Dr. Slump
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| Dr. Slump | |
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| Dr.スランプ (Dr. Slump) |
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| Genre | Comedy, Science Fiction |
| Manga | |
| Authored by | Akira Toriyama |
| Publisher |  Shueisha Viz Media Glenat Planeta DeAgostini Comics Carlsen Comics Japonica Polonica Fantastica Conrad |
| Serialized in | Shonen Jump Shonen Jump USA |
| Original run | 1980 – 1984 |
| No. of volumes | 18 |
| TV anime : 1st series | |
| Directed by | Minoru Okazaki, Shigeyasu Yamauchi |
| Studio | Toei Animation |
| Network | Fuji TV TF1 Italia 1 Canal 5/Unicable Etc...TV TV2 TVC TVE |
| Original run | 8 April 1981 – 19 February 1986 |
| No. of episodes | 243 |
| TV anime : 2nd series | |
| Directed by | Shigeyasu Yamauchi |
| Studio | Toei Animation |
| Network | Fuji TV TVC |
| Original run | 26 November 1997 – 22 September 1999 |
| No. of episodes | 74 |
Dr. Slump (Japanese: Dr. スランプ Dr. Suranpu) is one of the most popular manga (Japanese comic books) of Akira Toriyama. The first issue was published in 1980 by Shueisha's anthology comic Weekly Shonen Jump, and the issues after it quickly launched Toriyama's career.
Contents |
[edit] History
The initial run of the manga ended in 1984 and it was later compiled into 18 tankōbon. Dr. Slump is a gag manga, and bears little resemblance to the extremely popular Toriyama manga based anime Dragon Ball Z, though the original Dragon Ball anime and manga are much closer to Dr. Slump in its style and humor.
The Dr. Slump manga was made into two separate anime. 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. The second anime ran from 1997 to 1999 and only featured 74 episodes. In addition to the series, 10 animated movies have featured the Dr. Slump characters.
The original 1980's series ("Dr. Slump and Arale-chan") will be released on Japanese Region 2 DVD in 2007. [1]
It is unknown if the anime will be translated in the English language. Maybe possibly could be gee.
[edit] Plot
Dr. Slump is filled with puns, sexual references, 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 transforms into a Superman-like costume by eating a sour-tasting ("suppai" in Japanese) umeboshi. Unlike Superman, Suppaman can't fly, 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 storm trooper helmet, just as in the American movies. The Dr. Slump manga has been licensed by Viz Media and is currently being published in graphic novel form, with having most of the sexual references and humor, nudity, and as well as alcohol usage and references edited out or censored. Dr. Slump and the anime based on it have been run in almost everywhere else in the West; for example, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico and Spain.
Dr. Slump is set in Penguin Village (ペンギン村 Pengin Mura), a place where humans co-exist with all sorts of anthropormorphic animals and other objects. In this village lives Senbei Norimaki (則巻千兵衛 Norimaki Senbei), 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 a little robot girl he names Arale Norimaki (則巻アラレ Norimaki Arare, 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 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.
[edit] Characters
Names are in the Western order, with the family name after the given name. If the name is different in the English releases, the English name is to the right of the Japanese name.
[edit] The Norimaki Family
- Senbei Norimaki (則巻千兵衛 Norimaki Senbei, "Seaweed-wrapped Rice cracker"), Penguin Village's goofy, and lecherous genius inventor; he can also transform into a more handsome, taller version of himself (for a very brief period of three minutes.)
- Arale Norimaki (則巻アラレ Norimaki Arare; "Seaweed-wrapped Mini-rice cracker"), Senbei's myopic "sister," actually a robot created by Senbei. Arale is very naïve but extremely powerful, with techniques 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 "Gatchan" Norimaki, a green-haired, cherub-like creature with wings, which follows Senbei home 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 that sounds like "pupipopipi" that Arale somehow seems to understand. In a later installment, it was revealed that Gatchan is actually an angel sent by God (If this story connects with Dragon Ball, it would be Kami) 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 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 pun on Gamera and Gojira, who is known as Godzilla in the West; hence he is known as "Gadzilla" in the English version.
- Seiyuus: Seiko Nakano (Anime 1), Chie Sawaguchi (Anime 2)
- Turbo Norimaki (則巻ターボ Norimaki Tābo) (Seaweed-wrapped Turbo, "Turbomaru" was the name of the author's dog at the time), Senbei and Midori's first son, who is nearly killed by aliens and then revived by them, simultaneously imbuing him with many super powers, including teleportation, flight, and telekinesis. Also a genius surpassing his father.
- Midori Yamabuki (山吹みどり "Orange-yellow Green" Yamabuki Midori), 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.
- Seiyuus: Mariko Mukai (Anime 1), Yuko Minaguchi (Anime 2)
- Obotchaman (オボッチャマン Well-mannered boy raised in a good environment+Man), robot made by Mashirito with the same plans as Arale, but male. Extremely polite and well-mannered, and Arale becomes a later love interest. Originally named "Caramelman #4."
- Seiyuus: Mitsuko Horie (Anime 1), Motoko Kumai (Anime 2)
[edit] The Kimidori Family
- Akane Kimidori (木緑あかね Kimidori Akane "Yellow-green Red"), Arale's "bad girl" friend
- Seiyuus: Kazuko Sugiyama (Anime 1), Hiroko Konishi (Anime 2)
- Aoi Kimidori (木緑葵 Kimidori Aoi "Yellow-green Blue"), Akane's older sister, who works at the coffee shop
- Seiyuus: Naomi Jinbo (Anime 1), Hiroko Emori (Anime 2)
- Kon Kimidori (木緑紺 Kimidori Kon "Yellow-green Navy-blue"), Akane and Aoi's father
- Seiyuus: Banjou Ginga (Anime 1), Hideyuki Tanaka (Anime 2)
- 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 the younger sister of Peasuke's mother (below).
[edit] The Soramame Family
- Taro Soramame (空豆タロウ Soramame Tarō), Arale's "bad boy" friend at school who tries to act cool
- Seiyuus: Toshio Furukawa (Anime 1), Shinichirou Ohta (Anime 2)
- Peasuke Soramame (空豆ピースケ Soramame Piisuke, Broad bean Pea+common male name ending, "Peasuke" in the English translation), 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. :Seiyuus: Naomi Jinbo (Anime 1), Megumi Urawa (Anime 2)
- Kurikinton Soramame (空豆クリキントン Soramame Kurikinton Broad bean Sweet chestnut paste (also sort of sounds like Clint or Clinton), the father of the Soramame family and a barber. Looks similar to Clint Eastwood.
- Seiyuus: Kouji Totani (Anime 1), Nobuaki Kanemitsu (Anime 2)
- Mame Soramame (空豆まめ Soramame Mame Broad bean Bean), Taro and Peasuke's mother, who also wears an animal cap like Peasuke.
[edit] The Tsun Family
A family of Chinese whose spaceship crash landed in Penguin Village.
- Tsururin Tsun (摘鶴燐 Tsun Tsururin The sound of something shiny and smooth (such as a bald head)), the daughter. Has various powers, including telekinesis and teleportation, and later starts dating Taro.
- Seiyuus: Yuuko Mita (Anime 1), Houko Kuwashima (Anime 2)
- Tsukutsun Tsun (摘突詰 Tsun Tsukutsun The sound of poking something (such as poop)), 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 even 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. He later starts dating Akane.
- Seiyuus: Shigeru Chiba (Anime 1), Ryoutarou Okiayu (Anime 2)
- Tsuruten Tsun (摘鶴天 Tsun Tsuruten), 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.
- Seiyuus: Hiroshi Ohtake (Anime 1), Kouji Yada (Anime 2)
- Tsuntsunodanoteiyuugou Tsun (摘詰角田野廷遊豪 Tsun Tsuntsunodanoteiyuugou), the mother, who also practices kung fu, like her son. Tends to beat up her perverted husband.
- Seiyuus: Mitsuko Horie (Anime 1), Michie Tomizawa (Anime 2)
[edit] Penguin Village Police Force
(Note that none of the police force are given names in the comics, except for Charmy Yamada.)
- Pagos (パゴス), 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 on the second half of the 1979 one-shot Wonder Island, also as a policeman, though the setting was entirely different.
- Seiyuus: Masaharu Satou (Anime 1), ??? (Anime 2)
- Gara (ガラ), 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.
- Seiyuus: Isamu Tanonaka (Anime 1), ??? (Anime 2)
- Gyaosu (ギャオス), the police chief.
- Seiyuus: Kouji Totani (Anime 1), Bin Shimada (Anime 2)
- Polly Bakettsu (ポリー・バケッツ), the gun-toting lady cop.
- Seiyuus: Toshiko Fujita (Anime 1), Masako Katsuki (Anime 2)
- Charmy Yamada (チャーミー山田), a very dedicated cop who joins the force later in the series.
- Seiyuus: Ryou Horikawa (Anime 1)
[edit] Other recurring characters
- Mashirito (マシリト the surname of the author's editor at the time, Kazuhiko Torishima, reversed), Senbei's evil mad scientist rival; he looks strangely similar to the author's boss.
- Seiyuus: Nachi Nozawa→ Keiichi Noda (Anime 1), Yasuo Yamada (Anime 1 movies), Akira Kamiya (1992 movie), Ryoutarou Okiayu (Anime 2)
- Suppaman (スッパマン Sour+Man, sounds like Superman), 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, Dark-and-Evil Bob (or any other typical male name)) note that Kuraaku Kenta sounds like Clark Kent.
- Seiyuus: Tessho Genda (Anime 1), Toru Furuya (Anime 2)
- King Nikochan (ニコチャン大王 Nikochan Daiou), 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). He also speaks in Nagoya dialect (the author is from Nagoya).
- Seiyuus: Hiroshi Ohtake (Anime 1), Bin Shimada (Anime 2)
- Nikochan's Servant (ニコチャン家来 Nikochan Kerai), 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.)
- Seiyuus: Shigeru Chiba (Anime 1), Ryou Horikawa (Anime 2)
- Pazan (パーザン Loser+Zan (as in Tarzan)), Tarzan hero wannabe with almost exactly the same face as Suppaman; shares a mutual dislike with Suppaman.
- Seiyuus: Kouji Totani (Anime 1), Minori Matsushima (Anime 2)
- Bubibinman (ブビビンマン Sound of a fly buzzing+Man), 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), a toddler who lives in Penguin Village and spends her days riding her tricycle and laughing at others for not keeping up with fashion.
- Seiyuus: Kazuko Sugiyama (Anime 1), Noriko Uemura (Anime 2)
- Daigorou Kurigashira (栗頭大五郎 Kurigashira Daigorou Chestnut-head Daigorou), 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 means head).
- Seiyuus: Tetsuo Mizutori (Anime 1), Nobuo Tobita (Anime 2)
- Donbe (ドンベ), a fox who likes to transform into things and scare people.
- Seiyuus: Shigeru Chiba (Anime 1), Kappei Yamaguchi (Anime 2)
- Hiyoko (ヒヨコ), Peasuke's (taller) girlfriend whom he saved from a bug after she was hit by Senbei's shrink gun.
- Seiyuus: Saeko Shimazu (Anime 1), Houko Kuwashima (Anime 2)
- Unchi Kun (うんち君 Mr. Poop), 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)
- Seiyuus: Keiko Yamamoto (Anime 1), Chika Sakamoto (Anime 2)
- Toriyama (トリヤマ), the creator of the series, he frequently shows up as in the story, usually represented by a bird (the tori in Toriyama means bird), a robot, or a man wearing a surgical mask.
- Seiyuus: Isamu Tanonaka (bird, robot) and Hideyuki Tanaka (human) (Anime 1)
- Matsuyama (松山), Toriyama's 2nd assistant.
- 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.
[edit] Movies
- 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 Haroo! Fushigi Jima?) (1981)
- Doctor Slump (ドクタースランプ?) (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 Isshuu Dai-Reesu?) (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-jou no Hihou?) (1984)
- Dr. Slump and Arael-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! Penguin Villiage 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)
- Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha! Love Comes From Penguin Villiage (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 Haato 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: Arale no Bikkuri Baan?) (1999)
- As-Yet Untitled New Film (March 3rd, 2007 planned release[2])
[edit] 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 81-83, 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 (Japanese: Makafushigi Dai-Bōken). 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 a phone booth effortlessly). Goku also makes a brief cameo, trying to stop Mashirito ( in the manga and anime ).
[edit] 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 pop 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.
The English language version of the manga is translated by noted game translator Alexander O. Smith.
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.
