The original author, Akira Toriyama, was not involved in the creation process, and was rather a supervisor. The illustrator Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru and the novelist and screenwriter Takao Koyama are the two artists who created this manga.

Dr. Slump Returns, But Only For a Little While takes place in the same continuity as the Dr. Slump reboot films. Goku, as well as the Dragon Ball GT versions of Pan and Trunks appear in the manga as well. Goku stops Dr. Mashirito at one point in the story.

A few brand new characters appear as well: Nitro, a new addition to the Norikmaki household (who previously appeared in movies) and sister to Turbo Norimaki, makes her manga debut. A new family, the Karte, move to Penguin Village as well.