I was genuinely curious if the dub of Dragon Ball Super would even include this installment because even though Akira Toriyama has a huge presence in North America, Dr. Slump does not. The manga/anime series tells the story of the robot, Arale Norimaki and her genius scientist father who live in Penguin Village.

Basically think of a more surreal Astro Boy if none of this is sinking in. Goku has visited Penguin Village before and crossed paths with Arale and company on a few occasions (they’re even a part of the cast in the third Dragon Ball film, Mystical Adventure), but even if you didn’t know who they were, they don’t feel that different than any of the weirder side characters that crop up in Dragon Ball.

However, in this case not only do Arale and Dr. Norimaki invade the series, but the chaotic tone of Dr. Slump does, too. The episode begins in Dr. Slump Land and acts like the Dragon Ball characters are visitors to theirworld. A talking pig directly tells the audience that “Arale’s arrived to Dragon Ball Super” and they better get ready. Later on a character even pulls out and references the original Dr. Slump manga at one point to remind everyone of past plot points. Meanwhile, there’s not even a “Previously On” package to ground the viewer to some familiarity. The results lead to one of the most memorable episodes of Dragon Ball Super.

It’s hard to believe that the world almost ends in this episode and that it’s a science fair of all places that brings all of these powder kegs of power together. Mr. Satan decides to collect some easy appearance money by hosting a science competition (because if there’s anything that he’s better at than fighting, it’s science) where Bulma is a natural shoo-in for first place. Vegeta and Trunks tag along for moral support, but Goku is also present because he’s the event’s security detail.

It doesn’t seem like a science fair is the sort of place that would necessarily need security, but you never know when some evil superpower could swoop in and steal this next-level tech. Having security at an event like this basically ensures that something will go wrong.