Doraemon | -1979-

“I’ll never be good enough,” he muffles. “Not for school. Not for Gian’s baseball games. Not even for Shizuka.”

They float out the window together, the bamboo-copter whirring a gentle rhythm. Below, the city becomes a grid of gold and shadow. Nobita’s tears dry in the breeze. He laughs—a small, rusty sound. Doraemon -1979-

Doraemon doesn’t answer right away. He looks at the boy—the boy who is lazy, clumsy, weak-willed, and heartbreakingly kind. The boy who will grow up to marry Shizuka, but only if he learns to stand up first. The boy who is his great-great-grand-uncle’s only hope. “I’ll never be good enough,” he muffles

“Hmm?”

“Doraemon?”

The drawer slides open.