Animerica July 1998 (Volume 6, Number 7)
Best of the East – Import-Only Anime Reviews
Dr. Slump
Dr. Slump
© Akira Toriyama/Shueisha · Fuji TV · Toei Animation
19981 series based on the manga by Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball)
- On-Air in Japan; Wednesdays@7:00 p.m. on Fuji TV in the Tokyo area.
– Mai2
Question of the month for me is, why in the world would a robot girl like Arare3 need glasses?4 Anyway, here’s the funniest moment in the episode I screened: while her body’s being fixed, Arare’s dismembered head gets taken for a spin in a toy car remote-controlled by her angel-baby pal.5
– Kit6
Wow, that’s the looongest opening song I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen quite a few in my day. Old school anime fans should be in for a jolt grade-A nostalgia with Dr. Slump. I, on the other hand, wasn’t hit as heavily by its kitschy charm. It is just me (yes), or does computer-drawn anime really seem like a cop-out?7 I understand that it’s more “convenient” and “cost effective,” but I believe that the finished product really suffers. Ho hum I’ll shut up now.
– Julie8
Now that Dragon Ball, and even that spinoff show, Dragon Ball GT, are off the air, I guess it would be logical to resurrect Toriyama’s previous successful-beyond-all-reason series Dr. Slump for the ’90s. The TV animation is high-quality, and although I thought having Dragon Ball crossover stuff9 sneaking into the proceedings seemed a bit mercenary, I’m told it’s in keeping with the spirit of the original. Be prepared for bizarre humor that’s not cute in the current style, but something all its own.
– Bill10
I can’t say I didn’t like it. I chuckled a couple of times and the animation was really well done. But this production lacked something. I am constantly surprised and delighted by the atypical plot devices of Dragon Ball, and there were none of those here. Perhaps it lacked that touch of sarcasm that I’ve come to hold so dear. (Yeah, like I’m ever sarcastic!) It may be candy for the eyes, but for this mind, it sort of acts like those dim sum sesame balls–nice going down, but it just lays there.
– Mark11
Not exactly my cup of tea, but I suppose it’s not a bad lifestyle for a cute little robot girl… sitting around playing video games, jamming to a miniature band, hanging with angel babies, cooking tempura in your friend’s head. It’s kind of reminiscent of Koji Koji12, though not nearly as psychedelic. Still, I’m not sure whether I should be charmed or disturbed that they resuscitate the lovable bear who gets shot by some cretinous hunter by turning him into a cyborg.13
2 This quote on the page is designated with an icon for and attributed to “Mai,” the section’s mascot character.
3 “Arare” is the direct transliteration of the character’s name アラレ (arare), but is consistently spelled out (including within this show) on the character’s clothing as “Arale” — Arale’s given name, Senbei’s given name, and the family name of Norimaki all come from the same source.
4 This is a little more skimmed over in the 1997 adaptation than in the original manga, but is addressed in the first episode shortly after Arale is brought to life: Senbei just isn’t that great of an inventor, and didn’t quite nail it.
5 Based on the scene description, this was likely episode 5.
6 Kit Fox
7 “Digipaint” shows of the era were still actually drawn by hand (including this 1997 Dr. Slump reboot anime), but were digitally painted and mastered digitally (generally only at standard definition, which has led to a specific era of anime only having rough-to-competent “upscales” due to not having traditional film masters to re-scan for higher-resolution modern releases).
8 Julie Davis
9 Dragon Ball crossover material runs from episode 56 to 59.
10 William “Bill” Flanagan
11 Mark Simmons
12 Also known as Coji-Coji, a series that incidentally received a TV series adaptation around this same timeframe, based on a manga by by Momoko Sakura… who also happened to be a personal friend and colleague of Akira Toriyama.
13 The events described here happen the second TV special for this 1997 TV series, which aired during the final month of the series’ broadcast in September 1999.