This week, Ginro learns that nothing good comes easy in life. After receiving his silver spear from Senku, he journeys with the science squad to really earn the prized gift. The trio face death as they attempt to secure the final ingredient for their cure-all medicine. It’ll be a battle of not just wits but also a test of mental fortitude and bravery for them. Let’s see how they went!
Original Japanese Title: 背中合わせの仲間たち
Senku finishes making the silver spear for Ginro and immediately puts him to work. He will be the ‘detector’ in the science squad’s excursion. Detector for what you may ask? Even he doesn’t quite know. Senku leads the team to a pool which looks beautiful but is in fact a pool of sulfuric acid. The silver spear turns black when it comes into contact with poisonous gas around the pool. Now that Senku has confirmed the location of the pool, the group return to think of how to get the acid without killing themselves. Senku and Chrome have a heart to heart and decide to risk both of their lives. With the help of the old man, they make gas masks and set off to the pool. Ginro initially stays behind, terrified from his experience, but another heart to heart with the old man convinces him to go. When all is said and done, the group acquires sulfuric acid, the final ingredient in Senku’s cure-all drug.
Sulphuric-chan!: The personified sulphuric acid in this episode was a really nice touch to visually capture how dangerous it is. I really enjoyed our first looks at her, with Ginro running towards her and then she suddenly turns into a horror character with melted skin. It’ll be interesting to see if the series continues to personify other chemicals or materials. But I think once was enough.
A Marriage Proposal!?: I have to be honest the moment between Chrome and Kohaku was fantastic until Kohaku joked about marrying him in her sister’s place. Actually, I don’t even know if it was a joke. She said it in such a casual way, she could have been half-serious. Joking or not, it was an incredibly out of character moment for Kohaku. I was shocked she would devalue herself to the point of offering to be some guy’s pity prize for not getting the woman he loved. It was just a really gross line that ruined what could have been a great bonding scene.
Science Bros: This week’s episode proved that Senku and Chrome are an unstoppable duo. They truly trust in one another and can face almost anything with the other’s support. I can’t wait to see what more they can achieve together.
Face your fears: Ginro has been a bit of a slapstick character since his first appearance but it was great to see him get a little bit of development. Everyone is scared, but being scared isn’t what’s important, it’s what you do with your fear. Ginro moves forward despite his terror and by doing that really shows how brave he is!
Seeing Senku terrified but putting on a brave face at the sulphuric acid pool really showed how resilient he has been throughout the series. Any person, young or old would be so overwhelmed waking up in a world by themselves with no modern luxuries or necessities. Even with all his scientific knowledge and ingenuity, he’s still a seventeen-year-old kid who woke up in a world all alone. No parents, no friends and almost no hope. But he held on, he made the best of an absolutely awful situation until his friend woke up. I had always thought Senku’s best feature was his intellect but honestly it’s his mental fortitude. No matter what challenge comes his way he’s able to rise to it. Because to him, there’s no other path than to overcome what is being thrown at him.
I feel a bit like a broken record, but each week my final comments are the same. Good episode but I wanted something bigger to happen. If the last few episodes happened earlier in the series it would have been incredible. I would have been 100% on board. But we’ve hit the halfway mark of this series and we’re still collecting materials? So yes, the episode was good, it’s what I’ve been waiting for but it’s too little too late.
NEXT TIME: Masked Warrior
The summer anime season is over. We had a few refreshing titles that kept us company through the hot months, but fall is bringing so many new titles and a few sequels we’ve been waiting for a long time.
