STAND BY ME Doraemon (Blu-ray) (Normal Edition)(Japan Version) Blu-ray Region A

Thanks to Yamazaki Takashi and Yagi Ryuichi (Friends – Naki on the Monster Island), that standalone film finally exists. Produced for the 80th anniversary of the birth of original authors Fujiko F. Fuijo, Stand By Me Doraemon attempts to fit the story of an ordinary kid named Nobita and his robotic cat protector from the future into a 90-minute film.

Stitching together seven episodes from the original manga, Stand By Me Doraemon starts from the very beginning. A coward who is lazy and not very intelligent, Nobita leaves such a devastating effect on his family that his great-great grandson has decided to send a robotic cat named Doraemon to the past to make sure Nobita finds happiness before it’s too late. Forced to stay in the present until his mission is complete, Doraemon uses his fantastic gadgets to help Nobita in life.

With that mission as the ultimate goal, Yamazaki and Yagi build a story around Nobita’s love for girl-next-door Shizuka, adapting the episodes about their relationship and how they come to get married in the future. At the same time, fans will also get their look at their favorite Doraemon gadgets in a montage of the gang’s various adventures.

However, the film still doesn’t solve several of the logic issues that come with trying to tell Doraemon’s story as one film. For one, how do all the human characters (except for Nobita) come to accept the existence of a futuristic robotic cat from the future in their lives? Such a plot hole isn’t an issue in an episodic series, but it becomes too big of a plot hole to ignore in a feature film.

Nevertheless, hardly any Doraemon fan will be able to resist tearing up in the third act of the film, when Doraemon faces having to leave Nobita behind. The tears don’t only come from the story itself, but from all the memories that Doraemon has left for its fans over the years. Stand By Me may be suitable for all ages, but it is more emotionally effective for adults who remember Doraemon as an icon of their childhood. To say goodbye to Nobita and Doraemon in the film is saying goodbye to the past.

While the ending retreats to safety by leaving room for more Stand By Me adventures to come, the film is a way for adult fans to accept the fact that the only true Doraemon adventures that exist now are the ones that live in their hearts and their memories. In that sense, Stand By Me Doraemon isn’t only one of the best Doraemon film adaptations to date, but one of the most satisfying filmgoing experiences of the year.