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Disney XD's Doraemon Adaptation to Run in Japan With Bilingual Tracks

The Doraemon anime's recent English-dubbed adaptation, which premiered on the Disney XD channel in the United States in 2014, will now run on Japan's version of the Disney Channel. This adapted version of Doraemon will premiere on February 1, and it will air from Monday to Thursday every week at 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Disney Channel Japan viewers can choose to watch this adaptation in English, or with a new Japanese dub. Wasabi Mizuta (Doraemon), Megumi Oohara (Nobita/Noby), Yumi Kakazu (Shizuka/Sue), Tomokazu Seki (Suneo/Sneech), Subaru Kimura (Gian/Big G), and other voice actors reprise their respective roles in the newly re-recorded Japanese dub.

The manga creator duo Fujiko Fujio (Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko) created Doraemon in 1969. In the story, the robotic cat was sent by a boy in the future to the present day to help the boy's hapless grandfather, Nobita. Doraemon, Nobita, and other children deal with everyday childhood issues, solve (and cause) problems with the gadgets in Doraemon's fourth-dimensional pocket, and embark on escapades through time and space.

Disney previously began airing 26 English-dubbed episodes of Doraemon on the Disney XD channel in the Untied States in July 2014. The three Japanese companies that hold the copyrights — TV Asahi, Fujiko F. Fujio Production, and TV Asahi's anime studio subsidiary Shinei Animation — are producing the English version by contracting it to American studios. The second season ran on Disney XD last summer.

The story and the names of characters and gadgets were partially changed out of consideration for American culture and customs. Doraemon's owner Nobita is now "Noby," the bully Gian is now "Big G," the flying contraption Takecopter is now the "Hopter," and the magical portal "Dokodemo Door" is now the "Anywhere Door." The English edition of the manga also has similar names. The adaptation moved the setting from Japan to a fictional place in America. Other changes have been detailed here.

In addition to the television anime that premiered in Japan in 1973, the Doraemon manga also inspires an ongoing string of annual anime films. This year's film, 36th Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Birth of Japan 2016 (Eiga Doraemon Shin Nobita no Nihon Tanjō), will open in Japan on March 5.

In 2014, Takashi Yamazaki (Returner, Always: Sunset on Third Street, Ballad, Space Battleship Yamato) and Ryûichi Yagi (Pénélope tête en l'air line director, Moyashimon 3D CG director) helmed the first 3D CG film of Doraemon, Stand By Me Doraemon.

Thanks to CastMember1991 for the news tip.

Source: animeanime.jp, Comic Natalie