Everyone knows that Nobita and Shizuka are meant for each other, destined for a happy ending in the future. However, in Doraemon, Shizuka is not the first crush that Nobita experiences, and at times she even makes him nervous.
To understand Nobita’s first crush, we have to go back to the time when he was still in elementary school. This character was introduced through the episode titled “The Girl Who Wore Shoes” where she is known as Non (or affectionately referred to as Non-chan) – Nobita’s elementary school classmate. The two were often seen playing together, just like a pair of lovebirds.
Their closeness often caused jealousy from Jaian and Suneo. This situation made Nobita feel quite frustrated, leading him to take actions that would later spark many hilarious events. To avoid being caught in a love triangle, Nobita secretly took Non’s shoes that she often wore. Because of losing her shoes, Non became very sad and rarely played afterward. Eventually, when Nobita wanted to apologize to Non, she had already moved away.
In this episode, Nobita had already met Doraemon. To fix his past mistakes, Nobita used a time machine to go back to his elementary school days, transforming himself back into a child and directly apologizing to Non before she moved away. After Nobita apologized, Non was very happy and decided to give him her remaining pair of shoes as a parting gift before their separation.
To this day, Non remains Nobita’s first love in his life, even before Shizuka. Although she only appears in one episode, her character still resonates with the audience, evoking fond memories. In terms of character design, Non is based on Miyoko Nonohana from the manga series Kiteretsu Daihyakka by the author Fujiko F. Fujio.
Image: TV Asahi
