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Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】

Casey Baseel Apr 21, 2022
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Who knew a 29-year-old anime movie was actually a vision of the future?

While it’s pleasantly relaxing to sit on the shore and gaze out at the waves, those with a sense of adventure are compelled to see what’s below the surface of the sea. There’s a whole other world of marine life and ocean-floor geography waiting for those who strap on a set of scuba gear, such as Japanese Twitter user @monakoMNK.

But on a recent diving trip to Enoura, at the western end of Sagami Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture, @monakoMNK’s most surprising discovery wasn’t a school of fish or beautiful shell. No, it was none other than Doraemon, the robot cat star of the anime/manga of the same name who’s brought joy and light to generations of Japanese children!

Doraemon himself, however, wasn’t looking too happy.

“Can’t get this out of my head,” tweets @monakoMNK. “It’s like Doraemon has been cast out of Japanese society.”

先日ダイビングで見た「日本社会に消されたドラ〇もん」が頭から離れない pic.twitter.com/bfFba3bexm

— ﾓﾅｺ (@monakoMNK) April 13, 2022

It’s definitely not how most of us are used to seeing the ordinarily active and optimistic Doraemon. However, some fans with long memories recalled that in the 1993 theatrical anime Doraemon: Nobita and the Tin Labyrinth Doraemon is captured by an invading alien army and tortured with intense shocks of electricity.

▼ Hey, it’s a movie, so they had to raise the stakes beyond just “Nobita doesn’t want to do his homework.”

https://twitter.com/itsumo_96129/status/1514597795478482949

Eventually, the shocks fry Doraemon’s internal circuitry, and his body is thrown into the ocean.

▼ Don’t worry! He eventually gets better and goes on to star in 29 more films (and counting)

pic.twitter.com/VDAYBIgBPd

— 魂鴉(たまがらす)a.k.a KAZMA (@CLOW0204) April 14, 2022

It turns out @monakoMNK isn’t the only one who’s found Doraemon stranded in the briny deep, either, as others posted their own similar experiences in reply, with one video having been shot in 2015.

初めまして、フォロー外より失礼します
10年ほどダイビングから離れていますが、僕も海の中でドラえもんとであったことがあります
場所は覚えていないのですが、神奈川の真鶴だったかなぁ・・・ pic.twitter.com/O7m0Ejnrbx

— しゃらく (@sharakudayo) April 14, 2022

この時は綺麗でした！
同じ江の浦です。
2015年11月17日撮影 pic.twitter.com/no6ffcYAQd

— ギョッピー (@gyo3) April 19, 2022

Reactions to @monakoMNK’s tweet and theories as to what Doraemon has been doing down there have included:

“Well, that’s going to be in my nightmares.”
“I think if you swim by this at night, it’ll start casing after you.”
“It’s so creepy how his eyes have completely faded away.”
“[Doraemon comes from the future, so] I think he was buried at sea to prevent a time paradox from occurring.”
“I think all of these Doraemons started out as the same being, but through the use of time machines the time axes have begun to overlap, allowing for their simultaneous existences.”

We may never know for sure how these sunken anime cats got to where they are, but with the passing of franchise co-creator Fujiko A. Fujio earlier this month it’s comforting to know that Doraemon is still encouraging people to use their imaginations.

Source, images: Twitter/@monakoMNK
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