Arale Norimaki is a humanoid robot built by Senbei Norimaki in Penguin Village, designed to look like a young girl. Her creation sprang from Senbei's original plan for a large robot, scaled down for practicality and redesigned as female to meet editorial tastes. Though Senbei envisioned himself as protagonist, editorial influence shifted the focus to Arale, a change that fueled the narrative's success. Her name comes from "arare" (rice cracker), with "Norimaki Arale" forming a pun on nori-wrapped snacks. Physically, Arale resembles a child, featuring long purple hair in the original manga and anime (dark brown in the 1997 reboot). Her signature glasses correct severe nearsightedness, her sole physical flaw. Initially a drawing gag, the glasses stayed due to reader appreciation for representation. Her design grew progressively shorter and more childlike over the series, later attributed to multiple interchangeable bodies. Arale displays a naive, energetic personality with minimal common sense, contrasting her genius-level intellect enabling advanced math solutions and complex tasks like appendectomies. She shows kindness to family and friends, often protecting them with her powers, though her actions frequently cause unintended collateral damage due to poor situational awareness. Her interests include Japanese superhero shows, monster movies, and poking feces with sticks. She runs with arms outstretched shouting "Kiiin," uses unique greetings like "N'cha" and "Bye'cha," and expresses bewilderment with "Hoyoyo." Her capabilities feature immense superhuman strength: splitting the Earth with punches, throwing rocks from the Moon to Earth with pinpoint accuracy, and easily defeating foes like Dragon Ball's General Blue. She possesses extraordinary speed, matching Goku's Kinto'un cloud. Signature techniques include the terrain-splitting Chikyūwari ("Earth Chop") and energy-based N'chahō ("N'cha Cannon"). As a gag character, she wields "toon force" abilities manipulating reality and physics—popping the sun like a balloon or cracking the Earth without lasting harm. Her robotic body allows limb detachment for rocket punches, neck stretching, size alteration, and wing generation. Additional powers include flight via flatulence, space survival without oxygen, and regeneration from severe damage. Her gag nature grants immortality through narrative immunity, resolving life-threatening situations comically without permanent consequences. Within Penguin Village, Senbei presents Arale as his sister or daughter to hide her robotic nature, though villagers dismiss her superhuman displays as eccentricity. Her family expands to include Gatchan (a winged creature from a prehistoric egg), Midori Yamabuki (Senbei's wife), and their human son Turbo. Arale's closest friend is rebellious classmate Akane Kimidori, and she eventually marries Obotchaman, a robotic copy of herself. Her pure heart allows her to ride Goku's Kinto'un during crossovers. In the adventure "Ncha! Wakuwaku Hot Natsu Yasumi," Arale visits a haunted summer resort with family and friends, falling under vampire Vandora's influence. This scenario highlights her typical comedic interactions within supernatural contexts without altering her core traits. Beyond her series, Arale appears in Dragon Ball when Goku pursues General Blue to Penguin Village, effortlessly defeating Blue. She makes cameos in Dragon Ball Z films and posters. In Dragon Ball Super episode 69, her gag-based powers create humorous clashes with serious fighters; Vegeta acknowledges the futility of battling gag manga characters. Creator Akira Toriyama confirmed Arale's superiority over Goku in hypothetical fights. Her cultural impact includes influencing figures like Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and appearing in parodies across media like Samurai Champloo and America's Funniest Home Videos.