After a very rough beginning, Dr. Stone seems to finally have found its feet. The introduction of the new village has added a lot more intrigue to the series and some fantastic characters. This week’s episode pushed the upward trajectory of the series with another amusing character and some beautiful scenes. Let’s jump in to see how Dr. Stone is worming its way into my stone heart!
Original Japanese title: この手に科学の灯を
Senku’s ramen is a big hit with the villagers and it seems the Kingdom of Science is well on its way to success. But a new face throws a spanner in the work and creates a headache for Senku. Gen Asagiri, a ‘mentalist’, reveals himself as an agent from Tsukasa who has been sent to confirm if Senku is dead. Thankfully (?) Asagiri is rather self-serving and stays with Senku to see if the Kingdom of Science is worth his tentative loyalty. Senku works with the new members to make iron, a generator, and finally bring light to the world of stone.
New Face, Same Character: This week’s newest character, Asagiri Gin, reminded me so much of Reigen from Mob Psycho 100. Reigen is actually one of my all-time favorite characters, and so while I tried not to compare them, I couldn’t help it! But in saying that, I really did love Asagiri just like Reigen; he has the same balance of humor (for the audience) and con-manship, but he doesn’t seem to be as nice as Reigen. Regardless, I’m glad to have him in the Kingdom of Science!
Dynamic Duo: I’m so glad to see the siblings Ginro and Kinro join the Kingdom of Science! They are pretty hilarious and work so well as a comedy duo. When they threatened Asagiri along with Koharu, they looked so cool! Glad they do more than just stand around guarding a bridge.
Always wear safety goggles kiddo!: As incredible as the final scene of this week’s episode was, I couldn’t help but cringe at the lack of eye safety. I suppose you can’t just go down to your local hardware store to pick up some goggles in Stone World but still don’t look directly into the light!!
A familiar face!: In one of Senku’s thought bubbles we can see a few people pushing a generator; one of those people is Kurita from Eyeshield 21. As I mentioned in my Episode 1 review, the author of Dr. Stone, Riichiro Inagaki, also wrote Eyeshield 21 back in the early 2000s.
I think one of the craziest parts of being in such a technologically advanced society is we often don’t stop to think about how incredible things are. I remember a few years ago, I was showing my eighty-year-old grandfather FaceTime and text messaging and he was blown away. It seemed so surreal to him that he could instantly connect with anyone pretty much anywhere. That idea was really brought home in this week’s final scene with Senku’s speech regarding the light and dark. The invention of the lightbulb truly changed the course of the world and history. As Senku said it was a conquest over the dark.
Senku has been picking and choosing inventions from all over history – guns, a generator, and pulley systems – and at large the series is mirroring the history of mankind. In taking this approach, we can see that Senku is propelling through the Enlightenment period (1650s–1780s). A time marked by logic and reason, the people of the period challenged society’s religious, political, and cultural structures. Senku is acting as a direct challenger to the village chief’s authority and the ideas and values of the villagers regarding the stone world and outsiders. There’s no doubt further conflict is to be had over this, but when the dust settles and some form of compromise is gained, we can look forward to the Scientific Revolution!
These last two episodes of Dr. Stone have really impressed me. While I am still waiting for a bit more character depth from Senko besides pragmatic Mr. smarty pants, the series is taking a step in the right direction. It’s been a rocky road, and we’ll have to wait till next week to see if it continues down the right path.
NEXT TIME: A Tenuous Alliance
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.
