Shizuka: Let's play a game! Two truths and one lie.
Nobita: I'll go first. I’m wearing a yellow shirt, I got a perfect score on math once, and I was also once trapped on a deserted island alone for 10 years and I would have never escaped if Doraemon didn’t come and save me!
Jaian: I think it's got to be more challenging than that
Just like you - Cap. 1 (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/Ti02lKtujR Cosa significa "essere se stessi"? Da bambino non me ne preoccupavo. Se qualcosa mi infastidiva, mi arrabbiavo. Se qualcosa mi piaceva, lo dicevo. Ma tutti noi cambiamo nel tempo. Così come le cose che vogliamo proteggere... (Nobita x Shizuka)
I just got back from watching the new Doraemon movie and I have… some very mixed feelings about it all
My spoiler free review:
I would say that in my opinion Nobita and the Undersea Devil is a movie that sets out to achieve some very ambitious goals and unfortunately misses the mark despite having the building blocks to be great
It tries to be too much in one movie and because of that every element suffers and ends up falling flat
My full review:
(I recommend that if you haven’t seen it you should go check it out and come up with your own opinions before commenting back here)
What I liked:
My god these kids are so stinkin cute I’m going to cry
This movie spends a lot of its effort into making the gang into a friend group that actually likes each other
They are so affectionate with each other that the emotional scenes land harder as well
The animation and art are superb as always
The design of the sea people and their society is also very clever combining both aspects of coral and deep see creatures together
a few scenes are very well executed with the acting, lighting, and sound design coming together beautifully to express the tension of the scenes
this movie is also surprisingly not afraid of getting super dark; like we genuinely assume that Jaian and Suneo actually died and the threat of literal execution is treated with the gravity it deserves
the theme the story tries to tackle is also very unique, the clash between what is “logical” and what is “right” that drives the characters to change is one I’m not sure Doraemon has tackled before
Also I’m happy that this movie had the guts to give Shizuka a more expressions even the quote on quote ugly ones
Shizuka rarely gets the chance to express her emotions as sharply as the boys do so I like that she gets to actually cry, and be expressive and take initiative in this movie
Things I didn’t like:
the pacing of many parts felt very rushed, many of the aspects of the story would have benefited from having more time to marinate and develop like Eru’s development, Buggy’s past, and the conflict as a whole
The overall jankiness of the story makes its good moments less powerful -for example to make the ruler of Mu bow before a person is a powerful symbol that could convey the power of change but because they made him do it twice and so easily that action just lost its impact on me
There is also a lot of tonal dissonance in this movie, like the gag with the hammer while Suneo and Jaian were literally dying, and other incidents like it make the mood of the story confusing in some ways
the story also included a lot of detail that I feel were underutilized or just unnecessary
For example I feel like the “machine that scans your brain and decides if you are evil or not and throws you in prison no matter how actually guilty you are” would have worked so well as a metaphor for a prejudiced society that judges people based on appearance so I’m pretty bummed that that plot point never gets expanded on
Additional I feel the environmental message of the movie is a bit sloppy tacked on, almost like an afterthought, along side the human/sea people conflict
In my mind either the movie should have cut that part out for the sake of streamlining the plot or they should have weaved it in better into how humans harm the world to show why the sea people might harbor so much mistrust of humans
The plot itself also has weird plot holes everywhere, it almost feels like the writers had to cut down on scenes for one reason or another and that caused the story to be a lot more disjointed
The ship and money never gets explained, why the nuclear weapons were only disabled now of all times, the weird fabric thing that fell out of Nobita’s shirt when he got shot doing absolutely nothing, etc…
also while I love the gang to death Nobita and Doraemon were frustratingly stupid this time around
I feel like the confrontation with Poseidon could have been done so much better because why did they just try to shoot it???? Twice????
Also how in the hell did Buggy actually destroy the ai core, it jus seemed weirdly fast and instantaneous to me
Overall this movie was pretty decent to me in that it’s a pretty fun watch but still I’m deeply frustrated by what it could have been
If I could re-write this movie I would keep a lot of the same core aspects just expanded different
I would change a few details like maybe the rulers of Mu have been using their mind scanning tech to imprison those who could potentially pose a threat to the safety of society even if they haven’t done anything wrong in an effort to protect themselves and their citizens.
Maybe I’ll throw in some jokes about how Buggy is a cheaper model because it has no safety precautions and can self destruct. And expand on why Buggy doesn’t act when things go wrong because that is the “logical protocol” is complacency. And expand on the moment Buggy spends with the Gang.
Along side it I would make Eru and Buggy spend time together as well as parallels in a sort of way due to how they are breaking free of them systems of what is “logical” compared to what is “right”. Because in the og movie it seemed pretty out of place to me for Eru to talk about Buggy’s sacrifice when they barely interacted with each other.
And instead of the rulers of Mu just immediately agreeing to go with Eru’s plan they dismiss him, saying “it’s too risky” or “we shouldn’t trust humans” and “our technology has proven to us that humans are untrustworthy”
Because of that Eru has defy orders and break the gang out himself because he knows complacency will get them all killed and he knows now that the gang are good people who do not conform to what society dictates as “evil” and he shouldn’t either
Now there’s three groups going against each other. The Poseidon Ai trying to destroy the world, the government trying to find and dismantle the formerly dormant nukes hidden all over the region even though it’s a futile task, and the Gang and Eru trying to stop the problem at its roots.
Now this creates a parallel between Mu and Poseidon, both being parties stuck in their own ways, believing themselves to be right, and trying to maintain that image even if it means destroying everything around them. The key difference is why they would do something like that and how willing they are to change for the better.
While Poseidon can’t face the truth right in front of its face, willing to destroy the world for no reason other that spite and following its literal coding with no deviation, Mu has people to protect, their hearts -however misguided- can be changed for the better if they make the choice to accept change. Change that comes in the form of the Gang when Mu finally decides to help them by drawing away the enemy forces and listening to Eru.
The final confrontation happens differently (I don’t know how because I am very bad at fight choreography but it has to different, Doraemon and Nobita cannot be this idiotic for the love of all that’s good) but what remains the same is that when all hope seems lost Buggy sacrifices itself illogical to save those who it calls friends, using its foreshadowed self destruct feature to destroy Poseidon. Once again reaffirming that doing what is right is sometimes not doing what is logical.
When Poseidon is destroyed and the Gang returns to Mu is when the rulers finally bow before them and thank them for their sacrifice and speaks their hope for a better future between sea-people and humans. Where everyone is commemorated by Eru during his speech for helping him see the truth and pushing him to change, all 6 of them including Buggy.
Or something like that. Feel free to add your own thoughts :DDD
More future Gang headcannons but they’re trauma flavored because there is no way these kids are totally okay after all that
and I cannot shut up about these dorks even if I tried
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Nobita talks to himself.
Not muttering or thinking aloud, but like genuinely having a conversation with himself, plants, inanimate objects, or even thin air.
He doesn’t do it often and he doesn’t do it when he’s with other people. But if he gets left alone for too long or he feels stressed about something that he feels no one else can help with he will talk to himself.
This originates from his fear and memories of being alone or being lost, which is translated into an anxiety around long periods of silence.
Pretending to have a conversation basically tricks his brain into being hopeful that someone else is there with him. The same effect applies to a lesser extent when listening to music, but only the songs with lyrics. And he can’t listen to same song on repeat too many times or it will eventually become background noise and ineffective.
He’s not conscious of the why of his behavior but if you ask him he’ll just tell you it helps him think and he does get embarrassed if people catch him doing it
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Shizuka avoids being in the same confined space or standing too close to strangers and whenever she enters a room she will instinctively look for all the nearest exits.
She’s also awkward around physical contact she did not initiate or from people she doesn’t trust. She’s especially not keen when people put their hands on her shoulders or close to her head.
It manifests as a mental itching sensation around the touched area and especially her throat or wrist. Which is why she has the habit of rubbing her neck or arms when talking to new people. And whenever she talks to clients for work she often chooses public places like cafes during the day or places she knows well.
In general she avoids situations where she has to alone with a person she doesn’t know or trust.
This stems from the numerous times she’s been held captive or been threatened by another person. She’s very aware that’s she’s doing this and tries to minimize it as much as possible because despite her discomfort. She does want to seek professional help eventually, but she doesn’t have the time or resources to do so yet.
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Suneo overexplains himself a lot when he’s anxious and he has a tendency to lie more when he does.
It’s almost uncontrollable and the lies he tells often cause more problems for him than not. It happens a lot when he's talking to someone intimidating or to people he feels uncomfortable around, especially when they start to question him on something. It doesn't matter how insignificant the question was, or how completely sure he knows the answer, he will still panic.
He panics the most when the topic questions his validity or competency.
He often has to go through conversations multiple times beforehand and all the scenarios that can happen to make sure he doesn't veer off into unscripted territory. When that method fails and he ends up lying to a person he keeps a notebook on him to keep the story straight and try to stop the situation from getting worse.
Like the rest of the gang, he is anxious about his ability to keep himself and others safe after everything they've went through, this manifest as an instinctual over reliance on his speech when he feels he has no other option. He is very much aware of this behavior and tries (unsuccessfully) to stifle it the best he can, but he blames it more on himself than outside factors.
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Jaian exercises to a worrying extent.
If he can't think or feels overwhelmed or feels any other sort of unwanted emotions his instinct is to exercise until he feels better or just exhausted enough to take his mind off it. During these bouts he often forgets to take care of himself or even make sure he's not straining himself in the long term.
His go to is weightlifting, but if that is not available, he'll settle for anything else that has a rhythm like jogging or swinging a bat over and over. If he can't exercise at all he will fidget, taping his foot or fingers in that same rhythm.
In a way the mindless task and strain on the body keeps his restless limbs preoccupied and keeps him not having to think. But because of that he sometimes loses touch with the outside world when he exercises, and it can take several calls for him to respond.
He shares the same anxiety, he is worried about his ability to protect himself and especially the people around him, which results in a feeling of helplessness even when there's no actual threat. All that restless energy is redirected into physical training instead.
He is aware of his want to be stronger, he just doesn't understand why.
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Doraemon has to check in on everyone at least twice a week and he always verges on overbearing whenever he does.
Unlike the others this habit only manifested itself fully once everyone left for university and they no longer had the chance to see each other every day. He always calls on a schedule and askes generally the same questions about their well beings every time out of necessity because he will still feel anxious otherwise.
Even if he's tired or stressed or just plain forgot about someone because he's so busy there will always be some part of him that feels uncomfortable until he hears or sees from them again. Then the cycle will start again with Doraemon becoming more and more anxious before he calls again.
He prefers to see their face at the very least whenever he calls and he visits as often as he can. If there is something wrong with them when he calls he has the tendency to drop everything to go to them.
He is aware that he is overthinking it and he can be overbearing when he does this so he tries to limit himself the best he can. He feels like he has it under control most of the time, mostly just to avoid going to the doctor.
You know what I think is critically underutilised in Doraemon?
The dynamics between Shizuka & Jaian and Shizuka & Suneo
Like if you had to you could easily sum up the relationships between the rest of the gang in just a few words and people would get why it’s an interesting dynamic instantly
Like ideally some of them could be:
Nobita & Doraemon: Bickering brothers who still care deeply for each other
Shizuka & Nobita: Young crushes/Shizuka and her very dumb friend
Jaian & Suneo: The supervillain and their devious right hand man
Nobita & Jaian: Mario and Bowser invite each other to go play tennis
Etc, etc…
But I feel it’s much harder to pin point the relationship between Shizuka and the other two and that’s a shame because they could be so good
Like Jaian and Shizuka have some obvious parallels: one is a horrible cook the other is a great one, one is mean the other is nice, one is not so academically gifted and the other is the star student
But they are also similar in many ways: they are both passionate in a craft they are bad at, they can both be mischievous and mean, and they can also both be vain about their appearances
It gives off the vibes of a “blue oni, red oni” type of dynamic where at a first glance they could not be any more different but if you look just a bit deeper they are actually kinda alike in a way
Suneo and Shizuka share that they’re the “smart” ones of the group compared to the others albeit in different ways, they both have slightly overbearing mothers who have high standards for them and put them through extra classes that they would gladly take the chance to escape from, and they are both very conscious of their appearance physically and socially
So they are kind of like two people on the same boat, who might sympathise with each other more than someone not in the know would but also butt heads in how those traits manifest
