# Dr. Slump (1981)

> An eccentric inventor builds a robot girl named Arale and raises her as his little sister in a wacky rural village.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/34550

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 243
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, comedy
- Network: Fuji TV, Tokai Television Broadcasting, Kansai TV, Fukui TV, Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting, Sendai Television, SAGA TV, Ishikawa TV, TNC, OHK, Television Shin Hiroshima System, TV Shizuoka, UMK TV Miyazaki, NBS, TSK, Ehime Broadcasting, Yamagata Television System, AKT, Toyama Television
- Cast: Mami Koyama, Kenji Utsumi, Mitsuko Horie, Kazuko Sugiyama, Naomi Jinbo, Isamu Tanonaka, Hiroshi Otake, Mariko Mukai
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081852/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: whimsical, breezy, absurd, affectionate, cheerful

## What critics say

Audiences broadly regard the series as a light, joyful comedy with a charming robot heroine and a whimsical village setting.

## Synopsis

Dr. Slump (1981-1986) is a Japanese animated comedy series produced by Toei Animation and broadcast across a wide network of Japanese regional television stations. Based on the manga, it follows the brilliant but under-appreciated inventor Senbei Norimaki (voiced by Kenji Utsumi), who builds an android girl named Arale (voiced by Mami Koyama) and presents her as his younger sister. Their everyday life unfolds in Penguin Village, a wacky rural community where eccentric neighbors such as Obotchaman (voiced by Mitsuko Horie) and Akane Kimidori (voiced by Kazuko Sugiyama) constantly wander into Arale's boisterous mischief. Each episode is a self-contained gag-driven adventure built from slapstick chaos, surreal invention mishaps, and playful village rivalries rather than an overarching plot. The series runs across 243 episodes, a long, lighthearted run that keeps its energy bright and childlike throughout. Its breezy, absurd, and affectionate register will appeal to fans of shonen anime comedy, and viewers who enjoy Doraemon, Astro Boy, and Dragon Ball will find familiar kinship in its robotic protagonist and playful spirit.

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