Dr. Stone Episode 3

Dr. Stone Episode 3

Weapons of Science

I know a lot of you enjoy Dr. Stone, but I need to come clean. I think I hate it. That doesn’t mean I think it’s a terrible anime and that I’ll rate it extremely low, but I genuinely don’t like this series on a fundamental level for a number of reasons I’ll touch on throughout today’s review.

So let’s start off with the “ten billion” counter. I specifically remember Senku saying the number ten billion twice during this episode, but I feel like there was a third time I’m forgetting about. How could Senku have such a bad catchphrase? Even “dattebayo” is better and that doesn’t mean anything.

Stupid phrases aside, let’s take a look at the stupid claims Senku makes instead. In this episode in particular one of his claims was that all things metal have rusted away by this point in time. First of all, that’s not how metal works. Second of all, he was proven wrong just moments later.

At least Senku was proven wrong and the series didn’t just run with the whole “metal things don’t exist anymore” idea. I mean, I’m sure that concept is still going to be a fundamental part of the story, considering some of the things I pointed out last week, but at least it sort of backtracked on that false claim.

I also find it funny that Senku can count seconds for 3,700 and do all of these other things in his head, but can’t figure out his position on Earth. All he has to do is know where he started, how far he’s walked, and in what direction. There are other “simple” ways to do this too, and yet he relies on a sextant he can barely read.

Yuzuriha

Now, I can’t do a review of this episode without mentioning the fact that Yuzuriha was revived. However, I can gloss over her as a character because so far she has little to no characterization. In fact, her only uses thus far are as eye candy and to make the plot even less believable.

So let me start with that first use for Yuzuriha, as eye candy. I’ve heard that the manga for this series takes a sharp turn down fan service street, and we can see the hints of that already. Does Yuzuriha receive normal clothing like everyone else? No, of course she doesn’t.

Instead Yuzuriha’s dress is little more than form-fitting sheets on her front and back which are laced up at the sides in order to reveal just enough of her figure and skin. Also, although the rest of her original clothes were destroyed, her headband is still in one piece, because why not?

Yuzuriha, Taiju, and Senku from the anime series Dr. Stone
Yuzuriha, Taiju, and Senku

But Yuzuriha’s clothing isn’t the only thing pointing to this fan service filled future. I mean, let’s be honest, this is a shounen series so of course there are going to be cute girls wearing revealing clothing. It just comes with the territory when your target audience is boys hitting puberty.

In one of my previous episode reviews I commented on how the characters have jagged lines on their faces just to look edgy. Well, it turns out that these are actually cracks in their faces left over from when they were petrified. How stupid that is aside, notice that Yuzuriha doesn’t have a cracked face.

Isn’t it a coincidence that the one female character so far has an unblemished face? All the better for selling merchandise. To be fair, she does have a crack, but it’s on her left shoulder and looks more like a fashionable tattoo.

Good vs. Evil

The battle between good and evil has also officially began. Although we already knew Tsukasa was going to be the antagonist of the series, his true intentions were only revealed at the end of the previous episode. This week he doubles down on his plan: to kill all adults because he hates homework.

I get that his philosophy is more than that, but he’s just such a one-dimensional character with a bland motive that I can’t bring myself to care. Okay, so he’s a communist who doesn’t believe in personal property. Why? Because someone got mad at his sister for trespassing once.

Motives aside, I can’t help but view his battle of wits with Senku as a parallel to Light and L from Death Note. And I get it, Death Note is one of the most beloved anime so fans of this series probably like that comparison. However, I don’t like Death Note all that much — and I realize that’s an even more unpopular opinion than hating Dr. Stone.

Tsukasa Shishiou from the anime series Dr. Stone
Tsukasa Shishiou

The reason I’m not much of a fan of Death Note, and this battle of wits between Senku and Tsukasa, is because it’s little more than multiple Deus ex machinas disguised as “200 IQ plays.” These characters aren’t really figuring anything out, they just know correct information because the series needs them to in order to progress.

Think of it this way, is there any real reason that Tsukasa figured out exactly where Senku was and what his ultimate plan is? He found smashed pots and footprints, and yet determined this was all a ruse and that Senku actually traveled to Hakone, Japan in order to gather sulfur for gunpowder.

There was literally nothing to hint at Senku’s end location or plan. It’s fair enough that Tsukasa figured out the smashed pots and footprints were staged (mainly because it’s anime), but there’s no logical explanation for anything beyond that. So how did he know all this? Because if he didn’t he wouldn’t be able to show up in an attempt to stop them in the next episode.

Conclusion

Want to argue against any of the points I made in this Dr. Stone episode review? Do it down in the comments and I’ll be happy to break down exactly why you’re wrong. There is one point regarding Yuzuriha’s clothing which I’d be willing to concede, but it’s still a stretch.

If you enjoyed this review, let me know by clicking the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. I really enjoyed the tweet telling me how terrible my Dr. Stone episode 1 review was. Keep them coming!

Finally I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

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