Not to confuse with the character of the same name appeared in the Doraemon franchise.

Minotaur (ミノタウロス Minotaurosu) was an ancient, unnatural bovidae of unknown origin that dwelt the Labyrinth of Crete. He appeared as an antagonist in the 1979 episode The Dark Labyrinth of the Time Patrol Bon franchise.

Appearance

Minotaur was an unusual bovidae of unknown origin. While it generally resembles a normal cattle, albeit subtly larger than normally domesticated ones, it also possessed characteristic dark and thick furs all over its body; its furs are somewhat reminiscent of bison and yak and highland cattle. It also had menacingly glowing eyes and a pair of yak-like horns.

In the manga, it was subtly lighter in coloration than in the 2024 anime.

Personality

Minotaur is one of few animal antagonists aside from predatory wildlife in the franchise, however it is unusually depicted as an actual villain for some extents.

It is extremely violent, much worse than normal bovidae, and bloodthirsty to pursue targets and slaughter them on sight.

Somehow it collects skeletons of victims at the same location.

Skills and Abilities

It is capable of living in a dark, unstable, complicated, water-less, and plant-less (aside from dried moss) cave for many years.

Unlike normal herbivores, it is specifically fond of carnivorous diets (humans), thus it is an active predator despite its biological background.

It was an unusually powerful individual that it partially collapsed a rock cliff with its horns.

Relationships

Time Patrol

It is one of characters who had actively killed protagonists in the franchise. It is also the only antagonist to kill two protagonists together.

• In comparison, Nobita Nobi and Shizuka Minamoto were, rather ambiguously, killed by Odorome in Nobita and the Fantastic Three Musketeers.

King Minos

Under the reign of King Minos, Minotaur had been worshipped as a falsely admired deity, and was designated to slaughter and devour human victims.

This is contrasting to both Leviathan and Delb who were called "demons" while they were simply defending themselves. Leviathan was saved, however Delb was eventually hunted.

Trivia

• Its design and man-eating diet were based on Zun, a race of bovine aliens from Minotaur's Plate, a renowned one shot manga by Fujiko F. Fujio in 1969 which was later animated in 1990.
• It is one of few exceptional characters in the franchise to possess mysterious, unnatural (unrealistic) aspects.
• Minotaur's temper and carnivorous diet might have caused by constant hunger and loneliness and mental disorders from spending years within the Labyrinth which is not a suitable habitat for bovidae and lacks major vegetations and water to rely on.
  • Minotaur might have also been a victim of humanity to be artificially confined in an unpleasant habitat.
• Minotaur will make an appearance in the special episode of Doraemon episode entitled Nobita and the Greek Cake Legend on September 07, 2024.^[1]
  • Minotaur also appears in the 2025 movie Doraemon: Nobita's Art World Tales, which made as a references to the Time Patrol Bon franchise, such as introduction of Time Boat and interferences of Time Patrol into historic events.^[2]

External Links

• Minotaur on Wikipedia

References