Life lessons from “Doraemon”
Last year I spent a lot of hours watching “Doraemon” on YouTube. Doraemon is a japanese manga/anime series written and created by Fujiko F. Fujio and published by Shogakukan. Even though this anime series is created for kids, I could draw some parallels what we as adults (read it as “adulting”) can learn from this series and the characters.
To understand the points , let's discuss the background of the series. The story details a cosmic cat who comes back in time from the 22nd century to help a pre-teen boy called Nobita. They become best of friends. “Nobita” is a dull elementary school student who is in a constant struggle with the local class bully “Gian”. Gian’s sidekick “Suneo” helps him steal and rob on most occasions. Suneo is basically a rich kid, who brags most of the time about cool things. Nobita loves “Shizuka”, a smart beautiful girl who cares for Nobita and is always worried about his poor grades and lack of confidence.
The series has been created for kids and there are some basic lessons which are very clear for kids — studying is not everything in life, treating people well, the importance of good values, showing off is not a good thing, so on and so forth. However, hidden from them, I felt there are some lessons which are aptly put forward by the creators for adults and they are worth discussing. Given below are my own observations :
1. Gratitude for good friends
Doraemon and Nobita are shown to be the closest of friends. As a character, Nobita is lazy, is shabby with homework, attending classes on time, careless at best. Despite all the shortcomings, Doraemon is around him, handing him gadgets from time to time to fight the bullies at school or to solve any of Nobita’s challenges. Anytime Nobita needs some help or advice, in times of sadness, happiness, Doraemon is around and never leaving his side. In our lives too, we have such people. Personally, I can only be thankful for the “Doraemon” people I have around me. I have not been the best person in times of challenges, being irritating or difficult to handle, but I am blessed to have such people who solved my issues in no time, being there when I was sure that they would not stay or even just making me believe that I am not alone when going through a tough situation. Such people do not focus on your flaws but on your strengths and help you to see them when you miss “the forest for the trees”. Be thankful for them.
2. Acceptance
There is much to learn for us from the peculiar character “Suneo”. He is shown to be a rich kid with cool video games and toys, likes to associate himself with the school bully Gian, tries to make life hell for Nobita, many a times we see that he stands in front of a mirror and keeps looking at his beauty, he is a narcissist. But he has some really nice abilities too. He is very much aware of new technology at the time, a talented designer. This is a common pattern which I have observed in people around me. The people who are arrogant / narcissistic, are the ones who are insecure, just like Suneo. While deep within Suneo knows he has abilities to be an achiever but what brings him down is his insecurity — about his height, about being a coward, about not being so cool as compared to Gian or Dekisugi. This is where the problem lies in most of us, we find unable to accept ourselves for what we are. Not all of us are going to be a singer / sportsman / academic / doctor some of us will just be random people who achieved a decent level in life, so what's wrong with that. If you ask me I would prefer such people, at least they don't have to take the burden of limelight. No expectations from them on a larger scale which means more time to pursue what your really want to do in life. Because when you accept yourself , the whole world will accept you.
3. There are no shortcuts in life
The manga series is very popular amongst kids due to the various gadgets furnished by Doraemon. Some of the popular ones include weather box in which you insert one of the cards that has a weather mark on it, it will turn into whatever weather you want it to be. Another one is a pass loop where you put the loop on a place you want to pass through, it will open a hole that lets you pass through to the other side, no matter how thick the wall or obstacle may be. Another very popular one is the Anywhere Door that lets you go anywhere you want to just by opening the door. You can immediately go to whatever map you wish to go to. How we wish life was so simple and sorted right. But the makers of the series have put some ponder points in the series. Sometimes Nobita has used the gadgets and has got himself into trouble, or has had a fight with Doraemon and could not use the gadgets properly. Moreover, even Doraemon has tried to dissuade Nobita from over exploiting the gadgets which has often led Nobita to distance himself from people and friends at school. We should be vary of such situations which can often lead us to be driven away from the people we love and care about.
4. Find answers within
As described before, there are contrasting characters in Nobita, Gian and Suneo. While Nobita lacks confidence, Gian is a bully, Suneo is a show-off. As we grow up to be what we are today, we all have been through different versions of ourselves (at least I have been). There was a time in life when you were shy, lazy, did not care about things around you, be assertive, even be rude to people close to you, bully others, be arrogant, a hypocrite, a coward, to name a few. Each of these traits have been shown in numerous characters in the series. But the creators of the series have in a very smart way shown contrasting personality traits in each of them. For instance, Gian even though being a bully, is a leader figure for the class and is not afraid. Sometimes he also expresses his emotions through tears which is normal. Suneo, even though being a rich kid and arrogant most times, does not always like the fact that Gian bullies Nobita. In simple ways he helps Nobita get back at Gian as well. Even though Nobita, is a character we have all developed a liking for, we forget the fact that he has an unsupportive family, is subjected to violence and is confused at most times only for Doraemon to help him out. Such circumstances can get him to become evil as well, however he chooses to be true to himself and help others in need. Just to think about it, we all have a little bit of Nobita, Gian and Suneo within us. All characters have their own positives and negatives which are highlighted in various episodes of the series. We just need to take a step back, introspect and find out for ourselves what can make us a better person to handle life as we know it. It's a constant journey, I can tell you from my personal experiences. When you are stuck, you need to remember how far you have come along, the battles faced and the fears you conquered. Beyond this imaginary fence, you will find your answers within.
5. Finding “True Love” takes time
One of the highlights of the series has been the love story of Shizuka and Nobita and the mano-a-mano between Nobita and Dekisugi. Shizuka is the next door girl from Nobita and his best friend, whom secretly Nobita has a crush on as well. His plans to impress Shizuka are often foiled by Dekisugi who is the macho guy every girl likes. While Shizuka also has a soft corner for Nobita, she worries about him for not scoring good marks in school, being careless or lazy. Many a times they have a fight over petty things, Nobita shows his rude side to her or gets angry on small things which she does not like. However, the care which she has for Nobita overpowers all other feelings and they mostly make up their differences at the end of most episodes.
No matter how lame Nobita is at times, Shizuka has a special place for him. In one of the episodes where Shizuka goes on a trek without informing Nobita, he gets worried for her for not knowing where she is. Eventually through Doraemon’s gadget he finds out the hill where she is and is caught in a blizzard. Eventually as things happened, Shizuka has to take care of Nobita who is really struggling with the cold and the terrain, but what mattered was that he could fight his demons and come to Shizuka’s rescue. Such a feeling of “true love” so easily explained in the series is hard to find in real life. It takes time, effort and feelings which are few and far between in these times. Nevertheless, it still exists amongst us, in a few people. Those I term as “my people” and we need to find them. It did not matter for Nobita to care about the peripheral challenges against the cold but the thought of saving Shizuka or rather be by her side come-what-may mattered. Sometimes, it takes for us years to find the right person, but when you find them, it does not matter the mountains we need to overcome to be with them, coz its worth it. Little efforts count, because one day we look back on all those times and eventually realize they were the big things! Find your “Person”.
