The Little Star Wars in the Attic / Nobita, the Micro-Death Zone ②

"Space War in the Attic" (Originally published as "Space Wars Game Set")
"Shogaku Yonensei" September 1978 issue / Complete Works Vol. 8

Among the many "micro" episodes of "Doraemon," this work can be asserted as the greatest masterpiece. It is a work that pays strong homage to the first "Star Wars" film by director George Lucas, which goes without saying, and at the same time, it feels greatly appealing in that it has become a complete parody that replaces it with a micro scale.a complete parody that replaces it with a micro scale in that it has become a complete parody that replaces it with a micro scale, it makes one feel a great charm.

Also, it is an important work in the history of Fujiko F. manga that expands on the ideas from this work and leads to the sixth Doraemon feature-length film, "Nobita's Little Star Wars."

In this article, I would like to bring out the charm of "Space War in the Attic" to the fullest.

I will skip the explanation of the original "Star Wars" film, but I would like to point out one fact: this film was released in the United States in May 1977, and in Japan in June 1978, meaning the domestic release was delayed by more than a year.

At the time of its US release, it was conveyed to Japan with the literal translation "Space War," and it was said to be a huge topic, especially among SF fans, that an outrageous space opera had appeared. Naturally, since it was an era without the internet, fans imagined the content from information in magazines like "Screen" or "Roadshow," trailers at theaters, and a few stills, and held themselves over until the release.

Naturally, Fujiko F. sensei must have been one of those who couldn't wait for the release of "Star Wars." "Space War in the Attic" was announced at super speed, just three months after the Japanese release, and I think he probably watched "Star Wars" many times right after it was released and crafted it into a high-standard parody work.

Also, although it is a bit of a digression, I would like to note that before "Space War in the Attic" was announced, at a stage when "Star Wars" had not yet been released in Japan, he was already drawing works that incorporated "Star Wars.""Space War in the Attic" was announced, he was already drawing works that incorporated "Star Wars."

For example, in "Dorayaki, Movie, Reserved" ("Shogaku Yonensei" February 1978 issue / Complete Works Vol. 7), Nobita gets excited after seeing a feature article on a work called "Star Jaws" in a magazine like "Screen," thinking "This movie looks interesting," and tries to get his dad to take him to the movie theater.

Furthermore, in "Roadshow in Nobita's Room" ("Shogaku Sannensei" June 1978 issue / Complete Works Vol. 9), Shizuka-chan also wants to see "Star Jaws."

Incidentally, in the former, a man like Luke Skywalker is depicted, but in the latter, a sign is drawn that looks like a story about fighting a Jaws-like alien. They don't look like the same movie at all, so should we think of them as different works with the same title?

Furthermore, incidentally, in November 1979, more than a year after the release of "Star Wars," a work called "Super Blockbuster Special Effects Movie 'Space Great Demon God'" was also drawn in "Doraemon," and from this, one can feel that the excitement of "Star Wars" had not yet cooled down.

Well, let's end the digression and look at the work. It is a 24-page medium-length story, so I will only explain the necessary parts.

At the beginning, when Nobita asks Doraemon for a new game, he says it's a special one and brings out a high-performance experiential game called "Space Wars Game Set". It seems to be a quite expensive item, and a scene appears later where he cries out, "The installment payments aren't finished, compensate me!" thinking it was broken.

It is a game where you ride a white rocket and shoot down gray rockets, but the design of this rocket is clearly influenced by "Star Wars." It is a convenient mechanism where when you try to board the rocket, your body automatically shrinks, and when you try to get out, it returns to normal.

Just as Nobita gets used to the game, an unfamiliar square-shaped spaceship appears and shoots at him. Even after he escapes the rocket, it continues to attack him, so he loses his patience and bats it down. Seeing this, Doraemon assumes his game has been ruined and goes berserk.

Then, a bean-sized robot falls out of the spaceship and projects a hologram. It is a woman with Shizuka's face, dressed as Princess Leia from "Star Wars," and she is pleading for help.

I am Princess Are-Okana of the planet Lilliput. I am being held captive by the villain Akan-Vader. Please help me.

Since there is so much to comment on in that statement, I will address it all.

First, Princess Are-Okana is a play on Princess Leia Organa from SW. Akan-Vader is, of course, borrowed from Darth Vader. Although she claims to be a princess of the planet Lilliput, Lilliput is taken from the name of the land of little people that Gulliver first visits in "Gulliver's Travels."

Also, considering the scene where they are watching this footage, it is clear that Nobita is taking on the role of Luke Skywalker. Nobita remarks, “Is this a movie commercial?”, but there is no doubt that "Star Wars" is on his mind.

The footage cuts off shortly, but since the robot is making squeaky noises, they try to understand its language using the "Translation Konjac." Then,

“Me, R3-D3, servant of Princess Are. Akan-Vader attacked planet Lilliput, so I escaped to space...”

This robot claims to be R3-D3, but this is likely a combination of R2-D2 and C-3PO from SW. The robot's appearance is almost exactly C-3PO, but it is unusually talkative and also possesses the characteristics of R2-D2. Since it is the duty of a popular manga artist to get by with as few characters as possible, they must have combined the R2-D2 and C-3PO duo into one.

R3-D3 says that it escaped to Earth, but after landing in a desert and facing attacks from giant monsters (cats) and the like, it was searching for its companions when it was finally discovered by Akan-Vader's subordinates and captured in the spaceship that Nobita destroyed.

Upon hearing this story, Nobita says,

“It’s just like Star Wars. Let’s go help her right away.”

He gets excited with a somewhat meta remark, but Doraemon chides him, reminding him that he also has summer homework. Nobita tries to refuse, saying, “Sorry, but look for someone else,” but he is told that Akan-Vader is building a secret base on Earth and aiming to conquer the planet.

Conversely, Nobita resolves, “This is no time for homework!” In his excitement, he even turns down Gian and the others' invitation to play baseball, saying, “Is this any time to be doing something so trivial!”. Naturally, Gian gets angry.

Nobita and the others first head to the desert with the "Anywhere Door" to look for R3-D3's boat. However, the destination is a sandbox in a park. It is a desert on a small scale. When they look for the boat, nearby children have mistaken it for a ball and are kicking it around. While they are chasing it to retrieve the boat, they are spotted by Gian and the others, whom they had just turned down for baseball, and are chased around because the others mistake it for a game of catch.

They manage to escape, and Nobita and Doraemon use the Gulliver Tunnel to shrink their bodies and board R3-D3's boat. Now, they are off to Akan-Vader's secret base. Nobita asks for the location of the base.

“Do you know where the base is? The primeval forests of the Amazon? The Bermuda Triangle?”

R3-D3's answer was, “The third house around the corner from the tobacco shop,” which was surprisingly close by. At this point, they ask if it's a primeval forest or the Bermuda Triangle, but these lines are reminiscent of “Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld” or “Nobita's Undersea Adventure.”

So, following R3-D3's directions, they arrive at Gian's house! Nobita is reluctant to enter, but he is convinced when he hears that Gian is away playing baseball, so they proceed to the attic of Gian's house. There, they find that the attic has been remodeled into an enemy base.

There are guards swarming everywhere, and these guards bear a striking resemblance to Stormtroopers. Nobita and the others sneak in fearfully. R3-D3 threatens them by saying, “If you're found, you'll never get out alive,” and a terrified Nobita trips and makes a noise, nearly getting them discovered by the guards.

Then, a siren wails. The Stormtroopers board their rockets and fly off somewhere. Their destination is unknown, but the base is now empty, and seeing their chance, they set out to find Princess Are.

They succeed in finding Princess Are, who is being held captive in a room. The princess immediately says, “Brave young men, I shall bestow medals upon you,” and just as she is about to start awarding the medals, they stop her, saying, “Later.”

The place where the aliens flew off to earlier was Gian's house for lunch. Seeing the table eaten clean, Gian's mother yells, “Again!” This is where Akanbader makes his first appearance. He has almost the exact outer appearance of Darth Vader, but with one difference: a long tongue extends from his mask, forming the shape of an “Akanbe” (a mocking gesture).

Akanbader's forces attack Nobita and the others as they flee in a boat with Princess Are. Nobita makes full use of the techniques he practiced with the “Space Wars Game Set” to shoot down the Akanbader army's rockets one after another.

Then, a massive mothership appears. The shot composition of this mothership closing in is based on the opening scene of SW. The opponent is too large, and the boat's weapons are completely ineffective.

Just then, a flying baseball pierces the mothership, causing a huge explosion. The princess is delighted, saying Earth's missiles are wonderful, but this was actually Gian's home run ball. Gian and Suneo, who came to check on things, assume they broke an expensive remote-controlled toy and immediately flee the scene.

Princess Are chases after Gian and the others, saying,

“Thanks to you, the peace of the universe has been preserved. I shall award you medals for your heroic deeds...”

but because she is so small, they don't notice her at all. “That was a surprisingly small-scale space war,” said Doraemon and the others, half-dumbfounded.

Incidentally, Princess Are trying to award medals immediately is likely a parody of the final scene of SW.

While this work is full of parodies, the idea of fighting in a shrunken world must have been stored away in Fujiko F. Fujio's mind as a usable concept. By adding the setting where they shrink and cannot return, the space war parody was elevated into a solid, thrilling adventure, which would eventually lead to the creation of “Nobita's Little Star Wars” six years later.