Sep 22, 2018: I have fond memories of Dr. Slump, as it was the very first manga I’ve ever gotten my hands on. The year was 2001 and it was impossible to buy any manga whatsoever in my hometown. It was hard being a fan back in the day. Then my family and I took a trip to Poland, where Japanese entertainment was already starting to take off, and I saw the single Dr Slump, Vol. 12 (Dr Slump, #12) in a random magazine kiosk. Even though I could not read Polish, my parents, bless their hearts, bought it for me. The next day I located a Dragon Ball, Tom 10: 22-gi Turniej o Tytuł Najlepszego under similar circumstance and snagged it too. The rest is history. Dr. Slump is ridiculously cute. Each chapter is a separate little skit about the adventures of a scientist and his creation - robot girl called Arale. There is some naughty humour, but in a childish way. The art is old fashioned, with heavy influences of Osamu Tezuka, but very high quality. I love it to bits. I especially enjoy all the cute animal characters and Senbei’s hilarious inventions. It’s obvious that the author had genuine fun working on Dr. Slump. This manga is such a trip down the memory lane.

Sep 23, 2018: More cuteness and belly laughs. The great strawberry panty caper is gold. The flyman from outer space needs to be a recurring character. New haircut for Senbei.

I mean, it's Dr. Slump—if you've read one chapter, you know what you're getting, in the best way possible. I'd actually say this volume is stronger than the first, probably because the characters have been fleshed out more, and Toriyama had a better idea of what he could work with. Ultimately, though, it's more of the same, and I can't complain about more of a good thing.