Dr. 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.

[2] For example, one of the recurring characters is Suppaman, a short, fat, pompous buffoon who changes into a Superman-like alter-ego by eating a sour-tasting ("suppai" in Japanese) umeboshi.

In addition, other real-life people make appearances as well, such as Toriyama's editor (Kazuhiko Torishima), assistants, wife, his colleague friends (such as Masakazu Katsura), and others.

[5] After his 1979 one-shot Tomato the Cutesy Gumshoe saw some popularity, Toriyama decided to create another manga with a female lead character and that became Dr.

[6] Toriyama drew several short omake included in the Dr. Slump tankōbon 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.

[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.

[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.

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.

[13] In 2016, Torishima said that although Dr. Slump was very successful, having debuted at number two in the magazine's reader rankings, Toriyama wanted to stop it after about six months.

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.

[17] He stated that the tournament-type events, such as the Penguin Village Grand Prix and the kick the can contest, were popular with readers and inspired the Tenkaichi Budōkai in Dragon Ball.

[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 by Alexander O. Smith and some censorship.

[27] After Dr. Slump ended in 1984, its characters returned for an extended cameo in Toriyama's next series Dragon Ball, in which Arale and Son Goku briefly team up to defeat General Blue during the Red Ribbon Army storyline.

It was serialized in V Jump from February 21, 1993, to September 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).

[28][29] To promote the release of the first Dr. Slump – Arale-chan anime DVD box set, Akira Toriyama illustrated a special one-shot colored spin-off manga titled Dr. Mashirito - Abale-chan (Dr.MASHIRITO ABALEちゃん) published in the April 2007 issue of Monthly Shōnen Jump.

"[39] In February 2021, American streaming service Tubi announced their acquisition of the Dr. Slump TV anime for release with English subtitles.

[50] Toriyama's 2007 one-shot was adapted into a five-minute short titled Dr. Slump: Dr. Mashirito and Abale-chan that was shown alongside the theatrically released One Piece Movie: The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta.

An action game, simply titled Dr. Slump (ドクタースランプ), for the PlayStation based on the second television series was released on March 18, 1999, by Bandai.

[56] Finally, she, along with Gatchan and Senbei Norimaki, appear as non-playable characters in the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows game Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, as does Penguin Village.

[59] The Sun fell in Penguin Village (ペンギン村に陽は落ちて) and Ghostbusters (ゴーストバスターズ), released in October 1989 and June 27, 1997, respectively, are original works written by Genichiro Takahashi, but draw from the world of Dr.

The commercials advertise the car manufacturer's Kei SUV Hustler and include new acting from Mami Koyama as Arale and Kumiko Nishihara as Gatchan.

"[76] Mike Toole of Anime News Network called Dr. Slump "the greatest manga of all time", filled with "parody, gags, and fart jokes that everyone from toddlers to grandparents can enjoy together".

[77] Jason Thompson referred to Dr. Slump as the best series Toriyama has created, claiming it is better drawn and more creative than Dragon Ball.

He also reports that it is considered "the last non-manufactured hit" by many in the Japanese manga industry, particularity among Weekly Shōnen Jump titles.

[78] 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.

"[79] 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] He thinks that while Toriyama's usual art style uses "SD" characters, Dr. Slump also shows hints that he can draw realistic.

[82] 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.

[81][82] 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.

[81] Reviewing the first five movies, Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network summarized Dr. 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."