
The fun-loving anime robot cat gets serious as he delivers a message from the post-coronavirus pandemic world.
It’s sometimes easy to forget that Doraemon, anime’s most famous cat, comes from the future. His 1969 manga debut is sort of an early version of Back to the Future, with Doraemon being sent back in time to contemporary Japan by Sewashi Nobi in order to help his grandfather, wishy-washy schoolboy Nobita Nobi, shape up for the sake of his eventual descendants.
Specifically, Doraemon comes from the 22nd century, but that raises a question: In the 50 years he spent entertaining us with wacky adventures, he never once thought to warn anybody about the coronavirus pandemic of 2020?
We’ll have to cut the robo kitty some slack for that, though, since we’re not entirely sure on the exact way time travel works. And even if he failed to give us a heads-up, he’s now giving us an encouraging message of hope, letting us know not just that the future is OK but more importantly why it’s OK.
The message, below which Doraemon can be seen wearing a face mask, reads:
“Because you stayed home for us.
Because you washed your hands for us.
Because you thought about your families.
Because you and your friends supported each other.
Because you always remembered to be kind.
Because you helped the people who got sick.
Because you worked to help others.
Because you didn’t give up on the future.Because you did that, we’re OK. The future is happy and healthy.”
Like a lot of popular series, the Doraemon anime/manga franchise has been making some of its content free to view online to keep fans at home and help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But with the Golden Week spring vacation period starting, the weather getting warmer, and the temptation to get out of the house rising for both kids and adults, Doraemon knows we all could use a gentle reminder of what’s at stake.
Doraemon also understands that since we humans don’t have Anywhere Doors or Bamboo-Copters that let us instantly warp or fly to our destinations, a lot of us are currently dependent on takeout food and home deliveries, so he’s also whipped up some placards you can stick by your door to let deliverypeople know where to drop your packages (plus give them a thank-you) and also for restaurants to let passersby know that they’ve begun offering takeout options.
As we continue to deal with the greatest global health crisis of the current generation, it’s sometimes hard to accept how important it is for us to do such simple, seemingly trivial things as staying home as much as possible and washing our hands. So thanks, Doraemon, for the tender reaffirmation and acknowledgment that as small as our actions may seem, if enough of us do them, they can change the future for the better.
Source: PR Wire
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