I need to write down my thoughts on how badly I think the actual version of Doraemon is handling Gian's character because it's been bothering me for the longest time now. He's my favorite character and, in my opinion, this version is wronging him a bit...
Gian is well known for being Doraemon's most recurring antagonist in the series as he always bullies Nobita. If you stop to think about the show's formula, it's evident how important Gian is for it to work right; He works as a drive for Nobita to use Doraemon's gadgets and as a common threat/enemy for the main characters (at times), as well as a strong friend to count on.
He's always been that way, from the original mangas to today and, maybe I'm biased but, despite his evil facet, every Doraemon fan I've known seems to like him. There are many reasons he's a likeable character in the end and that's what I fear the anime is forgetting for the sake of faster and easier writing.
I've been following the new weekly episodes for a year now and I can name like... 20?? 30???? episodes max. (small amount considering they're going for 922) where I found Gian actually enjoyable, and that's coming from his biggest fan. Even in remakes where he was supposed to be kept funny, he wasn't.
While rewatching some of the new episodes (some original, some remakes), I noticed a pattern in the ones where Gian played a semi-relevant role. There was a common order of events:
Gian is ruthless to Nobita(/Suneo occasionally) for no reason.
Nobita(/Suneo) plots an overdone revenge with one of Doraemon's gadgets. (most times with a buildup of demonstrations of its usage with other characters.)
They all end up badly and the whole episode is kinda pointless.
Of course there's episodes where that works (I'm aware they're recurrent in the manga too), I'm not hating on the formula, I'm hating on the amount of episodes that keep adopting it.
Why? Because when characters with a minimum of depth get reduced to their trope the show's essence gets lost. There's a superficial part of Doraemon that everybody knows and likes, but the part that makes people stay is the one where characters show depth in their actions and relationships. For example, Suneo isn't loved because he's rich and mean, he's loved because he's witty, funny and relatable.
It's the same thing with the others, and of course, with Gian. I'll try to keep it objective now, despite my tremendous bias— Gian, besides being a bully and a brute, is a friend. There's some inconsistency in his writing, but he is shown to be the one who cares the most for his friends in dangerous situations.
He's also a child, something people seem to often forget. Child of a mother who beats him up everytime she can (which in the show is often presented as something humorous), and essentially lower-class to the point he has to work for his family's business as a 10yo. However bad his situation at home might seem, he still works hard and understands that his mother can't do it alone. He's not only a hardworking son, but also a caring brother to Jaiko.
I think what makes him so endearing is his stupidity, combined with his determination and sunlit energy. He's a brute with a big heart, deep down, and that is often addressed in canon for a reason. Yes, he's a bad nut, but so is Nobita if you stop to think about it, and he's the fandom's favourite so why can't Gian get a little love too?
I will ALWAYS cherish the early series' (1973) Gian the most because he was straight up adorable in every ep, no matter what evil thing he did. Unlike now, now they are very selective with what "version" of Gian they use in each episode.
If I were to tally accurately what versions of Gian they've been using the most (based on what I've watched) I think the results would look something like this:
It's this stupid separation of his sole personality what bothers me the most. Rather than individual traits of the character's personality, they make it seem like he's 3 different people.
I've come to the conclusion that the reason for this change comes from a need to make Nobita more likeable, counter to making Gian more dislikeable, if that makes sense.
There's episodes where he's well written and I'm not entirely upset with all of it (unrelated, but I love Shizuka in this ver.), but I wish they'd keep more of the Gian we know and love from older versions...
just dillydallying n stuff.....
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