Dr. Slump
Toriyama would rise to popularity with the comedy series "Dr. Slump", which was serialized in "Weekly Shōnen Jump" from 1980 to 1984. It follows the adventures of a perverted professor and his small but super-strong robot Arale. He began the series at age 25 while living at home with his parents, but when the series ended in 1984 he was a "manga superstar". In 1981, "Dr. Slump" earned him the Shogakukan Manga Award for best "shōnen" or "shōjo" manga series of the year. An anime adaptation began airing that same year, during the prime time Wednesday 19:00 slot on Fuji TV. Adaptations of Toriyama's work would occupy this time slot continuously for 18 years—through "Dr. Slump"s original run, "Dragon Ball" and its two sequels, and finally a rebooted "Dr. Slump" concluding in 1999. By 2008, the "Dr. Slump" manga had sold over 35 million copies in Japan.