Doctor Slump has many different characters with their own quirks in Penguin Village.

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Norimaki Family

Arale Norimaki

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arale_chan_glasses_1.jpg

^{Click to see her in the remake}

Voiced by (Japanese): Mami Koyama (first anime, DB, DBS, Puyo Puyo Quest); Taeko Kawata (remake)
Voiced by (English): Lara Cody (first anime; Harmony Gold dub); Jamie Johnston (Mystical Adventure; Harmony Gold dub); Linda Young (DB series and Mystical Adventure; Funimation dub); Brina Palencia (DB video games, DBS); Leda Davies (DB series; Blue Water dub); Sharon Mann (Mystical Adventure; AB Groupe/"Big Green" dub)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Mónica Estrada (first episode, movies 2-3 & 5, DB Super ep. 43), Claudia Motta (rest, remake, DBS epi. 69), Vanessa Garcel (DB) Gaby Ugarte (Mystical Adventure), Rossy Aguirre (Harmony Gold)

The protagonist of the series. She's a young robot girl who was created by Senbei Norimaki.

Academic Athlete: Other than being immensely strong and athletic, she also excels at her academic subjects.
The Ace: Often without even trying or realizing it. She excels at fighting, sports, academics, and apparently even drawing, as seen in one chapter. Unfortunately, she's terrible at housework, much to Senbei's chagrin.
Action Girl: A comedic example. There are not many people who can defeat a Pintsized Powerhouse like Arale.
A-Cup Angst: Downplayed. One of the first things she said (to Senbei's annoyance) was her dismay at being flat-chested, but later in the series, she's rarely interested in the subject.
Adaptation Dye-Job: Arale has purple hair in both the manga and first anime, but was given brown hair in the remake.
Adaptation Personality Change: Downplayed. In general terms, she is still the same crazy, naive and clueless girl that she has always been, but in the remake she seems to be (up to a certain point) more aware of some aspects and have at least a little more common sense. Things that the Arale potty lacked in its entirety.
Airplane Arms: She is perhaps not only the first manga/anime character to ever do this, but she's also probably responsible for the name since she does it to pretend she's flying and makes a sound like a jet engine.
Arale: KIIIIIIIIN.
Always Someone Better: To everybody basically. Whenever someone tries to demonstrate their great strength, intelligence or any other skill Arale always proves to be much more skilled than them.
All-Loving Heroine: Arale doesn't hate anyone, and likes to see everyone she meets as a potential friend, even the villains. Justified because she usually doesn’t even understand that they are bad guys, and thinks they are just "playing" with her.
Animal Lover: Arale likes animals a lot, so she is loving and compassionate towards them, and seeing someone hurt them is one of the few things that make her angry.
Artificial Family Member: She was created by Senbei for no apparent reason.^note Although the doctor tells the other villagers that Arale is his little sister, he's old enough to be her father and always treats her like a daughter.
Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: She's easily distracted by anything, especially poop.
The Baby of the Bunch: Downplayed. Technically she is not the youngest member in her group of friends (if you count Gatchan), but she behaves as such due to her childish personality, and as a consequence the other members tend to take care of her.
Badass Adorable: She looks like a cute little girl, but due to being an android, she is virtually indestructible. In Dragon Ball Super, she casually defeated Base Vegeta and fought Super Saiyan Blue Goku to a draw.
Barbie Doll Anatomy: Played completely straight, to her initial annoyance. (Senbei, uh, didn't know what they would look like.)
Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: The Brawn to Tsururin's Beauty and Akane's Brains.
Bespectacled Cutie: It could be said that she is a pioneer in this aspect. Arale always wears glasses, which adds a more adorable touch to her design and reflects her childlike and innocent nature. Unlike most examples, however, her glasses do not give her a hint of vulnerability, as she's incredibly strong and outgoing; the fact that she's a robot whose eyesight is poor enough that she needs glasses is mainly a jab at her creator's incompetence.
Beware the Silly Ones: Such a tiny naive robot girl Cloudcuckoolander, but Arale is incredibly powerful and can kick anyone's butt.
Blind Without 'Em: A design flaw in her plans made her in need of glasses. Her eyesight is horrible without them.
Book Smart: Due to being an android, she manages to be an excellent student without any real effort, but has zero street smarts and zero common sense.
Brainy Brunette: In the remake, she has brown hair and is still very good at school.
Breath Weapon: The N'Cha Cannon. It can uproot entire forests, blast holes through mountains and clash with the likes of Super Saiyan Blue Goku's Kamehameha. Arale can also fire it at a hundred times its usual strength.
Brilliant, but Lazy: She never studies (the only time she does, it was an unbelievable O.O.C. Is Serious Business because of an insect in her circuitry), couldn't care less about school, and basically spends all her time playing around. Despite that, she still gets top grades and is Good with Numbers.
Can't Hold Her Liquor: Didn't take long for Arale to get drunk after consuming some "Whiskey Bonbons" Akane gave her (it was originally sake in the manga).
Catchphrase: Several: "N'cha!", used as a greeting; "Bye-cha", used as a farewell; "Ho-yo-yo!", used as an exclamation of surprise; and "KIIIIIIIIN!!!", said when she's running.
Chaste Hero: Due to having the mind of a child, she doesn't understand romance and claims to love everyone equally.
Color Motif: Almost all clothes that Arale wears involve some pink, possibly as a way to highlight her cheerful, energetic and optimistic attitude.
Cool Big Sis: To Turbo and Gatchan.
Cheerful Child: Looks like one, but she's actually a very cheerful robot who looks like a child.
Childhood Friend Romance: With Obotchaman, though they still look like children even as a married couple in the future, for obvious reasons.
Childish Older Sibling: She's much more immature than Turbo. Averted with her other younger sibling Gatchan, who is just as childish as her.
Cloudcuckoolander: Justified as she's a robot without social programing.
Clueless Dude Magnet: Arale doesn't seem to be very aware of how some boys have been attracted to her, or at least she is not sure what love and romantic relationships are. Literally, she has been invited to a date, asked to be his girlfriend, and even proposed marriage. Although she accepts all these proposals, she seems to see it more as a game than anything else.
Comically Invincible Hero: She can travel across the globe, ignores the law of physics, and just generally being absurdly tough; all for the sake of a gag, much to Vegeta's irritation.
Comically Missing the Point: All the time.
Cute Bruiser: A tiny Robot Girl who's more than able to punch adults of all kinds without any effort.
Cute Clumsy Girl: Tends to destroy things accidentally, but she means well.
The Cutie: Toriyama originally wanted a very large robot, but as it would not fit in the panels, he instead made it small. When his editor Torishima rejected that idea, he made the robot a girl, knowing Torishima would find her "cute".
Daddy's Girl: Arale often causes problems to Senbei causing him to get angry, yet they are quite close and Senbei really loves and cares for Arale.
Devoted to You: Obotchaman is completely in love with her, is very attentive with her and always protects her if someone hurts her. Also, the School Gang Leader, who rarely appears but when he does he shows a complete obsession with Arale.
Drives Like Crazy: Arale gets her driver's license late in a chapter of the original manga and invites her family for a ride. It ends with Car Meets House.
Taro: That's what I was afraid of.
Dude Magnet: Despite her childlike appearance and Oblivious to Love nature, Arale has caught the attention of some boys such as Obotchaman, an older boy who was her first date and in a later episode comes back to marry her, the Prince Monster, Karute Karte in the sequel manga Dr. Slump Returns, briefly Ankoro Mochi in the remake (with fake breasts that she use to get his attention and attack him), a pair of other guys, and even Tsukutsun with her new adult body in Dr. Slump Returns.
Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Arale starts out looking more like a normal, thin, 13 years old girl instead of the small, chubby, little kid everyone remembers. In an early chapter, she even manages to pass herself off as Akane for a while.
Easily Detachable Robot Parts: Arale's head pops right off above her neck, apparently as an access port judging from the first chapter. (They're separate units but connected by wires in the first couple of chapters, and even then she can fully disconnect them. Later chapters do away with the wires with appropriately little explanation.) This being a comedy manga, everyone in Penguin Village treats it as a trick she can do rather than proof that she's a robot.
- Her limbs don't do this though, and it's a sign of the damage that Caramel Man 7 did.
Endearingly Dorky: Arale is extremely clumsy, ditzy, naive, and totally lacking in common sense, but makes up for these aspects with her kindness, gentleness, and sweetness. Obotchaman falls in love with her not just because of her cute appearance, but because she's genuinely friendly and innocent, and would never hurt anyone intentionally, despite her strength.
Everyone's Baby Sister: A really strange case. Arale is an android with superhuman strength, capable of breathing fire from her mouth and more than capable of defeating anyone in a fight, but otherwise she is still an innocent and naive girl, so she is almost always in the care of both her family and her circle of friends, who even if they don't show it as often they really care about her. Clear examples of this are the chapters; Arale's Big Challenge where everyone gets really worried seeing her behaving differently than usual, Something's Missing where they staged a protest against Senbei after thinking he had taken Arale to an orphanage, and (only in the anime) Disruptive Toys where everyone ran to storm a castle believing they had Arale kidnapped.
Extremely Protective Child: In the second movie, there is a scene where Dr. Mashirito makes Professor Midori cry, which makes Arale really angry and confronts one of his robots despite the big difference in size between them.
Fictional Greetings and Farewells: Arale uses "n'cha" for hello and "bye'cha" for goodbye.
Fish out of Water: The series generally focuses on her being clueless about how the world works. Initially, she was the Naïve Newcomer variety but she never really gets better from this.
Flanderization: She starts out as a book-smart and curious girl who is bit oblivious due to being a Naïve Newcomer. The "oblivious" part is later exaggerated to the point that she becomes a very childish, clueless, and hyperactive Cloudcuckoolander. Her intelligence and math skills are hardly ever brought up again (the last time is in a chapter late in the series, which starts with Akane complaining about her math test score — 42, in case anyone wonders — while walking with Arale and Obotchaman).
Akane: Hey, Obotchaman, how many points did you get on yours?
Obotchaman: Huh? Why, 100.
Akane: I knew I shouldn't have asked you. How about you, Arale?
Arale: I got 100, too!
Akane: Remind me why I hang out with you.
Four-Philosophy Ensemble: The Optimist. Arale is cheerful, naive and friendly, she always sees the good in everyone, to the point of believing that everyone is her friend.
Four-Temperament Ensemble: Previously she was the Sanguine to Taro's Choleric, Peasuke's Phlegmatic, and Akane's Melancholic. Since she is the most cheerful, energetic and friendly member of the group.
Friend to All Children: The only exception to this seems to be Kinoko, but in general when Arale interacts with children younger than her they get along quite well and easy to understand with them, Chivil, Witchpee and Sparrow are just a few examples of this. The fact that she has such a childish and playful attitude clearly helps.
Friend to All Living Things: She's able to befriend just about every person, animal, or creature in Penguin Village. Also the few times she recognizes that a person is bad is when she sees him mistreating an animal.
Fun Personified: This is part of Arale's appeal, both in-universe and out.
Genius Bruiser: During her first day at school, she immediately proves to be absurdly smart and strong compared to her normal classmates.
Genius Ditz: Despite her general naivety, Arale manages to remove a frog's appendix and build a sexy spare head all on her own. She's also very good at math.
Genki Girl: She's as energetic as she is powerful.
Girlish Pigtails: In several episodes, you can see Arale using pigtails.
Good with Numbers: Good enough to solve advanced math problems and her excellent math skills are a Running Gag.
Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Inverted. Although both she and Obotchaman have had close combat, in the final round of the "Who's the Strongest in the World?" tournament, Arale tries to confront Dr. Mashirito using her strength in a melee fight, while Obotchaman kills him by throwing his N'cha Cannon in a ranged fight.
Heroes Love Dogs: She loves all existing beings but in a chapter she adopts a dog (that also turns out to be an extraterrestrial) together with Gatchan.
Horrible Judge of Character: Due to her naivety, as seen in All-Loving Hero above. She also seems to be the only one in the village that doesn’t realize Suppaman is not a real superhero. In one of the early chapters, she recognizes bad people, but it only happens very rarely.
Idiot Heroine: Pretty much a female version of Kid Goku.
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Arale is mischievous and destructive but never malicious, has a kind and pure heart, loves everyone, and sees the good in everyone. Indeed, in the crossover episodes with Dragon Ball, she was able to ride the Flying Nimbus along with Goku.
Inexplicably Awesome: There is no real explanation as to why a meter-tall, regular robot is capable of matching universe-busting beings such as Vegeta and Goku, but she does it anyway. The closest thing to an explanation we get is that, as a Gag-manga character, the laws of physics don't really apply to her, making her as strong as she wants to be for comedic effect.
The Ingenue: Although she is a lot more badass than other cases, Arale certainly fits this trope, is extremely innocent, kind, and pure-hearted, so much so that she can't even recognize when a person is really bad, which can sometimes cause problems. Justified considering that she is a robot with the mentality of a little girl.
Innocent Prodigy: She’s a math genius with incredible intellectual capabilities and generally excels at everything she does, but still has an innocent and childlike personality.
Kid-Appeal Character: The manga was initially supposed to be only about Senbei, a grown man. Toriyama's editor Torishima gave him the idea to create a child character as another protagonist to appeal to the younger audience. Arale turned out to be so popular that she ended up taking over all the spotlight.
Kid Hero: Subverted in that she's a robot.
Kiddie Kid: While she's supposed to be around 13 years old (at the start of the series), Arale looks and acts like a child and her favorite hobby is poking poop with a stick.
Kindhearted Simpleton: She is a very naive, childish girl with a total lack of common sense but clearly she is a being with a pure heart, always sweet and kind who is more than willing to help others.
Lethal Chef: Arale's cooking can cause the recipient to react with "I Ate WHAT?!". One chapter, for example, has her giving Senbei some homemade ice cream. Then she reveals the procedures of making ice cream, which involves having Gatchan eating the ingredients for ice cream, placing Gatchan in the freezer until Gatchan is frozen, getting Gatchan out of the freezer and de-frozen enough so Gatchan can move, and then having Gatchan poop into the ice cream container. Senbei is understandably horrified.
Lethal Joke Character: In her crossovers with Dragon Ball, it's explained that Shōnen -Style fighting is not effective against Gag-manga characters at all. Unless you're Beerus.
Lethally Stupid: She's a destructive force of nature, mostly due to the fact that she Does Not Know Her Own Strength, along with her reckless, childlike behavior and lack of common sense. Unwittingly or not, she causes a lot of trouble for most people around her and is often cheerfully oblivious to it.
Lightning Bruiser: Arale's powers include Super-Strength and Super-Speed.
Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Subverted. They are both tomboy girls but their personalities are played this way, Arale is the cheerful, energetic, and innocent Light Feminine to the rebellious, sarcastic, and somewhat angry Akene's Dark Feminine.
Little Miss Badass: An amazingly strong Badass Adorable little robot girl.
Made of Iron: Literally and figuratively.
Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: The very cute android daughter of a fat, wacky scientist/inventor. She can be considered "beautiful" (for a little girl) in an adorable Kawaiiko way.
Magnetic Hero: She is able to make friends with anyone and her charisma captures almost everyone. Also, although she can be annoying at times, she is certainly loved by almost everyone in Penguin Village, in fact, when bad things happen to her all the villagers will run to help her.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: The Masculine Girl to Obotchaman’s sensitive and romantic Feminine Boy.
Morality Pet: Arale is this for characters like Donbe, Chivil and many more throughout the story. Even more so in the Remake, where even characters like King Nikochan and Suppaman come to feel empathy for her.
Naïve Everygirl: Arale is pure-hearted, kind, sweet and considers those around her as her friends, she is also extremely naive and believes in all kinds of myths and fantastic things that in the eyes of other people, like Senbei and Akane, they simply do not have sense, besides being so gullible that it is very easy to deceive her, and she is not even able to recognize when a person tries to harm her. This is only minimized by the fact that she is not usually as insecure as other cases, and in general she gets in trouble for the simple innocent fact of wanting to play and be friends with someone else.
Nice Girl: For the most part. While she can be unwittingly a nuisance (pranking/tormenting her creator or destroying the police car), Arale is genuinely sweet-natured and always friendly to everyone.
Nice, Mean, and In-Between: The nice to Akane's mean and Tsururin's in-between. She might be naughty, but she is always kind, innocent, kind-hearted and believes that everyone around her is her friend (even the bad ones).
Not So Invincible After All: Despite her Super-Strength, in later chapters, she's made less of a Comically Invincible Hero. Mashirito's robot Caramel Man 007 was powerful enough to destroy her, although she was still able to talk until Senbei rebuilds her body. In the final round of "Who's the Strongest in the World?" Dr. Mashirito temporarily steals Arale's powers leaving her unconscious, causing Obotchaman to fight him on her behalf (by donning a wig with a cap so as to not blow his cover, as he's not a participant of the tournament).
Oblivious to Hatred: Dr. Mashirito wants to kill her and openly tells her to her face, but she just thinks of him as another playmate. She has a moment of clarity in the second movie, but apparently just forgot about it later on. Towards the end of the anime, both Senbei and Obotchaman know about Mashirito's bad intentions, but she's still as oblivious as ever.
Oblivious to Love: While she likes Obotchaman and sees him as a close friend, she has no clue that he is in love with her.
Opposites Attract: With Obotchaman, as they are Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl. Being Arale Oblivious to Love, the romantic attraction is one-sided on Obotchaman's part.
Outside-Genre Foe: When she appears in Dragon Ball Super, she's more than a match for universe-busting characters like Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta. Vegeta himself even points this out; in his words, since Arale hails from a gag manga series, the standard battle tactics of a shōnen series like theirs are useless against her.
Parody Sue: She's exceptionally good at everything, has enough Super-Strength to split the planet in half, is a math prodigy, can befriend almost everyone she meets, has some boys falling in love with her, and always gets away with all the troubles she causes to other people. This is all Played for Laughs, due to her being so crazy and oblivious that she doesn't even care about her abilities or popularity, she just wants to have fun, also her complete lack of common sense added to her childish appearance sometimes do they just make a fool of her without her noticing it.
Perpetual Smiler: Always, always happy. She gets angry and/or serious only a couple of times in the entire series. Otherwise, she doesn't smile only when she has her confused "Ho-yo-yo" face.
Person of Mass Destruction: Arale is so strong, she can split the Earth in two with one punch.
Pintsized Powerhouse: Emphasis on "powerhouse" due to her unbelievable superhuman strength. In another one of her crossovers, she gives Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Goku a fairly good fight.
Plucky Girl: She is a completely cheerful girl, who is not afraid of anything and never gives up, no matter the situation she is in (although she can sometimes be distracted).
Plug 'n' Play Prosthetics: It's not clear if Senbei actually designed her that way or if it's Required Secondary Power, but her head and body can be separated and function independently. Arale uses this to try and install a "Model" head in an early chapter - which Senbei puts the kibosh on. It comes in handy after the Caramel Man 7 battle, where she ends up using Obotchaman's mostly identical body while Senbei repairs her own.
Power Creep, Power Seep: As powerful as she was in Dr. Slump, there was no indication she could match universe-busting characters like Super Saiyan Blue Goku. Yet when she shows up for a full episode of Dragon Ball Super, she is capable of matching his Kamehameha, then charges an attack she claims is 100 times stronger, which Goku believes he might not be able to match.
Purple Is Powerful: Arale has purple hair and is a super-strong robot with great powers. In the remake, she has brown hair but wears purple outfits (at first).
Reality Warper: As to be expected from a toonforce/gag character, she has extreme reality-warping powers. The entire manga is full of reality-warping, even when Arale is not involved.
Ridiculously Human Robots: She was built with pretty much the specific purposes of this trope (so much that she passes off as Senbei's little sister to the eyes of the Penguin Village residents).
Robo Romance: With Obotchaman, since they are both Ridiculously Human Robots. In the future this extends, the two get married and even literally form a Robo Family.
Robot Girl: One of the earliest (and youngest) examples. In physical appearance, she is only around 12 years old, despite being 18 by the end of the run. That few others realize this is the series' main Running Gag.
Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Energetic Girl to Obotchaman's Savvy Guy. She's a hyperactive Genki Girl, while he is calm and sensible.
She Is All Grown Up: In the manga sequel "Dr. Slump Returns", Turbo builds a watch that allows her to change her body to that of an attractive adult woman and this is the men's reaction when they see her.
Shipper on Deck: At the beginning of the series she seems to support Senbei's crush on Midori (to the point that she uses one of his inventions to temporarily turn her into his wife). She is also very willing to help Peasuke when it comes to his relationship with Hiyoko. According to a small comment she made, she also seems to ship Akane and Tsukutsun.
Ship Tease: Even with her as Oblivious to Love as she is, the manga puts her in several ship tease moments with Obotchaman, which is increased in most animated adaptations. Not surprising, knowing that she will marry him in the future.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Arale admits that Obotchaman is the guy she likes the most in the original manga series, particularly during the bike trophy grand prix.^note She will marry him in the future.
Smart People Wear Glasses: Zig Zagged. Arale always wears glasses and is smart enough to solve advanced math problems, operate on an appendage frog, and build a spare mechanical head on her own. Although if we talk about common sense... it is not much.
Spanner in the Works: She tends to get Senbei in trouble and ruin things for him many times, especially in the early stories.
Strong as They Need to Be: As a gag comic relief character, Arale's power level will jump to surpass whoever she is facing without any justification, including Super Saiyan Blue Goku.
Strong Girl, Smart Guy: As a Strong Girl, she's a foil to a few male characters.
- Strong Girl to Senbei's Smart Guy. She uses her Super-Strength to solve her problems, while Senbei uses his inventing skills.
- Strong Girl to Turbo's Smart Guy. While both are smart and powerful child prodigies, there's much more emphasis on Arale's strength and Turbo's intelligence.
- To some extent, the Strong Girl to her Arch-Enemy Dr. Mashirito's Smart Guy, due to him being a Mad Scientist and making it also an example of Brains Evil, Brawn Good.
Supernaturally Young Parent: In the future. Being an android that never ages, she still looks the same ten years later when she's married with Obotchaman and caring for their child (a robot baby).
Super-Powered Robot Meter Maids: The only reason Senbei built Arale was to try if he could. And she splits Earth with one punch and was stronger than young Son Goku in a crossover.
Super-Strong Child: Don't let her looks fool you, she can crack the world in half in one punch!
Tender Tomboyishness, Foul Femininity: She is a cheerful, innocent and friendly tomboy, in contrast to the cocky, rude and spoiled girly girl Kinoko.
Token Robot: In her family. She is also the only robot in her group of friends until later chapters where fellow robot Obotchaman joins the main cast.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: When interacting with Kinoko, she acts as the Tomboy to Kinoko's Girly Girl. Kinoko loves fashion and is quite conceited, and Arale loves fighting games, poops, monsters and Superheroes.
Tomboy with a Girly Streak: She is mainly a super-strong tomboy who loves monsters, fighting games, and messing around but she doesn't mind girly things either. Also, a running gag is that she wants bigger breasts (a desire which Senbei declines to fulfill) and in her manga resume, she mentions “feminine allure” as her main talent. Though she's such a Cloudcuckoolander that it's hard to tell.
Took a Level in Dumbass: She starts out as a curious Fish out of Water who is also a Teen Genius. She later turns into an extremely childish and oblivious Kiddie Kid who is clueless about everything.
Town Girls: In her group of friends, the Neither to Akane's Butch and Tsururin's Femme.
Tranquil Fury: In the rare, serious moments where she genuinely gets angry. In one of the early chapters, Arale calmly picked up the two hunters who shot the bear, and threw them like a baseball. In the second movie, she also gets really angry in the climax when Dr. Mashirito makes Midori cry.
Uptown Girl: Subverted at the beginning. But later in the story she become the mayor of the Penguin Village, so that would fulfill this trope with Obotchaman (who lives as another villager and is dedicated to distributing the milk).
Unskilled, but Strong: She makes up for her lack of combat skill with strength great enough to stomp hard enough to move the planet◊, as well as her ability to accidentally punch the Earth in half◊.
Women Prefer Strong Men: A more innocent case, she has great taste and admiration for those men who are very strong and always try to make them play with her, also one of the things that seems most appealing of Obotchaman is the fact that he is a robot as strong as her.

Senbei Norimaki

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/senbei_2.png

Voiced by (Japanese): Kenji Utsumi (first anime, DB); Yusaku Yara (remake, DBS, Puyo Puyo Quest), Junko Noda (remake; child)
Voiced by (English): Louis Michael Haller (first anime, Harmony Gold dub), Sonny Strait (DB; Mystical Adventure), Brice Armstrong (DB; series and video games), R. Bruce Elliott (DBS) (Funimation dub); Adam Hunter (DB; Blue Water dub); David Gasman DB; Mystical Adventure) (AB Groupe/"Big Green" dub)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Ismael Larumbe (first anime, movies 2-3-5, DB Super), Rafael Rivera (remake), Mario Sauret (DB)

The secondary protagonist of the series. A scientist who made many inventions, including Arale.

Absent-Minded Professor: To an extent, given his overall goofy behavior and his weird inventions that often backfire on him.
Always Second Best:
- To his son, Turbo, who surpasses him in intelligence and despite his young age is capable of creating better inventions than him.
- To Bulma in the original Dragon Ball series, where he can't understand how the Dragon Radar works and is shocked to learn it was built by a young girl who is smarter than him. Inverted in Dragon Ball Super, where he wins the "World Invention Award", even if Bulma was also one of the contestants.
Art Shift: As a Running Gag, he often changes from a fat, short, ugly man into a tall, handsome, manly one whenever he's having a "cool" scene, and then back in a matter of seconds. Later, it's revealed that he can Art Shift himself at will, but can only hold it for about three minutes.
Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: In spite of getting angry often with Arale, at the moment of truth he really cares about her and loves her like a daughter. This also extends to Gatchan.
Big Brother Mentor: Senbei tries to pretend (and wants to believe himself) what this is to Arale. No one takes him seriously, since he seems more like her father than her older brother.
Bumbling Dad:
- To Turbo, especially in the beginning. He even temporarily forgot to look after his newborn son Turbo when he was Distracted by the Sexy. He becomes a better father later on, but still clumsy.
- Inverted when it comes to his surrogate daughter Arale. While always bumbling, he is the one who is embarrassed by her behavior, not the other way around.
Bungling Inventor: There's a reason Senbei has the nickname "Dr. Slump".
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's pretty much a fat lecherous loser but he can create impressive things like a spaceship, a time machine, a transformation ray gun, and many Doraemon-like gadgets (Arale even compares him to Doraemon in one of the early chapters).
Butt-Monkey: Often with Arale's antics.
Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: He hopelessly tries to be this to Arale, who is always prone to Comically Missing the Point. But it's very hard to keep her in check.
Crazy Jealous Guy: Every time he thinks Midori may like anyone else, he gets insanely jealous.
Decoy Protagonist: He was originally supposed to be the main character, however, Arale ended up taking center stage, to the point that the Animated Adaptation was actually called "Dr. Slump: Arale-chan".
Ditzy Genius: He's a genius inventor, but he seems to create gadgets at random, with most of them being less useful than just using a more mundane item.
Fatherly Scientist: Creates Robot Girl Arale and raises her as his child (though he likes to tell everyone that she is his little sister).
Hair-Trigger Temper: He's easily irritated, and Arale's antics drive him mad quite regularly.
Happily Married: Eventually with Midori.
Idiot Hero: Especially when he’s being horny, usually in scenes involving Midori. Even when women aren’t involved, he’s always sort of a bumbling goofball.
Insufferable Genius: Downplayed. He can build almost everything, has a big ego, and constantly brags about being a genius, but he rarely belittles other people (aside from Suppaman, but everyone acts like this towards Suppaman). He just has a high opinion of himself.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Not so much "jerk", but he's very egotistical, perverted, and sometimes a bit grumpy. Most of the time, however, he's a good person.
Labcoat of Science and Medicine: He is seen wearing a large number of outfits throughout the series most famously his white lab coat.
Large Ham: Often loud, over-the-top, and Hot-Blooded.
Lovable Sex Maniac: His perverted behavior is Played for Laughs. Since Senbei is a huge lecher, it will give him the drive to quickly create an invention if it will allow him to see panties, a naked woman, or get a date.
Mad Scientist: A wacky, neurotic inventor who has created not only super-powered robot Arale but plenty of other crazy inventions, including a time machine. Most of his inventions are silly Mechanical Lifeforms who can talk (and insult him).
Manchild: He tries to act like an adult when he reprimands Arale but is actually just as immature as her.
Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: He is the rare benevolent version.
Mr. Vice Guy: Surprisingly enough, he's this instead of being an Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist. He's a pervert and has many other vices and flaws, but at heart, he's a decent guy, a Family Man, and even friendly and helpful with strangers.
Only Sane by Comparison: He's perverted and immature, but often becomes the frustrated Only Sane Man to Arale and Gatchan's antics. And even then, he's not exactly sane, since Arale's perpetual Comically Missing the Point usually drives him crazy.
Out of Focus: After getting married; this is lampshaded in-universe (there's No Fourth Wall in this series). He still gets A Day in the Limelight once in a while but not nearly as often as before.
Parental Abandonment: Part of his backstory, because both his parents died when he was very young.
Parental Substitute: A father figure to Arale and Gatchan. Also the closest thing to a parental figure to Obotchaman, who lives alone after being abandoned by his creator. Senbei is the only non-evil adult who knows Obotchaman is a robot, provides the vital robot vitamin A for him when he needs it, and he and Obotchaman have mutual respect for each other.
The Prankster: He becomes this after creating a time-stopping device, creating mischief all over Penguin Village.^note
Promotion to Parent: He wants to make everyone in Penguin Village believe that Arale is his younger sister and this is the case that he lives with her. Curiously, no one questions this, despite the fact that Senbei lost his parents when he was quite young (it only happened twice, and he escaped with a quick excuse), although it doesn't matter anyway because Arale is really his daughter.
Reed Richards Is Useless: He was able to create a robot-girl with exaggerated super strength and can create nearly anything overnight with almost no tools... yet he's a Butt-Monkey who (especially before his marriage) mostly is regarded as something of a failure. Possibly this is because he's a Bungling Inventor whose creations often have severe drawbacks or idiosyncrasies.
Secondary Character Title: He's the "Dr. Slump" of the title, but Arale is the protagonist.
Small Name, Big Ego: He considers himself handsome, despite being anything but.
Stalker with a Crush: To Midori, especially early on. Sometimes to creepy levels, like installing a camera inside Arale's body to spy on her.
Throw the Dog a Bone: In the early chapters, he's largely a Hopeless Suitor and nothing ever goes right for him...until he finally marries his dream woman and they end up as one of the happiest couples in the village. He's still a Butt-Monkey even after the marriage, but slightly less than before.
Truly Single Parent: He is a genius scientist who built the android girl Arale by himself, and he was a good part of the manga fulfilling the role of a single father.
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: With Midori later in the series.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Due to a "traumatic" past experience he hates dogs and is terrified of them. Later in the series, it's revealed he hates cats too.
Younger Than He Looks: Downplayed. He looks to be in his mid-thirties, but he's only 28. One episode had him accused of being middle-aged for him to correct him.

Gatchan

Voiced by (Japanese): Seiko Nakano (first anime, movies 1-5, DB), Yoko Teppouzuka (movies 6-9), Kumiko Nishihara (Dr. Mashirito Abale-chan, Suzuki Hustler ads, DBS); Chie Ishibashi (remake)
Voiced by (English): Rebecca Forstadt (Mystical Adventure; Harmony Gold dub); Mike McFarland (Mystical Adventure), John Burgmeier (DB; series), Brina Palencia (Super), Jeannie Tirado (DBZ: Kakarot) (Funimation dub); Sharon Mann (Gatchan 1) and Jodie Forrest (Gatchan 2) (Mystical Adventure; AB Groupe/"Big Green" dub)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Lisette Pimentel (first anime, remake, and DB Super)

Full name "Gadzilla Norimaki", Gatchan is a cherub-like creature that hatched from an egg brought back from the prehistoric era, and often hangs out with Arale. A second one was created later in the series.

Adaptation Dye-Job: In the manga, the Gatchans had blond hair (though some chapters had them with orange hair). Their hair is bright green in the '80s anime adaptation, while it goes back to blond in the '90s series, and back to green again in their cameos in Dragon Ball.
Ambiguous Gender: It has no defined gender, but the manga constantly refers to it as her.
Arale: Boy? Or girl?
Senbei: Nothing, there’s nothing there.
Arale: Just like me!! A girl then.
Badass Adorable: Along with Arale. Gatchan can eat almost everything around her and she also shoots rays from her antennae.
Big Eater: Willing to eat almost anything she comes across.
Big Sister Worship: She follows Arale everywhere and is her closest friend, always gets along with her and helps her whenever necessary.
Cheerful Child: She's usually happy all the time, similarly to Arale.
The Cutie: A baby creature with wings who is just as cute and playful as Arale.
The Dividual: Initially there was just one Gatchan, then it inexplicably replicates into a second identical one. They are still identified as the same character. Also, Gatchan can be considered this with Arale, as they are usually seen together.
Extreme Omnivore: She can eat anything, but she loves metal the most. It turned out that Kami created Gatchan as a countermeasure to humanity's technological progress; due to how earlier civilizations eventually killed each other off with their advanced technology.
Father, I Want to Marry My Brother: Played for Laughs. They are two children who are as innocent as Arale, and they do not understand what love or romantic relationships are, so they often play to date or marry her.
Happily Adopted: She is a little creature hatched from an egg brought home by Senbei and Arale from a time-traveling trip. She becomes part of their family as well as Arale’s little sister/playmate.
Intelligible Unintelligible: Arale and Turbo can understand Gatchan.
Irony: According to the creator's words, Gatchan was created to be a kind of pet for the Norimaki family, but beyond the fact that she doesn't speak or grow up, within the manga (and by extension all other adaptations), Gatchan is treated more like a member of the family, and Arale's younger sister rather than her pet.
No Biological Sex: As Senbei and Arale find out in the bath, Gatchan has no genitals.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Hardly, if ever, referred to as her full name Gadzilla.
Our Angels Are Different: As revealed late in the manga’s run, God initially created a singular cherub that was intended to self-duplicate and destroy the world to punish humanity. He’s surprised that Gatchan only made a single copy, and thoroughly disappointed that she hadn’t carried through with her mission.
Pintsized Powerhouse: During a trip to prehistoric time, she was able to easily stop a giant meteor that Arale then sent back to space with a simple headbutt. Said meteor turned out to be the moon.
Portmanteau: Gamera + Godzilla = Gadzilla, or Gatchan for short.
Prenatal Possessions: Gatchan emerges from her/its egg fully clothed.
Satellite Character: While she is still a major character, most of the time she does little other than flying, eating, and following Arale everywhere.
Single-Minded Twins: After she duplicates into two different but identical beings. The original series takes it further, as there are eight of them a decade in the future, which Obotchaman discovers during his own Time Travel, making this trope expand into "single-minded octopletes".
The Unintelligible: She speaks in nonsense peeping that only Arale (and later Turbo) can interpret.

Midori Norimaki (nee: Yamabuki)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/midori10.png

Voiced by (Japanese): Mariko Mukai (first anime, movies 1-5, DB), Yoko Kawanami (movies 6-9); Yuko Minaguchi (remake, Puyo Puyo Quest)
Voiced by (English): Wendee Lee (first anime; Harmony Gold dub); Susan Huber (DB; Funimation dub), Jennifer Holder (DB; Blue Water dub)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Mónica Manjarrez (1st voice in half anime, movies 2-3 and 5), Lourdes Morán (rest 1st anime and remake), Ángela Villanueva (DB)

A teacher at Penguin Village's Middle School. She then married Senbei later in the series and had children.

Adaptational Badass: In the anime, she's more athletic than she was in the manga. In one episode, she's able to rescue Tsuruten from drowning in the sea, and in another episode she can hold her own in a running race with Arale.
Adaptation Dye-Job: Midori went from being a curly blonde-haired woman in the manga and original anime to having straight brown hair in the remake.
Brainless Beauty: Not originally, but she was flanderized into one after getting married.
Characterization Marches On: Early in the series she was a reasonable woman who was the closest thing to an Only Sane Man in Penguin Village. In later chapters...less so.
Cool Teacher: To Arale and her friends, in the early chapters. After Midori's marriage, there is often another teacher.
Damsel in Distress: She’s kidnapped and placed in this role quite a few times.
Dude Magnet: She has been lusted after by nearly every male adult in Penguin Village (including Senbei, Kurikinton Soramame, Tsuruten, Akira Toriyama himself, Dr. Mashirito, and, in one episode, even Akane's father).
Everyone Loves Blondes: She provides fanservice in the series, and Senbei obviously isn't the only one who finds her attractive.
Feminine Mother, Tomboyish Daughter: She's ladylike, polite, and domestic. Her step-daughter Arale is a mischievous poop-loving Genki Girl.
Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: A very neat and ladylike woman who is portrayed as a sweet teacher and later as a dedicated housewife. However in some episodes of the anime, she's shown to be very athletic, and she is scary when angry.
Good Stepmother: Although she actually believes that Arale is Senbei's younger sister, she fills this role really well for her. Midori is the closest thing Arale has ever had to a mother figure of hers, always taking care of her, loving her, and teaching her new things.
Happily Adopted: According to her backstory in the second movie, she was briefly adopted by a royal family of another planet when she was a child. Years later, they found Midori's real parents and returned her to Earth.
Happily Married: Eventually with Senbei.
Hidden Depths: She has been shown in several episodes that she likes to run and exercise. It was also shown in an episode that she collects autographs of famous people.
Hot Teacher: Unusually, she's only considered hot by the other adults, but not her students. In an anime episode, Senbei assumes her student Peasuke has a crush on her, but it turns out he was completely wrong.
Housewife: In later chapters. After getting married she appears to be more a housewife than a teacher and is rarely seen at school (especially in the manga).
Informed Attractiveness: She's often considered the ultimate beauty in the village, even if she has more or less the same character design of other female characters, notably Akane, Aoi, and Polly Buckets. In fact, preteen Akane is able to disguise herself as Midori on more than one occasion.
Last-Name Basis: Senbei initially calls her "Miss Yamabuki". He switches to "Midori" only after they get married. It says a lot that, before their Accidental Marriage, he wasn't even on First-Name Basis with her (though she has always called him by his first name).
Mama Bear: If she sees someone harming Turbo or Arale she will be ready to punish that person.
Ms. Fanservice: As expected from being modeled after Marilyn Monroe
Nice Girl: The nicest character along with Obotchaman and Turbo. While she's normally patient and kind, she still has limits.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Was modeled after Marilyn Monroe and was voiced by Marilyn Monroe's Japanese dub VA in the first anime and the original 5 movies.
Oblivious to Love: In the first part of the series, she was mostly oblivious to Senbei’s crush on her.
Only Sane Woman: Compared to most characters, at least in the beginning. Later this trope is averted, especially after her marriage.
Parental Substitute: Besides being the mother of Turbo, she is a maternal figure for Arale and Gatchan.
Rags to Royalty: Cinderella Style. Midori was made into one of these in the second movie. She is not of royal blood; but she was briefly adopted by the King and Queen of a distant planet after she was separated from her parents in an amusement park. She did promise to assume the throne should anything happen to the King or Queen after she was returned to her actual parents.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: In the manga, she accepts Senbei's proposal for no apparent reason. In the anime episode, before accepting the proposal, she is clearly touched to see how fatherly and caring he is towards Arale and Gatchan. Probably because she wanted a family, she was quick to marry a Family Man with two children.
Team Mom: She is the one in charge of the care and education of both Arale and Gatchan, and even before marrying Senbei they were the closest thing they had to a mother figure. Later she becomes a literal case with the birth of Turbo.
Took a Level in Dumbass: After her marriage, she goes from the Only Sane Woman to a Dumb Blonde who is just as kooky and quirky as everyone else. Justified, because there’s no way any sane woman would have ever married someone like Senbei.
Tsundere: The Sweet Type. She is usually sweet and easygoing, but Senbei's behavior can trigger her tsuntsun side at times.
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: With Senbei later in the series.
What Does She See in Him?: All the citizens are bewildered when she decides to accept the marriage proposal of Senbei.
Womanchild: A trait highlighted especially in the chapters that take place in alternate universes, where she is not only portrayed as a Dumb Blonde but also has girlish attitudes such as enjoying childish games.

Turbo Norimaki

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/turbo.png

Voiced by (Japanese): Yūko Mita (first anime, DB, remake, Puyo Puyo Quest), Hiroko Emori (movie 8), Mami Matsui (movie 9)
Voiced by (English): Kent Williams (DB; Funimation dub); Jordan Henkelman (DB; Blue Water dub)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Vanessa Garcel (DB)

Senbei and Midori's first (biological) child.

The Ace: He can do pretty much anything with his unlimited intelligence and powers. Even personality-wise, he's the only character who has no apparent flaws whatsoever.
Always Someone Better: To his father. Turbo is able to build and repair machines much more quickly and efficiently than Senbei.
Baby Talk: Despite his intelligence, he's prone to several malapropisms of the typical toddler in the Japanese version.
Badass Adorable: A genius baby with superpowers including teleportation, flight, and telekinesis.
Big Sister Worship: He appreciates Arale like a big sister and also admires her great abilities.
Brainy Baby: His intelligence surpasses his father while still being a baby.
Came Back Strong: He's a normal infant before aliens accidentally strike him down and kill him. Their healing technology not only brings him back, but makes him more intelligent and powerful than every other human being in the series.
Child Prodigy: He becomes this after being killed by aliens and then revived by them, gaining Psychic Powers and a genius-like intellect in the process.
Cool Big Bro: He himself becomes one for his younger sister Nitro, in the sequel manga, as well as in the seventh, eighth, and ninth films.
Cool Uncle: It is implied that in the future, he has become this for Arale and Obotchaman's baby. Since in an episode of the anime he builds them a toy carousel almost as big as they house.
Cunning Linguist: Besides the common language that everyone speaks, he can communicate with the Gatchans directly.
Senbei: *thinking to himself upon witnessing Turbo communicating to the Gatchans with their language* You speak that?
Death of a Child: He's one of the only characters to die in the storyline. Miraculously, he's quickly brought back, stronger than ever.
Demoted to Extra: The remake ends with his birth while Turbo is more involved in the original series.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Of the step-sibling variety, he's definitely the Responsible to Arale's Foolish.
Gadgeteer Genius: Far more so than his father. He had created a robot double of himself, and Dr. Slump Returns had him inventing a watch for Arale that transforms her to an adult.
Gentleman and a Scholar: Especially seen with his older version in Dr. Slump Returns. Even as a baby, he's very mature and polite, and (unlike his father), he never brags about being a genius, despite being much smarter.
Iconic Sequel Character: He wasn't born until the 15th volume but is still quite memorable in later chapters and many still remember his appearance in Dragon Ball.
Last Episode, New Character: In the remake. In the original story, he's introduced much earlier.
Mature Younger Sibling: Considering that he is a baby that was genetically altered, he acts much more mature than his older sister Arale, and to a certain extent behaves more like the older sibling than her.
Mind over Matter: His telekinetic powers.
Mr. Fixit: He can quickly fix any of his father’s flawed inventions with his powers. He was also the one who fixed the Dragon Radar in the crossover appearance in Dragon Ball.
Nice Guy: A very friendly Cheerful Child who loves his family.
Not So Above It All: Despite his common sense, he will sometimes join in his family's crazy antics. Especially at the restaurant.
Oblivious to Love: In the sequel manga, Retasu Kinoko's younger sister, is in love with him, but Turbo has no idea of her feelings.
Secret-Keeper: In the sequel Dr. Slump Returns he somehow knows about Arale's robotic nature, which is still a secret to everyone else, except Senbei, Mashirito, and Obotchaman.
Touched by Vorlons: The source of his powers. A side-effect of being revived.
Wacky Parent, Serious Child: The Serious Child to Senbei's Wacky Parent. To a lesser extent, he's also this to his mother Midori since she has her Cloudcuckoolander moments.

Nitro Norimaki

Senbei and Midori's second biological child.

Alliterative Name: Nitro Norimaki.
Ascended Extra: Downplayed. In the original series, Turbo's unnamed younger sister is only seen briefly during Obotchaman's trip ten years into the future. In the follow-up manga Dr. Slump Returns she's an actual character called Nitro and she also appears in later movies based on this continuity.
The Baby of the Bunch: Literally. During the sequel manga and movies she is easily the youngest member of the Norimaki family.

Kimidori Family

Akane Kimidori

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/akane_4.png

Voiced by (Japanese): Kazuko Sugiyama (first anime, movies 1-5, DB), Mami Matsui (movies 6 & 7); Hiroko Konishi (remake)
Voiced by (English): Kris Noel Pearson (first anime; Harmony Gold dub); Laura Bailey (DB; Funimation dub); Carol-Anne Day (DB; Blue Water dub)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Gisela Casillas (anime ep. 1-12, movies 2-3 and 5), Vicky Burgoa (DB), Miriam Chong (anime ep, 13 onwards and remake 1st half), Gaby Willer (remake 2nd half)

A rebellious 13-year-old girl and Arale's best friend at school.

Adaptation Dye-Job: Akane's hair in the manga shifts between either blonde and orange (with the latter now considered her official manga color), then between a dark gold and a light orange shade in the first anime, while in the remake she has dark auburn hair.
The Alcoholic: Especially at the beginning of the manga, it was noticeable that she had a great taste for drinking, to the point where she carried liquor in her canteen to drink at school.
Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: The Brains to Tsururin's Beauty and Arale's Brawn, being a street smart, usually the leader and the one who comes up with all the ideas.
Big Little Sister: A variant of cousins. Chronologically, Peasuke was born on the 1st of Crayfish (September), while Akane was born on the 21st of Coelacanth (December), but Akane is much taller than him.
Big Sister Instinct: Although she sometimes gets irritated by Arale's antics, Akane truly cares about her and would never let someone hurt her. In one episode of the original anime she literally staged a demonstration against Senbei when she thought he had brought Arale to an orphanage.
Book Dumb: Despite having more common sense than the others, she regularly fails tests like all of her classmates (except Arale, Obotchaman, and Skop). The whole class struggles with elementary-level tests, even when they are in high school later in the series.
Brilliant, but Lazy: She is very cunning and one of the more sensible characters in the series, but in terms of studies she is quite lazy.
Brother–Sister Team: Technically cousins, but it still counts. She, Taro and Peasuke are very close, and are almost always complicit when it comes to playing practical jokes, getting into trouble or devising plans.
Celibate Heroine: Before Tsukutsun's arrival, Akane didn't really seem to be interested in men.
Chastity Couple: Akane played this trope with her boyfriend Tsukutsun. Although it is not as if in this play we see the other couples hugging and kissing all the time, but she and Tsukutsun fit better in this since they cannot even hold hands without Tsukutsun turning into a tiger. However this is never seen as a problem, and they both seem to be quite comfortable as they are.
Clingy Jealous Girl: In an episode where they go to visit Tsukutsun's childhood friend, she gets very jealous, because she thought they liked each other. Although she tried to be nice, jealousy ended up pulling all her anger. In the manga Dr. Slump Returns, But Only For a Little While she is jealous when Tsukutsun is attracted to Arale with her new adult body and pulls him tightly of his ear.
Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: To Arale. Although she can be a Toxic Friend Influence, she's also the friend who looks after her the most.
Deadpan Snarker: More often than not, she tends to be rather verbal about the stupidity of other characters around her.
Everyone Has Standards: She's The Prankster in Penguin Village, but she'll draw the line when a prank poses too much danger for the target in her opinion. In the original series, when Kurikinton finds out that Senbei is stuck as a fly for a day, he decides to go and catch a frog to freak Senbei out. Akane is NOT impressed.
Akane: (to Taro) Doesn't your father have a job?
Fiery Redhead: More so in the 1997 remake where her hair is darker, but she also qualifies in the old series with her blonde/orange hair.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish to Aoi's Responsible.
Four-Philosophy Ensemble: The Cynic. Akane is rebellious, sarcastic, temperamental, and always enjoys getting into trouble.
Four-Temperament Ensemble: Previously she was the Melancholic to Taro's Choleric, Peasuke's Phlegmatic, and Arale's Sanguine. Since she is cunning, sensible, and somewhat rude.
The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Akane is a Street Smart, cunning, and intelligent while her older sister Aoi is the beautiful and sweet Girl Next Door who works in the village café. Akane does not generally get along with her sister, although it is due to more than Aoi's overprotective attitude and it is the fact that she is usually somewhat irresponsible.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: There are times when she shows to have this dynamic with Arale.
Hidden Depths: She seems to have some talent for playing the electric guitar, as she can be seen playing at a school festival in an episode of the anime.
High-School Sweethearts: With Tsukutsun. They are married in the future.
Irony: The first chapters of the manga show her as an alcoholic lover, but unlike other characters like Arale who have moments of Can't Hold Her Liquor, it is actually very difficult to find a panel in which Akane is seen drunk (although she mentioned once that she had a hangover).
Japanese Delinquents: She has the appearance and a rebellious attitude, people like Senbei usually see her as such, and even belong to a club of these in school.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite her pranks and rebellious attitude, she's really a good person and a good friend to Arale. And when Tsukutsun is (seemingly) about to leave and tells her that he's going to miss her more than everyone else, she breaks down in tears.
The Lad-ette: A younger version than most, but still has shades of this.
Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Subverted. They are both tomboy girls but their personalities are played this way, Akane is the rebellious, sarcastic, and somewhat angry Dark Feminine to the cheerful, energetic, and innocent Arale's Light Feminine.
Nice, Mean, and In-Between:
- The mean to Peasuke's nice and Taro's in-between. While she's not really "mean", her rebellious, sarcastic attitude and being a devious prankster gives her a bad name among people like Senbei.
- She also is the mean to Arale's nice and Tsururin's in-between, for the same reasons as before.
One of the Boys: Possibly the reason why she's such a tomboy, as Akane mostly hangs out with boys and in fact, before meeting Arale, her best friends were boys. Taro and Peasuke, other than being her childhood male friends, are apparently also her cousins since one later chapter casually reveals that Mrs. Soramame and Mrs. Kimidori are sisters. Other than that, they are never referred to as cousins or implied to be related at all.
Only Sane by Comparison: Probably the most normal character in the series and easily the least quirky of Arale's friends, although that's not saying much. She's still a prankster and a troublemaker.
The Prankster: She has a reputation for being a troublemaker. Especially towards Senbei, but she will occasionally prank other people too.
Short Tank: A very tomboyish girl who often wears shorts and occasionally tank tops.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: At first she seemed to be the opposite, nevertheless eventually develop feelings and starts dating Tsukutsun, who is a very levelheaded and friendly boy, and even marries him.
Slap-Slap-Kiss: She and Tsukutsun spend an entire episode fighting, only to find out that they can't tolerate someone else talking bad about each other and reconcile... and then Akane gets mad at him again.
Street Smart: She is quite aware of the environment in which she lives and usually when it comes to organizing plans it is she who has the good ideas in her group of friends, besides that she can be considered a "master of deception" since she easily plays tricks on the villagers.
Surrounded by Idiots: She sometimes feels like this. Considering the way everyone acts, it’s not that surprising, as she is one of the few non-idiots characters in the series. See her reaction to the Penguin Grand Prix, compared to the other characters.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tomboy to her sister Aoi's Girly Girl.
Tomboyish Ponytail: Fitting, since her more feminine sister wears her hair down.
Toxic Friend Influence: Akane is able to take advantage of Arale's naive nature and easily convinces her friend to prank people and get into trouble with her, even though Arale finds it fun.
Town Girls: In her group of friends, the Butch to Arale's Neither and Tsururin's Femme.
Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Akane with only thirteen years already shows a quite notorious fondness for alcoholic drinks (although it softens later), and it goes without saying that her older sister is not happy with such behavior.
Tsundere: The Harsh type. She has severe changes of attitude and can go from sympathetic and friendly to hysterical and a little aggressive.

Aoi Kimidori

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aoi_2.png

Voiced by (Japanese): Naomi Jinbo (first anime, movies 1-5, DB); Hiroko Emori (remake)
Voiced by (English): Meredith McCoy (DB)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Belinda Martínez (first anime and movie 2)

Akane's older sister.

Big Sister Instinct: She is usually a bit overprotective with her sister Akane and does not let her do things that are inappropriate for her age like drinking alcohol or going out at night, it's not like Akane obeys her anyway but Aoi punishes her when she does.
Demoted to Extra: She was already a minor character in the original but was still somewhat involved as a common Recurring Extra (especially in the anime). In the remake, she almost never appears.
Drives Like Crazy: Shown in the chapter/episode "Super Driver" where she gets A Day in the Limelight.
Flat Character: She's usually just there to be Akane's sister who works at the coffee shop.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Responsible to Akane's Foolish.
Girl Next Door: She is a normal, calm, decent girl who works in the coffee shop of the village and is a good friend of Senbei.
The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Akane is a Street Smart, cunning, and intelligent while her older sister Aoi is the beautiful and sweet Girl Next Door who works in the village café. Akane does not generally get along with her sister, although it is due to more than Aoi's overprotective attitude and it is the fact that Akane is usually somewhat irresponsible.
Odd Friendship: With Senbei, it's a little difficult to think how a calm and decent girl like Aoi can be friends with an eccentric and perverted inventor like Senbei.
Promotion to Parent: A curious thing is that although it is known that their parents are alive, well and living with them, Aoi seems to play more the role of "parent" to Akane. This is probably because their parents rarely appear in the series, and Aoi seems to be the closest thing to an adult figure in Akane's life.
Redhead In Green: She has red hair and her usual outfit is usually a green dress along with an apron that she wears in the cafeteria. She too sometimes can wear a green sweater (see picture above).
Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly Girl to Akane's Tomboy.
What Happened to the Mouse?: In the original series, it's revealed that Akane would run the same coffee shop Aoi herself works in ten years in the future. There's no mention regarding what becomes of her by then.

Kon and Murasaki Kimidori

Kon voiced by: Banjo Ginga (first anime); Hideyuki Tanaka (remake)
Murasaki voiced by: Yūko Mita (first anime)

Akane's parents. They rarely appear.

All There in the Manual: Their names are only mentioned in Akane's ID card in the manga's resume extra.
Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: The only time Murasaki appears, Akane is embarrassed by her mom's immature behavior. Kon isn't much better, as seen in the crossdressing chapter, but that time Akane was amused rather than embarrassed, as it was part of her prank.
Feminine Mother, Tomboyish Daughter: Murasaki is a bubbly blonde that walks with a Supermodel Strut, very different from her rebellious Tomboy daughter Akane.
Invisible Parents: They have only one official appearance together, while Kon appears by himself once in one of the early chapters (when he, Senbei, and Kurikinton dress up to impress Midori). Other than that, they are absent, except for some rare background appearances in the anime, and are almost never seen along with the other parents. Aoi is the only member of Akane's family who is seen regularly.
Mum Looks Like a Sister: For a woman with two daughters, one of whom is already an adult, Murasaki looks incredibly young. She even seems to be the same age as Aoi, or just a few years older.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Similarly to Bulma's Mom, Akane's mom looks a lot like Marilyn Monroe.
Wholesome Crossdresser: Kon did this, trying to impress Midori.

Soramame Family

Taro Soramame

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/taro.png

Voiced by (Japanese): Toshio Furukawa (first anime, movies 1-5, DB, Dr. Mashirito Abale-chan), Bin Shimada (movies 7-9); Shinichiro Ohta (remake)
Voiced by (English): Jamie Johnston (first anime; Harmony Gold dub); Justin Pate (DB; Funimation dub); Ethan Cole (DB; Blue Water dub)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Óscar Flores (first anime and remake), Yamil Atala (DB)

An older boy at Arale's school who usually hangs out with Akane and Arale. He eventually became a cop after graduating.

Adaptation Dye-Job: Dark-haired originally, but becomes blonde in the remake.
Adaptation Personality Change: While in the original anime and manga Taro was rebellious, had tough guy façade and posed as a "bad boy", in the remake he softened up, being more peaceful and looking less like a delinquent, almost becoming more like a Nice Guy.
Aloof Big Brother: At his worst.
Big Brother Instinct: Although he may falter at times, he definitely cares for his younger brother. He often helps him out of jams, and Peasuke almost always goes to him for advice. Taro does get annoyed with Peasuke at times, but he is very caring for him and does his best to ensure their relationship is at it's highest.
Brother–Sister Team: Technically cousins, but it still counts. He, Akane and Peasuke are very close, and are almost always complicit when it comes to playing practical jokes, getting into trouble or devising plans.
Casanova Wannabe: He plays this role at the beginning of the series since he used to flirt with some girls who reject him. This of course changes when he meets Tsururin.
Cool Big Bro: How Peasuke sees him. Usually.
Cool Shades: He rarely takes them off.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish to Peasuke's Responsible.
Former Teen Rebel: He goes from the local "bad boy" to a police officer after graduating.
Four-Philosophy Ensemble: The Apathetic. Taro is rebellious, teasing and likes to pretend to be a "bad boy", although deep down he is really harmless.
Four-Temperament Ensemble:
- Among the males of his group of friends, he is the Choleric to Peasuke's Melancholic, Tsukutsun's Phlegmatic, and Obotchaman's Sanguine. Being one of the most rebellious along with Akane, and the self-described "bad boy" of the group.
- Previously, he was also the Choleric, Peasuke's Phlegmatic, Akane's Melancholic, and Arale's Sanguine.
Greaser Delinquents: Has the look, though the remake remade him with a punk look with blonde spiked hair.
Hidden Depths: The nineteenth episode of the original anime shows that he is apparently a great connoisseur of sea creatures.
High-School Sweethearts: With Tsururin. They are married in the future.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Like Akane, he's a rebellious troublemaker and proud of it, but he cares for his friends and his brother.
Love at First Sight: Towards Tsururin. When Taro sees her for the first time while wearing pajamas and barely awake, he immediately dashes back inside his house and freshens up before formally introducing himself.
Nice, Mean, and In-Between: The in-between to Peasuke's nice and Akane's mean. Besides his Small Name, Big Ego, he's mostly friendly.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Manly Man to Peasuke's Sensitive Guy. Taro acts like a tough guy and has the rebel appearance, Peasuke is his meek, short, and insecure brother.
Smoking Is Cool: Or so he thinks, though his smoking was omitted in the anime adaptation.
Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: He is a teenager, yes. But according to a manga image, Taro's been smoking cigarettes since he was five years old.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He's afraid of ghosts.

Peasuke Soramame

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/peasuke.png

Voiced by: Naomi Jinbo (first anime, most episodes, movies 1-5, DB), Seiko Nakano (first anime, episodes 133, 163, 164, 167, 169, 1992 special), Yoko Teppouzuka (movie 6), Tomiko Suzuki (movie 7), Noriko Uemura (movie 9); Megumi Urawa (remake)
Voiced by (English): Robin Levenson (first anime; Harmony Gold dub); Geno Petralli (DB; Funimation dub); Angie Bears (DB; Blue Water dub)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Isabel Martiñón (first anime, remake, movies 2 and 5), Cristina Camargo (DB)

Taro's little brother and a classmate of Arale and Akane.

Alone Among the Couples: Played with. He was actually the first one in the group to find a girlfriend but she almost never appears. In later chapters, all the friends he hangs out with are more or less couples (Taro/Tsururin, Akane/Tsukutsun, Arale/Obotchaman), leaving him as the odd one out.
Animal-Eared Headband: He always wears a cat-eared hat.
Annoying Younger Sibling: Despite his aforementioned admiration there are times where he can behave like one for Taro, as in a chapter of the manga where he calls Arale by phone to attend Taro and Tsururin's date.
Big Brother Worship: To Taro.
Book Dumb: One chapter shows him struggling with a very bad grade, and one remake episode implies he is one of the worst students in the class.
Brother–Sister Team: Technically cousins, but it still counts. He, Taro and Akane are very close, and are almost always complicit when it comes to playing practical jokes, getting into trouble or devising plans.
Butt-Monkey: The butt of many jokes because of his short stature.
Cowardly Lion: He scares relatively easily and is generally quite cowardly, but he has had moments of courage to help his friends and loved ones on more than one occasion. He has even done quite dangerous feats with the simple goal of being cool in front of others (literally he threw himself off a cliff thinking that he would fly with his farts, which although it was a stupid idea, certainly impressed his friends).
Fan Boy: Downplayed. He spends a whole episode talking and flattering Masked Melon, his favorite fighter, but then he doesn't show this worship again.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Responsible to Taro's Foolish.
Four-Philosophy Ensemble: The Realist. Peasuke usually has his feet on the ground, he is the calmest of the group and more aware of the dangers unlike his friends.
Four-Temperament Ensemble:
- Among the males of his group of friends, he is the Melancholic, to Taro's Choleric, Tsukutsun's Phlegmatic, and Obotchaman's Sanguine. Being introverted and level-headed, but very direct at times.
- Previously, he was also the Phlegmatic, to Taro's Choleric, Akane's Melancholic, and Arale's Sanguine.
Hidden Depths:
- One of his hobbies is collecting autographs from people he thinks are cool.
- An episode of the anime shows him doing magic tricks at a school festival, so he seems to have a knack for it.
Kiddie Kid: Not only he looks younger than his age, he even has a childish attitude sometimes (but not as much as Arale).
I Just Want to Be You: He would like to be like his brother.
Little Big Brother: A variant of cousins. Chronologically, Peasuke was born on the 1st of Crayfish (September), while Akane was born on the 21st of Coelacanth (December), but Akane is much taller than him. This is played on by the fact that Peasuke is usually much more childish than Akane and Taro.
Nice, Mean, and In-Between: The nice to Akane's mean and Taro's in-between. Because he is the meekest and most reasonable of the three, and generally wants to avoid getting into trouble.
Older Than He Looks: He is about 13 at the start of the series, but he can easily pass off as a seven year old. This gets only worse as he ages, as the only thing that looks different once he's an adult is a thin mustache, while otherwise still looking like a little kid.
Rescue Romance: He earns Hiyoko's love after he saves her from an insect that was going to capture her to sell her.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Sensitive Guy to Taro's Manly Man. Taro acts like a tough guy and has the rebel appearance, Peasuke is his meek, short, and insecure brother.
Shipper on Deck: He supports his brother's crush on Tsururin, and also seems to ship to Akane and Tsukutsun.
Ship Tease: He got a little tease with Arale at the beginning of the series; after Akane, he is one of the closest friends to Arale, and both are also the shortest and most innocent of their group, with Arale saying that she "loves" Peasuke (although she really loves everyone). Akane and Taro mock them calling them a "couple" and Peasuke reacts with She Is Not My Girlfriend. However, this faded over time.
Shorter Means Smarter: He initially appears to be more serious and well-informed than his friends, particularly Akane and Taro. However, it’s later subverted since he’s revealed to be a poor student, even worse than Akane.
Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: His girlfriend is younger, but he is shorter.
Token Good Teammate: While he hangs out with a group of self-proclaimed "hoodlums", he's the most harmless of the four. In one of the Chivil episodes, all his friends Arale, Akane, and Taro like the idea of going to hell for causing trouble in the village, while Peasuke looks embarrassed.

Kurikinton and Mame Soramame

Kurikinton voiced by: Kōji Totani (first anime), Hirohiko Kakegawa (movie 9), Nobuaki Kanemitsu (remake)(Japanese); Roberto Mendiola (first anime)(Latin American)

Mame voiced by: Yumi Nakatani (first anime, episode 32), Seiko Nakano (first anime, 2nd voice), Noriko Uemura (movie 9); Taeko Kawata (remake)

Taro and Peasuke's parents. Kurikinton is the town barber and appears more often than his wife.

Chubby Mama, Skinny Papa: Mame and Kurikinton, respectively.
Crazy Jealous Guy: Despite being married, Kurikinton is seen fawning over Midori in one of the early chapters. When she marries Senbei, he didn't take it well.
Eyes Always Shut: Kurikinton's eyes always look closed.
Happily Married: Presumably, though Kurikinton also seems slightly attracted to Midori.
Hot Guy, Ugly Wife: Unlike the other married couples, Kurikinton is tall, fit, and has a cool appearance (for his age), while Mame is a chubby, short, old woman.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Mame is very short compared to her husband.
Mirror Character: At first sight, Kurikinton seems a cooler and more laidback Foil to Senbei, but he's shown many times to be as silly and immature as him, and both have a perverted crush on Midori.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Kurikinton looks a lot like Clint Eastwood. Lampshaded when it is revealed that he once was a policeman.
Satellite Character: Unlike her husband, Mame only exists to appear in the Soramame family scenes and is hardly ever seen without her husband or children.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Kurikinton with Senbei, especially in the anime. They frequently argue and bicker, but he's one of the few adults in the village who can be considered Senbei's friend along with the Tsuns (and Aoi in the early chapters).

Tsun Family

As a whole

Alliterative Family: Every name in the family starts with the letter T.
All Chinese People Know Kung-Fu: Downplayed. They are a Chinese family but the only ones who know Kung-Fu are Tsukutsun and his mother, Tsuntsunodanoteiyugo, however the cover of the chapter of the manga where they appear for the first time seems to give the impression that everyone knows Kung-Fu.
Badass Family: Like the Norimaki family, they are pretty awesome. Tsukutsun can turn into a tiger, both he and his mom practice kung fu, Tsururin has telekinetic powers, Tsuruten is able to build a spaceship.
Cipher Language: Their “Chinese” is just Japanese with kanji chosen to represent the sound (but not the meaning) of the words.
Iconic Sequel Character: They are introduced in the 10th volume, but quickly become regular friends to the main characters and the children also become love interests to Arale's other friends.
Malaproper: They speak Japanese in a stereotypical “Chinese person” accent, ending sentences with a Verbal Tic “aru”.
Repetitive Name: Especially notable with Tsukutsun Tsun, but the rest of his family also have at least two 'tsu' syllables each.

Tsukutsun Tsun

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tsukutsun.png

Voiced by (Japanese): Shigeru Chiba (first anime, movie 5, DB), Kazumi Tanaka (movie 7); Ryōtarō Okiayu (remake)
Voiced by (English): Justin Cook (DB; Funimation dub); Dan Gascon (DB; Blue Water dub)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Jesús Barrero (DB)

A kung fu practitioner. He looks a lot like Yamcha.

All Guys Want Cheerleaders: In an episode of the original anime, Akane dresses as a cheerleader, and Tsukutsun blushes.
Alliterative Name: Tsukutsun Tsun.
Animal Motifs: Tigers, obviously. Not just because he becomes one when a woman touches him, but also because when he is angry he acquires a fighting style very similar to that of a tiger.
Badass Normal: He manages to be a strong and competent character only with his Kung Fu skills. Unlike his sister, Arale, Gatchan, and Obotchaman, he has no supernatural powers. He can turn into a tiger but this is not treated (or used) as a power in-universe, just as an annoying thing he can't control and he's ashamed of.
Big Little Brother: He's taller than his older sister.
Book Dumb: He's shown in the anime to be a bad student, one of the things he has in common with Akane.
Born Unlucky: Taking into account that he has a serious uncontrollable problem that prevents him from touching women because if he does he turns into a tiger, and with a family that at least he considers too strange... we can say that it is the case.
Chastity Couple: Played this trope with his girlfriend Akane. Although it is not as if in this play we see the other couples hugging and kissing all the time, but Tsukutsun and Akane fit better in this since they cannot even hold hands without Tsukutsun turning into a tiger. However this is never seen as a problem, and they both seem to be quite comfortable as they are.
Childhood Friends: An episode of the original anime reveals that he has an old childhood friend who can turn into a dragon when touched by a girl, similar to him.
Cool Teacher: Implied. Later chapters reveal that Tsukutsun has become a teacher in the future, and teaches Kung-fu at school.
Determinator: He proves to be one, especially in the last tournament in one of the later chapters.
Four-Temperament Ensemble: Among the males of his group of friends, he is the Phlegmatic, to Taro's Choleric, Peasuke's Melancholic, and Obotchaman's Sanguine. Being generally calm, kind, and strong-willed.
High-School Sweethearts: With Akane. They are married in the future.
Iconic Sequel Character: Introduced in the 10th volume along with his family, but gets more focus than the other Tsuns and is even voted one of the most popular characters by Japanese readers.
Interspecies Romance: With Akane, when he becomes a tiger.
Involuntary Shapeshifter: Whenever a girl touches him, he turns into a tiger. However, he turns back to normal when a boy touches him.
Let's Get Dangerous!: When angry, he becomes even stronger than Arale.
Male Might, Female Finesse: With his sister Tsururin. Tsukutsun is a Badass Normal, who stands out mainly for being a Kung Fu fighter and expert in hand-to-hand combat, while Tsururin canmove stuff with her mind, whose fighting style consists mainly of using her powers to attack the opponent, and sometimes she can involve weapons. Usually when it comes to fighting there is much more focus on Tsukutsun's toughness and Tsururin's finesse.
Mature Younger Sibling: It is not such an outstanding aspect, but considering that Tsururin is a bit childish and naive, this causes that, despite being the youngest son of the family, he can sometimes behave as if he is older than his older sister. This is also played with the fact that he's much taller than her.
Mr. Fanservice: There's a reason why the character was popular with fangirls, especially after making his manga debut.
Nice Guy: One of the most levelheaded and friendly characters in the series.
Only Sane Man: In his first appearance, he complains about being this in his family.
Panthera Awesome: His tiger transformation.
Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Blue Boy to Tsururin’s Pink Girl. Averted in the remake since he wears white.
Repetitive Name: The rest of his family also have at least two 'tsu' syllables each.
Slap-Slap-Kiss / Kiss-Kiss-Slap: He and Akane spend an entire episode fighting, only to find out that they can't tolerate someone else talking bad about each other and reconcile... and then Akane gets mad at him again.

Tsururin Tsun

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tsururin.png

Voiced by (Japanese): Yūko Mita (first anime, movies 4 & 5); Houko Kuwashima (remake)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Patricia Acevedo (remake)

Tsukutsun's elder sister. She has psychic powers.

Academic Athlete: In the anime, it is shown that as a student she is at least quite decent and on the Pinguin Village Sports Day she is presented as one of the best athletes along with Arale, of course, her telekinetic powers had a lot to do with this.
All Girls Want Bad Boys: Her attraction to Taro is this. Although cigarettes and sunglasses aside, Taro being a "bad boy" is an Informed Attribute at best.
Alliterative Name: Tsururin Tsun.
Always Second Best: Downplayed. Her powers make her athletically very on par with Arale, and in terms of defense methods she is also quite competent, but unfortunately in terms of physical strength she is still far below her, which is the reason why who could not beat her on the Pinguin Village Sports Day.
Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: The Beauty to Akane's Brains and Arale's Brawn, being considered pretty by the boys.
Born Lucky: She is a very pretty girl with some boys behind her, with a charismatic personality and with great powers that make her untouchable, unlike her brother if she can control them as she pleases, and who almost always manages to get away with it.
Clingy Jealous Girl: She does not like at all that Taro shows interest in other girls.
Dude Magnet: Being a pretty girl, she was immediately noticed by several of Taro’s classmates, making Taro jealous.
Flower Motifs: In one of the panels of the manga when she is presented for the Pinguin Village Sports Day, it can be seen her surrounded by roses and lilies.
Girly Bruiser: She is a cute and elegant Chinese girl, who always wears pink and purple colors in her dress, but she is undoubtedly a badass who is capable of easily hurting you with her powers, just make her angry soon and you will regret having done it.
Graceful Ladies Like Purple: She wears pink and purple, and is the most feminine in her group of friends.
Hidden Depths:
- Apparently she is interested in famous singers and boy bands, since in one episode a thief blackmails her with one of these magazines to mislead her.
- In the remake it is seen that she has a teddy bear in her room, so she seems to have a liking for stuffed animals.
- In the fifth film, when she is in Mechapolis, she is seen trying on kimonos and dresses, so maybe she has an interest in fashion or at least she likes nice clothes.
High-School Sweethearts: With Taro. They are married in the future.
Housewife: it is implied that she will become one in the future, because when Arale and Toriyama go to visit her at Taro and Tsururin's apartment, only she is there to serve them while her husband is at work. If she is dedicated to something else outside of that, it is unknown.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: The tiny girl to both her brother and her love interest, Taro.
The Ingenue: A kind girl, sweet, playful, and naive in nature (but not as much as Arale).
Little Big Sister: She is Tsukutsun's older sister, but she is considerably shorter than he.
Little Miss Badass: Thanks to her telekinetic powers.
Male Might, Female Finesse: With her brother Tsukutsun. Tsukutsun is a Badass Normal, who stands out mainly for being a Kung Fu fighter, an expert in hand-to-hand combat, while Tsururin can move stuff with her mind, whose fighting style consists mainly of using her powers to attack the opponent, and sometimes she can involve weapons. Usually when it comes to fighting there is much more focus on Tsukutsun's toughness and Tsururin's finesse.
Mind over Matter: She has telekinesis, along with teleportation and other psychic powers.
Nice, Mean, and In-Between: The in-between to Arale's nice and Akane's mean. She is generally very friendly and sweet but is incredibly aggressive when angered, and will put you a stop whenever she doesn't like something, and even when she is not angry she is not really the most moral member of the group, since she has no problem playing dirty in order to achieve her goals.
Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Pink Girl to Tsukutsun’s Blue Boy.
Plucky Girl: She is a happy girl, and she does not get scared so easily, nor does she hesitate to use her powers when the situation requires it (even if that implies using them to cheat), and woe to you if you happen to mess with her.
Sibling Rivalry: She likes to tease her brother at times.
Town Girls: In her group of friends, the Femme to Arale's Neither and Akane's Butch.
Tsundere: The Sweet Type. She is generally a very kind and sweet girl, but when she gets angry it's better not to approach her.
The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: She is the daughter of Tsuruten Tsun, an old bald man. Luckily she inherited the beauty of her mother.
Violently Protective Girlfriend: She is very willing to use her powers to help Taro if the situation requires it. Curiously, she seems to use them more to help Taro defend himself than to defend him.

Tsuruten Tsun

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tsuruten.jpg

Voiced by: Hiroshi Ohtake (first anime, movie 4), Kazumi Tanaka (movie 7); Koji Yada (remake)

The father of the Tsun family and a lecherous inventor.

Alliterative Name: As part of an Alliterative Family.
Amazingly Embarrassing Parent: Both his children (and especially his wife) are embarrassed by his perverted antics.
Butt-Monkey: He gets a lot of physical abuse, especially at the hands of his wife.
Dirty Old Man: Implied to be older than his wife, but is often attracted to younger women.
Henpecked Husband: Usually a doormat to his much more domineering wife.
Lovable Sex Maniac: An even more shameless one than Senbei (he gets along with Senbei, obviously). On an occasion, he crosses the line sneaking a peek at his own daughter Tsururin's panties while she is sleeping.
Opaque Lenses: Tsuruten's glasses.
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: He’s supposed to be an inventor like Senbei, but we rarely (if ever) see him inventing anything (though he has created the family’s spaceship).
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Ugly Guy to Mrs. Tsun's Hot Wife.

Tsuntsunodanoteiyugo Tsun

Voiced by: Seiko Nakano (first anime, movie 4); Michie Tomizawa (remake)

The mother of the Tsun family and Tsuruten's aggressive wife.

Action Mom: Mrs. Tsun practices kung fu like her son.
Alliterative Name: As part of an Alliterative Family.
Almighty Mom: She is clearly a dominant person, not only is she always keeping her perverted husband at bay, she will also not hesitate if she has to scold any other member of the village, it is also implicit that her children fear her, and on several occasions is understand that in her home what she says is done whether they want to or not.
Berserk Button: Her husband being a pervert and flirting with other women.
Drives Like Crazy: As seen in the remake (the "crazy driver" was originally Akane's sister in the original series).
Girly Bruiser: Mrs. Tsun looks very feminine and elegant, but she can kick ass (mostly when it comes to her husband).
Hair-Trigger Temper: Very bad-tempered and violent.
Housewife: She is a woman who is dedicated to the home and the upbringing of her children, although do not be fooled by that.
Overly Long Name: Her unpronounceable first name.
Tsundere: The Harsh type, as she spends most of her scenes beating up her husband. Despite that, she still loves him, as proven by a few scenes in the anime.
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Mrs. Tsun is clearly more attractive than her husband.

Other Penguin Villagers

Kids

Obotchaman

Voiced by (Japanese): Mitsuko Horie (first anime, movies 4 & 5, DB, Puyo Puyo Quest), Chiyoko Kawashima (movie 7 & 8); Motoko Kumai (remake)
Voiced by (English): Christopher Bevins (DB; Funimation dub); Sean Broadhurst (DB; Blue Water dub)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Patricia Acevedo (DB and remake)

A robot boy built by Senbei's rival, Dr. Mashirito under the name Caramel Man 004 to destroy Arale. However, Obotchaman couldn't pull himself to do it since he has a crush on her.

Accidental Hero: God was completely set on destroying the world until he met Obotchaman. The robot boy’s sincerity and purity gives God a change of heart, and he decides to spare humanity after all.
Airplane Arms: While he doesn't do this as frequently as Arale, he has his fair share of it (see picture).
Badass Adorable: A kind little boy with Arale's strength, so the badass part is obvious.
Barbie Doll Anatomy: Mashirito, for whatever reason, averted this.
Because You Were Nice to Me: Although he already considered Arale cute, it's only when he sees that she is a good and sweet girl that he falls in love with her. Justified because Dr. Mashirito made him believe that she is an evil robot.
Betty and Veronica:
- When the School Gang Leader appears, he acts as the Betty to the School Gang Leader's Veronica for Arale's Archie.
- He is also the Betty to Karute's Veronica for Arale's Archie in the sequel manga Dr. Slump Returns.
Beware the Nice Ones: He’s absurdly nice to everyone, and he doesn't even get mad after realizing what a jerk his creator is. However after Mashirito hurts Arale with a special ray gun in a tournament, he finally gets really angry and destroys him with his own N'Cha Cannon. All that remained of Mashirito/Caramel Man 009's body was a bolt.
Blind Without 'Em: Since the design behind his creation is identical to that of Arale's, he shares the same need for glasses as Arale.
Brainwashed and Crazy: In an episode, Dr. Mashirito washes his brain and through this, he tries to destroy Senbei and Arale.
Breath Weapon: He also has a N'Cha Cannon, like Arale. He killed Mashirito with it to save her from him.
Crazy Jealous Guy: Depending on the Writer, while in a chapter he is willing to leave Arale as long as she is happy, in others he's ready to face and fight a guy, just because he thinks he is her new boyfriend. However, even when this is the case, this is Downplayed, since he only reacts violently when he sees that said boy is not a good boyfriend with Arale.
Childhood Friend Romance: With Arale, though they still look like children even as a married couple in the future, for obvious reasons.
Crush Blush: Despite being an android, it's amazing how often Obotchaman blushes whenever he involves a romantic gesture with Arale.
Dogged Nice Guy: Sometimes he plays this role towards Arale, not because Arale does not return his feelings, but she is so Oblivious to Love that she does not realize.
Earn Your Happy Ending: He manages to marry Arale in the future and they have a baby robot built by Senbei.
Easily Detachable Robot Parts: as with Arale, he can detach his head at will.
Even the Guys Want Him: In his appearance in Dragon Ball, General Blue is attracted to him, but the FUNimation dub changed it to Blue believing that Obotchaman was his long-lost brother Samuel. ^note
Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: Despite his kindness and Incorruptible Pure Pureness, he doesn't like Suppaman and eventually starts to hate Mashirito. Considering that the former tried to shoot him on their first meeting, while the latter wants to kill the love of his life, he has his reasons.
Evil Counterpart: Subverted. He was built by Dr. Mashirito to be this to Arale, but he ends up being too well-mannered and polite to be evil.
Evil Knockoff: A humanoid robot copied off of Arale's design that was built by the main villain Dr. Mashirito to destroy Arale. It fails because Obotchaman turns out to be a Nice Guy.
Fairytale Motifs:
- The fact that Arale and him are androids created by scientists who are rivals between them (and at least one of them wants to kill the other), has a certain resemblance to the story of Romeo and Juliet.
- In the sequel manga, there is a chapter where Arale, after running out of Robovitamin A, is left for dead by the townspeople, to help her recover, Obotchaman disguises himself as a prince and gives her a kiss with which he transfers the Robovitamin A, causing her to wake up. A scene that is very reminiscent of the story of Snow White.
- In general he imagines himself as the knight of his "lady" Arale, an aspect that is even represented in one of the endings of the original anime.
Friend to All Children: Obotchaman seems to be liked by children in general. In the fourth movie, which takes place in an alternate universe he runs an orphanage where he takes care of the children.
Four-Temperament Ensemble: Among the males of his group of friends, he is the Sanguine, to Taro's Choleric, Peasuke's Melancholic, and Tsukutsun's Phlegmatic. Being the most charming, compassionate, and helpful member.
Gentleman and a Scholar: One of the most serious and intelligent characters, and is also pleasant, well-adjusted, and known for his politeness.
Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Inverted. Although both he and Arale have had close combat, in the final round of the "Who's the Strongest in the World?" tournament, Arale tries to confront Dr. Mashirito using her strength in a melee fight, while Obotchaman kills him by firing his N'cha Cannon in a ranged fight.
Happily Married: With Arale in the future.
Heroic BSoD: Every time he thinks Arale doesn't love him or that she loves another boy, Obotchaman gets very sad, regardless of whether he wants to fight for her or decides to let her go, he always gets depressed at first.
Horrible Judge of Character: Downplayed. While he has a hard time believing Arale is evil and wants to Take Over the World (as Dr. Mashirito told him), he’s way too trusting of Mashirito and believes him unconditionally, at least in the beginning. Obviously, his opinion about him changes over time.
Iconic Sequel Character: He is the main character's Love Interest, but doesn't appear until the 13th volume.
Innocent Blue Eyes: He has light blue eyes, and is a child full of innocence, purity and kindness.
Insecure Love Interest: Especially in the anime, where there are more episodes that focus on this. Obotchaman is very shy when it comes to his feelings for Arale and sometimes this leads him to consider if he is worthy of being with her or if she loves him. In a chapter of the manga, he wonders if Arale would ever marry him since he believes that "someone as attractive as her must have many suitors".
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In one episode, he believes that Arale no longer loves him and loves someone else, so he is willing to leave the village to let her be happy (everything ends up being a misunderstanding in the end).
Kindhearted Cat Lover: Had adopted two cats that Arale found.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Feminine Boy to Arale’s Masculine Girl. He’s very sensitive and romantic, while Arale is a tomboy and largely clueless about romance.
Minor Living Alone: He's never adopted after being abandoned by Mashirito, and lives by himself in a seemingly abandoned house ("abandoned" because Kuraaku Kento happened to be out at the time, and Obotchaman misread the situation). None of the villagers ever question why he has no family.
Nice Guy: One of the nicest characters in the series. He has the same Incorruptible Pure Pureness of Arale but he doesn't have her mischievous, annoying side and is always very polite.
Noble Male, Roguish Male: In Dr. Slump Returns, he is the Noble Male to Karute's Roguish Male. Obotchaman is a refined boy who is kind and polite to everyone, while Karute is also refined but more proud and somewhat conceited.
Pintsized Powerhouse: He's the same size as Arale and he also has the same superpowers, including the Super-Strength.
Plug 'n' Play Prosthetics: Because the hardware's identical, he and Arale can simply swap heads if they felt like it.
Puppy Love: When it comes to Arale.
Real Men Cook: While he's technically a Robot Kid, he IS designed to be male-looking and the food he makes is tasty, in stark contrast to Arale's Lethal Chef-level cooking capacity.
Ridiculously Human Robots: Despite all the obvious physical similarities to Arale, Senbei initially didn't realize Obotchaman was a robot and panicked that he might be dead (after getting trashed by Caramel Man 7) until she filled him in.
The Rival: He was presented as one for Arale because Dr. Mashirito built him to destroy her.
Robo Romance: With Arale, since they are both Ridiculously Human Robots. In the future this extends, the two get married and even literally form a Robo Family.
Robot Kid: Being built to be a male counterpart to Robot Girl Arale.
Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Savvy Guy to Arale's Energetic Girl.
Secret-Keeper: Initially he was willing to tell everyone that he and Arale are robots until Arale tells him it’s supposed to be a secret.
Self-Made Orphan: Killed his own creator/father near the end of the manga, to protect Arale.
Single-Target Sexuality: He only has eyes for Arale.
Smart People Wear Glasses: Like Arale, Obotchaman always wears glasses, is academically as smart as Arale, and even tends to have more common sense than her.
Spear Counterpart: To Arale. He has the same strengths (Genius Bruiser, Lightning Bruiser, Breath Weapon) and weaknesses (Blind Without 'Em, needs Robot Vitamin A to function) she has, the difference is being a boy and having a more meek personality.
Supernaturally Young Parent: With Arale in the future.
Super-Powered Robot Meter Maids: An extremely powerful robot kid, just like Arale.
Supreme Chef: He's a good cook. During his tenure under Dr. Mashirito's command, Mashirito has no complaints about his cooking skills.
Thinks Like a Romance Novel: He usually imagines romantic moments between him and Arale, idealizing them two married in the future and with a family. When he has the opportunity to be next to Arale, he sees this as a special and romantic moment.
Unknown Rival: At first to Arale. She did not really seem to understand that he was trying to destroy her.
Uptight Loves Wild: Played straight with dutiful, uptight Obotchaman who is in love with troublemaking Genki Girl Arale.
Unwitting Pawn: To Dr. Mashirito, initially.
Violently Protective Girlfriend: Gender inverted. Arale can defend herself, but if he sees someone hurting her, he will be ready to face that person. Dr. Mashirito learned that the hard way, and he paid with his life.

Kinoko Sarada

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kinoko_2.png

Voiced by (Japanese): Kazuko Sugiyama (first anime, movies 2-5, DB), Hinako Yoshino (movie 6), Chiyoko Kawashima (movie 7); Noriko Uemura (remake)
Voiced by (English): Amanda Menix (DB; Funimation dub)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Circe Luna (first anime, remake and movies 2-3)

A toddler who has a taste in fashion.

Age-Gap Romance: Played for Laughs and implied. In one episode, Old Woman Spring tells the School Gang Leader that he would marry the first girl who appears in the crystal ball, which was Kinoko. When he asked her to marry him, Kinoko shows a flattering expression, although he's at least ten years older than her.
Alpha Bitch: A moderate case, probably because she is a kid. Often she acts like this, is a Bratty Half-Pint, fashionista, who believes to be superior to the rest, laughing at the others and looking at Arale as a frumpy girl in glasses.
Bratty Half-Pint: A pretentious little brat who constantly belittles other people.
Bring My Brown Pants: When she's intensely scared, she often wets herself.
Cool Shades: She wears sunglasses as part of her "trendy" look.
The Fashionista: Claims she is knowledgeable of fashion.
Felony Misdemeanor: Her father has done something horrible that caused Kinoko to get angry and run away from home. The crime? Eating a strawberry she was saving for later. She gets over it after learning life on the road is rough.
Foil: To Arale. Could say that both represent the attitudes of a child in real life, while Arale is an innocent, happy and friendly girl who considers everyone around her as her friends without discriminating against anyone and thinks they just want to play with her, Kinoko is a cocky, rude and selfish girl who sees those around her as inferior and constantly mocks them.
Green-Eyed Monster: She is jealous of Arale because of her strength and because has more friends than her.
Inferiority Superiority Complex: Kinoko is usually very conceited and constantly looks down on others, especially Arale, but is allowed to see that she herself feels inferior to Arale, due to her great abilities and that she has more friends than her. In fact, her jealousy is the reason why she usually follows her even though she dislikes her.
It's All About Me: She hardly takes her eyes off her navel, and she doesn't have much interest in getting involved in things that don't concern her.
Jerkass: Despite being just a toddler, she has Alpha Bitch-like tendencies and usually looks down on pretty much everyone.
Little Miss Snarker: A particularly obnoxious one.
Middle Child Syndrome: Averted. She is the middle child in her family but has a lot of participation in the story, unlike her sisters. In fact, it is easy to forget that she has sisters since they do not appear until the sequel manga (and one of them was only mentioned in her debut chapter of the original manga and then fell into oblivion).
Precocious Crush: Implied. In the anime, it is implied that she might have one for the School Gang Leader, since when he asks if she wants to marry him, Kinoko shows a flattering expression on her face.
She Is All Grown Up: In a deleted scene from the manga "Dr. Mashirito & Abale-chan", Kinoko would appear as a teenager and Dr. Mashirito Jr. falls in love with her.
Small Name, Big Ego: She likes to think she's cooler and better than everyone else.
Spoiled Brat: Tends to be quite capricious, selfish, disrespectful to others around her and generally believes herself superior to the rest for (supposedly) being more "modern", she has also thrown tantrums on more than one occasion when she doesn't get what she wants.
Temporarily a Villain: She's the closest thing to an antagonist in the fifth movie, where she takes her selfishness to higher levels causing her to try to expel the other children from Mechapolis to stay with the city on her own (although her methods of doing it are not very practical).
Tender Tomboyishness, Foul Femininity: She is a cocky, rude, and spoiled girly girl, in contrast to the cheerful, innocent, and friendly tomboy Arale.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: When she interacts with Arale, she acts as the Girly Girl to Arale's Tomboy.
Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Defied. In one chapter of the manga she tries to become a "bad girl" of only five years old, doing things like smoking cigarettes or riding a motorcycle. The result? She realizes that she doesn't like to smoke, that she is too young to drive any non-toy motorcycle, and that she cannot spend a single night away from home because she is afraid of ghosts.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes??: In the sequel manga it is seen that she and her younger sister are afraid of ghosts.

Skop

Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka (first anime, movie 5), Kōji Totani (movie 3)

A parody of Spock and one of Arale’s classmates.

Adaptation Dye-Job: Black hair in the manga, blonde hair in the anime.
Adapted Out: He doesn’t appear in the remake and is replaced by another boy that looks like a human version of Frieza.
Break the Haughty: After seeing Arale solving all the most complicated math problems that were too difficult even for him, he has a nervous breakdown that makes him change his attitude radically (see Took a Level in Dumbass).
Loony Friends Improve Your Personality: When he starts enjoying the craziness/idiocy around him, he becomes goofier but also a friendlier, more easygoing person who gets along with his classmates.
The Spock: An obvious parody of the Trope Namer with his initial serious and humorless attitude.
Surrounded by Idiots: How he feels in the beginning until he becomes officially one of them.
Took a Level in Dumbass: He eventually stops taking everything seriously and starts acting silly like Arale and his other classmates. There are still some of the later episodes that show him with his old personality though.

Hiyoko

Voiced by (Japanese): Saeko Shimazu (first anime); Houko Kuwashima (remake)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Lisette Pimentel (first anime)

Peasuke Soramame's much taller girlfriend who is two grades below him.

Cool Big Sis: To her sis Sparrow, who feels jealous when Hiyoko starts spending more time with Peasuke.
Dude Magnet: Both Peasuke and Taro have shown interest in her.
Edible Theme Naming: Based on "chickpea" (hiyoko-mame), fitting in with the Soramame family and highlighting her relationship to Peasuke.
Girl Next Door: A completely normal girl without much participation.
Satellite Love Interest: Does not appear much in the series, and when she does she generally only serves as the girlfriend of Peasuke.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She falls in love with Peasuke after he saves her from an insect that tried to attack her.
Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Despite being younger than Peasuke, she is much taller than him.

Chivil

Voiced by: Reiko Katsura (first anime); Mika Kanai (remake)

A tiny devil who comes to Penguin Village to collect human souls.

Bratty Half-Pint: He’s not really dangerous, just an annoying kid.
Pet the Dog: He genuinely likes Arale and they have a good friendship.
Punch-Clock Villain: He wants to search for souls for his master, a job for which he gets paid for. Other than that, he’s just a normal, if mischievous, 3-year-old child.

Witchpee

Voiced by: Minori Matsushima (first anime)

Chivil's older sister. A little witch girl who falls for a lot of guys.

Adapted Out: Downplayed. She never appears in the remake, however, Chivil mentions having an older sister, so technically she still exists within said version.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Unlike Chivil, who can behave like a spoiled child, Witchpee behaves like a gentle and polite girl in general, but she has no problem shooting humans for no apparent reason and is even implied to help her brother to kill them.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: She has the appearance of a little girl who may seem adorable and even harmless at first glance, but in reality, she is fully capable of shooting bullets from a plane and even throwing grenades at people. After all, she is also the daughter of the devil.
Cute Witch: A cute little girl who flies on a broom.
Precocious Crush: Has a crush on Senbei, even declaring him to be her husband. Then she falls for Taro and then Kurikinton.

Adults

Dr. Mashirito

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mashirito.png

Voiced by (Japanese): Akio Nojima (first anime, episode 37), Yasuo Yamada (movie 2), Nachi Nozawa (first anime, episodes 71-164, movie 3), Keiichi Noda (first anime, episodes 198-236), Akira Kamiya (movie 7 & 9); Ryōtarō Okiayu (remake, DBS)
Voiced by (English): Barry Yandell (DBS)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Erick Archundia (first anime, until ep. 31), Gustavo Melgarejo (2nd half and remake), Joaquín López (DBS)

Another scientist in the village, and Senbei's rival.

Ambiguous Situation: In the manga Dr. Mashirito & Abale-chan it is revealed that he has a son named "Dr. Mashirito Jr", however, in the previous manga it had never been shown that he had a family or was in any relationship with someone. It is not known if he was married at any time or if said son could have arisen from a passing romance/adventure, and even if we take into account the Vague Age of his son, may or may not have been a case of young fatherhood.
Arch-Enemy: The closest thing to a recurring antagonist, he sees himself as this to Arale. Over the course of the story, he also adds Senbei, Gatchan, and (eventually) Obotchaman to his enemies list.
Asshole Victim: Given the fact that he came back from Hell, drugged Arale and her friends to cause destruction which nearly destroyed the planet, he definitely had it coming from Beerus, though for other reasons.
Back for the Finale: After being Killed Off for Real, he makes an appearance as a ghost at the end of the series.
Broken Pedestal: Obotchaman respects and trusts him more than anyone else... at first. As the series goes on, Obotchaman comes to see Mashirito for the evil person that he really is, due to all his attempts to kill Arale, to the point that Obotchaman kills him late in the manga.
Bullying a Dragon: During the Crossover with Dragon Ball Super, he badmouths Beerus. This ends with Dr. Mashirito getting Hakai'd by the God of Destruction without so much as Beerus looking at him.
Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: He started out as a normal human, but he gradually become more robotic to the point he became a machine. Near the end, he considered himself Caramel Man 009, and the only thing that remained of his body was his brain and part of his face.
Deader than Dead: Beerus destroys his ghost (and by extension, his soul) in the Dragon Ball Super crossover. Needless to say, he's not coming back. He is the first human in both series to die in a truly permanent way. He's also the first character to be killed with Hakai Energy onscreen.
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: His weird relationship with his "Mama" in the second movie. Also, he has a genuine Pet the Dog moment in the remake (in one of the crossover episodes with Dragon Ball) after a flashback involving him and his deceased mother.
Evil Counterpart: To Senbei. Both are Mad Scientists with a huge ego, but Senbei has no interest in Take Over the World. Both made their own Robot Kid, but Senbei treats Arale like a daughter, while Mashirito treats Obotchaman as a pawn for his evil schemes and gets rid of him when he didn't need him anymore.
Fairytale Motifs: Its debut chapter parallels the story of Snow White, more specifically with The Evil Queen when he asks his little mirror who is the strongest robot in the world, and when he learns that it is Arale, he feels like destroying her out by jealousy.
Four Is Death: Ultimately killed by his fourth creation Obotchaman. Originally known as Caramel Man 004. And he also gets Hakai'd during Dragon Ball Super, the fourth Dragon Ball series produced.
Hoist by His Own Petard: He ends up being killed by Obotchaman, one of his creations.
Iconic Sequel Character: The main villain of the series but doesn't appear until the 6th volume.
Jerkass: Especially the way he treated Obotchaman.
Karmic Death: Yeah, uhhh...taunting a God of Destruction wasn't a good idea, at all.
Killed Off for Real: He was obliterated by Obotchaman (disguised as Arale) when Mashirito harmed her in a tournament. And decades later, when he escaped from Earth's Hell to take revenge upon Senbei and Arale one more time, Beerus Hakai'd him, destroying him utterly and permanently. He became the first character and the first human in the Dragon Ball series to die so completely that it is impossible for him to return, as his soul no longer exists.
Mad Scientist: As to be expected due to being Senbei's rival.
Momma's Boy: The second movie has him this to his "Mama" (A giant robot statue of a kneeling woman).
Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: He focuses on creating robots strangely named Caramel Men to achieve his goals (destroy Arale and Take Over the World).
Not-So-Harmless Villain: While he’s just as silly and ridiculous as every other character, on at least two occasions he actually defeats Arale. His Caramel Man 7 was strong enough to destroy both Arale and Obotchaman (although later Senbei rebuilds their bodies).
The Rival: To Senbei, emphasized in one of the movies.
Smug Snake: The typical overconfident, ineffectual, Laughably Evil villain.
Spared by the Adaptation: He never dies in the remake, which is a mid-'90s adaptation of the original story. However according to the Dragon Ball Super crossover his death in the original series is still canon.
Take Over the World: His main goal.
Take That!: Mashirito was a caricature of Toriyama's editor Kazuhiko Torishima. Toriyama would eventually say in an interview that this was because Torishima rejected the original design as not being intimidating enough for a villain and that Torishima told him to think of the person he hated the most while drawing the new version. Torishima was not amused when he found out the basis for Mashirito's final design.
Too Dumb to Live: Sure, go up to Beerus and badmouth him! It's not like he has a single move that can completely destroy your spirit. Oh wait, he just did.
Unexplained Recovery: Despite his death in the original series, he's inexplicably still alive in some of the later stories, like Dr. Slump Returns which is supposed to be a sequel to the original manga.
Unknown Rival:
- He sees Arale as his mortal enemy and repeatedly tries to destroy her but she's completely unaware of this.
- In the original manga, Senbei doesn't care about Mashirito's existence (he only interacts one time with him to trade petty insults) even if Mashirito hates him and has tried to kill him twice. This is changed in both anime adaptations, the sequel Dr. Slump Returns, and the movies, where Senbei is aware of Mashirito's antagonism, and they interact a lot more.
Villainous Crush:
- He kidnaps Midori in the second movie to marry her.
- In the third movie, he had intentions to win the race to marry Princess Front (who is suspiciously similar to Midori).
Would Hit a Girl: Especially if the girl is named Arale. Even if she’s technically a robot, this also counts as a Would Hurt a Child.

Penguin Village Police Force

Gyaos voiced by (Japanese): Kōji Totani (first anime), Daisuke Gōri (movie 6); Bin Shimada (remake)
Gyaos voiced by (English): Mike McFarland (DB; Funimation dub); Steve Olson (DB; Blue Water dub)
Gyaos voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Armando Réndiz (DB)

Gala voiced by (Japanese): Isamu Tanonaka (first anime, movies 1-4), Yukimasa Kishino (movie 6); Nobuhiko Kazama (remake)
Gala voiced by (English): Robert Axelrod (first anime; Harmony Gold dub), Kyle Hebert (DB)
Gala voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Roberto Mendiola (first anime and remake), Paco Mauri (DB)

Pagos voiced by (Japanese): Masaharu Sato (first anime, movies 1-4), Masato Hirano (movie 6); Michio Nakao (remake)
Pagos voiced by (English): Bryan Cranston (first anime; Harmony Gold dub), Eric Vale (DB; Funimation dub); Tommy James (DB; Blue Water dub)
Pagos voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Armando Réndiz (first anime and remake), Gerardo Reyero (DB)

Charmy Yamada voiced by (Japanese): Ryō Horikawa (first anime)
Charmy Yamada voiced by (English): Sonny Strait (DB; Funimation dub); Scott Roberts (DB; Blue Water dub)
Charmy Yamada voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Daniel Abundis (DB)

Polly Buckets voiced by (Japanese): Toshiko Fujita (first anime), Hinako Yoshino (movie 6); Masako Katsuki (remake)
Polly Buckets voiced by (English): Laurie Steele (DB; Funimation dub); Jennifer Holder (DB; Blue Water dub)

Drop-kun voiced by (Japanese): Toshio Furukawa (first anime, Penguin Village's Hero Legend), Tesshō Genda (first anime, episode 137), Hiroshi Ohtake (first anime, episodes 179 & 182), Masaharu Sato (episode 198), Shigeru Chiba (episode 217)

The local police force. Consists of Gyaos, Gala, Pagos, Charmy Yamada, Polly Buckets, Drop-kun, and eventually Taro.

Action Girl: Polly is the toughest member of the police force and will shoot anything if she gets the chance (criminal or not).
Adaptation Dye-Job: Polly goes from having curly blond hair in the original series (very similar to Midori) to having straight red hair in the remake.
All Crimes Are Equal: Charmy ends up arresting most of the village for minor or non-existent "crimes".
Badass Biker: Charmy, even though he's a cop, has his own Cool Bike. His uniform is really motocross gear.
Butt-Monkey: Pagos and Gala, their attempts to escape from Arale always result in failure
Da Chief: Gyaos.
Fair Cop: Polly, the only woman in the force. Senbei was initially attracted to her, at least before she started harassing him.
Inexplicably Identical Individuals: Polly looks and acts like a more tomboyish version of Midori in the original series. Same physical appearance, though the anime makes Polly's hair slightly darker.
Neat Freak: Charmy. In his initial introduction to Taro, he refuses to shake hands with Taro because Taro can't recall whether he had washed his hands earlier that day.
Police Are Useless: For the most part, they are ineffectual.
Punny Name: If you put Gala and Pagos together, you get the Galapagos islands.
Shout-Out:
- Drop-kun wears a Stormtrooper helmet.
- Gala's square face, beady eyes and fat lips makes him resemble his namesake Garamon from Ultra Q.
Shout-Out Theme Naming: Gyaos, Gala and Pagos are all named after kaiju; Gyaos is named after the Giant Flyer of the same name from the Gamera franchise, while Gala and Pagos are named after Garamon and Pagos from Ultra Q aside from getting their name from the Galapagos islands.
Trigger-Happy: Polly always has her MAC-10 on her person. Not afraid of open-firing either.

Daigoro Kurigashira

Voiced by: Tetsuo Mizutori (first anime); Nobuo Tobita (remake)

A teacher at Arale's school with a very big head shaped like a chestnut.

No-Respect Guy: Often the target of Akane’s pranks.
Stern Teacher: He's strict but cares for his students.
Use Your Head: He uses his “Headbutt of Love” as a technique to discipline misbehaving students.

Trampire

Voiced by: Keiko Han (first anime); Yuko Kobayashi (remake)

A vampiress who lives in a castle just outside of Penguin Village and loves blood and money.

Greed: She likes blood, but she likes money much more.
The Hedonist: She basically lives to suck people's blood and get money, her two favorite things in the world.
Identical Stranger: For some reason, she physically looks too much like Akane, to the point that anyone who sees her mistakes her for her.
Mistaken for Cheating: In a chapter of the manga tries to trick Senbei to suck his blood, but then Midori enters the room and thinks that Senbei is being unfaithful to her.
Only in It for the Money: What she likes most about being a vampire is that after sucking people's blood she can steal their money. She will also be willing to do any type of work if that includes a good payment.

Parzan

Voiced by: Kōji Totani (first anime); Minori Matsushima (remake)

A parody of Tarzan. He doesn’t get along with Suppaman.

Adaptation Dye-Job: Black hair in the manga, blonde hair in the anime.
Adapted Out: Doesn’t appear in the remake.
Fat Idiot: Similar to his rival Suppaman. Despite claiming otherwise, he’s certainly not smarter than him.
Nature Hero: He claims to be one, but he’s just a silly parody of Tarzan.
The Rival: To Suppaman.
Walking Shirtless Scene: Since he’s supposed to be a parody of Tarzan. Considering the way he looks, it also counts as Fan Disservice.

Toriyama

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/th_3169939236.jpg

Voiced by (Japanese): Isamu Tanonaka (first anime; Tori), Yuji Ueda (remake; Tori-Bot), Hiroshi Otake (DB ep. 3; Tori-Bot)
Voiced by (English): Bryan Cranston (first anime; Tori), Robert Axelrod (DB ep. 3; Tori-Bot) (Harmony Gold dub); Michael Donovan (DB ep. 3; Tori-Bot) (Ocean dub); Chris Cason (DB ep. 3; Tori-Bot) (Funimation dub)

A self-caricature of the manga's author Akira Toriyama that often interacts with the characters.

Above the Gods: Though possibly joking when he said this, Akira Toriyama has commented that his Author Avatar would naturally have this status given that his will shapes the universe and the stories that take place in it, putting him above its resident Top God Zenos. Though this doesn't save him from being a Butt-Monkey.
Author Avatar: Toriyama jokingly inserts himself in the story as a robot with a gas mask, a bird with glasses, or a man with a surgical mask, Depending on the Writer.
Butt-Monkey: Especially in the chapter where he interacts with the main family and ends up being comically abused by Arale and Gatchan repeatedly.
Deadpan Snarker: When the situation calls for it.
Demoted to Extra: He's much more involved in the original series than in the remake.
Future Loser: Visiting ten years into the future, Tori-Bot's mortified to discover that he became a homeless bum.
Jerkass: Not so much as Tori-Bot, but when he's portrayed as a human he's usually a jerk.
Rage Against the Author: He has been beaten up by his own characters more than once.
Ridiculously Human Robot: As Tori-Bot.
Self-Deprecation: He often makes fun of himself and the series as a whole, particularly in the manga.
Temporarily a Villain: Sometimes he becomes the villain, especially in later episodes of the anime.
Tin-Can Robot: Tori-Bot.

Biker Boy

A motorcyclist who never stops riding his motorbike due to a mysterious disease.

Best Her to Bed Her: He manages to woo a female race car driver only after besting her at racing.
The Faceless: He's never seen taking off his helmet.
No Name Given: Presumably, he has a name, but it's never revealed. The residents of Penguin Village don't seem to know what his real name is and simply refers to him as "Biker Boy" instead.
Serious Business: Riding a motorcycle, because he'll literally die if he doesn't get to do so for a long enough period of time.

Aliens

Suppaman

Voiced by (Japanese): Tesshō Genda (first anime, most episodes, DB), Kōji Totani (first anime, episode 13 next episode preview); Tōru Furuya (movies 6-9 & the remake)

Voiced by (English): Steve Sanders (DB, Episode 56), Kyle Hebert (DB, Episode 57) (Funimation dub); Clark Robertson (DB; Blue Water dub)

Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Igor Cruz (first anime, movie 3 and remake), José Luis Orozco (DB)

A superhero In Name Only and a parody of Superman.

Adaptational Nice Guy: Downplayed, he's a Jerkass in all the adaptations, but he has more Pet the Dog moments in the remake (especially in the later episodes), while he hardly had any of them in the original series.
Adaptation Dye-Job: Blue hair in the first anime, black hair in the remake.
Berserk Button: He has a lot of them. Especially when people insult him or when someone interrupts his "heroic" actions.
The Cameo: He made a couple in Dragon Ball:
- He tries to stop General Blue in Dragon Ball but gives Blue whatever he wants after he demonstrates he can crush a phonebooth.
- He cameos among the contestants in the Budokai tournament.
- He appears in "Future" Trunks Saga of Dragon Ball Super in the Coffee Pot when Arale makes a cameo.
Clark Kenting: He dresses as reporter Kuraaku Kenta. He doesn't even bother to act differently or to be less of a Jerkass.
Corrupted Character Copy: He's a Jerkass version of Superman with none of his heroic traits.
Dirty Coward: He will even help criminals or team up with the bad guys of the week, due to his cowardice.
Fat Bastard: Not only he's an incompetent Fat Idiot, he's also petty, violent, and fond of Disproportionate Retribution.
Flight: He'll sometimes be seen flying in the background but when he's relevant to the plot, he just lies on his front on a skateboard and pretends to fly.
Golden Super Mode: Subverted in Hoyoyo!! Follow the Rescued Shark... where he gets Super Saiyan-style gold spiky hair and aura in order to stop a runaway Ferris wheel, but it just rolls over him and crushes him anyway.
Hated by All: Easily the most hated person in the village. Arale and Gatchan don't hate him just because they are children with Horrible Judge of Character and believe him to be a real superhero.
Heroic Wannabe: The whole point of the character. He has no sense of justice and does nothing other than throw grenades at whoever gets in his way or dares to "disrespect" him. He's more of a nuisance than anything else.
Human Alien: He's from a planet called Okakaumeboshi.
Insufferable Imbecile: He's considered the biggest idiot in the village by the other characters (and that's saying a lot since most Penguin villagers are idiots), and is also a narcissistic, revengeful Jerkass and probably the meanest recurring character aside from Big Bad Mashirito.
Jerkass: Although he calls himself the Defender of Justice, he is a supreme dick. Even extremely nice people like Midori and Obotchaman dislike him, and that says a lot about him.
Karmic Butt-Monkey: Suffers a lot of physical abuse, but a lot of the time he brought it on himself.
Kent Brockman News: He reads the news on the Penguin News Network in his civilian identity.
Leitmotif: His theme is even a parody of John Williams' Superman theme.
Lethally Stupid: When he tries to act heroic and "save" someone, he only manages to make things worse.
Miles Gloriosus: He would like to be thought of as heroic (supposedly getting his superpowers from pickled plums) but he’s actually a pathetic and weak Dirty Coward.
Really 700 Years Old: He mentioned that he hadn't seen his brother in 320 years.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: He actually originated in another manga by Akira Toriyama. His Kenta Kuraaku identity was the antagonist of Tomato, Girl Detective where he holds a baby and a cockroach hostage.
Small Name, Big Ego: Given how he's portrayed as a Jerkass with no real superpowers.
Superman Substitute: A parody of Superman, portrayed as a Heroic Wannabe that lacks superpowers, and is an asshole to anyone he meets, even helping criminals to save his own hide.
Super Zeroes: He claims to be the Defender of Justice but he's just a nuisance at best and outright villainous at worst. In the village, there are also other superhero-wannabe like Bubibinman and Parzan who are just as lame as him.
Trademark Favorite Food: Sour plums.
Villain with Good Publicity: Subverted. While he is Penguin Village’s resident “superhero” and dresses like one, no one really takes him seriously, and is considered a joke by everyone, except Arale (who actually idolizes him).
Would Hurt a Child: In one episode he tried to shoot Obotchaman, fortunately, the latter is a robot.

King Nikochan

Nikochan voiced by (Japanese): Hiroshi Ohtake (first anime, movies 1-4, DB); Bin Shimada (remake)
Nikochan voiced by (English): Justin Cook (DB; Funimation dub), Duncan Brannan (Dragon Ball Origins); Clark Robertson (DB; Blue Water dub)
Nikochan voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Jorge Palafox (first anime and movies 2-3), Alejandro Ortega (remake), Javier Rivero (DB)

Servant voiced by (Japanese): Shigeru Chiba (first anime, movies 1-4, DB); Ryō Horikawa (remake)
Servant voiced by (English): Josh Martin (DB; Funimation dub); Dan Gascon (DB; Blue Water dub)
Servant voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Igor Cruz (first anime, remake and movies 2-3), Ernesto Lezama (DB)

The king of an alien race and is always accompanied by his unnamed servant.

Accent Adaptation: Since it's impossible to translate a Nagoya accent in other languages, King Nikochan has an Argentine accent in the Latin American dubbing.
Aliens Are Bastards: An evil alien who initially wants to conquer the Earth.
Aliens of London: Nikochan speaks in Nagoya dialect, despite being from another planet. Even more confusingly, his lackey doesn't.
Amusing Alien: Not only these aliens are ridiculously incompetent, but they also look like butts with arms, feet, and antennae.
Back for the Finale: After a while, they finally find a spaceship and return to their planet. Later they appear again in the grand finale of the series.
Beleaguered Assistant: Played very straight with King Nikochan's servant.
Bizarre Alien Biology: King Nikochan's species have ears for feet and butts on top of their heads.
No Name Given: The name of King Nikochan's servant is never revealed.
Opaque Lenses: The servant.
Put on a Bus: In a later chapter, they steal a spaceship built by Senbei and finally go back to their planet.
Theme Naming: With Midori, of all people. “Nikochan” was the equivalent of the character Do Bee in the Japanese version of Romper Room. The host of the same show was always referred to as “Midori-sensei”, regardless of her real name.

Animals

Butarebu

Voiced by (Japanese): Masaharu Satō (first anime); Nobuhiko Kazama (remake)
Voiced by (Enlgish): Ted Lehmann (first anime; Harmony Gold dub); Sean Michael Teague (DB), Jim Foronda (DBS) (Funimation dub); Steve Olson (DB; Blue Water dub)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish):: Irma Carmona (first anime), Yamil Atala (DB), Ricardo Mendoza (DB Super)

An anthropomorphic pig, usually used as a background character.

Deadpan Snarker: Sometimes he randomly appears just to make snarky comments.
Funny Animal: The animal who is seen more often in the series.
Recurring Extra: He has no real role in the plot and never gets A Day in the Limelight. Yet he appears in pretty much every episode, and he’s sometimes seen interacting with the main characters and hanging around Senbei’s house for no apparent reason.
Sunglasses at Night: Usually wears sunglasses.

Donbe

Voiced by (Japanese): Shigeru Chiba (first anime, DB), Kappei Yamaguchi (remake)
Voiced by (English): Sonny Strait (DB)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish):: Jorge Palafox (first anime), Héctor Moreno (remake)

An anthropomorphic fox who lives in the village.

Asian Fox Spirit: A shapeshifting kitsune who can transform into anything.
Freudian Excuse: His dislike of humans stems from his Parental Abandonment, detailed below.
Humans Are Bastards: His view towards humans because of Parental Abandonment. He softens up after befriending Arale and being treated for his injury by Senbei.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: After befriending Arale.
Jump Scare: On the giving end of this. This, in conjunction with Voluntary Shapeshifting, is his M.O. as The Prankster.
Parental Abandonment: His father transformed into a candy bar as a joke and got eaten, while his mother was made into a muffler and sold off.
The Prankster: He likes to cause mischief around the village.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: He uses this ability to scare people.

Sequel characters

Abale

Voiced by: Mami Koyama

Another attempt of an Evil Knockoff for Arale, under the designation of Caramelman 023. This time, created by Dr. Mashirito Jr (Who is Dr. Mashirito's son).

Action Girl: She derived a giant monster with a single hit for insulting her.
Cool Shades: Rejects a regular pair of glasses in favor of these.
Everyone Has Standards: She's not evil, she's just a bad girl.
Evil Counterpart: She fulfills this role for Arale, although she is more of a bad girl, rather than truly evil.
Evil Knockoff: A more straightforward example. She's Arale with punk gear, but she is not evil.
Foil:
- To Arale. Abale is a "bad girl" with a rebellious, sarcastic, and somewhat rude attitude, but beyond that, she doesn't really do anything wrong or get into trouble, and inadvertently she ends up saving the earth from an alien invasion. Whereas Arale is a pure-hearted, kind, and loving girl, she constantly gets into trouble due to her naivety and ends up unintentionally destroying things.
- To Obotchaman. Both are robots created to destroy Arale, but while Obotchaman was attentive, meek, and followed exactly the orders of his creator, Abale is rebellious, rude, and doesn't give a damn what her creator says. That said, neither of them ended up fulfilling the objective for which they were created, although for very different reasons, Obotchaman because he fell in love with Arale and realized that he was not a bad person as his creator had led him to believe, while Abale was not she did it because it just wasn't something she cared about.
Punny Name: On the verb abareru, meaning “run amok”.

Retasu Sarada

Retasu Sarada (lit. "Lettuce Salad") is the little sister of Kinoko Sarada in the Dr. Slump Returns, But Only For a Little While manga series.

All Love Is Unrequited: She is in love with Turbo, but he is completely oblivious to her feelings.
Beta Bitch: She acts this way for her older sister Kinoko.
Girl Posse: Together with her other sister they act this way.
Green-Eyed Monster: She seems to be as envious as her older sister, as seen in her reaction after seeing Arale with her adult body.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes??: She and her sister Kinoko are afraid of ghosts.

Karute Karte

The eldest son of a family of doctors who moves to the Penguin Village.

Alliterative Name: Karute Karte.
Academic Athlete: He comes from a family of smart/academic people, and he's also an athlete.
Always Second Best: To Arale, Karute is presented as a brilliant student and a champion soccer player, but Arale immediately proves to be smarter, stronger and more athletic than him.
Because You Were Nice to Me: He fell in love with Arale after seeing that she is a very kind girl.
Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Obotchaman's Betty for Arale's Archie.
Big Man on Campus: He was this in his old school.
Driven to Suicide: Played for Laughs. When Arale runs out of Robovita A, he thinks she is dead, so being sad at her "funeral" puts a gun in his head. This obviously does not go beyond.
Friendly Rivalry: He seems to have this with Obotchaman because of his feelings for Arale.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He is conceited and proud (as seen in his early dislike for the Penguin village), but despite this, he is really a good boy and a good friend.
Lovable Jock: He is a soccer champion and also a good guy.
Noble Male, Roguish Male: He is the Roguish Male to Obotchaman's Noble Male. Obotchaman is a refined boy who is kind and polite to everyone, while Karute is also refined but more proud and somewhat conceited.
Robosexual: Subverted. He is in love with Arale but does not know that she is a robot.
Unknown Rival: He seems to see Obotchaman as a rival because he is also in love with Arale, but Obotchaman does not seem to be very aware of this.

Characters / Doctor Slump

Norimaki Family

Kimidori Family

Soramame Family

Tsun Family

Other Penguin Villagers

Kids

Adults

Aliens

Animals

Sequel characters

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Characters / Doctor Slump

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Norimaki Family

Kimidori Family

Soramame Family

Tsun Family

Other Penguin Villagers

Kids

Adults

Aliens

Animals

Sequel characters

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