One foot in fantasy, one foot in reality
Fujiko F. Fujio has depicted fantastical worlds in many of his works, including "Doraemon." He described his science fiction as "slightly mysterious" rather than "science fiction." These are not grand-scale dramas that deal with distant universes or rigorous science, but stories in which everyday life and mysterious phenomena coexist, with one foot in fantasy and the other in reality.
In "Nobita's Space Adventure," turning over a tatami mat leads to a door to a vehicle on a faraway planet. Fujiko has created such "slightly mysterious" worlds, where entrances to other dimensions exist in ordinary places.
Why did he consider science fiction to be "a little mysterious"? The answer lies in Fujiko's relationship with science fiction. Ever since his childhood, when science fiction was still called science fiction, Fujiko has been fascinated by science fiction works from Japan and abroad. He was a sci-fi fanatic who read "S-F Magazine" from its first issue.
Naturally, the influence of science fiction seeped into the children's manga he began drawing as a creator, with stories featuring non-human creatures, robots, and people with special abilities, such as "Obake no Q-taro" (co-authored), "Perman," and "Doraemon."
As he entered the 1970s, he published many works that would later be categorized as science fiction short stories, and came to be known as a "science fiction manga artist." On the inside cover of "The Lonely Space War," the first volume of the 1983 "Fujiko Fujio Children's Science Fiction Short Story Collection," which compiled these works, he wrote, "The two letters 'SF' mean a SUKOSHI FUSHIGI story." At the time, hard science fiction based on scientifically rigorous plots was the major trend.
However, for Fujiko, SF was the mysterious stories he felt from the science fiction novels he had encountered in his childhood, "unusual stories that deviated from the everyday" (from "In lieu of an afterword" in Volume 1 of "Fujiko F. Fujio SF Short Story Complete Works"). "A little mysterious" must have been an expression that accurately expressed Fujiko's sensibilities.
For Fujiko, not only were science fiction writers such as Ray Bradbury, Robert Sheckley, and Fredric Brown who influenced him, but also fables such as "Journey to the West" and "Arabian Nights" were mysterious stories created based on outlandish ideas. The concept of "slightly mysterious" encompassed everything from Chinese classics and Middle Eastern folk tales to modern science fiction novels and even his own work, which was influenced by them.
Strange things and happenings exist side by side with everyday life
The first characteristic of "slightly mysterious" is that "strange beings exist in everyday life." From "Doraemon," which features a robot from the future, to the alien creatures in "Chimpui," Superman in "Perman," and ghosts in "Obake no Q-taro," each of these characters is acknowledged as having a presence in the society and community in which they live.
There are strange beings in everyday life
The strange characters that have become synonymous with Fujiko F. Fujio were established with "Obake no Q-taro" (co-authored), while "Perman" brought superheroes, "Doraemon" brought futuristic robots, and "Chimpui" brought extraterrestrial creatures into everyday life.
From "The Complete Works of Fujiko F. Fujio: Doraemon 13."
From "The Complete Works of Fujiko F. Fujio: Chimpui 2."
"Esper Mami" also has a protagonist named Mami, an ordinary middle school girl who suddenly becomes an esper one day. The contrast between a person with supernatural powers who helps people while also devoting herself to friendships and part-time jobs loosens the reader's mind and makes the mysterious beings feel closer to them, and somehow more real.
A notable feature of his sci-fi short stories, which he has published in magazines for young people, is the shift in values and perspectives. By incorporating a single sci-fi element into an everyday setting, he completely transforms the mundane scenery, as in "Self-Conference," where "selves" from different generations gather, or "Genesis Diary," in which the protagonist suddenly becomes the creator of the world.
Changes in values and perspectives
Fujiko's magic is transforming ordinary scenes by changing the perspective. In his sci-fi short story "Genesis Diary," he portrays a young man as the creator of the universe to show the preciousness of life, while in "Self-Conference," he depicts the strangeness of one's own existence by having multiple versions of oneself confront each other.
From "Genesis Diary" in "Fujiko F. Fujio SF Short Stories Complete Works 10."
From "Fujiko F. Fujio SF Short Story Complete Works 1" "Self-Conference"
A paradigm shift in values occurs within a short story, leaving a profound impression after reading. In "Nobita and the Dragon Knight," the secret gadget used by Doraemon in the beginning takes on historical significance in the second half, shaking up the reader's perspective.
Another point that cannot be overlooked is that it transcends time and space. Many readers may have learned about time travel, which allows them to travel to the future or the past, and time paradoxes, where changing the past affects the future, from Fujiko's works at a young age.
Jumping through time and space
Time paradoxes are an extension of everyday life. Fujiko, who was also a history buff, fully displayed his tastes in "T.P. Bon."
From "The Complete Works of Fujiko F. Fujio T.P. Bon 1."
The Kiteretsu Encyclopedia deals with the "circle of existence" of whether Eiichi or Kiteretsusai invented the time machine first.
From "Kiteretsu Encyclopedia 3".
The most familiar example would undoubtedly be "Doraemon," but in "Kiteretsu Encyclopedia," the protagonist Eiichi, in "Perman," the self-proclaimed genius scientist Madosai En, and in "New Obake no Q-taro" (co-authored), O-Jiro each have a story about creating a time machine.
"Mikio to Mikio," in which two identical boys living in the future and the past switch bodies, is a comedy that highlights the different common sense of different eras, while "T.P. Bon," as the title suggests, features a time patrol as the main character and unfolds a historical mystery that manipulates time. Both are centered around laughter and solving mysteries, and travelling through time and space is accepted as a matter of course.
Robots, aliens, superheroes, secret gadgets, parallel worlds, encounters that transcend time and space. Things that are far removed from our daily lives and common sense have become familiar presences thanks to Fujiko's works. Incorporating mysterious beings into the everyday, while at the same time making the mysterious a part of everyday life. Perhaps this is the power of being "a little mysterious."
The Fujiko F. Fujio World is still ongoing!
Fujiko's works have transcended time and remain familiar to us. Even now, "Doraemon Plus" and convenience store comics continue to be published. In 2005, the anime "Doraemon" underwent a major renewal, and the baton was passed on to the next generation of voice actors and staff, captivating children and adults alike every week.
The Kawasaki City Fujiko F. Fujio Museum, which opened in 2011, displays his precious original drawings and holds both permanent and special exhibitions. His magnificent artistic career can also be read in the Complete Works of Fujiko F. Fujio, which was completed in 2014. In 2023, his SF Short Stories was made into a TV drama, and this year, T.P. Bon has been remade into an anime on Netflix. The circle of "a little mystery" continues to expand.
Drama "Fujiko F. Fujio SF Short Drama"
©NHK
Anime "T.P. Bon"
"Fujiko F. Fujio 90th Anniversary Original Art Exhibition"
©Fujiko F. Fujio Museum, Kawasaki City
