Dr. Slump: Volume 1

by Akira Toriyama, 185 pages

Dr. Senbei Norimaki, a crazy inventor and something of a social loser, creates himself a middle school-aged nearsighted robot daughter, but gives her a little too much personality. Arale, whom he tries to pass off as human, mocks him rather mercilessly and gets into trouble left and right. Norimaki also gets himself into trouble left and right. He's always trying to impress the ladies and inventing some new gadget, such as x-ray vision goggles (he has a marginally-legitimate reason to make them, but he conveniently finds other things to use them for...things that get him slapped) and the time slipper (a time machine consisting of a palette with a modified alarm clock plugged into it, the use of which results in a new dinosaur-era addition to the "family").

Dr. Slump is a bawdy, slap-stick, stupid, and unpredictable classic comic romp. It's funny when you can't see the joke coming and it's funny when you can. And you are so glad you are not Norimaki....