- Dr. Slump
-
Dr. Slump
North American edition of Dr. Slump Volume 1, featuring Arale.Dr.スランプ
(Dokutā Suranpu)Genre Comedy-drama science fiction Manga Written by Akira Toriyama Published by Shueisha English publisher Viz Media Demographic Shōnen Magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump Original run 1980 – 1984 Volumes 18 TV anime Dr. Slump - Arale-chan Directed by Minoru Okazaki, Shigeyasu Yamauchi Studio Toei Animation Network Fuji TV Original run 8 April 1981 – 19 February 1986 Episodes 243 Anime film Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hello! Wonder Island Studio Toei Animation Released 18 July 1981 Runtime 25 minutes Anime film Dr. Slump: "Hoyoyo!" Space Adventure Studio Toei Animation Released 10 July 1982 Anime film Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hoyoyo, Great Round-the-World Race Studio Toei Animation Released 13 March 1983 Runtime 52 minutes Anime film Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hoyoyo! The Treasure of Nanaba Castle Studio Toei Animation Released 22 December 1984 Runtime 48 minutes Anime film Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hoyoyo! Dream Capital Mecha Police Studio Toei Animation Released 13 July 1985 Runtime 38 minutes Anime film Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha! Clear Skies Over Penguin Village Studio Toei Animation Released 6 March 1993 Runtime 40 minutes Anime film Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha! From Penguin Village with Love Studio Toei Animation Released 10 July 1993 Runtime 32 minutes Anime film Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hoyoyo!! Follow the Rescued Shark... Studio Toei Animation Released 12 March 1994 Runtime 25 minutes Anime film Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha!! Trembling Heart of the Summer Studio Toei Animation Released 9 July 1994 Runtime 20 minutes TV anime Doctor Slump Directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi Studio Toei Animation Network Fuji TV Original run 26 November 1997 – 22 September 1999 Episodes 74 Anime film Dr. Slump: Arale's Surprise Studio Toei Animation Released 6 March 1999 Runtime 50 minutes Anime film Dr. Mashirito and Abale-chan Studio Toei Animation Released 3 March 2007 Runtime 5 minutes Dr. Slump (Dr. スランプ Dokutā Suranpu ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's anthology comic Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1980 to 1984 which were collected into 18 tankōbon volumes. The manga was adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation that ran from 1981 to 1986 consisting of 243 episodes and a remake series consisting of 74 episodes that ran from 1997 to 1999. The series helped launch Toriyama's career and was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen and shōjo manga in 1982.[1]
Contents
Plot and themes
Main article: List of Dr. Slump charactersDr. 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 large coin-shaped rice cracker, and the surname Norimaki is a generic term for sushi rolls wrapped with nori seaweed). 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 a kind of small mixed rice crackers), in scenes obviously parodying the Italian children's classic The Adventures of Pinocchio (note: "Arale" is Toriyama's official romanized spelling of her name). Because Senbei is a lousy inventor, she soon turns out to be 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. 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 at the time.
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 cannot fly well, and instead pretends to fly by lying belly down on a skateboard and scooting through the streets. Also, a policeman in Dr. Slump can be seen wearing a Star Wars-style stormtrooper 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 Toriyama actually based the design of Senbei on himself (as a number of American comic strip artists have been known to do). 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.
Media
Manga
Main article: List of Dr. Slump chaptersDr. Slump was originally serialized in the Weekly Shōnen Jump from issue 5/6 of 1980 to issue 39 of 1984 and subsequently collected in 18 tankōbon volumes under the Jump Comics imprint. It was reassembled as a nine-volume aizōban edition in 1990, a nine-volume bunkoban edition in 1995, and a 15-volume kanzenban edition in 2006. Viz Media began publishing an English adaptation of Dr. Slump in 2005 with translation done by Alexander O. Smith. All 18 original volumes are now released as of May 5, 2009.
After Dr. Slump ended in 1984, the manga's characters of returned for an extended cameo in Toriyama's next series Dragon Ball, in which Arale and Goku briefly team up to help Goku defeat General Blue during the Red Ribbon Army storyline.
A Dr. Slump follow-up manga was written by Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, illustrated by Takao Koyama, and serialized in V Jump from 1994 to 1996 under the title The 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 has been collected into four tankōbon volumes.
To promote the release of the first Dr. Slump & Arale-chan DVD box set, Akira Toriyama illustrated a special one-shot spin-off titled Dr. Mashirito & Abale-chan published in the fourth 2007 issue of the Weekly Shōnen Jump. The story centers around an evil counterpart of Arale created by Dr. Mashirito named Abale. Dr. Mashirito & Abale-chan was adapted into a five-minute short shown theatrically alongside the One Piece feature film One Piece Movie: The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta.
Anime
Main articles: List of Dr. Slump Arale-chan episodes and List of Doctor Slump episodesThe Dr. Slump manga was made into two separate anime TV series; the first, Dr. Slump - Arale-chan (Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん) ran from 1981 to 1986 and spanned 243 episodes, and the second anime, Doctor Slump, ran from 1997 to 1999 and lasted seventy-four episodes. In addition to the series, eleven animated films have been made. The first episode of the original anime was adapted into English by Harmony Gold USA in 1984, but the pilot was never picked up.
Films
- 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! Wandā Airando ) (1981)
- Dr. Slump: "Hoyoyo!" Space Adventure (Dr.SLUMP "ほよよ!"宇宙大冒険 ) (1982)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha! Clear Skies Over Penguin Village (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)
- Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha! From Penguin Village with Love (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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- Dr. Mashirito and Abale-chan (Dr.マシリト アバレちゃん Doctor Mashirito Abare-chan ) (March 3, 2007) - A five-minute short shown alongside the theatrical release of One Piece Movie: The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta. It was later included in Dr. Slump Movie Box.
Video games
A handheld Dr. Slump game called "Hoyoyo Bomber" by Animest was released as a Game & Watch clone in 1982 in Japan. A Dr. Slump video game was released in 1983 for the Arcadia 2001. A game for the PlayStation based on the second television series was released on March 18, 1999 in Japan only. A Dr. Slump video game for Nintendo DS named Dr. Slump: Arale-Chan was released on October 30, 2008.
Arale appears in the 1988 Famicom game Famicom Jump: Hero Retsuden. In the Nintendo DS game Jump Super Stars, Arale and Mashirito are player characters, with the latter as the game's main antagonist. They both return in the sequel, Jump Ultimate Stars, in exactly the same roles. Senbei Norimaki appears as a support character in Jump Super Stars, while Midori, Gatchan, Obotchaman and Unchi-kun were added as support characters in Jump Ultimate Stars. Arale appears as a playable character and Penguin Village is a playable map in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) and Wii. In the PS2 game Super Dragon Ball Z, Suppaman appears in the background of the city level. After breaking the porta-potty, Suppaman will roll off on his skateboard. Finally, Arale can be unlocked as a playable character in both Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for Wii and Dragon Ball: Origins 2 for DS.
References
- ^ "小学館漫画賞: 歴代受賞者" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. http://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/mangasho/rist.html. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
External links
- Official website (Japanese)
- Dr. Slump at Toei Animation
- Arale's Jumpstation Dr. Slump fan site
- Dr. Slump (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
Dr. Slump by Akira Toriyama Franchise Characters (Arale Norimaki) • Chapters • Episodes (Dr. Slump Arale-chan • Doctor Slump)Related articles Wonder Island · Pink (manga) · Dragon Ball · Famicom Jump: Hero Retsuden · Jump Super Stars · Jump Ultimate StarsAkira Toriyama Works Wonder Island • Dr. Slump • Pink • The Adventures of Tongpoo • Dragon Ball • Mr. Ho • Go! Go! Ackman • Cowa! • Kajika • Neko Majin • Sand Land • Toccio the Angel • KintokiCharacter designer Weekly Shōnen Jump: 1980–1989 1980 Dr. Slump • Sannen Kimengumi1981 Captain Tsubasa • Cat's Eye • Stop!! Hibari-kun!1982 1983 Wingman • Fist of the North Star • Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Shogakukan Manga Award - Shōnen 1970s Poe no Ichizoku and They Were Eleven by Moto Hagio (1975) · Captain and Play Ball by Akio Chiba and Ganbare Genki by Yū Koyama (1976) · Galaxy Express 999 and Senjo Manga Series by Leiji Matsumoto (1977) · Dame Oyaji by Mitsutoshi Furuya (1978) · Toward the Terra and
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Categories:- Manga series
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- 1981 Japanese television series debuts
- 1986 Japanese television series endings
- Akira Toriyama
- Anime of 1981
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- Manga of 1980
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