Dr. Norimaki is a bumbling inventor who dreams of one day getting wealth and a girlfriend, or at least a good collection of dirty magazines. He manages to build a robot child, which he names Arale. Arale works perfectly, except that she has incredible super powers and a child's obliviousness to the trail of destruction she leaves everywhere she goes. Episodes usually focus on Arale, Norimaki, and the town's strange inhabitants (which include talking trees and mountains, a pair of alien invaders desperately trying to leave, and a Superman with questionable ethics) going to surreal lengths to get the things they want.