{"id":391,"date":"2019-08-24T23:05:33","date_gmt":"2019-08-24T16:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leminhha.vn\/?p=391"},"modified":"2020-07-16T15:46:18","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T08:46:18","slug":"my-childhood-with-doraemon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leminhha.vn\/?p=391","title":{"rendered":"My Childhood With Doraemon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like most of the kids growing up in the late 1990s and early 2000s in Vietnam, I spent my primary school years reading Doraemon. The manga has tremendous entertainment and educational values for children, and which I still find myself enjoying to this day. I will always be forever thankful for having had my childhood and my early outlook on life shaped by Doraemon.<\/p>\n

(For those unaware, Doraemon is a manga about a eponymous robotic cat from the future who has many magical gadgets. He hangs out with a group of Japanese kids in the 1970s. The manga chronicles the various adventures they go on together).<\/em><\/p>\n

Growing Up With The Cat<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I still remember that day when I was in 1st grade. It was my birthday in February 2000, and my cousin bought me a Doraemon book as a present. It was the 6th volume of the short stories collection.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The very first Doraemon book I had<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was immediately drawn to the stories. Makes sense, since Doraemon is written for first graders so 6-year-old me was the perfect audience.<\/p>\n

From that moment on, I eagerly looked forward to Fridays. Every Friday, Kim \u0110\u1ed3ng Publishing House would release a new volume, and that would be when I nagged my dad to buy me a new copy. It was VND5,500 a copy back then I think? And as soon as I got the book from the bookstore, I would sneak it into class, hide it under a textbook, and devour the whole thing in one class period.<\/p>\n

I was lucky enough that by the time I knew about Doraemon, Kim \u0110\u1ed3ng was releasing an updated edition with entirely revised translations and whiter and higher quality print paper. Just a lot more beautiful compared to the Doraemon of the 1990s.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The original Doraemon that was first published in 1992.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The last Doraemon I bought was in 4th or 5th grade I think. There were only 45 short story collections and 18 long stories in total, so it wasn’t long before all the volumes were released.<\/p>\n

Short vs Long Stories<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There are two main genres of Doraemon: long and short stories. They are both special and enjoyable in their own ways.<\/p>\n

The short stories often have a comedic and moral theme to each episode, usually dealing with greed, friendship, jealousy, diligence, the importance of exercise, etc.<\/p>\n

The long stories are a lot more memorable. Each story is about 200 pages long and chronicles an adventure of the group, often fighting against villains in fantasy lands spanning from the underground, under the ocean, back to prehistoric times, or into the universe. Each story also often carries a clear message on morality, such as the need to preserve the Earth or the importance of friendship.<\/p>\n

Even to this day I can vividly recount the exact titles of the original 18 long stories. Reading each story, I always got lost in the adventure and the drama, and feeling like my mind was transported to another universe. Every story always inspired in me a sense of wonder and curiosity about the vast world out there. It was a magical feeling.<\/p>\n

\"\"
My Doraemon collection at home. Many of these books were bought 20 years ago.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Environmental Protection<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One of the biggest themes of Doraemon is the need to protect our environment. I guess it’s part of a larger Japanese philosophy, the harmony between man and nature? Many of the Studio Ghibli films I’ve seen also have this theme prominently conveyed.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I still remember one special Doraemon edition that was released in 2000, around when I was about to finish my 1st grade. The volume was called “The Environment Protection Squad” (\u0110\u1ed9i B\u1ea3o V\u1ec7 M\u00f4i Tr\u01b0\u1eddng Tr\u00e1i \u0110\u1ea5t). It was a collection of many stories in which the group had to fight against various evils that were threatening to destroy the Earth’s environment.<\/p>\n

It was thanks to this book that I first became aware of the damages of plastic, of how little fresh water there exists on Earth, of how important trees are to our life, and so many more lessons. In many other stories later on, the author never hid his attempt at letting his young readers know about how fragile our blue marble is and how it is everybody’s responsibility to preserve it.<\/p>\n

The message stuck with me as I grew up. I’ve always wanted to do something to help contribute in any way possible to protecting the environment. Even in my college admission essay I wrote about this very memory (Doraemon’s influence on my outlook of the environment). And even right now, I’m already living a rather minimalist lifestyle with minimal meat products in my diet and very little material consumption. I don’t think my carbon footprint is much at all.\"\"<\/p>\n

The Special Environment Volume I bought in 2000. Notice the childish handwriting of 6-year-old me.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I really cannot stress enough how much Doraemon has positively shaped my perspective of the world, to which I am extremely grateful I got to grow up with the blue cat. I sincerely wish every child has the opportunity to experience the magic of Doraemon. (It’s great that every year Kim \u0110\u1ed3ng publishing house is always reprinting the book to serve new generations of kids).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

To this day even whenever I get my hands on a Doraemon book, I’ll still be reading and giggling like a little kid. The magic never fades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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