is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

and the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the ''

Dr. Slump is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's anthology magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1980 to 1984, with the chapters collected into 18 ''tankōbon'' volumes. The series fol ...

'' manga series, created by

Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for his highly successful manga series ''Dr. Slump'', before going on to create ''Dragon Ball'' (his best-known work) and acting as a character design ...

. She is a robot built by Senbei Norimaki who looks like a young girl. She is known for her naïveté, energetic personality, lack of common sense, and amazing strength. Senbei tries to convince the other citizens of Penguin Village that she is just a normal human girl, and it seems to work, despite her

superhuman The term superhuman refers to humans or human-like beings with enhanced qualities and abilities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. Th ...

athletic ability. Among her strengths, she can use abilities that range from the terrain splitting to the beam-like . However, she is

nearsighted Near-sightedness, also known as myopia and short-sightedness, is an eye disease where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may include ...

and needs to wear glasses. The character also makes appearances in various other media, most notably in the ''

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters colle ...

'' media franchise.

Creation and conception

Toriyama claimed that when he told his editor,

Kazuhiko Torishima is a Japanese publishing executive and former manga magazine editor, who is currently serving as an advisor to Hakusensha. He formerly worked at Shueisha, where he began as an editor in 1976, before becoming a senior managing director (CEO), a ...

, that he wanted to make a manga about a doctor, Torishima told him to add a robot. Toriyama originally wanted a very large robot, but as it would not fit in the panels, he instead made it small. When his editor rejected that idea, he made the robot a girl knowing Torishima would find her "cute." 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. Torishima later elaborated on this, saying that Arale was initially only a guest character for one chapter. However, because he really liked Toriyama's girl characters the editor wanted her to be the main character. The artist felt differently because ''

Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. The chapters of the series that run ...

'' is aimed at boys. The two made a bet; Toriyama would create a

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

manga with a female lead and if it took fourth place or lower in the magazine's reader poll, he could get rid of Arale after the single chapter. Torishima won when ''

Tomato the Cutesy Gumshoe is a Japanese manga anthology consisting of three ''tankōbon'' volumes released between 1983 and 1997 that collect several one-shots written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. The stories were originally published in various Shueisha magazi ...

'' (1979) came in third place, but because Toriyama is stubborn, he refused to change the ''Dr. Slump'' name. Like the names of many other characters, Arale is a pun on the name for a bite-sized rice cracker (

arare Arare may refer to: * Norimaki Arare or Arale Norimaki, the main character in ''Dr. Slump'' media *Arare (food) is a type of bite-sized Japanese cuisine, Japanese Cracker (food), cracker made from glutinous rice and flavored with soy sauce. The ...

), and with the family name ("Norimaki Arale") it refers to a sort of arare wrapped with

nori Nori is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, made from species of the red algae genus ''Pyropia'', including ''P. yezonesis'' and '' P. tenera''. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is often used to wrap rolls of sushi or '' ...

seaweed. Toriyama purposefully gives his protagonists plain appearances as he prefers to focus on the story. He believes that having weak-looking characters turn out to actually be strong is more interesting; Arale and Son Goku are prime examples of this. Initially, her glasses were just a gag, with Toriyama wanting to remove them as they made her more difficult to draw. However, they became a trademark of Arale's and readers who had to wear glasses wrote him saying that by Arale having them it made them feel better about themselves, so he ended up keeping them. Arale is usually shown with purple hair, although it is dark brown in the 1997 anime.

Appearances

In ''Dr. Slump''

Arale poses as Senbei's sister or daughter, depending on who Senbei is talking to. The Norimaki family only grows from there when Arale and Senbei discover an egg when traveling to the past. The egg hatches into a small winged creature that they nickname

Gatchan The ''Dr. Slump'' manga series features an extensive cast of characters created by Akira Toriyama. It follows the humorous adventures of the little girl robot Arale Norimaki, her creator #Senbei Norimaki, Senbei Norimaki and the other residents ...

. Then Senbei marries the girl of his dreams (

Midori Yamabuki The ''Dr. Slump'' manga series features an extensive cast of characters created by Akira Toriyama. It follows the humorous adventures of the little girl robot Arale Norimaki, her creator Senbei Norimaki and the other residents of the bizarre Pen ...

) and they have a son named

Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

. As if the house was not full enough, Gatchan inexplicably splits into two separate entities. The ''Dr. Slump'' series is a self-proclaimed gag manga with no ongoing plot. The entire series is about Arale's humorous exploration of the dynamics of life and the adventures Senbei and his inventions send them on. Arale has unique phrases she often uses, such as , , to express bewilderment, and yelling when she runs with her hands out.

In ''Dragon Ball''

Arale appears in Toriyama's ''

'' when Son Goku chases

General Blue The is a fictional group of characters featured in Akira Toriyama's ''Dragon Ball'' anime and manga series. The many operatives of the Red Ribbon Army, led by , serve as opponents for series protagonist Goku during his second quest for the Drago ...

all the way to Penguin Village, she then defeats Blue with one kick and one headbutt after he paralyzes Goku. She is also able to ride on the Kinto'un, which indicates her as being pure of heart. In the anime adaptations, Arale is first seen in a picture on the wall of the capsule house

Bulma is a fictional character featured in the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise, first appearing in the manga series created by Akira Toriyama. She debuted in the first chapter "Bulma and Son Goku", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on June 19, 1 ...

creates in ''

'' episode 2, again on the television that

Kame-Sennin Master Roshi, known in Japan as as well as , is a fictional character from the ''Dragon Ball'' series created by Akira Toriyama. Within the series, he is an elderly martial arts master, born on March 20th, who is the innovator of the technique ...

is watching in episode 16, and on a poster in Son Gohan's bedroom in ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...

''. She also appears in '' The Great Mystical Adventure'' film, and her face was shown in the eighth ''Dragon Ball Z'' movie. Arale has appeared twice in ''

Dragon Ball Super is a Japanese manga series written by Akira Toriyama and illustrated by Toyotarou. A sequel to Toriyama's original ''Dragon Ball'' manga, it follows the adventures of Goku and friends during the ten-year timeskip after the defeat of Maj ...

'', first making a brief cameo appearance in episode 43 and later playing a key role in episode 69.

In other media

Arale is a playable character in the crossover video games ''

Jump Super Stars ''Jump Super Stars'' is a 2D crossover fighting game for the Nintendo DS, based on ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' characters. It was developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo. The game was released on August 8, 2005, in Japan and accompanied th ...

'', ''

Jump Ultimate Stars Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump S ...

'', and ''

J-Stars Victory Vs is a crossover fighting video game that combines the universes of several ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' manga series, including former series and some that have been transferred to other magazines. It was released in Japan by Bandai Namco Entertain ...

''. She is also playable in several ''Dragon Ball'' video games, including '' Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3'', '' Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo'' and '' Dragon Ball: Origins 2'', and makes a non-playable appearance in '' Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot'' In 2014, two commercials featuring ''Dr. Slump'' were created by

Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...

for

Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...

. The commercials advertise the car manufacturer's Kei

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...

Hustler and include new acting from Mami Koyama as Arale and

Kumiko Nishihara is a Japanese voice actress from Chigasaki, Kanagawa affiliated with Aoni Production also known for her work on the stage. Biography While a student at Wako University, Nishihara attended voice acting classes run by Kaneta Kimotsuki. When Kimo ...

as Gatchan. In 2016,

Ayami Nakajo is a Japanese-British actress and model who is affiliated with Ten Carat. Biography Early life Nakajō was born in Abeno-ku, Osaka in 1997. Her mother is Japanese and her father is British. She grew up in a family with her mother, father, ...

portrayed Arale in a commercial for G.u. clothing. It shows

Akane Kimidori The ''Dr. Slump'' manga series features an extensive cast of characters created by Akira Toriyama. It follows the humorous adventures of the little girl robot Arale Norimaki, her creator Senbei Norimaki and the other residents of the bizarre Pe ...

(

Yuki Uchida (born November 16, 1975) is a Japanese actress, and a popular 1990s idol, model and singer. Biography Uchida was born in Tokyo. She practiced fencing in high school, and ranked 3rd in a tournament in Tokyo in 1991. She began her career as a mod ...

) and

Peasuke Soramame The ''Dr. Slump'' manga series features an extensive cast of characters created by Akira Toriyama. It follows the humorous adventures of the little girl robot Arale Norimaki, her creator Senbei Norimaki and the other residents of the bizarre Pen ...

(

Kengo Kora is a Japanese actor. Career Kora has gained recognition for his roles in films such as Shinji Aoyama's ''Sad Vacation'', Yukio Ninagawa's ''Snakes and Earrings'', Tran Anh Hung's '' Norwegian Wood'', Ryuichi Hiroki's ''The Egoists'', Yoshihiro ...

) bewildered when Arale trades in her trademark overalls for a pleated skirt.

Voice actors

In Japanese, Arale is voiced by

Mami Koyama is a Japanese actress, Voice acting in Japan, voice actress and narrator affiliated with Aoni Production. Her best-known voice roles include Ophiuchus Shaina in ''Saint Seiya'', Arale Norimaki in ''Dr. Slump'', Minky Momo in ''Magical Princess M ...

in the first ''Dr. Slump'' anime, reprising the role in nearly every subsequent appearance, including all ''Dragon Ball'' media. She is voiced by

Taeko Kawata is a freelance Japanese voice actress best known for voicing Amy Rose from the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. While working at a confectionery shop after graduating from Jissen Commercial High School, she attended a voice acting school in the ...

in the second ''Dr. Slump'' anime and by

Yuko Hara Yuko Hara (原由子 ''Hara Yūko'', born December 11, 1956 in Yokohama, Japan, nicknamed "Harabo") is the keyboardist for Southern All Stars. She is also a vocalist and writes many of her own songs. She is married to Keisuke Kuwata, the mult ...

, keyboardist of the popular rock band

Southern All Stars , also known by the abbreviations and SAS, are a Japanese rock band that first formed in 1974. The band is composed of Keisuke Kuwata (lead vocals and guitars), Yuko Hara (vocals and keyboards), Kazuyuki Sekiguchi (bass), Hiroshi Matsuda (dru ...

, in the radio drama. In English,

Linda Young Linda Chambers-Young (born April 27, 1953) is an American voice actress who voices characters in Japanese anime series, usually in voice productions produced by Funimation. Her most notable roles are Frieza in '' Dragon Ball Z'' and Baba in '' Dr ...

voices Arale in the

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

dubs of ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure''.

Brina Palencia Brina Michelle Palencia (born February 13, 1984) is an American voice and television actress. She has voiced a number of English-language versions of characters featured in anime. Palencia provided the dubbed voices of Tony Tony Chopper in '' ...

provides Arale's English voice for ''Dragon Ball Super'' and all ''Dragon Ball'' video games beginning with ''Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3''.

Reception

In 1982, Arale came in 12th place in ''

Animage is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', was serialized in ''Animage'' from 1982 through 1994. Oth ...

''s fourth annual

Anime Grand Prix The is an annual Japanese anime awards giving to recognize the best in anime of the previous year, decided by the votes of readers of entertainment magazine ''Animage'', published by Tokuma Shoten since July 1978. The Anime Grand Prix started i ...

for Favorite Character. Carl Kimlinger of

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

wrote that among ''Dr. Slump''s cast, Arale is the standout; "The way she laughs and runs and raises unwitting hell are all unforgettable." Her role in ''

'' was praised by Sam Leach from ANN due to how she clashes with the protagonists Goku and Vegeta; the latter often breaking the fourth wall stating they cannot defeat a person from a gag series. When asked in 1987 who would win if Arale and Son Goku were to fight, Toriyama said Arale was stronger.

Masashi Kishimoto is a Japanese manga artist. His manga series, ''Naruto'', which was in serialization from 1999 to 2014, has sold over 250 million copies worldwide in 46 countries as of May 2019. The series has been adapted into two anime and multiple films, vi ...

, creator of ''

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

'', gained an interest in drawing during his childhood from drawing pictures of Arale.

In popular culture

In the 1985 Hong Kong film ''

My Lucky Stars ''My Lucky Stars'' () is a 1985 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by Sammo Hung, written by Barry Wong, and starring Hung, Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao. It was released as ''5 Lucky Stars'' in Japan and as ''Ninja Encounter'' in the Philippines ...

'',

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

's character appears in an Arale costume while working undercover in a theme park. Discussing

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

's center of gravity in a strategy guide for the 1996 video game ''

Super Mario 64 is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and PAL regions in 1997. It is the first ''Super Mario'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combining traditional ''Su ...

'', creator

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...

said Mario "sort of runs like Arale-chan, with the correct sense of weight in the body." Japanese comedian Hōsei Yamasaki dressed up as Arale, doing her signature "Kiiin" and "N'cha" on the ''

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! , often abbreviated or just , is a Japanese variety show hosted by popular Japanese owarai duo Downtown, with comedian Hōsei Tsukitei (formerly known as Hōsei Yamasaki) and owarai duo Cocorico co-hosting. The program has been broadcast on ...

'' Cosplay Bus Tour series. Because of failing to complete his task (getting spaghetti for the entire cast) he then had to fly to Italy to get spaghetti for the entire cast and crew, dressed as Arale all the way. An episode of the American TV show ''

America's Funniest Home Videos ''America's Funniest Home Videos'', also called ''America's Funniest Videos'' (abbreviated as ''AFV''), is an American video clip television series on American Broadcasting Company, ABC, based on the Japanese variety show ''Kato-chan Ken-chan Gok ...

'' featured a video with a cutout of Arale that people could stick their head through, only to have it fall down. The 2004 ''

Samurai Champloo is a 2004 Japanese historical adventure anime television series. The debut television production of studio Manglobe, the 26-episode series aired from May 2004 to March 2005. It was first partially broadcast on Fuji TV, then had a complete ai ...

'' episode "Bogus Booty" has a scene where Mugen impersonates Arale's signature run by sticking his arms out and making the sound "Kiiin". The main character of the 2018 video game ''

Dragon Quest Builders 2 ''Dragon Quest Builders 2'' is an action role-playing sandbox game developed by Square Enix and Omega Force, with Square Enix publishing it. It is the sequel to ''Dragon Quest Builders'', and was released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 i ...

'', for which Toriyama was the character designer, runs with their hands out like Arale. Korean mixed martial artist

Seo Hee Ham Seo Hee Ham ( ko, 함서희 ; born ), written Ham Seo-Hee in Korean order, is a South Korean professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. She is currently signed to ONE Championship, where she is ranked #2 in the ONE Championship Women's Ato ...

is nicknamed "Arale-chan" in Japan due to her appearance outside of the ring bearing resemblance to the fictional character.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norimaki, Arale Dr. Slump Dragon Ball characters Comics characters introduced in 1980 Child characters in anime and manga Anime and manga characters with superhuman strength Anime and manga characters who can move at superhuman speeds Fantasy film characters Fictional gynoids Characters in written science fiction Comedy characters Fictional mayors Female characters in anime and manga