Since the debut of the

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

adaptation of

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 ...

's ''

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 Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series in 1981,

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'', ' ...

(formerly Toei Doga) has produced 11 animated films based on the franchise. In 2008, all eleven films were released in a remastered DVD box set titled ''Slump the Box Movies'' on September 21. On June 12, 2013,

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...

announced they acquired the first five ''Dr. Slump'' films for release in North America. They released all five in a two-disc DVD box set in Japanese with English subtitles on July 29, 2014.

1980s films

The first film was produced just three months after the anime started, being shown at the alongside ''

One Hundred and One Dalmatians ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (also simply known as ''101 Dalmatians'') is a 1961 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the 1956 novel ''The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' by Dodie Smith. The ...

'' and ''

Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan is the fifth series in Toei Company's ''Super Sentai'' tokusatsu metaseries. It was broadcast from February 7, 1981, to January 30, 1982, replacing ''Denshi Sentai Denjiman'' and was replaced by ''Dai Sentai Goggle-V''. The program first ''Super ...

''. was released on July 18, 1981. It adapts chapters 32 and 33 of the manga, following as

Senbei Norimaki 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 ...

travels to Wonder Island in order to acquire an ingredient for a love potion. It was released on VHS on August 14, 1987. An

anime comic A or is a Japanese manga volume which uses illustrated images from an anime series, film, or video release, rather than original custom art. They generally contain the full dialog from the anime from which they are adapted. While usually publi ...

adaptation was released in March 1995. entered theaters on July 10, 1982. It follows Senbei and the other main characters as they venture into space to save

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 ...

from being forced to marry the galactic tyrant Mashirito. A novelization written by one of the screenwriters

Shun'ichi Yukimuro Shun'ichi Yukimuro (雪室俊一 ''Yukimuro Shun'ichi'', born January 11, 1941, in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan) is a veteran screenwriter for anime television series. Yukimuro has had a career spanning four decades and written over 3,000 anime tele ...

was released on July 15, 1982. The film was released on VHS on December 15, 1984. An anime comic adaptation was released in April 1995. The anime comics of the first and second films were collected together and released under the

Shueisha Jump Remix , sometimes stylized ''JUMP'' and also known as ''Jump Comics'', is a line of manga anthologies (manga magazines) created by Shueisha. It began with ''Shōnen Jump'' manga anthology in 1968, later renamed ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''. The origin of t ...

imprint in December 2006. The soundtrack to the film was released on September 22, 2004 by

Columbia Music Entertainment , often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK C ...

under the title . was released on March 13, 1983. The main characters and others enter the Around the World Grand Prix, racing to marry a princess or win a hefty monetary prize. It was shown at the Toei Manga Festival alongside '' Batten Robomaru Obakekau Shōjo'', ''

Kagaku Sentai Dynaman is the seventh installment of Toei Company's Super Sentai metaseries. It aired on TV Asahi from February 5, 1983, to January 28, 1984, replacing ''Dai Sentai Goggle-V'' and was replaced by ''Choudenshi Bioman'' with a total of 51 episodes. Six ...

'' and ''Aesop's Fable''. It was released on VHS on January 14, 1987. An anime comic adaptation was released in June 1995. was released on December 22, 1984. Set in 1929, several parties try to steal the Rainbow Eye, which can grant any wish. It was shown at the Toei Manga Festival alongside ''

Space Sheriff Shaider is a tokusatsu television show that aired from March 2, 1984 to March 8, 1985. It is the last of the "Space Sheriff Series" of the broader Metal Hero Series franchise, the previous two being ''Space Sheriff Gavan'' and ''Space Sheriff Sharivan''. ...

'' and '' Kinnikuman Great Riot! Seigi Choujin''. It was released on VHS on February 21, 1985. An anime comic adaptation was released in August 1995. The anime comics of the third and fourth films were collected together and released under the Shueisha Jump Remix imprint in January 2007. was released on July 13, 1985. The children of Penguin Village appear in Mechapolis, where anything they can imagine appears made out of

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the mean ...

. It was shown at the Toei Manga Festival alongside '' Captain Tsubasa: Europe Daikessen'', '' Kinnikuman Counterattack! The Underground Space Choujins'' and '' Dengeki Sentai Changeman: Shuttle Base! Close Call''. It was released on VHS on November 21, 1985. An anime comic adaptation was released in September 1995.

1990s films

was released on March 6, 1993. It was shown at the alongside '' Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan''. An anime comic adaptation was released in July 1993. The film was released on VHS on October 8, 1993. was released on July 10, 1993. It was shown at the Toei Anime Fair alongside '' Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound'' and ''

YuYu Hakusho is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. The series tells the story of List of YuYu Hakusho characters#Yusuke Urameshi, Yusuke Urameshi, a Juvenile delinquency, teenage delinquent who is struck and killed ...

''. An anime comic adaptation was released in November 1993. The film was released on VHS on April 8, 1994. was released on March 12, 1994. It was shown at the Toei Anime Fair alongside '' Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming'' and ''

Slam Dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one ...

''. It was released on VHS on November 11, 1994. An anime comic adaptation was released in December 1994. was released on July 9, 1994. It was shown at the Toei Anime Fair alongside '' Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly'' and '' Slam Dunk: Zenkoku Seiha da! Sakuragi Hanamichi''. An anime comic adaptation was released in February 1995. The film was released on VHS on April 14, 1995. released on March 6, 1999 is the only film produced during the broadcast of the second anime adaptation. It was shown at the Toei Anime Fair alongside the ''

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuki Takahashi. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine between September 1996 and March 2004. The plot follows the story of a boy named Yugi Mutou, w ...

'' and ''

Digimon Adventure , known as ''Digimon: Digital Monsters'' in English-speaking territories, is a 1999 Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation in cooperation with WiZ, Bandai and Fuji Television. It is the first anime series in the ''D ...

'' films. Comedy duo

Kyaeen is a Japanese comedy duo ''( kombi)'' consisting of Udo Suzuki (ウド鈴木) and Hiroyuki Amano (天野ひろゆき). They are employed by Asai Kikaku, a talent agency based in Tokyo. Their ''kombi'' name was inspired by the happy squeals of ...

provide guest voices. It was released on VHS on September 10, 1999.

''Dr. Mashirito and Abale-chan''

To promote the release of the first ''Dr. Slump - Arale-chan'' anime DVD box set, Toriyama drew a one-shot manga published in the April 2007 issue of ''

Monthly Shōnen Jump was a shōnen manga magazine which was published monthly in Japan by Shueisha from 1970 to 2007 under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. It was the sister magazine to ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''. History The ''Monthly Shōnen Jump'' magazine started ...

''. It was adapted into a five-minute short titled that entered theaters alongside '' One Piece Movie: The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta'' on March 3, 2007. The story centers around an evil counterpart of Arale created by Dr. Mashirito Jr., named Abale. It was later included alongside all the other films in the DVD box set ''Slump the Box Movies'', released on September 21, 2008.

Reception

Reviewing the first five movies, 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 ...

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." He believed that a large portion of the humor simply comes from the graphics, saying that the old-fashioned hand-drawn animation and art provide a "warmth" and "lift Slump's visuals above" that of other anime. However, he called the background music "non-descript" and stated that the films are only for viewers who are familiar with the series, as they provide no

exposition Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to: *Universal exposition or World's Fair *Expository writing **Exposition (narrative) *Exposition (music) *Trade fair * ''Exposition'' (album), the debut album by the band Wax on Radio *Exposi ...

. Mike Toole, also of ANN, included ''"Hoyoyo!" Space Adventure'' at number 75 on The Other 100 Best Anime Movies of All Time, a list of "lesser-known, lesser-loved classics." He called it an "artfully silly poke at the sci-fi boom of the late 70s and early 80s, skewering everything from ''

Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...

'' to ''

THX-1138 ''THX 1138'' is a 1971 American social science fiction film co-written and directed by George Lucas in his directorial debut. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written by Walter Murch, the film stars Robert Duvall and Donald Pleasence, wit ...

''," yet also including "poop jokes, booger jokes, ''

Ultraman ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with ''Ultra Q'' and then ''Ultraman'' in 1966, the series is one ...

'' references, dumb comedy routines, and weirdly evocative, exciting space battles."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dr. Slump Film series introduced in 1981 Dr. Slump (film series)

Films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

Anime film series Anime films based on manga Comedy anime and manga Lists of comedy films

Science fiction anime and manga Science fiction film series Discotek Media Lists of films by franchise Lists of films based on manga