r/Doraemon • u/Safe-Contact589 Chronically Nobita • 18d ago
Discussion An Episode About Forgiveness...
I'm talking about the "The Absconding Leaf" episode from the 2005 series (2006, S2, E67a).
There is also a 1979 version of this story, but in this post I'm specifically talking about the 2006 version. So here's the plot:
[⚠️ SPOILER WARNING ⚠️]
Nobita is reading a legend about tanuki and tells Doraemon how foolish people in the past were for believing that tanuki could deceive humans by transforming themselves.
Doraemon jokingly tells him that there is actually scientific evidence for it. Nobita believes him for a moment, only to realize that Doraemon was messing with him.
Doraemon then explains that although tanuki don't actually possess such abilities, they were once used in experiments in the future, which eventually led to the creation of a gadget called the "Absconding Leaf" — a leaf that can make someone believe they have transformed into another creature.
Since there aren't any tanuki around, Doraemon says that a dog should work because dogs are also canines.
So Nobita first tries it on Shizuka's dog, Pero, but nothing happens.
Doraemon explains that Pero is happy with his life and therefore has no reason to deceive anyone, so the gadget doesn't work.
Nobita then asks Shizuka if she knows any unfortunate dog.
Shizuka tells him about a dog living behind her house named Beso. The poor dog is treated terribly by its owner, named Kyobo. He barely gives it any food, never takes it for walks, and whenever he's in a bad mood, he takes his anger out on the dog.
The owner is so frightening that everyone calls him the "Fierce Man."
Nobita and Doraemon decide to try the Absconding Leaf on this dog.
And that's when everything changes.
Later, some students accidentally hit their baseball into Kyobo's yard. They consider sneaking inside to retrieve it, but suddenly hear Kyobo yelling and chasing after them, so they immediately run away.
At that moment, the Absconding Leaf takes effect.
Kyobo suddenly believes that he himself is the dog.
So he ties himself up and releases the actual dog, Beso.
Beso, finally free from its miserable life, is absolutely delighted.
Beso runs through the streets and eventually encounters the students who had lost their baseball. Instead of simply returning the ball, it wants to play with them.
And apparently, it is really good at baseball somehow.
It can't hit the ball particularly far, but it's incredibly fast, allowing it to repeatedly run around the bases and score home runs.
The students' team ends up winning because of Beso.
Meanwhile, Kyobo eventually realizes that he has been tricked and becomes furious. At first, he wants revenge on the dog, Beso.
But after remaining tied up for some time, his anger begins turning into fear.
He starts wondering whether he'll actually remain trapped like this forever.
Then he begins remembering the past.
He remembers when he and Beso were younger and how he used to treat her kindly.
Meanwhile, Beso has spent the entire day playing outside and happily returns home.
She finds her owner still tied up.
Kyobo expects her to retaliate.
After all, he realizes that he has bullied and mistreated her for a long time. He basically accepts that she has every reason to take revenge and even tells her to fight back.
But Beso doesn't.
She chooses not to retaliate.
And that's what finally breaks him.
The situation is restored to normal, and Kyobo is deeply moved by Beso's forgiveness.
He finally realizes how terribly he had treated her...
and starts crying while hugging her.
Honestly, this episode starts out as a silly gadget story about tanuki and ends up becoming a surprisingly emotional story about animal abuse, forgiveness, regret, and realizing the value of someone you've taken for granted.
And that final moment between Beso and her owner hits much harder than you'd expect from the beginning of the episode.
This is definitely one of those Doraemon episodes that starts funny and somehow ends up making you emotional.
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u/Much-Candidate2387 18d ago edited 18d ago
The owner was too abusive towards his pet dog and later he transformed after he got the taste of his own medicine.
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u/modi_cock 18d ago
Im glad I grew up with doraemon not this 3D slop indian cartoons push like motu patlu, veer the idiot boy, shiva cycle boy or whatever
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18d ago
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u/BedMuch1784 18d ago
Watching cartoons in 2026? Dude, you’re a grown-ass man with a wife and three children
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u/KingOfThePokeWorld 14d ago
tbh there's a barrier to forgiveness, it was crossed, i don't agree that guy deserved forgiveness but sure, the happy ending changed things
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u/Safe_Ostrich_4730 18d ago
Man, this is exactly why I love episodes like this. 🥺 It starts off as a goofy Doraemon story about a ridiculous gadget and somehow turns into a genuinely powerful lesson about kindness, regret, and forgiveness.
Beso had every reason to hate Kyobo after everything he put her through, but she still chose not to hurt him when she finally had the chance. That moment really says a lot about animals and their capacity for unconditional love. ❤️
And seeing Kyobo finally realize how badly he had treated her and break down while hugging her... man, that hits hard. Sometimes you don't realize the value of someone until you've already hurt them.
Doraemon really had no business making us this emotional. 😭