Takeshi Goda

What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine.

— Gian

Takeshi Gouda (Japanese Kanji: 剛田 武, born June 15), more commonly known by his nickname Gian (Japanese: ジャイアン, translation of the English term Giant), is one of the main characters in the Doraemon series. In the American and UK dub, he is known as Big G.

Gian is recognized by his large build (might partly be contributed by obesity), as well as his mean and violent behavior. He "rules" the neighborhood with force, often to the physical expense of other children, especially Nobita, who often resorts to asking Doraemon for gadgets to get even on him. In addition, he has a tendency to rob things from other children, usually Suneo, who offers himself to be Gian's sidekick in most occasions.

Despite his flaws, Gian is actually a good person inside and is always helps his friends and is loyal to them when they are in trouble. The official US Doraemon website states that deep inside, Gian is just a simple guy with a big heart.

In the 1973 anime, Gian is voiced by Kaneta Kimotsuki, In the 1979 anime, Gian is voiced by Kazuya Tatekabe, and in the 2005 anime, he is voiced by Subaru Kimura.

Gian's signature colour is orange and he is usually represented by the colour orange.

Appearance

Gian has black hair and tan skin. In the 1973 anime Gian had dot-like eyes and wore an orange T-shirt with navy blue trousers. In the 1979 anime, he wore an orange shirt with a yellow stripe, gray pants and blue shoes.

Personality

Gian is known for his overconfidence in his terrible singing voice, though he considers himself to be a great singer. But in some episodes when his voice is recorded and he hears it, he denies it being his voice and threatens to beat up the person who sung his songs terribly. He regularly subjects the neighborhood children to horrendous singing recitals, which is sometimes combined with his equally bad homemade dinner and his atrocious fashion sense. His favorite food is stuffed capsicum. He also frequently steals other children's toys and books under the pretext of "borrowing" them, unless the toy is damaged. This is why many fans considered Gian to be the antagonist of the series. However, he does not hesitate to help Nobita and his friends when they are in real trouble, which often occurs in the movies.

Several of the stories revolve around Nobita and his friends' efforts to avoid Gian's concerts, and several chapters summarize his friends efforts to avoid visiting Gian's house on his birthday because of his selfish nature. After reflecting on one event about his birthday, Gian thought of himself why he wasn't popular among his peers. After getting a lecture from Doraemon to see what an unruly character he is, Gian realizes that he should have been a better person and he begs Doraemon to give him another chance. However, things didn't go exactly as planned when Suneo mocked him about how weird he was acting, and he got kicked by Suneo after attempting to become less malevolent towards his peers. This led him to lose control of his temper and start attacking his friends again.

Although he bullies the other children (mostly Nobita), he is terrified of his mother, who runs the local grocery store, tells him to deliver many goods, a fact Nobita and Doraemon sometimes use in their favor. He founded his own baseball team named after himself. Although Nobita is often blamed for the losses against the baseball team's rival, the "Tyranos", Gian still forces Nobita to play because they do not have enough players.

Gian is probably the most athletically talented among the kids, and he's also the captain of the local baseball team — The Giants. Because of the poor skills of some members like Suneo or, more significantly, Nobita, the team often found itself at the bottom of the league table. Defeats often lead to Gian's abuse of his teammates.

Another prominent hobby of Gian is singing, in which he thinks himself proficient, but actually very appalling, to the point that people often pass out upon hearing his singing. Nonetheless, he manages to "convince" the neighborhood to be his concert audience, and even force them into praising his singing. He often steals the comics of other children. Sometimes he steals Doraemon's gadgets from Nobita and misuses them.

Family

Gian's mother always remains angry with him.

Apart from his father and mother (whom he fears the most), Gian also has a younger sister called Jaiko. He is extremely protective of Jaiko, sometimes to her annoyance. Jaiko has an interest in writing comic books, so Gian helps her using Doraemon's gadgets, which makes her happy.

Relationships

Suneo Honekawa

Of course I'll let you see my homework! We're good friends, right?

— Suneo to Gian after Gian asked if he could see his homework

Gian and Suneo are shown to be really good friends, but occasionally Gian will beat him up and Suneo sometimes says that he dislikes Gian. In one episode Suneo commented that Gian thinks that Suneo and Nobita are objects to hit, not friends. That remark left Doraemon laughing but Nobita seemed to agree to that. But Gian is often seen with Suneo and they are actually really good friends together. Sometimes Gian comes to Suneo's house to study but ends up eating all his food.

Doraemon

Doraemon and Gian's relationship is good. Doraemon has helped Gian in numerous episodes and has felt sorry and cared for him in some movies and episodes. But Doraemon sometimes gets angry at Gian when he bullies too much.

Nobita Nobi

Nobita, I actually really want to be friends but I wouldn't admit it...

— Gian's true feelings about Nobita in Truthful Robot.

While typically a bully, their relationship is good as sometimes they gang up on Suneo, and (though slightly forceful) Nobita tries to help Gian if possible. Oftentimes he gets beaten up by Gian.

Gian beats or insults Nobita often, he even said: "If I don't bully Nobita a day, I can't eat and sleep any more." But in the episode Truthful Robot, both Nobita's robot and Gian's robot would rather be friends than enemies. Gian is usually the first one to support Nobita's decisions in the movies. They are also shown to be very close to each other, in the movie Nobita's South Sea Adventure, when Nobita falls into the sea Gian holds his hand and tells him not to let go also in some other episodes he helps Nobita, as in one episode, Nobita gets sick, and Gian helps him off the ground.

Shizuka Minamoto

Shizuka and Gian are friends, but Shizuka gets worried when Gian invites her to taste his food and his music concerts along with her other friends. Shizuka also doesn't like it when Gian bullies Nobita, but their relationship is good otherwise. Gian also listens to Shizuka to not bully people, but sometimes he doesn't listen. In one episode, he realized that Shizuka had used a gadget from Doraemon to try to make him stop bullying, even going as far to hit her, but she used the gadget to fling him up into a tree. Their relationship isn't too bad otherwise.