"Fujiko Fujiko F. Fujio Masterpiece Theater Doraemon ," a series featuring episodes from the popular manga " Doraemon" by the late Fujiko F. Fujio , concluded in the May issue of the magazine "CoroCoro Comic" (Shogakukan), released on April 15th. "CoroCoro Comic" is a manga magazine that was launched in April 1977 with the tagline "A magazine where you can read plenty of Doraemon, " and it's no exaggeration to say that it has walked hand in hand with " Doraemon, " having exclusively serialized the long-running " Doraemon Long Stories" series for many years. After Fujiko's death in 1996, the publication of new " Doraemon" works by Fujiko ceased, but since 2002, it has continued to republish the series as "Masterpiece Theater Doraemon" (later renamed "Fujiko F. Fujio Masterpiece Theater Doraemon"). Let's look back at the history of "Doraemon" and "CoroCoro."
◇ "CoroCoro" started as "Doraemon Magazine"
"Doraemon" began serialization in December 1969 in the January 1970 issues of six Shogakukan magazines: "Yoiko," "Yochien," "Shogaku Ichinensei," "Shogaku Ninensei," "Shogaku Sannensei," and "Shogaku Yonensei." Fujiko Fujio adapted the content to the age group of the readers of each magazine, so there are six different first chapters of "Doraemon." In 1973, serialization also began in "Shogaku Gonensei" and "Shogaku Rokunensei," and at its peak, it was serialized in eight magazines simultaneously. In 1974, "Tentomushi Comics" was created as a label specifically for "Doraemon." Each comic book was reprinted multiple times, and by 1977, it had become a huge hit, with cumulative sales exceeding 5 million copies.
CoroCoro Comic was launched in April 1977, right in the middle of Doraemon's rising popularity. Promoted as "a magazine where you can read plenty of Doraemon," the inaugural issue featured 200 pages of Doraemon. Other works by Fujiko, such as "Mikio and Mikio" and "Bakeru-kun," were also included, and it started out as a "Doraemon Magazine" and a "Fujiko F. Fujio Magazine."
◇The first new series will be "Doraemon: The Long Story"
When discussing "Doraemon" and "CoroCoro Comic," one cannot forget the "Doraemon Long Story" series, which began in the January 1980 issue. "Doraemon Long Story" is a series of feature-length works written by Fujiko F. Fujio as the basis for the animated films, with the first installment, "Nobita's Dinosaur," serialized in the January-March 1980 issues. At the time of its launch, "CoroCoro Comic" reprinted episodes that had been published in other magazines for different grade levels, and "Nobita's Dinosaur" was the first new series to be serialized. From then on, up to the 17th installment, "Nobita's Adventure in the Clockwork City," "CoroCoro Comic" exclusively serialized Fujiko F. Fujio's new "Doraemon Long Story" series.
Regarding the 17th installment, "Nobita's Adventure in the Spiral City," which began serialization in the September 1996 issue, Fujiko passed away before it was finished writing. Therefore, subsequent episodes were created by Fujiko's assistant, Mugiwara Shintaro, and the late director Shibayama Tsutomu, who worked on the theatrical anime films, based on Fujiko's idea notebooks. After that, although not in a way that directly linked to all the theatrical anime films, the publication of "Doraemon: The Long Doraemon" produced by Fujiko Pro continued.
Meanwhile, in the April 2002 issue, "Masterpiece Theater Doraemon" began, reprinting episodes from the comic books. Since then, "CoroCoro" has continued to publish both regular feature-length stories and episodes from the comic books drawn by Fujiko.
Forty-nine years since its founding, "CoroCoro" has started and grown alongside "Doraemon." Many fans likely began reading "Doraemon" through "CoroCoro." Even today, it remains a gateway for children. The final episode of "Fujiko F. Fujio Masterpiece Theater Doraemon" may mark a turning point in the history of both "Doraemon" and "CoroCoro." (Shiroinu/MANTANWEB)
