It’s amazing what a little TLC from a friend can do for your childhood memories.

Doraemon is arguably one of Japan’s most popular fictional series and characters. Since 1969, he’s been changing lives in Japan and, more recently, around the world. And of course, there’s all sorts of merchandise to go along with this famous series, from classic figurines to glasses and even a virtual reality experience.

But for some people, it’s the items they’ve had since childhood that have the most sentimental value. Twitter user @Ydon9, for instance, found a Doraemon plushie they’d had since they were a little kid. Years of wear and tear turned it into the horror-like creature seen in the top-left of the images below, but after entrusting the stuffed toy to a friend, they were able to completely transform it to a brand new beauty seen at the bottom-right!

▼ It’s like watching a makeover show, but for toys.

Besides giving it a good cleaning, some parts of the original Doraemon toy were completely replaced. He has a completely new face with painstakingly stitched eyes, mouth, and a fluffy red nose. He also has a shiny red ribbon collar with a bell.

▼ He even has a brand new tail!

It looks like he was re-stuffed a bit, too! He’s back to normal Doraemon size.

▼ And when the stuffed toy came back to its owner by mail, it had this cute drawing on it saying, “I’m home!“

Netizens have reacted to it just as emotionally as we have.

“This is a great story….”
“I could feel the tears start to come.”
“My heart has been warmed.”
“Oh man, the New Year only just started and I want to cry.”
“Amazing…it’s good there was a great doctor around.”
“That friend has to be a version of Nobita-kun (Doraemon’s friend) that studied hard to become an amazing surgeon as an adult.”

It’s comforting to know that Japan will always have a soft spot for plush toys (haha, get it?), like this one that a Japanese museum has held onto for over 30 years.

Source: My Game News Flash
Featured image: Twitter/@Ydon9