Dr. Slump

Dr. Slump
North American edition of Dr. Slump Volume 1, featuring Arale.
Genre	Comedy-drama science fiction
Manga
Written by	Akira Toriyama
Published by	Shueisha
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Jump
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	1980 – 1984
Volumes	18
Anime
Directed by	Minoru Okazaki, Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Studio	Toei Animation
Released	8 April 1981 – 19 February 1986
Anime
Directed by	Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Studio	Toei Animation
Released	26 November 1997 – 22 September 1999

Dr. Slump (Dr. (ドクター) スランプ, Dokutā Suranpu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. The title was serialized in Shueisha's anthology comic Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1980 to 1984, eventually compiled into 18 tankōbon. The series helped launched Toriyama's career and was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen and shōjo manga in 1982.

Dr. Slump is a gag manga, and bears little resemblance to Toriyama's following series Dragon Ball, though the early Dragon Ball manga chapters are much closer to Dr. Slump in its style and humour. The Dr. Slump manga has been licensed by Viz Media and is currently being published in graphic novel form. The English translation is done by Alexander O. Smith.

Anime

The Dr. Slump manga was made into two separate anime TV series; the first, Dr. Slump & Arale-chan (Japanese: Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん) ran from 1981 to 1986 and spanned 243 episodes and the second anime ran from 1997 to 1999 and featured 74 episodes. In addition to the series, 11 animated films have been made.

The original 1980s series ("Dr. Slump and Arale-chan") will be released on Region 2 DVD in Japan in two parts. The "N'cha collection" was released in March 2007. The "Hoyoyo Collection" will be released in September.

It is unknown if the anime will be dubbed in the English language, even though it was licensed by Harmony Gold, but only had a segment of a single episode dubbed before the company lost the rights shortly after.

Themes

Dr. Slump is filled with puns and bathroom jokes, and parodies of both Japanese and American culture. For example, one of the recurring characters is "Suppaman", a short, fat, pompous buffoon who changes into a Superman-like costume by eating a sour-tasting ("suppai" in Japanese) umeboshi. Unlike Superman, Suppaman can't fly well, and instead pretends to fly by lying belly down on a skateboard and scooting through the streets. In the PS2 game Super Dragon Ball Z, in the city level, by breaking the porta-potty, Suppaman (with the hiragana "su" character on his chest) will roll off on his skateboard. Also, a policeman in Dr. Slump can be seen wearing a Star Wars-style storm trooper helmet, just as in the American movies.

Plot

Dr. Slump is set in Penguin Village (ペンギン村, Pengin Mura), a place where humans co-exist with all sorts of anthropomorphic animals and other objects. In this village lives Senbei Norimaki, an inventor (his name is a pun on a kind of rice cracker). His nickname is "Dr. Slump" (a joke that can be seen as similar to nicknaming an author "Writer's Block.") In the first issue, he builds what he hopes will be the world's most perfect little girl robot, named Arale Norimaki, a pun on another kind of rice cracker), in scenes obviously parodying the Italian children's classic Pinocchio (note: "Arale" is Toriyama's official romanized spelling of her name). Because Senbei is a lousy inventor, she soon turns out to be ill-mannered, rude, and in severe need of eyeglasses. She is also very naïve, and in later issues she has adventures such as bringing a huge bear home, having mistaken it for a pet. To Senbei's credit, she does have super-strength (and, in a Dragonball crossover she proved to be genuinely stronger than the young Son Goku, prompting him to train harder). In general, the manga focuses on Arale's misunderstandings of humanity and Senbei's inventions, rivalries, and romantic misadventures. In the middle of the series, a continuously-appearing villain shows up, based on Toriyama's editor.

Characters

Names are in the Western order, with the family name after the given name.

The Norimaki family

Senbei Norimaki (則巻千兵衛, Norimaki Senbee, "Seaweed-wrapped Rice cracker")

Penguin Village's goofy and lecherous genius inventor. Arale calls him "Hakase" (博士, doctor). He can also transform into a more handsome, taller version of himself (for a very brief period of three minutes). When in this state he very strongly resembles Tony Stark, the billionaire inventor of Iron Man.

Arale Norimaki (則巻アラレ, Norimaki Arare, "Seaweed-wrapped Mini-rice cracker")

Senbei's myopic "sister," is actually a robot created by Senbei. Arale is very naïve but extremely powerful, with abilities like Chikyuwari (地球割り, Earth Chop) and Nchaho (んちゃ砲, Ncha Cannon)

Gajira "Gatchan" Norimaki (則巻ガジラ, Norimaki Gajira) / Gadzilla

Voiced by: Seiko Nakano (Anime 1), Chie Sawaguchi (Anime 2)

A green-haired, cherub-like creature with wings, hatched from an egg brought home by Senbei from a time traveling trip; later s/he (it) inexplicably replicates into twins. Gatchan eats almost anything, except for rubber, and particularly likes to eat metal; s/he can also shoot rays from his/her antennae. Gatchan speaks in his/her own language consisting primarily of sounds like "pupipopipi" that Arale somehow seems to understand. In Volume 17, it is revealed that Gatchan is actually an angel sent by God (or Kami if this story connects with Dragon Ball) to prevent further development of the human civilization. After seeing that other civilizations eventually destroyed themselves and the planets they lived on, God placed an angel's egg on Earth. Gatchan's ability to replicate as well as his/her fondness of metal should have ensured that humanity would remain primitive and innocent. Seeing that Gatchan failed in the mission (due to Senbei's time traveling intervention), God was about to destroy humanity. However, after seeing the life of Penguin village, he changed his mind and left the earth as it is. Gatchan's real name is a combination of the names of Gamera and Gojira, who is known as Godzilla in the West; hence s/he is known as "Gadzilla" in the English version. Oddly, she is not called this again until volume 16, being called Gajira before that. Gajira is occasionally mistranslated as "Gazira."

Turbo Norimaki (則巻ターボ, Norimaki Tābo, Seaweed-wrapped Turbo, "Turbomaru" was the name of the author's dog at the time)

Voiced by: Yuuko Mita

Senbei and Midori's first son, who is nearly killed by aliens and then revived by them, in the process imbuing him with many super powers including teleportation, flight, and telekinesis. Also a genius surpassing his father.

Midori Yamabuki (山吹みどり, Yamabuki Midori, "Orange-yellow Green")

Voiced by: Mariko Mukai (Anime 1), Yuko Minaguchi (Anime 2)

Arale's beautiful teacher and Senbei's dream girl. After a long period of unrequited love and nervous misunderstandings, Senbei proposes to her while thinking she is out of earshot. Surprisingly, she accepts immediately (while on the toilet, no less) and they are married in the next manga panel, resulting in a name change.

Obotchaman (オボッチャマン, "Well-mannered boy raised in a good environment+Man")

Voiced by: Mitsuko Horie (Anime 1), Motoko Kumai (Anime 2)

Robot built by Dr Mashirito using the plans for Arale, but male. Arale calls him Obotchiman-kun (おぼっちまん君). Extremely polite and well-mannered. He later becomes a love interest for Arale. Initially dubbed "Caramelman #4" by Dr Mashirito, his creator.

The Kimidori family

Akane Kimidori (木緑あかね, Kimidori Akane, "Yellow-green Dark Red")

Voiced by: Kazuko Sugiyama (Anime 1), Hiroko Konishi (Anime 2)

Arale's "bad girl" friend. She is called "Akani-chin" by Arale instead of "Akane-chan".

Aoi Kimidori (木緑葵, Kimidori Aoi, "Yellow-green Blue")

Voiced by: Naomi Jinbo (Anime 1), Hiroko Emori (Anime 2)

Akane's older sister, who works at the coffee shop

Kon Kimidori (木緑紺, Kimidori Kon, "Yellow-green Navy-blue")

Voiced by: Banjou Ginga (Anime 1), Hideyuki Tanaka (Anime 2)

Akane and Aoi's father

Murasaki Kimidori (木緑紫, Kimidori Murasaki, "Yellow-green Purple")

Akane and Aoi's mother, who is always wiggling her butt and acting bubbly. Actually, she is the younger sister of Taro and Peasuke's mother (below).

The Soramame family

Taro Soramame (空豆タロウ, Soramame Tarō)

Voiced by: Toshio Furukawa (Anime 1), Shinichirō Ōta (Anime 2)

Arale's "bad boy" friend at school who tries to act cool. After graduating from high school, he becomes a police officer (because he is allowed to carry a gun and wear dark glasses all the time).

Peasuke Soramame (空豆ピースケ, Soramame Piisuke, "Broad bean Pea" + common male name ending, "Peasuke" in the English translation)

Voiced by: Naomi Jinbo (Anime 1), Megumi Urawa (Anime 2)

Taro's little brother who always wears an animal hat. At one point, he saved a girl named Hiyoko from a beetle. Of course, this wouldn't have been necessary if not for Arale; when she saw that Peasuke had fallen in love with a girl much taller than he, she used the Big-Small Gun to shrink Hiyoko to insect size.

Kurikinton Soramame (空豆クリキントン, Soramame Kurikinton, "Broad bean Sweet chestnut paste")

Voiced by: Kouji Totani (Anime 1), Nobuaki Kanemitsu (Anime 2)

The father of the Soramame family and a barber. Looks similar to Clint Eastwood.

Mame Soramame (空豆まめ, Soramame Mame, "Broad bean Bean")

Taro and Peasuke's mother, who also wears an animal cap like Peasuke.

The Tsun family

A Chinese family whose spaceship crash landed in Penguin Village. In the manga, their (Japanese) speech is shown in the text balloons as written entirely in kanji, although they would make no sense to Chinese readers; e.g. "anata" (you) is rendered as 穴田, laughter ("hahaha") is written as 八八八.

Tsururin Tsun (摘鶴燐, Tsun Tsururin, The sound of something shiny and smooth (such as a bald head))

Voiced by: Yuuko Mita (Anime 1), Houko Kuwashima (Anime 2)

The daughter. Has various powers, including telekinesis and teleportation and later starts dating Taro.

Tsukutsun Tsun (摘突詰, Tsun Tsukutsun, The sound of poking something (such as poop))

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba (Anime 1), Ryoutarou Okiayu (Anime 2)

The son, who practices kung fu (including taijiquan). Although normally not as strong as the powerful Arale or Gatchan(s), when extremely angry he becomes more powerful than both. For some reason, whenever he is touched by a girl he turns into a tiger and cannot change back unless touched by a guy. To his confusion, Arale does not trigger this transformation since she is not a real girl. He later starts dating Akane.

Tsuruten Tsun (摘鶴天, Tsun Tsuruten)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Ohtake (Anime 1), Kouji Yada (Anime 2)

The father. Built the spaceship that crashed in Penguin Village. He is an even worse pervert than Senbei and the two of them become friends.

Tsuntsunodanoteiyugo Tsun (摘詰角田野廷遊豪, Tsun Tsuntsunodanoteiyūgō)

Voiced by: Mitsuko Horie (Anime 1), Michie Tomizawa (Anime 2)

The mother, who also practices kung fu, like her son. Tends to beat up her perverted husband. Her name comes from an old marketing jingle of the Japanese bicycle manufacturer Tsunoda.

Penguin Village Police Force

(Note that none of the police force are given names in the comics, except for Charmy Yamada, although Gara and Pagos' names appear on a banner attached to a motor scooter they ride together early in the comics series.)

Pagos (パゴス, Pagosu)

Voiced by: Masaharu Satou (Anime 1), Michio Nakao (Anime 2)

The tall patrolman. He and his partner Gara constantly have their car destroyed (accidentally) by an excited running Arale. This character's first appearance was in the second half of the 1979 one-shot Wonder Island, also as a policeman, though the setting was entirely different. Gara and Pagos were named after Galápagos Islands ("garapagosu shotou").

Gara (ガラ)

Voiced by: Isamu Tanonaka (Anime 1), Nobuhiko Kazama (Anime 2)

The shorter patrolman. Also appeared on Wonder Island; as hinted there, his name is likely a pun on the movie monster Garamon, who he somewhat resembles.

Gyaosu (ギャオス)

Voiced by: Kouji Totani (Anime 1), Bin Shimada (Anime 2)

The police chief.

Polly Bakettsu (ポリー・バケッツ, Porī Bakettsu)

Voiced by: Toshiko Fujita (Anime 1), Masako Katsuki (Anime 2)

The gun-toting lady cop. The name is from police and "poribaketsu" (poly (polyethylene, polypropylene and so on) + bucket).

Charmy Yamada (チャーミー山田, Chāmī Yamada)

Voiced by: Ryou Horikawa (Anime 1)

A very dedicated cop who joins the force later in the series.

Other recurring characters

Dr Mashirito (マシリト, the family name of the author's editor at the time, Kazuhiko Torishima, reversed)

Voiced by: Nachi Nozawa→ Keiichi Noda (Anime 1), Yasuo Yamada (Anime 1 movies), Akira Kamiya (1992 movie), Ryoutarou Okiayu (Anime 2)

Senbei's evil mad scientist rival; he bears a striking resemblance to the author's editor, and is slowly converted into a cyborg over time.

Suppaman (スッパマン, "Sour"+Man, sounds like Superman)

Voiced by: Tessho Genda (Anime 1), Toru Furuya (Anime 2)

Hero-wannabe from a far away planet, who unfortunately has no super powers or sense of justice; rolls around with his belly on a skateboard, throws grenades, and changes his clothes in a phone booth, eating an umeboshi to transform. Suppaman works as a reporter when in disguise as Kenta Kuraaku (暗悪健太, Kuraaku Kenta), which literally translates to "Dark-and-Evil" [generic man's name]; note that to Japanese ears "Kuraaku Kenta" sounds like Clark Kent).

King Nikochan (ニコチャン大王, Nikochan Daiō)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Ohtake (Anime 1), Bin Shimada (Anime 2)

The king of an alien planet. His race have their butts on their heads, their nostrils on the tips of their antennae, and their ears on their feet. He wishes to take over the Earth but his ship always breaks down (plus, he's kind of an ill-tempered idiot). In the manga, he speaks in Central Nagoya dialect, in which a native speaker of the dialect will find distinct from the author's Northern Nagoya dialect. In the anime, he speaks in a false Nagoya dialect.

Nikochan's Servant (ニコチャン家来, Nikochan Kerai)

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba (Anime 1), Ryou Horikawa (Anime 2)

King Nikochan's unnamed sunglasses-wearing servant. He always comes to Earth with his master. He seems to be much smarter/sensible than the King.(He does not speak in Nagoya dialect.)

Parzan (パーザン, Paazan, "Fool"+"Zan", parody of "Tarzan")

Voiced by: Kouji Totani (Anime 1), Minori Matsushima (Anime 2)

Tarzan hero wannabe with almost exactly the same face as Suppaman; shares a mutual dislike with Suppaman.

Bubibinman (ブビビンマン, "Sound of a fly buzzing"+Man)

Voiced by: Mugihito

Hero-wannabe from Superman's planet, who came to Earth after hearing that Superman (the weakling) had become a hero here, using his powers of flight and superhuman strength; ultimately, he is side-tracked by his fly tendencies (and resulting diet).

Kinoko Sarada (皿田きのこ, Sarada Kinoko, "Salad Mushroom")

Voiced by: Kazuko Sugiyama (Anime 1), Noriko Uemura (Anime 2)

A toddler who lives in Penguin Village and spends her days riding her tricycle and laughing at others for not keeping up with fashion.

Daigoro Kurigashira (栗頭大五郎, Kurigashira Daigorō, Chestnut-head Daigorou)

Voiced by: Tetsuo Mizutori (Anime 1), Nobuo Tobita (Anime 2)

Arale's high school teacher. He has a huge head which is shaped like a chestnut. (The "kuri" in his name means "chestnut" and "-gashira" (kashira) means "head". "Dai" is "big", and "Daigorou" is also the Japanese given name of Takamiyama, a popular former Sumo wrestler from Hawaii.) His character style was used as model of Kurita Ryokan.

Donbe (ドンベ)

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba (Anime 1), Kappei Yamaguchi (Anime 2)

A fox who likes to transform into things and scare people.

Hiyoko (ヒヨコ Chick)

Voiced by: Saeko Shimazu (Anime 1), Houko Kuwashima (Anime 2)

Peasuke's (taller) girlfriend whom he saved from a bug after she was hit by Senbei's shrink gun.

Unchi-kun (うんち君, Mr. Poop)

Voiced by: Keiko Yamamoto (Anime 1), Chika Sakamoto (Anime 2)

One of several coiled poos (much like soft ice cream) that appears occasionally, tends to have a sense of justice in general, has feet to run around with (in Japanese children's books, a similar character with the same name appears to teach children potty training)

Toriyama (トリヤマ)

Voiced by: Isamu Tanonaka (bird, robot) and Hideyuki Tanaka (human) (Anime 1)

The creator of the series, he frequently appears as in the story, usually represented by a bird (the tori in Toriyama means bird), a robot, or a man wearing a surgical mask. Also, in vol. 8, he makes a race. Arale seems to have won, but Toriyama said that he won, and was most likely banned from the town.

Matsuyama (松山)

Toriyama's 2nd assistant.

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba

Makusa (マクサ)

Takoyaki cook, the model of this character is Akira Sakuma, a notable game designer and a co-author of Toriyama's book.

Films

1. Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hello! Wonder Island (Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん ハロー!不思議島,, Dr. Slump Arare-chan Harō! Fushigi Jima) (1981)
2. Dr. Slump: "Hoyoyo!" Space Adventure (Dr.SLUMP “ほよよ！”宇宙大冒険) (1982)
3. Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hoyoyo, Great Round-the-World Race (Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん ほよよ世界一周大レース,, Dr. Slump Arare-chan Hoyoyo Sekai Isshū Dai-Rēsu) (1983)
4. Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hoyoyo! The Treasure of Nanaba Castle (Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん ほよよ!ナナバ城の秘宝,, Dr. Slump Arare-chan Hoyoyo! Nanaba-jō no Hihō) (1984)
5. Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hoyoyo! Dream Capital Mecha Police (Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん ほよよ!夢の都メカポリス, Dr. Slump Arare-chan Hoyoyo! Yume no Miyako Meka Porisu) (1985)
6. Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha! Penguin Village is Swelling Then Fair (Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん んちゃ!ペンギン村はハレのち晴れ,, Dr. Slump Arare-chan N-cha! Pengin-mura wa Hare nochi Hare) (1993)
7. Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha! Love Comes From Penguin Village (Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん んちゃ!ペンギン村より愛をこめて,, Dr. Slump Arare-chan N-cha! Pengin-mura yori Ai wo komete) (1993)
8. Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hoyoyo!! Follow the Rescued Shark... (Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん ほよよ!!助けたサメに連れられて…,, Dr. Slump Arare-chan Hoyoyo!! Tasuketa Same ni Tsurerarete...) (1994)
9. Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha!! Trembling Heart of the Summer (Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん んちゃ!!わくわくハートの夏休み,, Dr. Slump Arare-chan N-cha!! Wakuwaku Hāto no Natsuyasumi) (1994)
10. Dr. Slump: Arale's Surprise (ドクタースランプ アラレのびっくりバーン, Doctor Slump: Arare no Bikkuri Bān) (1999)
11. Dr. Mashirito and Abale-chan (Dr.マシリト アバレちゃん, Doctor Mashirito Abare-chan) (March 3rd, 2007) [1]

In-universe crossovers

After the original manga ended, the characters of Dr. Slump returned for an extended cameo in Toriyama's next manga and anime series Dragon Ball, (chapters 70-73, or manga volume 7.) Arale and Son Goku briefly team up to help Goku defeat General Blue during the General Blue Saga. Arale also makes a smaller cameo in the third Dragon Ball movie, Mystical Adventure and in the fourth Dragon Ball Z movie, Lord Slug, as a picture on Son Gohan's wall. She and all the other residents of Penguin Village make an appearance in the second portion of the Dragon Ball series "Dragon Ball Z" during the Kid Buu Saga, giving their energy to Goku's Super Genki-Dama. Because of these cameos (and other similarities), many fans consider the two series as taking place in the same fictional universe. The manga cameo showed a distinct change in the author's art style by that time, making Arale and the gang look somewhat bloated. The characters later appeared in the third manga called "Chotto Kaettekita Dr. Slump" (loosely translated: "Dr. Slump Returns, But Only For a Little While"). Suppaman also makes a brief cameo, trying to stop General Blue. When Blue proves his strength Suppaman promptly begs for forgiveness for his earlier taunts (he tried to show off being strong by breaking 3 bricks with one punch, which also hurts his hand. Blue then promptly lifts and crushes a phone booth effortlessly). Goku also makes a brief cameo, trying to stop Mashirito (in the manga and anime).

Influence on Japanese culture

Trademark expressions from the manga include:

• "N-cha" (Senbei's greeting and apparently a truncation of "konnichiwa"; also used by Arale)
• "Bye-cha"
• "Hoyoyo" (an expression used by Arale to signify bewilderment or mild confusion)
• "Kiiiiiin" (Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound of an airplane engine)

These expressions had gone on to become part of Japanese culture. In addition, the round glasses Arale wears have inspired the Japanese phrase "arare megane" (Arale glasses).

In the manga, Toriyama himself has been portrayed as a bird (the "tori" in his last name means "bird", hence the name of his production studio Bird Studio), although Toriyama actually based the design of Senbei on himself (as a number of American comic strip artists have been known to do). He has also portrayed himself as a small robot with dark goggles, and simply a middle-aged man with dark sunglasses and contagion mask (signifying anonymity). In addition, other real people made appearances as well, such as Toriyama's bosses (like Torishima), assistants, and wife, Toriyama's colleague friends (like Masakazu Katsura), and others.

Anime staff

• Director: Minoru Okazaki, Yoshiki Shibata, Daisuke Nishio, Akinori Nagaoka
• Script: Masaki Tsuji, Shun'ichi Yukimuro, Tomoko Konparu, Michiru Shimada
• Character Designs: Shinji Koike
• Animation Director: Shinji Koike
• Music: Takeo Watanabe

Games

In Jump Super Stars, Arale and Mashirito are battle koma (playable characters), with the latter as the game's main antagonist. They both return in the sequel, Jump Ultimate Stars, in the exact same roles. Senbei Norimaki isn't playable but is a Help Koma that can strengthen Arale if his Koma is adjacent to Arale's Koma.

In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Arale appears as a playable character.

A Dr. Slump game has been announced for Nintendo DS, and is slated to be released in Fall 2008.

External links

• Official Site
• http://the.animearchive.org/drslump/1/
• Arale's Jumpstation Dr Slump Fan site
• Dr. Slump ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia