What Am I for Momotaro is a 1981 Doraemon short movie, released theatrically as a double-bill with 21 Emon.
Nobita is in the middle of summer break when he, with the rest of the gang, comes across a Dutch scholar seeking the true backstory of an ancestral photograph his family has been keeping for the past 600 years, with the trails leading the Dutchman into Tokyo. A photo depicting the main characters of the Japanese legend, Momotarō, in a weird, mid-jumping pose, for some reason... and out of curiosity, Nobita and Doraemon - alongside Gian, Suneo and Shizuka - decide to leap into the Time Machine in Nobita's bedroom, travel to feudal Japan, and find out if the Momotaro myth is fact or fiction.
This short was notably adapted from the manga story, "I'm the Momotaro", originally a crossover with the obscure Fujiko Fujio comic, Bakeru-kun. Due to the latter's lack of popularity note , when adapted into an OVA it becomes a Doraemon-centric episode.
A level of Doraemon 2: SOS! Otogi no Kuni is based on this OVA, where Nobita gets to reprise his role as Momotaro.
See also Doraemon: The Record of Nobita's Parallel Visit to the West, a similar entry in the same franchise, with the gang time-traveling into the past to discover the truth behind another work of Asian literature.
What Am I for Momotaro contain examples of:
- Adaptation Distillation: In the original manga story "I'm the Momotaro", the Time Machine suffers a malfunction when arriving in feudal Japan, which Doraemon attempts hiding from the others until late into the story, but then they discovered Doraemon's time-traveling probe (sent into the past earlier on) and grabs hold to it in order to return. The OVA have the time machine undamaged all the way, after uncovering the truth behind the Oni and Momotaro the gang just returns home in a perfectly functioning time machine.
- Adapted Out: "I'm the Momotaro", which this OVA is based upon is a Crossover featuring Bakeru-kun with Bakeru finding the cryptic photo of Momotaro from the Dutchman and saying "he knows someone who can help", that someone being Doraemon. The OVA instead is entirely Doraemon-centric, with Gian, Suneo and Shizuka filling in the original roles fulfilled by Bakeru-kun and friends.
- Adaptational Skimpiness: Non-fanservice variety - in the manga short the OVA was based upon, Nobita emerged from the Peach Submarine fully clothed, but here Nobita (being a klutz as usual) unintentionally falls in water while boarding the vessel, and while he's inside, attempts to dry himself by removing his clothes. When the peach submarine crashes and Nobita's get picked up by the elderly couple, he's nude.
- Animorphism: Doraemon's Animal Transformation Biscuits (from the third manga story, "Transforming Biscuit") shows up in this adventure when the gang arrives in the past and realize they forgot to bring food along. Doraemon tries searching through his Fourth Dimensional Pocket for food, finds the Transformation Biscuits, and a hungry Suneo takes a bite before Doraemon could warn him. Cue Suneo spending the rest of the day as a dog. Later when the gang tries escaping from the village, Suneo, Gian and Shizuka each took the biscuits to disguise as animals, respectively a dog, ape and pheasant, and when the trio rendezvous with Nobita-as-Momotaro it turns out they're the animal companions from the original myths.
- Been There, Shaped History: The gang's Time Traveling adventures into feudal Japan to investigate the Momotaro myth unintentionally becomes the myth's inspiration, with Nobita as Momotaro and his friends as Momotaro's animals. Also the "Oni" is a Dutch sailor who's stranded in feudal Japan after a storm sinks his ship, and have to pretend to be a monster to protect himself from the superstitious village folks.
- Continuity Nod: When Shizuka, Suneo and Gian all clambers aboard the Time Machine in Nobita's desk, Nobita enquires if overloading the machine will cause it to malfunction. Doraemon replies he already upgraded the machine after the overloading incident from last time.
- Covers Always Lie: Despite what the above cover indicates, Nobita is the only character who gets to dress up as Momotaro in the entire story.
- Face Fault: An early scene delivers two in a row, from Nobita and Doraemon, when they're looking through the various time-period photos and comes across one resembling Momotaro and his gang.
- When Nobita recognizes Momotaro in the photo:
Nobita: That's... Momotaro!Doraemon: [sharp gasp] Really?... who's Momotaro? [cue Nobita face-faulting]- The following scene have Nobita explaining Momotaro's backstory to Doraemon, but he's not exactly good at it.
Nobita: [as Doraemon listens attentively] Momotaro is the story of a boy born of a peach and... there's a bear with an ax... and something about rice millets... and then, he's sitting in a boat and... actually, I have forgotten what the story's about. [face-fault redux from Doraemon] - Gag Nose: On the Dutch scholar, and the Dutch sailor posing as an oni. They're the only two foreigners in the OVA.
- Identical Grandson: The Dutch scholar encountered by the gang and the Dutch sailor posing as the feared Oni the superstitious villagers are afraid of after Doraemon and gang uncovered the truth behind the Momotaro legend. The former is a descendant of the latter.
- Inevitable Waterfall: The gang runs into river rapids while piloting Doraemon's Peach Submarines and inevitably goes down a waterfall. The Peach Submarine keeps them safe despite the steep fall, but the one Nobita was in gets separated from the others and subsequently fished up by an elderly couple mistaking the submarine to be a real, edible giant peach - thereby turning Nobita into Momotaro from the myth.
- Language Fluency Denial: When the gang meets the Dutch scholar for the first time, Gian asks Suneo, who took English tuition, to try communicating with the foreigner. It doesn't work, Doraemon resolves the issue by giving the Dutchman a piece of Translation Jelly instead.Suneo: No wonder he can't speak English!
- Morphic Resonance: The animal forms of Suneo, Gian and Shizuka (respectively a dog, ape and pheasant) resembles their human forms, mostly in their faces. Suneo as a dog notably have his iconic pointed mouth design, while Shizuka as a pheasant retains her ponytails, but as feathers.
- Oni: Subverted, the "oni" of Demon Island is actually a Dutch sailor whose ship crashed on the Japanese coast, and was mistaken as an oni-like beast due to his huge size (compared to the locals) and language issues. When it's clear that none of the villagers are willing to help, the Dutchman have to keep on pretending to be a demon for his own safety.
- Pit Trap: The villagers would dig pitfalls hidden with straws in their attempts to catch the Oni, one which Doraemon and gang accidentally falls through when they arrive in feudal Japan.
- "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: How the Dutch sailor keep intruders away from his cave home, masquerading as an Oni by faking giant footprints, painting his skin red and wearing a menacing-looking self-made demon mask to scare villagers near his domain.
- Torches and Pitchforks: Doraemon and friends gets chased by angry villagers armed with torches shortly after their arrival when they're mistaken for being allies of the Oni.
