Dr. Stone Episode 10

A Flimsy Alliance

In some respects not a lot happened in Dr. Stone episode 10, but in others it did. Sure, we didn’t see Senku & company invent any new scientific technology. In fact, not much story progress was made at all in this episode. But, there are three key things which happened during this episode.

1. We learned about Gen’s origin
2. A minor antagonist was properly introduced
3. Senku’s Kingdom of Science gained a new ally

While the main story didn’t exactly progress, I’d say those are fairly important developments. And the great thing about episodes dedicated to information is that I can discuss how this information affected the past, is affecting the present, and will affect the future.

Gen Awakens

So the first thing to discuss is Gen Asagiri’s origin. We already knew that before the petrification he was a “mentalist,” but that information alone doesn’t explain why he’s currently here. The biggest question surrounding him was, how did he become unpetrified?

What we learned in this episode is that he was personally selected to be unpetrified by Tsukasa. So, at least we now know he didn’t randomly awaken one day. But, then the question becomes, why did Tsukasa choose to awaken someone like Gen so early on?

From the piles of statues we see Tsukasa has collected, it’s clear that Gen is an outlier. Most of the statues are of extremely physically fit people. Gen is not one of them. The main reason I can see for awakening Gen first is so that Tsukasa has someone who can control everyone who is to follow him.

Gen’s specialty is in understanding and manipulating the human mind, which makes him perfect for this position. Sure, Tsukasa could control those he awakens via his physical strength, but it’s much easier to control people’s minds.

We also can’t forget that although Tsukasa himself seems to be a genius, he needs more “thinkers” on his side. Even if Senku really was killed, there’s no guarantee that another person won’t attempt to make a Kingdom of Science, and that’s where Gen may come into play. He can manipulate those would-be scientists into joining Tsukasa.

And as for how Tsukasa knew about Gen in the first place, apparently they were on some sort of game show together. I guess Tsukasa was impressed by Gen’s abilities from that one time they met.

The Grand Bout

Next, a minor antagonist of the series, Magma, was formally introduced. We already met Magma in the previous episode, or maybe even one of the episodes before that. But at that time he was little more than a background character.

Magma is the strongest warrior in the Stone Village — aside from Kohaku. He also has two primary goals: first to kill Kohaku so that he can be the strongest, and second to become the chieftain of the village. But while I call those two separate goals, they’re actually intertwined.

In order to be recognized as the chieftain of the Stone Village, you first have to prove that you’re the strongest. While that’s certainly one reason he needs to defeat Kohaku, another is because she humiliated him the last time they fought.

And, of course, because he was defeated by a girl, Magma assumed Kohaku must have cheated somehow. He determines that she was helped by a magician (Senku) and decides to take him out first so that Kohaku will lose her strength. The only problem is that Kohaku isn’t strong because of a magician, she’s strong because she’s a gorilla.

Bad recurring jokes aside, Magma also can’t simply assassinate Kohaku. He needs to defeat her in a ritualistic form of combat known as the Grand Bout. During this martial arts tournament, competitors fight one on one until there’s a clear winner. That winner is then declared the next chieftain — except for when they aren’t.

The Stone Village Patriarchy

The Grand Bout is supposedly only held once every generation, but this generation’s ceremony was already held. Kohaku ended up winning after she defeated Magma, but apparently her victory didn’t really count. You see, the chieftain of the village must be male according to village tradition.

However, since the winner of the Grand Bout was female, nobody is designated as the next chieftain. It seems that simply being the highest placed male competitor isn’t enough to have that honor bestowed upon you. And for this reason, a second Grand Bout is going to be held.

But I don’t really care about the Grand Bout. What I care about is what this means for the system of government the Stone Village uses.

Clearly it’s a patriarchy since only males can hold the position of chieftain, but there’s more to it than that. Not only does the the man who is to become the next chieftain have to be the strongest, it seems he needs to marry the priestess of the village as well.

So, in a sense, the village is matriarchal in nature because it’s a woman who actually grants the power to the chieftain. And, something I’ve mentioned before is that the priestess is likely the designated village member for passing down knowledge from “generation 0.”

It seems that even in the stone world, knowledge is power.

I’m also assuming that the role of priestess is hereditary since the current chieftain’s eldest daughter holds it. Her mother was likely the priestess before her, and her daughter will be the next priestess.

Senku Cola

And finally, we get to the part when Senku and the Kingdom of Science gain a new ally. Gen has been hanging around with them for what I’ll assume was a week. It would really be nice if we had some frame of reference for time within this series, but we don’t. I guess you could count the day/night cycles.

Anyway, after being attacked by Magma because he thought Gen was Senku, Gen decides to flee from the Kingdom of Science. And where does he go? Back to the only other place he knows in the stone world, the Tsukasa Empire.

However, he doesn’t return to the Tsukasa Empire in order to report that he found Senku alive and well. Instead, he tells Tsukasa that there is no sign of Senku and so he’s therefore “definitely” dead. And as we learn, the reason he sided with Senku was because Senku promised to make him cola.

But let’s not kid ourselves — there’s no way Tsukasa actually believes Gen’s report about Senku being dead. First of all, Tsukasa knows that Gen’s specialty is manipulating people, so he’s likely wary of Gen’s report due to that alone. Tsukasa probably already believes Senku is actually alive.

So why send Gen out in the first place? Well, if Gen comes back saying Senku is dead, then no harm done, Tsukasa can ignore his report. If Gen comes back saying Senku is alive, then Tsukasa can pinpoint Senku’s location and finish him off once and for all.

Also, Tsukasa definitely picked up on the fact Gen said Senku is “definitely” dead despite finding no trace of him. Gen’s insistence that Senku is dead despite any supporting evidence is proof enough that he’s lying.

Conclusion

So what are your thoughts on Dr. Stone episode 19? Why do you think Tsukasa decided to awaken Gen first? How many episodes do you predict Magma will be around for before he’s defeated? And, do you think Tsukasa knows Senku is alive? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.