The robotic cat from 22^nd century Japan has landed the shores of China following the three-year ban on Japanese movie imports. Over the weekend, "Stand by Me Doraemon" has garnered a whopping RMB 239 million ($38.5 million) since its showing on Thursday. Doraemon's charm, which has spanned generations of anime lovers, has touched the hearts of millions of Chinese viewers.

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The CGI-animated film is the first movie from Japan permitted to be shown in the Mainland since the blockade in 2012. According to Asia One, the last Japanese movie released in the country was an "Ultraman" movie. Volatile relations between China and Japan over the disputed Senkaku Island in Okinawa Prefecture and the World War II atrocities prompted the prohibition, reported Entgroup.

In a report published on Forbes, "Doraemon" was able to break the opening day achievement of "Kung Fu Panda 2" and "How to Train Your Dragon 2," as top-grossing animated films of all time. The article also noted that Doraemon may well be on its way to taking a header against the four-year $92.6 million record of "Kung Fu Panda 2" for animated features in Mainland China.

Talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during two summits since November last year have reportedly paved the way for the film's local distribution. According to Entgroup, it was during a recent speech in Beijing that Xi emphasized the importance of maintaining a healthy cultural exchange between the two countries. In attendance were 3,000 Japanese, including Japan's Liberal Democratic Party general council head Toshihiro Nikai.

However, the government still imposes a limit on the number of foreign films to be released within a year. In September 2014, one local newspaper even called on citizens to boycott "Doraemon" and tagged the "chubby cat" a "tool for cultural invasion."

Still, fans were unswayed and trooped to theaters on the first day of screening. A 28-year-old female office worker proudly said that she took two hours off her work just to see the movie. "I was so thrilled . . . I've loved [Doraemon] since I was a kid," she told Asia One.

Originally created as a manga series in 1969, Doraemon is now a household name among countries, including China. Movie rating site Douban gave the animated film an 8.6 rating, which is equivalent to 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

TagsDoreamon China, anime, stand by me doraemon