Dr. Stone: New World

New World Part 1

Dr. Stone: New World is the third season of the Dr. Stone anime. After the original season, there was Stone Wars. And after Stone Wars, there was the Ryuusui OVA. New World comes after the OVA. And in case you’re wondering, yes, the OVA is canon.

If you don’t watch the Ryuusui OVA before New World, you’re going to be a bit lost. The OVA introduces two new characters, one of which is very important. And, it sets up what’s going to happen in New World. Think of it like New World Episode 0.

So, what happens in New World? A portion of the Kingdom of Science’s citizens set out on an adventure. And there are three things they’re looking for.

1. The origin of the petrification beam.
2. The origin of the “Why Man” radio signal.
3. The Soyuz space capsule.

This search leads Senkuu and his companions to an island that may hold all three. But, is that a blessing or a curse? If this island is the source of the petrification beam, its inhabitants may be enemies. However, the Soyuz capsule might also contain the materials needed to save the world.

Now, there’s one thing I’ve glossed over so far that you may have noticed in the title of this section. This season is only Part 1 of the arc. Unlike the previous seasons, the arc doesn’t get wrapped up within these 11 episodes.

There is good news for Dr. Stone fans, though. You won’t have to wait long for New World Part 2. It’s set to air in the fall of 2023. So, while this part focused mainly on the setup, the next part should be better. It should give us the answers to our questions.

New Characters

There are five new characters in this season. Two are on the side of the Kingdom of Science. And three are part of the enemy nation. I’m not sure if that nation has a name that we know. But, whatever it’s called, they’re the bad guys.

Soyuz is the first new character. He’s actually a member of the Kingdom of Science and one of the Ishigami villagers. But, it turns out that he’s not originally from the village. He was born on the island Senkuu & Co. are heading to. And, as you may have guessed, he was named after the Soyuz capsule.

Amaryllis is the next new character. She’s an inhabitant of the island. But, she’s part of a rebel force that wants to overthrow the island’s leader. So, it was only natural for her to team up with the Kingdom of Science.

Ibara is a high-ranking official on the island and the main antagonist. He doesn’t actually do much in this season. But, he’s clearly the bad guy. His job is to gather the prettiest girls from the island and present them to the island’s leader.

Mozu is one of the two strongest warriors on the island. Ibara is the brains of the operation and Mozu is the muscle. If someone’s not complying with Ibara’s orders, Mozu gets involved. He’s also very interested in cute girls, which sometimes puts him at odds with Ibara’s job.

Kirisame is the other strongest warrior on the island. Like Mozu, she serves Ibara and enforces his policies. However, what makes Kirisame unique is her use of a petrification device. She has a device that, when thrown, emits a short-range petrification beam. Unfortunately, we don’t know how this technology works or why Kirisame was chosen to wield it.

Mystery of the Petrification

Obviously, Kirisame having petrification technology is a big deal. Does that mean this island is where the original petrification beam came from? That seems pretty unlikely. The petrification beam supposedly came from the other side of the world (the Americas).

So, how did the islanders get their hands on this technology? Did they somehow develop it themselves? Did someone give it to them? Neither answer makes very much sense. After all, we know that the islanders are the descendants of the Soyuz astronauts. That means their ancestors had nothing to do with the petrification event.

So, if someone gave the islanders the petrification technology, it happened later. It must have happened after the deaths of the Soyuz astronauts. This is because they would have recognized what the petrification beam was. That’s why we know it must have come to the island at a later date.

There’s another piece of evidence pointing toward the petrification beam being a gift. If the islanders developed this technology themselves, why does only Kirisame have it? Surely, others such as Mozu and Ibara would have the ability to petrify people, as well. Since they don’t, we can assume this technology is rare.

And, the technology being rare is actually a good thing. It means that if the Kingdom of Science can destroy it, it’s gone for good. The islanders won’t be able to reproduce it. Also, it’s not like the Kingdom of Science needs to keep it intact.

Senkuu has no need for the petrification beam. Using it on people would go against the mission of the Kingdom of Science: to revive all of humanity. And he doesn’t need the beam’s technology to figure out how to undo the petrification. He already knows how to accomplish that with platinum.

Conclusion

Dr. Stone: New World is a 6/10. I’m a known Dr. Stone hater, so if you think it’s better than that, fine. But, I thought this season was pretty okay. I didn’t dislike it quite as much as the previous seasons. And part of that may be because I was interested in the mystery this time.

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My review of New World Part 2 is available now.