Arale Norimaki

Arale Norimaki
Dr. Slump character
Arale from the 1981 Dr. Slump - Arale-chan anime
First appearance	Dr. Slump Chapter 1: "The Birth of Arale" (1980)
Created by	Akira Toriyama
Voiced by	Japanese: Mami Koyama (first anime, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Super) Yuko Hara (radio drama) Taeko Kawata (second anime) English: Julie Maddalena (Harmony Gold) Meredith McCoy (Funimation dub of Dragon Ball) Brina Palencia (video games)
Profile
Relatives	Senbei Norimaki (creator/brother) Midori Norimaki (sister-in-law) Turbo Norimaki (nephew) Nitro Norimaki (niece) Obotchaman (husband)

Arale Norimaki (Japanese: 則巻アラレ, Hepburn: Norimaki Arare^?) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Dr. Slump manga series, created by Akira Toriyama. She is a robot built by Senbei Norimaki who looks like a young girl. She is known for her naiveté, 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 athletic ability. Among her strengths, she can use abilities that range from the terrain splitting Chikyūwari (地球割り, Earth Chop) to the beam-like N'chahō (んちゃ砲, N'cha Cannon). However, she is nearsighted and needs to wear glasses.

Toriyama claimed that when he told his editor, Kazuhiko Torishima, 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 aimed at boys. The two made a bet; Toriyama created a special issue with a female lead, and whoever's story took higher in the magazine's reader poll would win. Torishima won, but because he is stubborn, Toriyama refused to change the Dr. Slump name.