Dr. Stone Episode 19

To Modernity

I have a lot to say about Dr. Stone episode 19, and it’s not good. But let’s start off with a quick recap of the major event which took place in the middle of the episode — the Kingdom of Science was attacked. And not only was it attacked, but most of the Ishigami Village was burned to the ground.

The village is made up of three main sections. We have the science lab which is located in the forest on the mainland, the village proper located on the large island, and the priestess’ house located on the small island. The village proper was what burned down.

However, the bridges connecting the islands and the mainland were also burned, leaving Ruri, Jasper, and Turquoise stranded on the small island. I don’t think we ever saw them regroup with the rest of the villagers at the science lab. It’s unclear exactly how they’ll escape from that island, but I guess they’ll have to climb down and swim.

During this attack we also met a new member of the Tsukasa Empire, Homura — the pink girl who lit everything on fire. She’s sort of interesting because her character is actually featured in the second opening of the series. You may recall seeing her eating cotton candy in a tree.

So why does that matter? Well, my 200 IQ prediction is that Homura is going to defect from the Tsukasa Empire in return for cotton candy. In fact, we even see that Senku is the one who hands the cotton candy to her just before the shot of her in the tree.

And yes, that’s exactly what Gen did in return for some cola. This is probably going to be a recurring theme.

The People’s Republic of Tsukasa

So aside from the fact that the citizens of the Tsukasa Empire apparently have affinities for sweets, we actually learned a lot of other information about them and their way of life. Some information we already knew, but it’s explained more in this episode.

The first big piece of information is that Tsukasa isn’t an anarchist, he’s a communist. We already knew that because his big gripe with the previous generations is that they own property. Tsukasa believes that property ownership is inherently evil and that society should share everything.

I wonder if he even shares the girls who make up his apparent harem, or if property ownership is okay in that one instance.

But, as I mentioned last week, Tsukasa really doesn’t have a reason to be anti-science. He can be anti-capitalism and he can be anti-Senku for wanting to revive the capitalists, but there’s nothing about science specifically that goes against his beliefs. He simply hates it because the plot needs him to.

Also, I’d like to point out that the kind of communism the Tsukasa Empire subscribes to is even more flawed than real world forms of communism. It’s not simply that everyone works for the common good of the state. As we learn from Tsukasa’s #1 fangirl, the citizens of the empire don’t need to work at all.

So it’s a communist society of people who believe they don’t need to contribute. What?

That’s not how communism works. The second someone stops contributing they should be removed from the empire. But the problem is, if Tsukasa did that, it would imply that the empire owned property of some kind. So how exactly does this society function?

Geography Doesn’t Work Like That, Part 2

Along with learning about the extremely flawed version of communism the Tsukasa Empire uses, we also saw the empire for the first time. Before this, the only real image of the empire we got was inside the cave Tsukasa uses as his thrown room. Now we get to see a bit more of the surrounding area, and it makes no sense.

You may recall in my review of episode 17 I had a section titled, “Geography Doesn’t Work Like That” in which I discussed the geography of Ishigami Village. Well, as the section title implies, get ready for round 2.

First of all, Tsukasa’s thrown room isn’t unique. It looks like every member of the empire gets their own little cave to live in. The member of Tsukasa’s harem pictured above has even furnished hers with a nest made of straw. And it looks like all of these caves are in the side of the same cliff.

But the problem is that this isn’t an ordinary cliff face. It’s a giant latticework of stone pillars. That’s not how geography works.

This cliff face would have had to be man made in order to look the way it does, and I’m ten billion percent sure that nobody from the Tsukasa Empire made it. In fact, they wouldn’t be able to make it unless they worked on it for decades at the very least.

We also see that the cliff face has multiple rope bridges connecting it to what I assume is a similar cliff face on the other side of a ravine. However, this still doesn’t explain how people get up into their latticework caves in the first place.

The Kingdom of Cell Phones

Moving back over to Ishigami Village and the Kingdom of Science, Senku has decided that his next major invention is going to be a cell phone — well, multiple cell phones. According to him, communications networks are the most powerful piece of military technology ever created.

Now, he’s not exactly wrong, but in the next section I’ll be explaining a much better option.

So anyway, we’re given a roadmap for the production of cell phones (pictured below) and Senku makes it seem like this is going to be a piece of cake. Let me assure you, that’s not the case. Also, the cell phones he creates aren’t going to look anything like modern cell phones, probably.

I would have gone with something like a simple walkie-talkie, but Senku is apparently creating something with a back-lit screen. I still think it’s going to have to be too large to be mobile though. And if he actually creates a handheld cell phone, that’s simply unrealistic.

Also, how exactly does Senku plan to make a cell phone actually work? If it’s a true cell phone like he claims it will be, not a simple radio frequency walkie-talkie like I suggested, then it won’t be able to connect to the other end without major infrastructure.

If you’ve ever driven through the middle of nowhere and tried to use your phone you’ll understand this issue. Modern cell phones aren’t meant to simply transmit and receive radio waves — they rely on “cells” with cell towers in them. So, like I said, this probably won’t resemble a real cell phone.

The Geneva Conventions are so 3,800 Years Ago

Let’s pretend we’re in Senku’s position. We’re a super genius who’s building our Kingdom of Science to fight back against the Tsukasa Empire. But, let’s also pretend that we’re not the protagonist of a shounen series, so we can actually go about doing this in a realistic way.

The first human deaths (other than statues) we’ve seen so far came in this episode. You’ll recall that Hyoga knocked the men working under him out of a tree and into the hydrogen sulfide gas.

I bring that up because killing those who oppose you is a great way to ensure your Kingdom of Science prevails. So with that in mind, why not skip making cell phones and instead make an actual weapon? I’m not saying that a nuclear weapon is necessary, but there are plenty of weapons which would do the job.

In particular, chemical weapons are readily available in the stone world with Senku’s knowledge.

The issue of the Tsukasa Empire could be solved in a matter of minutes if chemical weapons were developed. All you’d have to do is send word to Taiju and Yuzuriha to escape, and then fire away. The entire cave system would be filled with gas and there would be nothing anyone could do to protect themselves.

You could even use biological weapons. I’m sure the people of Ishigami Village have some diseases which would be deadly to the people of generation 0. Start a smallpox outbreak in the Tsukasa Empire if you have to.

Conclusion

So what did you think about this week’s Dr. Stone episode 19? Do you think the Tsukasa Empire’s failed version of communism would ever actually work? What’s your explanation for the bizarre geography of the caves? Do you think Senku is going to make a modern cell phone? And, how would you fight back against the empire? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.