Dr. Slump

If you're a fan of Akira Toriyama's art style, a fan of wacky gag manga, and/or a fan of adorable, naive characters then you'll love this manga. The story, being a gag manga and having more of an episodic story, is great almost every time. There are some story-lines where it was starting to bore me, but only like one or two. Also notice I said "starting" to bore me, because it never bored me... it was just getting there. All the other story-lines I'm always engaged in and highly enjoy them. There were many times while reading this where I uncontrollablylaughed out loud; it's truly a great manga. Maybe this is just me, but I'm in love with Toriyama's art style. I love everything about it; it's so pleasing to me. Maybe it's because my favorite show is OG Dragon Ball and I've just been conditioned to love his art, or maybe he truly deserves the credit I give him. Every time at the beginning of a chapter there is a picture of certain characters drawn in a cover art type way, and many times I'm always taken aback by the art. I truly love it so much, and I hope more people feel the same way. Oh-ho-ho, if you were to ask me what series out of any series that has ever existed that has the best characters in it, I would choose Dr. Slump without hesitation. Most, if not all, characters are amazing in their own way. Arale Norimaki, the main character of this series, is amazingly adorable. Her design is adorable, her personality is adorable, her actions are adorable, she's just straight up adorable. She's my favorite character in this series, and she's my second favorite character in all of fiction (Kid Goku being the first). I'm extremely happy Toriyama's editor told him to make Arale the main character instead of Senbei Norimaki like Toriyama wanted. Senbei is the genius inventor that created Arale in the first place... oh yeah did I not mention Arale is a robot? Well she is, and Senbei created her. Senbei is hilarious, from his serious face to his perversion, he's easily in my top ten characters for this series. It's always hilarious when Senbei tries his best to see girls' panties, namely Midori Yamabuki, the teacher to Arale. Midori is easily best girl in this series (one reason is because she's one of the only of age female main characters in this series, but even if every character was of age, Midori would still be best girl), she's adorable in an adult kind of way, her design is beautiful, and her personality is extremely cute. Besides Arale, another one of Midori's students is Akane Kimidori, the somewhat edgy, cute, and kind of Bulma-like character. If you haven't seen Dragon Ball and don't know Bulma's character, just imagine an overly moody teen that complains a lot, but Akane is more a watered down version of Bulma; she's a much more fun character, but lets not forget about Tsun Tsururin, another amazingly adorable character. Her design is cute, and almost everything she does is adorable; she's an amazing character. Her brother, Tsun Tsukutsun, has a striking resemblance to Yamcha from Dragon Ball, and he's easily one of my favorite characters... probably top five. He's a martial artist, and possibly partly an inspiration for Dragon Ball (Since Dr. Slump was created first). This series is truly wonderful, and I hope that one day the full sub for the anime will come out on some website; I can't find it anywhere. I got this series from the library to read it, and once I get some money I'm definitely going to buy it to support the series. It's truly wonderful, I love just about every bit of it, and I highly recommend it. You can tell how much passion Toriyama put into this series compared to Dragon Ball, this series is his TRUE baby, not Dragon Ball. Sure Dragon Ball is much larger in scale and in popularity, but that doesn't take away how much he cares for Dr. Slump. Lets face it, Toriyama is just appeasing the fans with Dragon Ball, he probably doesn't even care that much about it anymore. He has so much passion in Dr. Slump, and I really recommend you guys read it and give it a try.

COMEDY 7/10 The author manages to create a unique and quirky world filled with fun characters. Most of the story happens in Penguin Village, starring a cast of people each with its own set of antics. Most notably is the protagonist Arale who shares a lot of traits with kid Goku from Dragon Ball. She is just an innocent robot child that defies expectations with her inhuman capabilities. Surround her with the eccectric people from Penguin Village and you have the formula for the comedy in this manga. The comedy is very childish but creative. You can have poop jokes and then have a whole chapterdedicated to that poop being its own character. Personally, I found it hilarious most of the time, but it can get repetetive with 236 chapters. PLOT ?/10 There is not much plot in this. Don't expect a complicated narrative or development. This manga is episodic and even though there is some progression with new characters and themes introduced, by the end of the story there is a lot of "plot threads" unfinished. It doesn't take itself seriously most of the time. That pretty much summarizes this title, an unserious, quirky, episodic, gag comedy manga. ART 10/10 It's perfect. I admit there is a lot of nostalgia for me as a Dragon Ball fan. This manga presents a more round and chibi version of Toriyama's art. Each character is unique and fun. Arale especially is very cute. In the same way, the setting shares this cartoonish style making everything cohesive and just mesmerizing to look at. There are some action and sport focused chapters in here. It's no surprise that the author acomplishes a perfect execution of these scenes. The movement blends nicely with the designs of the characters. OVERALL 7/10 If you want to turn your brain off and have a laugh while blessing your eyes with Toriyama's art. Check it out.