Dr. Stone: Ryusui

Manifest Destiny

Dr. Stone: Ryusui (Dr. Stone: Ryuusui / Dr.STONE 龍水) is a special episode that takes place between Seasons 2 and 3. Dr. Stone: Stone Wars is Season 2 and Dr. Stone: New World is Season 3. Ryusui is also canon, which means you should watch it before Season 3.

And, that’s exactly why I watched it this week. I originally planned to skip this special because I figured it wouldn’t matter. But, since it’s canon, I figured I should watch it since I’m going to be watching Season 3 as it airs.

Well, I plan to watch Season 3 as it airs. But, because I put off watching Ryusui, I’m a week behind now. Still, it’s not hard to catch up on a single episode. And since I’m not reviewing the newest season of Dr. Stone on a weekly basis, there’s no pressure.

As for the plot of Ryusui, it sets up the next hurdle for the Kingdom of Science to get over. Previously, we saw the Kingdom of Science forge an alliance with the Tsukasa Empire. Now, the two groups are working together to get to the bottom of the mystery of the petrification event.

All they know right now is that the event started somewhere on the other side of the world. That, and the fact that the next season is called “New World” implies it came from the Americas. But, how is the Kingdom of Science supposed to get there from Japan?

The answer is simple: they’re going to sail. Sailing is the easiest way to cross the ocean with the Kingdom’s current level of technology. But, crossing an entire ocean is no small feat. To do this, they’ll not only need a sturdy ship, but an experienced captain.

Ryusui Nanami

Unfortunately for the Kingdom of Science, they don’t have an experienced captain. But, fortunately for them, they do have a former reporter with a superpower. She can find anyone with any skill the Kingdom requires. And she knows just the person to revive as the new captain.

The man chosen for the job is Ryusui Nanami. He’s the son of a wealthy businessman who owned a variety of companies in Japan. And, as a hobby, he sailed ships. No, not boats. Ships. And, this is what made him the perfect candidate.

Sure, they could have revived an experienced captain. But, they’d likely only be experienced with modern ships. What the Kingdom of Science needs is someone experienced with sailing ships. And throughout this special episode, Ryusui proves himself to be just that. He’s a master of reading the wind, which will be a vital skill.

There’s a major problem with Ryusui, though. Due to his upbringing, his personality isn’t great. He’s materialistic, obsessed with money, and thinks of himself as being above others. Ryusui is also a ruthless businessman. However, that doesn’t mean he has the brains to back that up, as Senku can still control him.

For example, one of the first things Ryusui does is negotiate his price for being the captain. The ship is going to be a hybrid that uses sails as well as an engine. And to power the engine, the Kingdom needs oil. As compensation for his services, Ryusui wants ownership of the oil.

He then plans to sell the oil to the Kingdom of Science. And to facilitate this sale, he prints his own money. That’s right, Ryusui created the first economy of the new age. But, Senku is able to turn this economy to his advantage.

First Flight

While some members of the Kingdom work on building the ship, others need to find oil. That doesn’t sound very easy, to me. And due to the landscape changes over the past 3,000 years, it’s more difficult than Senku thought it would be.

Without an accurate map of the terrain, it’s going to be hard to find oil. But, walking around on foot and making a map the old-fashioned way would take too long. So, the solution Senku comes up with, thanks to Suika’s comment, is to fly. It’ll be much easier to draw a map when you can look down on the terrain.

At this stage, powered flight is out of the question. From what I remember, they do have access to batteries. So, you may think they could build an electric aircraft. But, the batteries they have are large, heavy, and not very good at storing energy.

So, Senku decides to create a hot air balloon out of hemp. Hot air balloons are among the simplest ways to fly. Though, they’re not very good when it comes to controlling where you’re flying. But, luckily, as I mentioned earlier, Ryusui is an expert at reading the wind.

He, Senku, and Chrome hop in the balloon’s basket for its maiden voyage. And their destination is Ishigami Village, which would be a 2-day trek. By air, the travel time is only about 2 hours. However, not everything goes as planned during this trip (of course).

The trio runs into a thunderstorm and the balloon gets damaged by an earlier run-in with a bird. But, Ryusui is still able to navigate them out of the storm and to safety. Something I noticed, though, is that after the storm, the damage is miraculously gone. My immersion, ruined.

Conclusion

As much as I don’t want to admit it, I thought Dr. Stone: Ryusui was pretty good. I gave both previous seasons of the series 5/10 ratings. But, at the end of this special, I rated it a 7/10. Don’t expect my rating of New World to remain that high, though.

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