Doraemon + Eco = National Anime? "Farewell, Kibo" / Green Doraemon (1)

The 1984 Doraemon feature film "Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld" is my personal favorite Doraemon work, which I was incredibly excited about even when it was being serialized in CoroCoro Comic. I dream of the day when I can provide a detailed analysis of it.

This "Great Adventure into the Underworld" was the first film in Doraemon history to have "audience gifts." What was distributed was a "Green Dora" pin badge that turned Doraemon's signature blue color into green. I cherished it for a while, but it seems I lost it somewhere along the way.

I didn't know it at the time, but according to the Wiki, they launched an eco-campaign called "We Are Earthlings" to combine the 5th anniversary of the film with the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Nature Conservation Charter. The distribution of the pin badges was part of that campaign.

This campaign is still firmly burned into my memory, and it served as the catalyst for spreading the image that "Doraemon" = Earth-friendly. I think it was a major turning point that led to it becoming a national anime.

Fujiko-sensei also seemed to support the "We Are Earthlings" movement, and he drew two Doraemon works with ecological themes between the spring and summer of 1984. These works are also strongly connected to the feature-length film seven years later, "Nobita and the Kingdom of Clouds," making them very important works in Doraemon history.

Therefore, I would like to carefully introduce those two works in two articles under the title "Green Doraemon."

"Doraemon" 'Farewell, Kibo'
"Shogaku Yonensei" April 1984 issue / Complete Works Vol. 14

The first one is 'Farewell, Kibo.' It was significantly expanded when included in the collected volume, and the version you can read now is a massive 25 pages. This work was announced in the magazine in March and was adapted into an anime immediately in April. Looking at this schedule, it seems this work was the core of the Green Dora campaign, a story developed simultaneously for TV anime and the original manga.

By the way, 'Hoi of Donjara Village,' which I will introduce in the next article, is also a work that was developed simultaneously for TV.

The beginning is like that of a feature-length film. Someone who appears to be an alien is concerned that Earth's greenery is being lost rapidly. They are having
an ominous discussion about sending an investigation team to learn more about the situation and taking appropriate measures depending on the results.

Next, Doraemon and Nobita are at the hill behind the school, where residential development is progressing. Nobita is disappointed to see the nature being lost. As you know from 'The Forest is Alive' and other works, Nobita loves the nature of the hill behind the school.

While walking, they find a young tree that has just started to grow. Kind-hearted Nobita says,

"If it grew up, it could become a big tree and live for hundreds of years... but it's going to be dug up soon."

And he sheds tears.

So, to save this tree, they try to dig it up themselves and plant it in the Nobi family's garden, but Mom warns them not to plant any more trees in the small garden.

Since they can't plant it, Doraemon brings out a liquid called "Plant Automation Liquid." When he pours it onto the sapling, it transforms into a baby tree with legs. The design of this tree character is incredibly cute.

They name it Kibo. Kibo's food is water mixed with fertilizer. If they keep a basin filled with water, it will drink on its own whenever it wants. And this fertilizer also contains the effect of giving plants the ability to think.

Kibo soon begins reading Nobita's manga with him and takes an interest in Nobita's homework. Kibo is also glued to the TV, and during the day, he starts watching only educational programs.

Kibo grows as accustomed to Nobita as a close younger brother. He brings to mind Pisuke from 'Nobita's Dinosaur' or Fuko the typhoon. When it rains outside, he goes out into the garden and bathes in the rain with great joy. This side of him is just adorable, too.

A UFO is observing the state of the Earth in the rain. This UFO is a survey craft that came to investigate the decrease in Earth's greenery. And here, the true identity of the aliens who were showing interest in Earth's greenery is revealed. They were plant-type aliens that walked and talked just like humans.

The investigation reveals that while Earth's plants are a species left behind by evolution, they are being destroyed by humans, the rulers of the Earth, and the air, water, and land are being polluted. At this rate, there is a risk of total extinction for Earth's plants. The discussion heats up about evacuating all plants on Earth before it is too late.

However, one old tree (or plant?) expresses concern, saying, 'Humans and animals live by breathing the oxygen that plants exhale; if plants are evacuated, they will die out.' But the old tree's argument is drowned out by the voices of the hardliners who say, 'Since we are heading toward extinction, we have no choice but to save the plants'.

On Earth, wanting to let Kibo, who stays home studying all the time, bathe in the sunlight, they take him to the hill behind the school where he was born. As expected, Kibo is overjoyed among the plants and trees.

However, upon hearing Nobita and Doraemon's conversation that 'this area will also become a housing complex,' Kibo is deeply shocked and runs off into the depths of the mountain, crying, 'Ki-Kee!'. It was the first time he had made a sound, but because he was Kibo, his cry was 'Ki'.

Nobita and the others search for Kibo's whereabouts. The surroundings grow dark. Then, suddenly, the nearby trees are uprooted naturally and float up into the air one after another. Just as Nobita and the others think they are floating in the air, they are sucked into a giant saucer in the sky.

Inside the saucer. The plant-type aliens appear before Nobita and Doraemon. Nobita and the others are told by the aliens, 'We are planning to carry all the plants out of Earth.' Dora and the others get angry, saying they won't let them do as they please, but they are defeated by seed bullets.

Nobita and the others are captured. They plead for the plan to be called off, saying, 'If plants disappear, the Earth will become a dead planet,' but they are not listened to, with the response, 'Even if left alone, humans will likely wipe out the plants with their own hands'. In this part, a direct criticism of humanity is unfolding, which was not seen in previous 'Doraemon' or other works.

A desperate situation. Then, a voice says, 'That is wrong', and Kibo walks out from the back. Kibo, who loved studying, had evolved to the point where he could speak before anyone knew it.

Kibo takes their side, saying, 'Doraemon and Nobita are allies of plants, and it is thanks to them that I have become able to speak.' And he asks them not to take the plants from Earth. From here on, it is Kibo's on-stage performance. Since these are moving lines that will help even child readers grasp the preciousness of nature, I would like to excerpt almost the entire text.

The Earth and plants live by helping each other. Animals eat plants. But when animals die, they return to the soil and nourish plants. Birds that peck at tree nuts carry seeds, and insects that drink nectar pollinate flowers.

There are also many humans who love plants and take great care of them. And above all, plants live by breathing in the carbon dioxide that animals exhale.

At the moment, there is certainly some excess. Civilization has flourished too much, and humans have come to believe that the Earth belongs only to them... But voices reflecting on this are also growing louder. Humans have also realized that things cannot go on like this.

Kibo's words, having broadened his knowledge by watching educational programs and reading difficult books, are exceptionally persuasive. And furthermore,

Please give us a little more time. Humans will surely restore the beautiful nature.

Kibo concludes with these moving words, directed at both the aliens and the readers, who are Earthlings. as well.

Hearing this speech, the plant-type aliens decide to call off their plan. However, they do not forget to give a warning to Nobita and his friends (= the readers) that if the Earth is even more devastated in a hundred years, they will return.

For now, the Earth has been saved. And Kibo decides to head to the aliens' planet to see their evolved plant civilization. Farewell, Kibo. It is an ending that lives up to the title.

As this was a work for the "Green Doraemon" campaign, it incorporates quite a direct critique of civilization. There are many works that include ecology as a theme, such as "Moa and Dodo, Forever," but I think it is quite rare to use a method of expression like this one.

Nearly 40 years have passed since this work was drawn. In other words, if the Earth is devastated in 60 years, the plant-type aliens will appear once again. Today, global warming is progressing rapidly, and environmental destruction continues. However, NASA research has also produced observational results showing that greening has recovered by 5% over the last 20 years.

Humanity is currently experiencing a tug-of-war regarding the preservation of the global environment. At this critical juncture, the significance of this work might be useful now more than ever. I strongly hope for a revival of the Green Doraemon campaign.

I have done quite a lot of analysis on "Doraemon," so please take a look!