Doraemon apparently first appeared in 1969 or 1970 (it ran as a manga series starting about 1974), with the infamous something wonderful pops out of the desk drawer story.
Since then, it has gone on to become one of Japan's most popular and well-loved manga series, and Doraemon is now perhaps one of the most recognized faces in all of Japan.
The comedy series is still continuing, though it suffers from the defection of one of the two original writers. From my own point of view, Books 1 through 30 are probably the classic Doraemon, and the stories seem to solidify and improve at around book 6 (before that, the drawing style is a little old-fashioned, and the plots are a little thin).
The first story explains the premise of the entire series. Nobi Nobita (Nobita being the first name), is a fourth-grade boy who wears glasses and lives in a subsection of Tokyo. One day, a strange being pops up in his desk drawer --- a round, blue cat-style robot (minus ears), who fails to introduce himself and instead eats Nobita's afternoon snack and then goes back into the drawer. The matter is eventually straightened out and explained.
Nobita's great-great-grandson (or something like that) lives in the 22nd Century --- except, thanks to Nobita's mistakes, the entire family is living in poverty. To rectify this, Nobita's descendent is sending his robot Doraemon (not a very high-quality robot) back to the past, to help prevent Nobita from making mistakes. Of course, this is a difficult task, since Nobita is the weakest and least intelligent child in his class. And initially, Doraemon isn't the smartest of robots, either. He does, however, have a 4-dimensional pocket on his front, which contains all manner of cool gadgets from the 22nd Century, and it is with these toys that Doraemon will try to save Nobita from a future of poverty and failure.
With this premise, Doraemon and Nobita go on to become (as I've said), one of Japan's most famous duos. Nobita, as class weakling and dunce, needs lots of rescuing, and Doraemon is obliged to give him the right gadget to fix his situation. Unfortunately, Nobita also has the bad habit of misusing the gadgets and landing himself in yet more trouble --- unless some of his school friends get their hands on the gadgets and get themselves into even worse trouble. This is usually the source of the series' comedic humor. However,
Doraemon has another, more serious side; starting around Book 8, the volumes begin to close with a story that is longer and more serious than the others. Often touched with a bit of educational science, moral teaching and a hint of conservationism, these stories usually involve Nobita and Doraemon and friends working together to solve a larger problem.
Nobita is one of the neighborhood's nicest and most sensitive children, and it is his desire to see justice done that drives the best Doraemon stories. And it is probably why Doraemon himself does not fling up his hands in defeat --- though surely it must be tempting, after so many hundreds of stories starting off with Nobita running home in tears, crying "Doraemon! Do something!"
Among some of Doraemon's most commonly produced gadgets are: the Wherever Door (you can walk through it to wherever you want to go), the air gun (a tube you slip over your finger; it produces a pulse of air to knock out your enemies), the What If phone box (allows user to enter a world in which some condition is changed "What If mirrors didn't exist?" (the name is a Japanese pun)), the personal copter (a little beanie that you stick on your head, which lets you fly), and the Gulliver Tunnel (lets you shrink). Another often used device is the time machine, which is, of course, located in Nobita's desk drawer. But aside from these frequently used devices, Doraemon always seems to have something new in his pocket. He has produced miniature spy satellites, car simulators, water-warding rope, portable holes, cardboard games that you step into to play, super food seasoning, a fashion "bug" (virus), time mirrors, ice construction sets, real-item encyclopedias, and everything else that could possibly make life a little more interesting. (Speaking of which, it's interesting to note that many Doraemon devices would be civil liberty and personal rights nightmares in the U.S.).
Of course, the gadget doesn't necessarily make the story. As far as plots go, Nobita is the protagonist, and usually makes the right decisions in really important matters.
In one story, Nobita's efforts to save a stray dog and cat eventually lead him try to save a whole group of stray animals (his mother is NOT pleased). In desperation, he and Doraemon are forced to send the animals back in time --- after increasing their intelligence and giving the animals a hamburger-making machine. Back in the present day, Nobita's friends find a newspaper article about a lost civilization that left behind miniature buildings --- large enough for maybe a dog or cat --- and even a statue of a godlike, winged creature whose face just happens to look like Nobita's.
https://www.mit.edu/people/rei/MANGA/Doraemon.html
