Dr. Stone Episode 8 Review: Stone Road

I’m sure many fans went into this as excited as I am for a Demon Slayer episode. But I only hoped to get through it without checking how much longer the episode to go. And you know what? Not only did I manage that, but I laughed a few times! Are pigs flying, has hell frozen over, have I been replaced by an imposter – has Dr. Stone gotten good? Let’s find the answer to one of those questions below!

Plot

Senku, Chrome, and Kohaku decide to take the ‘stone road’ and make antibiotics the long, hard, and manual way. They seem to be making excellent process, collecting naturally occurring materials and even making a new friend. But the process proves too physically demanding, and Senku has to start Plan B. They have to find more supporters of the Kingdom of Science, and what better way to get to someone’s heart but through their stomach? Senku whips up a delicious feast making the characters, and me, hungry for more!

Episode Highlights

Suika: The cutest character in the series has appeared! Suika stole the show with her inquisitive and hardworking nature; she’s a great asset to the Kingdom of Science. I have to admit that I’m very interested in why she’s wearing the watermelon. But it speaks to Senku’s pragmatic nature that he didn’t ask her about it. Senku is the type who respects hard work and what one can contribute rather than getting caught up in appearances.

Funny faces: The gift that just keeps on giving. I can’t get enough of Senku’s ‘mad scientist’ face nor Kohaku’s angry face. I couldn’t stop laughing after Chrome told her he didn’t think of her as a woman and she got so mad! Kohaku is slowly becoming best girl – watch out Yuzuriha!

Ramen!: Even though it was not the ramen Senku was used to, it was an incredible montage of him creating such an iconic meal for his friends. I’m sure he’d win the Stone World version of MasterChef with that!

Trivia

Fudonshi: This week we got to see a lot more of Chrome as he worked in the river. Chrome was wearing a fudonshi, which is a traditional undergarment that is considered to be very comfortable. You can find more information on fudonshi here.

Comments

This week’s episode did what I love best in world building: showing not telling. Some readers may remember when I was reviewing Goblin Slayer last year, I complained weekly about the long monologues of world based facts. This week, I want to focus on three parts of Stone World that we learned of. The first was during the opening of the episode where a conversation revealed another side to the lore surrounding the stone people. Someone asks if they’re moving and another responds ‘that’s impossible!’ and laughs. I interpreted this as they know that the stone people are actually people but believe they’re permanently trapped, perhaps feeding into that ‘divine punishment’ theory I introduced last review.

My second and third points of interest are focused on Ruri and Kohaku. In last week’s episode, Ruri was sitting high above the other villages and spoken in respect. In this week’s episode we are introduced to her and Kohaku’s father – the leader/ king of the village. His seat is also elevated, and he sits in the center of the room. But Rui, who was previously in a similar seat of glory and respect, is off to the side, sitting on a random slab. There’s enough room for another person to sit; perhaps Kohaku would sit there before she was disowned. But I find it odd that neither of them would be sitting near their father or beside him; rather they are pushed to the side. I’ll be interested if this is a comment on the rights of women in the village or if the father is an extreme narcissist and requires all attention focused on him.

The third aspect is focused on Ruri’s knowledge of traditional studies and animals – Momotaro and gorillas. It’s interesting to see how these stories have been used to communicate important information about the world. I am, of course, most interested in how she knew of these stories and animals in the first place!

Was this just a beach episode?

This episode had a few hallmarks of a traditional ‘beach’ episode. Our characters played around in the water, there was LOTS of fan-service and a hearty meal. All in all, it was a fun and informative episode of Dr. Stone. Chrome and Kohaku are slowly developing into very intriguing characters and I hope the series stays with them. I would be disappointed if it shifts over to Taiju and Yuzuriha just when we started getting to know about the village.

NEXT TIME: Let There Be the Light of Science