Shizuka Minamoto

Shizuka Minamoto (English dub: Sue Morris), nicknamed Shizuka-chan (しずかちゃん) is a smart, kind and pretty girl. The word 'Shizuka (しずか)' means 'Quiet'. She is Nobita's best friend and he has a crush on her. She does not shun Nobita due to his failing grades, lazy disposition or constant failures. In fact, she often tries to encourage him to do better, though she usually fails to convince him. Shizuka likes to take a bath several times a day; however, a running gag in the series is that she is sometimes interrupted by sudden appearance of Nobita, Gian, or Suneo, usually due to misuse of Doraemon's gadgets like the Anywhere Door (Doko Demo Doa in Japanese) (the scene ends with Shizuka shouting, "Go away!" to them). Her true passions are sweet potatoes, which she would rather keep to herself out of the knowledge of others, and the violin, in which her playing is even more horrendous than Gian's singing. She is also known for taking piano lessons unwillingly due to her mother's wishes (as she loves violin more), which is sometimes a reason for declining to hang out with friends (but she plays piano better than violin). Shizuka is an animal lover and keeps two pets at home: a dog, who is saved from succumbing to illness by Nobita and Doraemon in one story; and a canary which runs away on multiple occasions and causing Shizuka and Nobita to run around the city chasing her down. Due to Nobita's heartiest effort and Doraemon's assistance, Shizuka marries Nobita in the future. At present, she does not have any particular crush (but Shizuka secretly likes Nobita very much). Sometimes she fancies some handsome idols on TV. Besides Nobita, Shizuka is also close to her classmate and popular student Dekisugi which makes Nobita jealous. Though they consider each other only as friends, Nobita often tries to prevent them from going together.