Doraemon

Doraemon (Doh-raw-eh-mone) is said to be Japan's most famous comic. I had seen it referenced in Japanese movies and TV shows, but had no idea what it was. Arriving in Japan, I heard about it even more. When one kid asked me if they had Doraemon in America, I knew I had to read it in order to continue a conversation if it was ever brought up.

When Yuka was in the States, I made her watch all kinds of movies that I thought were important. Star Wars, Fight Club, and Lord of the Rings to name a few. Before you start thinking "poor Yuka...", I guarantee you know 'May the Force Be With You', 'First rule of Fight Club is, you don't talk about Fight Club', and 'My precious...'. Whether she liked them or not is less important than just knowing about them.

So I set off to the bookstore in a quest of my own cultural education.

I asked a bookstore employee to show me where they kept Doraemon. My Japanese probably came out as "Please Doraemon want read, have it?", but she understood and took me to the kid's section. Imagine how cool I felt when she handed me the comic.

This is Doraemon:I was expecting something like Star Wars or Rambo.

Doraemon is a talking blue cat from the 22nd century. The first issue appeared in 1969 and ran until 1996, totaling 45 graphic novels. There is also a cartoon and many a merchandise tie-in. TIME selected Doraemon as one of the 22 Asian Heroes in 2002 (Thank you Wikipedia).

I will not hide that I bought the comic. But I will not tell you how much I'm enjoying it.