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“What Doraemon, The Earless Blue Robot Cat From The 22nd Century, Can Teach Us About How Japan’S Elderly And Their Human Caregivers Might Live With Emotional Care Robots.”, Robert C. Marshall

Anthropology Faculty and Staff Publications

Structural analysis of the phenomenally popular and enduring Japanese anime Doraemon helps us think about what we might hope to see in the not too distant future from Japan’s promised surge in development of socially assistive robots (SARs) designed for the care of the elderly. Doraemon, the earless blue robot cat from the 22nd century, is assigned the conjoined tasks of caring for the 10-year-old boy Nobi Nobita as his constant companion, which he does by reproducing the ideal caregiving characteristic of Japanese expectations for mothers, endlessly affectionate indulgence; and of improving Nobita’s character, at which he is unsuccessful because …