'Doraemon' celebrates 40th anniversary with DVD specials

Press Releases
'Doraemon' celebrates 40th anniversary with DVD specials
By The Editor
June 28, 2010 - 09:34

This year happens to be the 40th anniversary of Doraemon's first appearance in magazines for children. Various events are being planned to celebrate the special year for the popular blue cat robot from the future.

One is an anniversary campaign launched by the Lawson convenience store chain that focuses on characters created by Fujiko F. Fujio, the renowned manga artist who created Doraemon. The stores will sell works by the artist, as well as related products.

A DVD product hit the shelves on June 15. Titled "Fujiko F. Fujio Anime Kyarakuta Daishugo!!" (Assembly of Fujiko F. Fujio anime characters), the three-volume DVD series brings together representative episodes of different anime works for the first time.

The first volume contains a total of five episodes from "Doraemon," "Paman" and "Chimpui." Volume 2 features "Doraemon," "Esper Mami" and "21-emon;" while Volume 3 contains installments from "Doraemon," "Kiteretsu Daihyakka," "Pokonyan" and "Mojako." Most are well-known episodes and are expected to draw attention.

The price of each DVD--five episodes at 1,000 yen including tax--is also a bargain. Each episode costs no more than 200 yen. This is the lowest price ever for collected works by Fujiko F. Fujio and is being offered only as part of the anniversary year celebrations.

In addition to the regular five episodes, each DVD comes with links for five to eight pay-per-view episodes, each costing 105 yen. A customer buys a password via mobile phone for each episode, viewable for a week. Fans who want more besides the DVDs will be sure to enjoy this.