Synopsis: As Senbei works on the dragon radar, Goku asks him if he can really fix it. Midori assures him that her husband is a genius, but Senbei frets as the device is just too complicated for him to fix and he's unsure what to do now that his reputation as a genius is at stake. From over his shoulder, Turbo uses his telekinesis to immediately fix the device, and proudly proclaims that his daddy has already fixed it, much to Senbei's surprise when he hasn't even done anything yet. Blue arrives and gets out of Supaman's car and spots Senbei's airplane, but then spots the group of people around it, including Goku. Goku checks the dragon radar and it really does seem to be fixed, much to Senbei's misplaced delight. To Goku's confusion however, the radar shows that the three Dragon Balls that Blue took are right there, which could only mean... To their surprise, Blue appears out of nowhere and takes Arale hostage at knifepoint, telling everyone to do as he says or he'll kill her. Goku demands that Blue give him back the Dragon Balls, but Blue promptly freezes him in place with his psychic powers. Senbei has no idea what's going on, but Turbo explains that it seems to be telekinesis similar to his own. Midori asks Goku if Blue is his friend and Goku says that he's a bad guy. Blue takes the dragon radar from Goku, with Goku protesting that it's not Blue's, it not even his, causing Senbei to ask if the man is stealing it. Blue then tells everyone not to interfere if they value their lives and that he'll be taking their plane as well. He stores the Dragon Balls in the plane before turning around and saying he now has to kill Goku, striking the boy viciously in the face. Senbei is horrified, especially as Blue cuts down a nearby tree with a swipe of his hand and says he intends to impale Goku with it. Finally realizing that this is no game, Senbei tells Arale that he thinks 'that man' wants to wrestle. Arale is delighted and quickly runs towards Blue, launching a dropkick into his back that sends the man flying into the air at high speeds. Arale chases after him on the ground, eventually catching up to where she'd sent him flying, and leaps into the air to headbutt him in the groin, sending Blue flying far, far into the distance, where he can no longer be seen by Goku or the others. Turbo uses his own telekinesis to free Goku, and Goku asks Arale what happened to Blue. Arale said she sent him flying really, really far away, and Goku is amazed at how strong the girl is. Arale says that the Gatchans are really strong too, as well as another friend of hers named Obotchaman. Goku says that there really are a lot of people out there way stronger than him, which means he needs to train and grow even stronger. He remembers the Dragon Balls are in the plane and goes to get them, but discovers that Blue must have still had the radar in his hands when Arale sent him flying. Seeing that Goku is at a loss as to what to do next, Turbo asks if Goku would like him to make him a new radar. Goku and Senbei ask if he can really do that, and Turbo says it's simple since he got a good look at it before, he just needs to borrow some parts from his father's airplane. Using his telekinesis, Turbo floats pieces of the plane into the air and constructs a new radar, and as soon as Goku checks it, it looks and works just the same as the original one. Goku thanks Turbo while Senbei brags about how smart his boy is. Goku calls down kinto'un, but before leaving he tells Arale that she should enter the Tenkaichi Budokai next time there is one, though Arale doesn't seem to know what that is. As Goku leaves, Senbei asks again who Goku was anyway. Elsewhere, General Blue calls Red Ribbon HQ from a telephone booth and reports that he lost the Dragon Balls he was after, but that he has managed to take the enemy's radar from them. The person on the other end is excited and tells him to return to HQ immediately, but Blue says that it might take him some time, as he appears to be somewhere with a desert and a pyramid... Review: And so, the great Dragon Ball/Dr. Slump crossover comes to an end. Ultimately, it causes the threat of General Blue to end on a rather weak note admittedly, but it's at least a humorous one rather than the wet fart that was the manga end of Purple, and there was really no other way for this crossover to end and still feel natural to a degree, so...it is what it is, really. And hey, this chapter didn't really bring anything new to the table in regards to Slump, so you're all spared another primer this time around. The main gag in this chapter is the repeated references to the fact that Turbo is much smarter than his father, something that I think comes across well enough without knowledge of Slump, but almost definitely comes across even weirder without it. He's such a good boy though that he even lets his dad take credit for the first go-around at least, though it's the second one that's most impressive. How in the heck he was able to put together a new dragon radar from parts in an airplane is beyond me, though I guess we never really do find out what Bulma used to make it either...hmm. Oh yeah, and Turbo's radar? It's the radar you'll see throughout the rest of the franchise whenever it's time to look for Earth's Dragon Balls. They never get Bulma's back, and Goku seemingly never tells them about this little adventure either, so nobody's any the wiser to it either. Just another of one of those odd little factoids that people don't really talk about much in regards to the series. Blue taking Arale hostage is fun in two different ways. On the one hand, it's a gag right out of Dr. Slump, where early on especially people would constantly think Arale was just a little girl that wouldn't prove a threat at all, only for them to get their come-uppance at the end, exactly as Blue did. There's also Senbei's confused reaction to all of the proceedings as well. Dragon Ball is certainly a gag series, it's never not been a gag series on some level even as it grew more serious – but Dr. Slump is an entirely different kind of gag series. Even Dragon Ball at it's very start had a more rigid plot structure than what Dragon Ball did. If Dragon Ball were to be compared to...for lack of a better example, Adventure Time, a seemingly goofy series that still contains a lot of lore and world-building as it's story goes on (so I've been told anyway, I've yet to see it for myself to be honest), then Dr. Slump would be The Simpsons – characters rarely if ever age, things stay fairly constant and only change as needed to further the gags along and often revert to how things were at the start by the end of a story, with only major changes sticking as a way to change up the status quo somewhat. As such, Senbei is completely at a loss when the situation suddenly turns much more dire than anything he's really ever been used to. I also love that Goku invites Arale to the next Tenkaichi Budokai, as this not only brings the idea of another tournament back up for the first time in a while, it prompts the idea of a further crossover. Sadly we don't ever get Arale at the tournament, but to be fair, it wouldn't really work anyway. I mean, she'd have to win, and unfortunately, I don't think you'll ever quite catch up to the sheer, unbeatable power that is gag manga power, Goku. This crossover was short and sweet in the manga, but I want to step away from that slightly to finally talk about a big elephant in the room – yes, let's finally talk about THAT unfortunate filler scene with General Blue. The manga version of this crossover lasted three chapters, and the anime version likewise lasted three episodes. It's very rare for only one manga chapter to make up a whole episode, especially in the case of Dragon Ball, and this crossover is no exception as the anime decided to make this crossover an even bigger deal than it already was and include even more antics from familiar Dr. Slump faces for longtime fans of Toriyama. This includes more scenes of Taro actually doing his job as a member of the Penguin Village police (plus us actually seeing the other members of the police, who are all mainstays of Dr. Slump), more than a token cameo for King Nikochan, and even an extended appearance by Obotchaman. It's...the latter that presents an issue, sadly. It hasn't been that long, so I'm sure everyone recalls the jokes built around the fact that Blue isn't interested in women, and is thus assumed to be gay because of that and his overall posh nature. Well, the anime decided to make things more blatantly clear by actually showing Blue being attracted to a male character. Unfortunately, the male character they chose is Obotchaman, who has the appearance of being a normal little boy. That's right – Toei circa the 1980's decided their best gag at the expense of a seemingly gay character...was to make him also be a pedophile, because of course he is, why not. I...cannot even convey into words how messed up that is. The worst part of this is that, at least here in the west, more fans are familiar with the anime of Dragon Ball than they are the manga, so more people are aware of this version of events than the one without them, so this unfortunately becomes a mark against General Blue as a whole. And I don't really think that's fair – again, as a straight guy, I'm the last person who gets to judge whether or not Blue is an offensive gay stereotype just by his nature, but to also hold an anime-only gag, no matter how poorly done and offensive it is, against him, just feels wrong to me. If the anime version existed first then that would be one thing, but for Dragon Ball, the manga is the original take. I can't say we should pretend the anime version didn't happen, because that would be to ignore it's history, warts and all, but I don't think Blue should be judged entirely by that one scene that didn't even exist in the manga. As always though, I'd be curious to hear other people's thoughts on this. Dr. Slump, much like Dragon Ball, is a series that definitely shows it's age in the way a lot of it's humor is handled, and it's not always in the most flattering of ways when viewed through a modern lens. If you can deal with the occasional 'OOF' moment though, the series is an absolute gem that more people really need to experience for more than just this crossover, as it hardly gives you anything of what Dr. Slump is really like – and why would it? For Japanese audiences when these chapters first came out, Dr. Slump and it's characters were already well known and didn't need to be explained. If you're curious to experience Dr. Slump for yourself, there's sadly very little of it that's properly available in the US via the anime – outside of this crossover, you can get the first five movies on DVD from Discotek, or you can watch the entire second anime on Tubi (with admittedly very poor subtitles and quality). The entire manga however is available from Viz (physically or digitally), and if you have a Shonen Jump subscription, you don't even have to buy the volumes, you can just read it on their app (or read the first three chapters for free even if you DON'T have a subscription)! This would be my recommendation for the best way to experience the series for yourself. Until next time! N'cha! Favorite Panel:
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Synopsis: General Blue comes to the realization that the only way he's going to put an end to Goku's meddling for sure is to kill him, a fact that gets verified when he soon sees Goku overhead in the sky, searching for him yet again. As Goku spots the crash site and hopes the Dragon Balls didn't get broken as well, Blue quickly hides himself behind part of the mountain. He decides that, for the time being, the best thing to do would be to get back to Red Ribbon HQ with the Dragon Balls in tow, and runs off to find a way to get back there.
As Goku digs through the wreckage of Blue's rocket, he's disappointed to find no trace of the Dragon Balls. He then realizes that Blue isn't there either, so he must have survived and taken them with him. Before Goku can renew his search, Arale and the Gatchans show up behind him. Goku is amazed and asks Arale if she just ran all the way there, which she confirms, as that means she's almost as fast as kinto'un! Goku asks her where she trained, but Arale is confused and says they didn't come by train. Arale asks Goku what he's playing now and Goku says he isn't playing, he's looking for a bad guy. He calls back down kinto'un and takes to the sky, but no matter where he looks, he doesn't see Blue anywhere. In Penguin Village, Blue comes across a telephone booth but still can't figure out a way to get back to HQ. Just then, he spots a car coming his way, so he walks in front of it to force it to stop. The driver, Kuraaku Kenta, loudly lambasts him for standing in the road, but Blue simply tells him to get out of the car. Realizing that Blue must be a criminal, Kenta laughs and says it's Blue's bad luck that they happen to be near a phone booth. Running into the phone booth, much to Blue's confusion, Kenta steps back out in his true form – Supaman, a superhero from the planet Okakaumeboshi, who now calls Pengin Village his home. He transforms into his true form every time he eats an umeboshi (or sour plum, 'supa' being the Japanese word for 'sour'). Blue is nonplussed however and asks him what umeboshi have to do with anything. Supaman realizes that Blue must be from out of town and that's the only reason he's not terrified at the sight of such a mighty warrior, so he vows to demonstrate his power. His demonstration turns out to be scowling angrily at Blue, who just keeps staring at him. Supaman says since Blue is new in town he'll let him off easy just this once, so if he wants to run, he'd better take this chance. Blue smiles and walks over to the phone booth and, much to Supaman's horror, crushes it between his arms. After seeing this, Supaman laughs and becomes much more polite, asking Blue how he may help him today. Blue asks him if he has any airplane capsules or the like, but Supaman has no idea what a 'capsule' is. Blue realizes he really is in the middle of nowhere, with Supaman confirming that Penguin Village really is quite rural. Blue asks if anyone in the town owns a plane and after thinking on it, Supaman says that Senbei Norimaki should have one and points Blue in the direction of his house. Blue takes Supaman's car, and Supaman gladly sees him off. As soon as Blue is out of earshot however, Supaman becomes smug once more and says that he'll go easy on Blue just this one time. Having landed on the ground again, Goku still can't find Blue anywhere, with Arale wondering if Goku is playing hide-and-seek with someone. Goku suddenly remembers he has the dragon radar and that wherever it shows three Dragon Balls together nearby, that should be Blue. To his disappointment however, the radar appears to be broken again. Goku thinks he has no choice but to go to Bulma to fix it again, only to suddenly realize he has no idea where he is. He asks Arale where they are, and Arale says Penguin Village, which doesn't help Goku very much. Arale asks Goku if his toy is broken, and says that the doctor can fix it for sure. Goku asks Arale to take him to this doctor, and she agrees, provided Goku lets her and the Gatchans ride on kinto'un too. Goku says that kinto'un only lets those pure of heart ride, but Arale and the Gatchans get on no problem, proving to Goku that they must be good people. Arale points towards he home and Goku flies kinto'un in that direction. Once back at the Norimaki residence, Goku and Arale's return catches the attention of Senbei as he works on his plane. Senbei wonders who the new kid is, and his wife Midori says she doesn't think he's from the village. Arale introduces Goku to the Norimakis (including their baby, Turbo, who floats in the air between them) and says that Goku needs Senbei to fix his toy. Senbei asks what it is and Goku explains that it's a dragon radar that shows you where the Dragon Balls are, but Senbei has no idea what any of that means. Turbo says it appears to be a device that picks up a particular sort of energy, which still doesn't mean much to Senbei, but if it's broken all he has to do is fix it. As he opens it up however, he finds that the device is far more complicated than any electronic device he's ever seen. He asks who could have made such a thing, and Goku simply says 'a girl named Bulma'. Senbei is mortified to realize that there might actually be someone smarter than him out there in the world... A short distance away, Blue sees the Norimaki house as he drives Supaman's car, and says that must be where he can get a plane. Review: While this chapter is still full to the brim of Dr. Slump, it actually feels more like a chapter of Dragon Ball that happens to be in Penguin Village this time rather than the opposite like last time. As much fun as Slump gags are, this is probably a good thing, as it allows the story to keep moving even as we have fun with the zaniness of these characters. Linger too long and it could start to feel a little too exploitative, after all. There are a few new characters and concepts from Slump introduced in this chapter that weren't really in the last one though, so let's have another brief Dr. Slump primer before we get further into this. A major part of the Dr. Slump interaction in this chapter comes in the form of Kuraaku Kenta, AKA Supaman. He technically appeared in the last chapter in the background of a panel, but I thought it would be best to wait and talk about him here where he actually got some focus (that and there was already way too much to go over last time). As you might have guessed, Supaman is a thinly veiled parody of DC's Superman, right down to his fake human name – Kuraaku Kenta is just a Japanese reading for Clark Kent, shocking, right? Much like Superman, Supaman was sent to Earth from his home planet, and even takes a job as a reporter just like Clark Kent does. The similarities end there however, as Supaman lacks any real sense of power at all, pretends to fly by rolling around on his stomach via skateboard, and generally has a bad attitude and will actually cause crimes or chaos just to pretend to have people to save from it, and then he'll hit them or throw a grenade or something at them if they're ungrateful for his help. All in all, he's a really terrible guy honestly, which is why he's completely hilarious in my opinion. The second new Slump interaction comes when we meet the rest of the Norimaki family. Senbei's wife Midori was originally known as Midori Yamabuki and was one of Arale's teachers originally. For a good chunk of Dr. Slump, Senbei had an unrequited crush on her, eventually opining from a toilet stall that he wished he could marry her. Cue her hearing that from another stall and agreeing, and they're married by the very next panel. If that doesn't clue you in on the sort of series Dr. Slump is, I don't know what will. It also shows that Toriyama actually got BETTER at writing relationships by the time Dragon Ball got to the point that it needed them. Now that's just scary. Midori has a few character quirks of her own but is largely a happy housewife by this point in time, and that's all we really get of her in this crossover too. Finally, there's Turbo, Senbei and Midori's baby boy. Seeing as how he floats in the air much like the Gatchan, fans unfamiliar with Slump would be forgiven for mistaking him as a third Gatchan of some sort. In the case of Turbo however, he really is a normal human baby – or at least, he was, until an alien spaceship crashed into his crib, and the aliens panicked when realizing they'd just killed a baby, so they quickly used some of their technology to revive him, resulting in the baby gaining powers like teleportation, telekinesis, and flight, as well as making him a super genius that's way smarter than his father. Suddenly Blue doesn't seem so special after all, actually. In-between all of the insanity with these two Toriyama works intermingling, we do get a few humorous jokes at the expense of how this all even works. See, while Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump seem to exist in the same world according to this crossover, that doesn't really work on the surface. From smaller things like Slump using yen while Dragon Ball uses zeni for currency, or the fact that Slump uses a calendar system not unlike our own whereas Dragon Ball will later be revealed to use an Age system, to bigger things like the Dragon Ball world having a normal sun and moon whereas in Dr. Slump, they're uh...alive, seemingly. Or even the fact that the Kami-sama we see in Dr. Slump looks like Roshi and is not at all similar to the Kami-sama we later meet in Dragon Ball. There's really no way to make these two things work together, and Toriyama doesn't really go out of his way to make them do so either, so it's really one of those things that it's best not to overthink and just roll with it. And in a lot of those cases, such as the Age system, that problem didn't yet exist at the time of this chapter's publication. The main example of the former comes when Blue asks Supaman for some capsules and he has no idea what those are. Capsules were an idea that didn't come to Toriyama until Dragon Ball, and the technology in Dr. Slump, while still incredible and fantastic, generally erred on the side of being either more realistic in it's design, or just plain goofy. When Blue surmises that they've never heard of capsules because of how in the sticks Penguin Village is, Supaman doesn't correct him either. Ignoring the clashing world-builds, that actually does work as an explanation on it's own, as Penguin Village is constantly described as being a little town in the middle of nowhere, as Toriyama has never been shy at admitting to being a country bumpkin at heart. Seeing Goku and Arale interact is really fun, as even Goku is taken aback by the young robot's nature, though he's pretty impressed to see someone else who's able to ride kinto'un. Let's see, counting filler, I think that now makes five with him, Chi Chi, good Lunch, Namu, and now Arale? Seven technically I guess, what with the two Gatchan and all. Senbei's horror at someone possibly being smarter than him is a small but fun moment, given how arrogant and sure of himself he constantly is. It makes you wonder just how well he would have gotten along with Bulma if he'd met her at this point. Probably...not well, all things considered. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Synopsis: A pig with an intercom loudly announces from it's treetop perch that it's afternoon in Penguin Village, as a group of seven kids – two of them being winged babies, and one of them carrying a poop on a stick – walk home from school. Akane Kimidori loudly celebrates that their summer vacation is starting tomorrow, and Peasuke Soramame asks her if she has any plans for the summer. She says she plans to do absolutely nothing. She then asks the rest of them what they're planning to do, with her boyfriend Tsukutsun Tsun saying he plans to train in kung fu; Obotchaman plans to work even more hours to make money for cat food; and Peasuke says he's going to do all of the homework like they're supposed to. Akane scoffs saying all of their goodness makes her want to puke, but she finally notices a strange older man continually appearing behind them and giving a peace sign.
Akane asks Senbei Norimaki what he's doing, and Senbei laughs and shyly says that it's been so long since he appeared in manga, so he got a little too excited. Akane tells him to show some more class and not stick his ugly mug in from the corner of the panels, and Senbei scowls but ends up driving away saying that he's going to appear later on anyway. Just then, Taro Soramame drives up on his motorcycle with his girlfriend Tsururin Tsun (Tsukutsun's sister). Akane calls him out for just “happening” to show up now of all times, and asks him if he's playing hooky from his job as a police officer. Taro says he's on vacation as of today so he and Tsururin are going on a date, and realizing he didn't have anything else to say other than that, he drives off as well. Obatchaman suddenly realizes that Arale Norimaki has never said what she's going to do with her summer vacation, and she says she and the Gatchans (the winged babies) will be playing giant monsters all of the time, a thought that depresses Akane. The group drops Tsukutsun off at his house (where his parents give peace signs as well, with their son chastising them for being embarrassing) before doing the same with Peasuke at his house (he and Taro's dad doing the same and getting the same reaction). Supaman, King Nikochan, and Daigoro Kurigashira all appear and give peace signs as well, with Akane saying that she really has to get out of here at some point. When Arale leaves Akane at her house, Akane warns her sister Aoi not to embarrass her by giving a peace sign, but Aoi has no idea what she's talking about, while Kinoko Sarada drives by and insults them all. As Arale finally waves goodbye to Obotchaman, she notices two shapes moving fast through the air above the village. Goku shouts for General Blue to give him back the Dragon Balls, and Blue scoffs at how persistent the boy is being. He speeds up his jet and leaves Goku behind, and Arale on the ground below notes that both shapes have disappeared now. Goku in turn speeds up kinto'un and chases after Blue, catching up almost immediately. Blue says that's impossible as nobody can keep up with a rocket jet, but Goku says he has something else to show him as well. He brandishes the nyoibo at the ship and just narrowly misses hitting it when Blue makes a sudden U-turn. Blue tries to figure out some way to get away from Goku's pursuit, and cuts his engine suddenly. On the ground, Arale notices the shapes in the sky again just above her house. As Goku comes up behind Blue, Blue fires his jet's engine at full throttle, catching the boy in the stream and knocking him from kinto'un entirely. Blue gloats over his seeming victory over Goku, but turns around just in time to see the mountain in front of him just before his jet collides with it. Goku sees this and laughs as he lands on the ground before Arale and the Gatchans. The trio greet him and Goku says hello back, but he then calls for kinto'un and flies away, hoping that the crash hasn't broken the Dragon Balls as well. Arale thinks this all looks really fun and runs off after Goku, asking to play with him. Senbei meanwhile makes another peace sign from the window. Blue, battered but alive, walks away from his jet's wreckage and says that Goku is starting to get on his nerves. Review: Oh, man. Let's start this thing off right here with me saying that I have been just as excited to cover these next three chapters as I have been terrified to do so. Why is that? Well, I'm excited because I get to talk about Dr. Slump, and Dr. Slump is absolutely amazing. Toriyama's first hit manga series pre-dates Dragon Ball, and ran for a little over four-and-a-half years, from February 4, 1980 to September 10, 1984. It's also sadly a relatively unknown series in the west, with only small offerings from it popping up here and there over the years. Despite that however, it continues to hold a place in the hearts of Toriyama's biggest fans, myself included, based both on it's own merit as well as how important it is to Dragon Ball. Even without this crossover, without Dr. Slump, there is no Dragon Ball, because it's on this previous series that Toriyama cut his teeth on doing a serialized comic, and much of Dragon Ball's wackier beginnings owe a lot to Dr. Slump – though Dragon Ball at it's zaniest doesn't even begin to hold a candle to the sort of antics that Arale and her cohorts get up to. If the series is so amazing and fun, then why am I so scared to talk about Dr. Slump? Precisely because it's Dr. Slump. The series has so many sight-gags and so many jokes that generally only work as a visual medium that I was utterly terrified to try and talk about them in a written format. There's also the fact that again, outside of a rather small but ardent fanbase, Dr. Slump just isn't as well known as it should be to most Dragon Ball fans. So the question then became just how to cover it here. Well, thankfully writing about Dr. Slump's antics, at least the ones presented in Dragon Ball, has proven to be a little easier than I'd predicted, at least so far (watch the rug get pulled out from under me in the next two chapters). And this chapter actually features astonishingly little to talk about on the Goku and Blue front, so instead, I'm going to use this space to do a little primer on Dr. Slump and it's characters that have appeared so far, to better help fans who aren't familiar with the series get the most out of this crossover as they can. So buckle up guys – we're going Slump-ing. Dr. Slump primarily follows the adventures of Arale Norimaki, a cute young girl with purple hair and glasses who also happens to be a super-strong robot. Senbei Norimaki, the titular 'Dr. Slump', created her to win a bet that he could make a robot that was so functionally human that nobody would ever notice that she wasn't human at all. Nothing else on this bet ever comes up to the best of my recollection, but if it had, Senbei would have won because the entire population of Penguin Village is so over-the-top insane that nobody ever does seem to catch on to Arale's true nature, even when she displays such insane strength as breaking the Earth in half with a single punch (don't worry, it's always fine in the next panel), or doing something as weird as happily carrying around poop on a stick (sometimes the poop even has a face, arms, and legs, and can talk – don't ask why, just roll with it). Throughout the course of her story, Arale meets and interacts with a broad range of other characters, a good chunk of which make a cameo appearance in this very chapter. Almost always at Arale's side are the two Gatchan, flying babies with green hair and angel wings. The original Gatchan was found by Arale during a trip into the prehistoric era, but eventually it cocooned itself and emerged as two Gatchan instead. It eventually turns out that Gatchan is an angel originally sent by Kami-sama (not the one you're thinking of) to destroy the corrupt humans, but instead they spend their time eating anything and everything. Literally anything and everything – metal, the very ground, plastics, only rubber seems to be inedible to them. Arale's best friend is Akane Kimidori, a girl with a mischievous streak longer than her hair. She often plays pranks (particularly on Senbei) and is somewhat seen as a bad influence on Arale. By the end of the Dr. Slump series, she's dating Tsukutsun Tsun. Her older sister Aoi works at the local coffee shot, the Coffee Pot, a building literally shaped like a giant coffee pot. Another of Arale's friends, Peasuke Soramame, is even shorter than Arale even though he's the same age roughly as her. He's noted for always wearing his animal ear hat, and is often the voice of reason for the group – at least, as much reason as any of them ever have. His older brother Taro Soramame is also part of the group, but as he's older than any of them, he's graduated school by this point in time and is working as a member of the Penguin Village police, and is dating the younger sister of Akane's boyfriend, Tsururin Tsukutsun. His involvement in this crossover, at least in the manga, is just a cameo. Obotchaman is another robot, but rather than being created by Senbei, Obotchaman was created by the evil Dr. Mashirito, one of Senbei's greatest rivals. Obotchaman was originally created as 'Caramel Man 004' and was made with the goal of gaining revenge on Senbei and Arale for ruining Mashirito's plans and breaking the first three Caramel Men, but Obotchaman turned out to be a good boy instead and eventually turns on his creator, and now lives peacefully in the village where he continues to have a crush on Arale. Dr. Mashirito doesn't appear in this crossover, but his presence is all over Dragon Ball in some ways – he was based on Toriyama's original editor who he had a playfully hateful relationship with. Tsukutsun Tsun is another boy who attends Arale's school, though he and his sister Tsururin are introduced far later into the series. Their father built a rocket ship (that now serves as their house) but it was knocked from the sky by Arale, so now they live next door to the Norimaki's. He eventually begins dating Akane while his sister dates Taro. Though not shown in this crossover, Tsukutsun is an accomplished martial artist himself, and while he usually isn't as strong as Arale, if he becomes enraged he becomes even stronger than her. While his sister has various powers such as telekinesis (not unlike Blue) and teleportation, Tsukutsun is cursed with turning into a tiger whenever a girl touches him and being unable to return to normal until a guy touches him. Think a really weird take on Fruits Basket's zodiac curse mixed with Ranma ½. Senbei Norimaki himself is, as stated, the titular character of Dr. Slump and the creator of Arale. He's a genius through and through and makes some incredible inventions throughout the series, ranging from a time machine to a rice cooker than can create real items from pictures, and even a shrink ray. Unfortunately, he's also really stupid for a genius scientist, and a massive pervert to boot. He inexplicably has the ability to change from a dumpy short man into a handsome gentleman for a few brief moments, for some bizarre (but hilarious) reason. Other characters that appear briefly in this chapter include the Tsun parents, Tsuruten and Tsuntsunodanoteiyugoh (try saying that three times fast...or once, at all, period), a brilliant/perverted scientist and his wife; Taro and Peasuke's dad, Kurikinton, the town's barber; Supaman, a local “super”-hero; King Nikochan, an alien king who's been stranded on Earth for some time now; Daigoro Kurigashira, Arale's teacher with a chestnut shaped head; and Kinoko Sarada, a girl who can always be found riding her tricycle and spouting out insults to others that she deems less cool than her (spoiler: everyone is less cool than her in her mind). Phew. As you can see, there's quite a bit of background to these characters that, while those factoids might not play into Dragon Ball as a whole, flesh out this crossover and make it all the more fun rather than being 'that time Goku ended up in this really, really weird place for some reason' as I'm sure a lot of people view it. I've barely even scratched the surface though, as the only real way to fully get the most out of this crossover is to also be familiar with Dr. Slump. So what're you waiting for? Go read it! You can buy all of the volumes in English physically at various storefronts like RightStuf, or digitally straight from Viz, or if you have a Shonen Jump subscription, you can read it all on that website or app. With that last option, you can even read the first three chapters completely for free, even if you DON'T have a subscription, so what are you waiting for? Get to it! Until next time! Favorite Panel: |
About the AuthorAspiring author and big anime/manga fan, just trying to do my best in the world. For more details, go to About Me. Archives
September 2022
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