| Dr. Slump | |
 Firsttankōbon volume cover, featuringArale Norimaki | |
| Dr.スランプ (Dokutā Suranpu) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science fiction comedy[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Akira Toriyama |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Jump Comics |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Jump |
| Original run | February 4, 1980 –September 10, 1984 |
| Volumes | 18(List of volumes) |
| Anime television series | |
| Dr. Slump – Arale-chan | |
| Directed by | Minoru Okazaki |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Masaki Tsuji |
| Music by | Shunsuke Kikuchi |
| Studio | Toei Animation |
| Original network | FNS (Fuji TV) |
| Original run | April 8, 1981 – February 19, 1986 |
| Episodes | 243 (256 segments)(List of episodes) |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Shigeyasu Yamauchi |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Satoru Nishizono |
| Music by | Funta |
| Studio | Toei Animation |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | FNS (Fuji TV) |
| Original run | November 26, 1997 – September 22, 1999 |
| Episodes | 74 (93 segments)(List of episodes) |
| Manga | |
| Dr. Mashirito – Abale-chan | |
| Written by | Akira Toriyama |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| Magazine | Monthly Shōnen Jump |
| Published | April 2007 |
| Related media | |
 Anime and manga portal | |
Dr. Slump (Japanese:Dr.スランプ,Hepburn:Dokutā Suranpu) is a Japanesemanga series written and illustrated byAkira Toriyama. It was serialized inShueisha'sshōnen manga magazineWeekly Shōnen Jump from February 1980 to September 1984, with the chapters collected in 18tankōbon volumes. The series follows the humorous adventures of the little girl robotArale Norimaki, her creatorSenbei Norimaki, and the other residents of the bizarre Penguin Village.
The manga was adapted into ananime television series byToei Animation that ran onFuji TV from 1981 to 1986 for 243 episodes. A remake series was created thirteen years after the manga ended, consisting of 74 episodes that were broadcast from 1997 to 1999. The series has also spawned several novels, video games, andeleven animated films.
Dr. Slump launched Toriyama's career. It was awarded theShogakukan Manga Award forshōnen andshōjo manga in 1981, and has sold over 30 million copies in Japan. The manga was released in North America byViz Media from 2004 to 2009.Discotek Media released the first five films in North America in 2014. In 2021,Tubi announced their acquisition of the 1997 TV anime.
Dr. Slump is set in Penguin Village (ペンギン村,Pengin Mura), a place where humans co-exist with all sorts ofanthropomorphic animals and other objects. In this village livesSenbei Norimaki, an inventor. In the first chapter, he builds what he hopes will be the world's most perfect little girl robot, namedArale Norimaki. However, she turns out to be in severe need of eyeglasses. She is also verynaïve, 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. 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 recurring villain namedDr. Mashirito appears as a rival to Senbei.
Dr. Slump is filled withpuns andtoilet humor, and parodies of both Japanese and American culture.[2] For example, one of the recurring characters isSuppaman, a short, fat, pompous buffoon who changes into aSuperman-like alter-ego by eating a sour-tasting ("suppai" in Japanese)umeboshi. Unlike Superman, Suppaman cannot fly, and instead pretends to fly by lying belly down on a skateboard and scooting through the streets. Also, one of the village's policemen wears aStar Wars-stylestormtrooper helmet, just as in the American movies. 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 it has been suggested (by himself even) that he actually based the design of Senbei on himself. In addition, other real-life people make appearances as well, such as Toriyama's editor (Kazuhiko Torishima), assistants, wife, his colleague friends (such asMasakazu Katsura), and others.[2][3]
With Toriyama a newcomer to manga and his editorKazuhiko Torishima still relatively new at his job as well, the two worked for 18 months with Torishima rejecting all the author's ideas until the first draft ofDr. Slump.[4] One of these rejected works,Ageha-chō Kansatsu Nikki (アゲハ町観察日記), served as a basis forDr. Slump.[5] After his 1979one-shotTomato the Cutesy Gumshoe saw some popularity, Toriyama decided to create another manga with a female lead character and that becameDr. Slump.[6] Toriyama drew several shortomake included in theDr. Slumptankōbon volumes that supposedly depict actual events on the production of the series, although, as they are often humorous, the level of truthfulness to them is uncertain. In one, he claimed that when he told Torishima that he wanted to make a manga about a doctor, the editor told him to add a robot. Toriyama originally wanted a very large robot, but as it would not fit in the panels, he instead made it small. When Torishima rejected that idea, he made the robot a girl, knowing Torishima would find her "cute".[7] He also stated that Senbei was supposed to be the main character, but his editor told him to make it Arale instead, which Toriyama agrees turned out better. The act of having Senbei andMidori get married came from having nothing else to draw that week, and it happened quickly because he does not like romance. He went on to state that Torishima does enjoy romance, and that the relationships of Arale andObotchaman,Akane andTsukutsun, andTaro andTsururin were all Torishima's ideas.[8]
Toriyama did not expectDr. Slump to last long, as even before it debuted Torishima was asking him what he would draw for his next series.[8] However, it lasted for roughly five years. When Toriyama beganDr. Slump, he worked at home, where he lived with his parents,[2] and had one assistant who worked one day a week.[9] Toriyama has said several times that he typically would not have any ideas for the story for that week's chapter, but would think up something as soon as Torishima called asking.[10] He thought up each week's story as he drew and sent the rough draft to Torishima atWeekly Shōnen Jump headquarters inTokyo by air courier fromNagoya Airport. After getting the approval of his editor, he began by drawing the lines that stick out of the frames, then the frames themselves, before using a g-pen to draw clear crisp lines at roughly one page an hour. After he had around eight pages finished, his assistant Hisashi Tanaka (田中久志) (also known as Hiswashi (ひすゎし)) came over, although Toriyama stated he only allowed him to color. For color pages, Toriyama first drew them with permanent ink and used water-soluble color pens, before touching up with a wet brush.[11] Later in serialization (around volume 13, as stated in volume 18), Takashi Matsuyama (まつやまたかし) became his assistant when Hiswashi started his own series,[12] although Hiswashi occasionally still helped out, as did Toriyama's wife when they were close to a deadline.[13]
In 2016, Torishima said that althoughDr. Slump was very successful, having debuted at number two in the magazine's reader rankings, Toriyama wanted to stop it after about six months. He explained that because it was a self-contained comedy each week, if something did not work, the author had to change everything. Torishima said that because it was a top-ranking series, would regularly sell a million copies, and had an anime about to begin,Jump and Shueisha would not allow it to end. However, Torishima claimed the magazine's chief editor told him that if they could come up with something more interesting and successful then they could. In order to have time to discuss new ideas they had to adjust the weekly schedule, finishing aDr. Slump chapter in five days instead of seven.[4] Toriyama stated that one of the conditions he agreed to that allowed him to end the popularDr. Slump, was that he start his next series relatively soon after. He beganDragon Ball roughly three months later.[14]
In his own words, Toriyama described the scenery ofDr. Slump as having an "American West Coast" feel.[15] Torishima recalled that when he asked Toriyama why he drew relatively sparse backgrounds, his reply was simply that it was easier that way.[16] However, Toriyama has stated that he was particular about the art, working more hours on it than he would later onDragon Ball.[17] In an actual chapter ofDr. Slump, where Toriyama and Matsuyama appear, it was revealed that Matsuyama draws most of the backgrounds and houses.[18] Toriyama often used colored paper, a technique fairly common in design, but less-so in manga.[17] He stated that the tournament-type events, such as the Penguin Village Grand Prix and thekick the can contest, were popular with readers and inspired the Tenkaichi Budōkai inDragon Ball.[19]
Torishima described theDr. Slump anime as unsuccessful in his opinion because it did not loyally follow the manga. He said this was because it was the first time theWeekly Shōnen Jump team had to manage an anime based on one of their manga and its creative process, explaining that, if something went wrong, it was too late to change because it was already animated.[4]
Akira Toriyama'sDr. Slump was originally serialized in theshōnen manga anthologyWeekly Shōnen Jump from issue No. 5/6 on February 4, 1980, to No. 39 on September 10, 1984.[20][21] Its 236 individual chapters were collected in 18tankōbon volumes by publisherShueisha under theJump Comics imprint.[22] It was reassembled as a nine-volumeaizōban edition in 1990, a nine-volumebunkoban edition in 1995,[23] and a 15-volumekanzenban edition in 2006.[24]Viz Media licensed the series for North America in 2004,[25] and published the first volume on March 3, 2005,[26] with translation done byAlexander O. Smith and somecensorship. All 18 original volumes have been released in North America as of May 5, 2009.[27]
AfterDr. Slump ended in 1984, its characters returned for an extended cameo in Toriyama's next seriesDragon Ball, in which Arale andSon Goku briefly team up to defeat General Blue during theRed Ribbon Army storyline. ADr. Slump follow-up manga was written byTakao Koyama and illustrated by Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, with supervision by Toriyama. It was serialized inV Jump from February 21, 1993, to September 1996 under the titleThe Brief Return of Dr. Slump (ちょっとだけかえってきたDr.スランプ,Chotto Dake Kaettekita Dokutā Suranpu). It was collected into fourtankōbon volumes.[28][29]
To promote the release of the firstDr. Slump – Arale-chan anime DVD box set, Akira Toriyama illustrated a specialone-shot coloredspin-off manga titledDr. Mashirito - Abale-chan (Dr.MASHIRITO ABALEちゃん) published in the April 2007 issue ofMonthly Shōnen Jump. The story centers around an evil counterpart of Arale created by Dr. Mashirito Jr., named Abale.[30]
TheDr. Slump manga was adapted into two separate anime television series byToei Animation, both of which aired onFuji TV. The first,Dr. Slump – Arale-chan (Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん), ran from April 8, 1981, to February 19, 1986, and spanned 243 episodes.[31] The second anime, simply titledDr. Slump (ドクタースランプ), ran from November 26, 1997, to September 22, 1999, and lasted seventy-four episodes.[32]
The first anime was released on home video for the first time in 2007, remastered, in two 22-disc DVD sets;Slump the Box N'Cha (SLUMP THE BOX んちゃ) on March 23, which contains the first 120 episodes, andSlump the Box Hoyoyo (SLUMP THE BOX ほよよ) on September 14, which contains the remainder.[33][34] Likewise, the second series was released the following year asSlump the Box 90's on March 21.[35] The first anime was then released in twenty 2-disc sets (the last was 3-disc) of roughly twelve episodes each, titledSlump the Collection; the first three sets on October 9, 2008, the next five on November 28, the next six on December 21, and the last six on January 30, 2009.[36] The first episode of the original anime was adapted into English byHarmony Gold USA in 1984, but the pilot was never picked up.[37][38] Characters fromDr. Slump also prominently feature in the 69th episode ofDragon Ball Super, "Goku vs. Arale! An Off-the-Wall Battle Spells the End of the Earth?"[39]
In February 2021, American streaming serviceTubi announced their acquisition of theDr. Slump TV anime for release with English subtitles.[40]
Toei has also created eleven animated films based onDr. Slump, beginning withHello! Wonder Island on July 18, 1981.[41] They continued to produce one film a year until 1985;"Hoyoyo!" Space Adventure on July 10, 1982,[42]Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hoyoyo! The Great Race Around the World on March 13, 1983,[43]Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hoyoyo! The Secret of Nanaba Castle on December 22, 1984,[44] andDr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hoyoyo! The City of Dreams, Mechapolis on July 13, 1985.[45]
In 1993,Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha! Clear Skies Over Penguin Village andDr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha! From Penguin Village with Love were released on March 6 and July 10 respectively.[46][47] In 1994,Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hoyoyo!! Follow the Rescued Shark... andDr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha!! Excited Heart of Summer Vacation were released on March 12 and July 9 respectively.[48][49] On March 6, 1999,Arale's Surprise Burn was produced.[50]
Toriyama's 2007one-shot was adapted into a five-minute short titledDr. Slump: Dr. Mashirito and Abale-chan that was shown alongside the theatrically releasedOne Piece Movie: The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta.[30] In 2008, all eleven films were released in a remastered DVD box set titledSlump the Box Movies on September 21.[51]Discotek Media acquired the first fiveDr. Slump films for release in North America and released in a two-disc DVD box set in Japanese with English subtitles on July 29, 2014.[52]
A series of threeDr. Slump – Arale-chan video games calledHoyoyo Bomber (ホヨヨボンバー),Gatchan! Kazi Kazi (巻 ガッちゃん! ガジガジ) andNcha! Bycha (んちゃ! バイちゃ), by Animest were released asGame & Watch clones in 1982. ADr. Slump video game was released in 1983 for theArcadia 2001.Enix released four games ofDr. Slump with the first one beingMazeland (めいろやしき) forSharp MZ-700 in 1983,Dr. Slump Bubble Blitz (Dr.スランプ バブル大作戦) was released for theNEC PC-6001mkII in 1984,Arale No Jump Up (アラレのJump up) forNEC PC-8001mkII in September 1984 and the last one beingDr. Slump Hashire! Senbeisan (Dr.スランプ 走れ! せんべいさん) for theSharp X1 in 1985.Pony Canyon released a text-based game calledPenguin Village (ペンギンビレッジ) in February 1984. An action game, simply titledDr. Slump (ドクタースランプ), for thePlayStation based on the second television series was released on March 18, 1999, byBandai.[53]Dr. Slump: Arale-Chan (Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん) was released on October 30, 2008, for theNintendo DS.[54] Arale appears in the 1988Famicom gameFamicom Jump: Hero Retsuden. In theNintendo DS gameJump Super Stars, Arale and Dr. Mashirito areplayer characters, while Senbei appears as a support character. They both return in the sequelJump Ultimate Stars, where Senbei, Midori, Gatchan, Obotchaman, and Unchi-kun are support characters. Arale appears as a playable character inJ-Stars Victory VS, with Penguin Village as a featured stage.[55]
Arale appears in severalDragon Ball video games as well. She and several otherDr. Slump characters appear inDragon Ball: Daimaō Fukkatsu, she alone is a hidden battle inDragon Ball 3: Goku Den, and she and Senbei briefly appear inDragon Ball Z: Super Goku Den — Totsugeki-Hen. Arale is a playable character, and Penguin Village is a playable map, inDragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and3 for thePlayStation 2 andWii. In the PS2 gameSuper Dragon Ball Z, Suppaman appears in the background of the city level; after breaking the porta-potty, Suppaman will roll off on his skateboard. Arale can also be unlocked as a playable character inDragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for the Wii,Dragon Ball: Origins 2 for the DS, andDragon Ball Fusions for theNintendo 3DS.[56] Finally, she, along withGatchan andSenbei Norimaki, appear as non-playable characters in thePlayStation 4,Xbox One, andMicrosoft Windows gameDragon Ball Z: Kakarot, as does Penguin Village.
Puyopuyo!! Quest features the event as part of theDr. Slump franchise:Dr. Slump Arale-chan Festival, from July 15 to 21, 2019.
There have been severallight novels based onDr. Slump. The first two,Novel!? Dr. Slump (小説!? Dr.スランプ) released in July 1981 andNovel!? Dr. Slump Strikes Back (小説!? Dr.スランプの逆襲) released in April 1982, were written byMasaki Tsuji, who also wrote for the anime adaptation.[57][58] A novel written byShun'ichi Yukimuro and based on the second movie was released on July 15, 1982.[59]The Sun fell in Penguin Village (ペンギン村に陽は落ちて) andGhostbusters (ゴーストバスターズ), released in October 1989 and June 27, 1997, respectively, are original works written byGenichiro Takahashi, but draw from the world ofDr. Slump.[60][61]
Aradio drama adaptation was broadcast at around the same time the anime was airing. Arale was voiced byYuko Hara, keyboardist of the popular rock bandSouthern All Stars.
In 2014, two commercials featuringDr. Slump were created by Toei forSuzuki. The commercials advertise the car manufacturer's KeiSUV Hustler and include new acting fromMami Koyama as Arale andKumiko Nishihara as Gatchan.[62][63]
In celebration of the anime adaptation's 35th anniversary, theDr. Slump – Arale-chan N'Cha! Best album, containing music from the series, was released on June 1, 2016.[64]
TheDr. Slump manga has had over 30 million copies in circulation.[65] Only a year after its debut, the series was awarded the 1981Shogakukan Manga Award forshōnen andshōjo manga.[66] Viz Media's North American release of the first volume ofDr. Slump was nominated for the 2005Quill Award in the Graphic Novel category.[67] The first anime adaptation ofDr. Slump was also popular, holding the coveted Saturday 6pm timeslot for five years.[38] With a 36.9% average household rating, its December 16, 1981, episode is the third most watched anime since the television ratings groupVideo Research began keeping track on September 26, 1977.[68] In 1982, it was voted the 13th Favorite Anime in Japanese magazineAnimage's fourth annualAnime Grand Prix.[69] In 2001,Animage ranked it number 48 on its list of the Top 100 Anime.[70]TV Asahi released two Top 100 Anime lists in 2005, in the web pollDr. Slump ranked number 34, while a nationwide poll of multiple age groups named it number 29.[71][72] The following year, a list created from polling 100 celebrities had it in the 25th position.[73] A running gag inDr. Slump that utilizes feces has been reported as an inspiration for thePile of Poo emoji.[74][75]
Kazuhiko Torishima namedDr. Slump as his favorite manga that he worked on, because it was "incredibly fresh" and changed its era. He explained, before Toriyama andHisashi Eguchi appeared, the industry was full of "story manga", which are plot heavy, but artists like them wanted to play with readers and made their characters the most important part.[76]Ian Jones-Quartey, a former producer of the American animated seriesSteven Universe and creator ofOK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, is a fan ofDragon Ball andDr. Slump, and uses Toriyama's vehicle designs as reference for his own. He also stated that "We're all big Toriyama fans on [Steven Universe], which kind of shows a bit."[77]
Mike Toole ofAnime News Network calledDr. Slump "the greatest manga of all time", filled with "parody, gags, and fart jokes that everyone from toddlers to grandparents can enjoy together".[78]Jason Thompson referred toDr. Slump as the best series Toriyama has created, claiming it is better drawn and more creative thanDragon Ball. He also reports that it is considered "the last non-manufactured hit" by many in the Japanese manga industry, particularity amongWeekly Shōnen Jump titles.[79]The Asahi Shimbun wrote that the manga's appeal lies in its "visually pleasing drawings, humor and laid-back atmosphere, which set it distinctly apart from works that glorified 'moral virtues' like extreme endurance, self-discipline and so on."[80] In their review,Publishers Weekly stated "Toriyama has created his own demented sitcom, and his fantastic imagination and comic invention never let up", "The [English] translation is a bit flat, but the uncommonly good storytelling more than makes up for it."[81] Eduardo M. Chavez of Mania Entertainment summarizedDr. Slump as a "quirky slap-stick comedy entirely based in fantasy."[82] He thinks that while Toriyama's usual art style uses "SD" characters,Dr. Slump also shows hints that he can draw realistic.[83] He noted that "little nuances", particularity puns, are lost in translation from Japanese to English and expressed disdain for Viz's censorship, saying it took away from the honesty of the series.[82][83] Chavez feels that what the characters do never crosses the line into inappropriate; "The jokes might not be wholesome, but they are genuinely funny and harmless"; and went on to say that the series fills the void for "all ages manga" in bookstores and libraries.[82]
Reviewing the first five movies, Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network summarizedDr. Slump as "random silly adventures [...] delivered with a lot of surreal nonsense humor, only the most basic sense of continuity, and not a whiff of substance or seriousness." He felt that much of the humor comes simply from the visuals; stating that the vintage hand-done art and animation provide a "warmth" and "raises Slump's visuals above" other anime. However, he called the background music "non-descript" and stated that the films are only for viewers who are familiar with the series, as they provide noexposition.[84]
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