jaidora - (Seiyū: Kōichi Yamadera) He is a fantastic cook. Strangely for his hobby, he wears glasses and can't see without them. His emotions change quite rarely, and he runs in circles frantically when in panic.
Dora Leonardo Da Vinci - He can make anything he draws into a real object, which comes in handy. He was sent by the principal of Robot School to protect The Doraemons.
Dora Crybaby - He likes dressing up as a girl, much to the disgust of others. He can also summon roses to attack enemies, and scream loud enough to defeat enemies. (Hence his name). He was originally an enemy of The Doraemons, along with Dora Eater and Dradra Dora, but later banded up with The Doraemons to defeat an enemy.
Dora Eater - He eats anything, including enemies. He's so fat that most attacks simply bounce off him. He was originally an enemy of The Doraemons, along with Dora Crybaby and Dradra Dora, but later banded up with them to defeat an enemy.
Dradra Dora - He can control toy soldiers, tanks and fighting jets to attack enemies. He can also create a big fuss so that whirlwinds form. He was originally an enemy of The Doraemons, along with Dora Crybaby and Dora Eater, but later banded with them to defeat an enemy.
Trade paperbacks
The Doraemons are collected into:
Tanaka (1995 – 2001), 6 vols.
Miyazaki & Mitani (1997 – 2001), special ed., 12 vols.
Mitani (1999 – 2002), the Robot Training School days ed., 3 vols.