Voices Over Infinite Distance

We’ve finally made it to the end of Dr. Stone. Or should I say, the end of Dr. Stone season 1, because season 2 was confirmed. And while I don’t particularly want to watch season 2, of course I’m going to. So when that finally comes out, tweet at me or something to let me know if you want it to come back as a weekly review.

If you’re a “fan” of Dr. Stone, that’s great and all, but I’m so glad this series is over so I won’t have to see people talking about it anymore. Yes, it’s a fine anime, but that’s all it is.

But as for this episode in particular, I’m going to have to go ahead and say it was bad. I know some of you will probably want to defend it, and you’re free to do so in the comments, or on Twitter, or over on Discord. But this was basically a recap episode as the final episode of the season.

Once the (first of two) radios was complete, I figured we’d just skip to the second one being complete and then get into some action. You know, have Senku, Chrome, Kohaku, and Magma infiltrate the Tsukasa Empire and deliver one to Taiju and Yuzuriha. But no, once the radio is done we move on to recap.

3,700 Year Old Record

By now you should know how I feel about characters breaking out into song for no real reason in anime — I don’t like it. And that was basically the main purpose of the record Senku finds, which his father and his companions had left behind.

When we first learned about the record I figured maybe we’d get a bit more backstory on Senku’s relationship with his father, but that’s not the case. Didn’t we learn at one point that Senku was adopted or something? Is that ever going to be relevant in the story?

Or was that just stated because Kohaku is technically a descendant of Byakuya, so then it would be frowned upon for Senku to end up in a relationship with her. Not that I think Senku is ever going to end up in a relationship with anyone in this series.

Unfortunately, the only flashback we got involved Byakuya & co. working together to create this record which they left for Senku to find.

However, this record could turn out to be more interesting than it seems. We don’t know what else was on it. Was it simply Byakuya’s introduction and then the song? Or was there perhaps other information preserved on this record after the song that we didn’t get to hear?

And what about the other records? It seemed to be implied that there was a record hidden within the tomb stones of each of the founders. So what information could be hidden on those records, if they exist? We’ll probably never know.

Season Recap

As I’ve already mentioned, the entire middle section of the episode basically just recapped the major events of the season. We got to see Senku finishing some of his inventions, and we had characters reminding us of what happened in the past.

I’m not sure what other series I’ve brought this up in regards to, but you should never end a season with a recap episode. Instead, you should include an “episode 0” at the beginning of the next season for those who want to be reminded of the previous season’s events.

There are many times I get to a second season which comes out years after the first, and they dive right into the action. In those cases, I’d really like to have had a quick recap. And in those cases, a recap episode in the previous season isn’t going to help. You think I’ll remember that Dr. Stone episode 24 was a recap episode by the time season 2 comes out? Of course not.

The Future of Stone

Now before I conclude this episode review, I want to touch on the future of this series. And by that I mean both the second season and what Senku has planned for the future of Ishigami village. Starting with the latter, Senku tells Chrome, and the other villagers, that there’s a whole lot more entertainment in the “future” than just music.

He mentions, games, movies, manga, you name it. And I did enjoy the visuals which were added to go along with the things he was listing off, so let’s go through those.

First we have Dungeons & Dragons; then some sort of VR video game; I’m not quite sure what’s next, but it looks like Dragon Ball was based on it; then a movie theater; 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea; Jurassic Park; then Sherlock Holmes; War of the Worlds (the original, not the US radio broadcast); a Nintendo Switch; and finally, Goku from Dragon Ball Z.

Of these entertainment inventions, which do you think we’ll see next in the series? My guess is that in season 2 we’ll have the introduction of movies. We already have recorded audio this season, so recorded video seems like the logical next step.

And speaking of season 2, it’s going to cover the “stone wars” arc, which means we’ll finally have Ishigami Village fighting against the Tsukasa Empire. Though, I don’t really see this series becoming a battle series. While there will definitely be fights, I don’t think they’ll be all that different from those we’ve seen so far.

Rather than true fights, we’ll get to see how science can defeat aggressive combatants while causing zero casualties. I bet Tsukasa won’t even be killed when they finally defeat him.

Conclusion

What did you think of Dr. Stone episode 24? Did you like it? Hate it? Do you think having a recap episode as the final episode is a good or bad idea? And, how many of the references did you pick up on when Senku was listing off all the entertainment options in the “future?” Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community. We have some good emotes in there too.

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

Wave of Science

It was brought to my attention that apparently I didn’t complain about Dr. Stone episode 22. So to make up for that, I have some complaints about episode 23. But actually, I do have a couple of complaints regarding this week’s episode, and I was going to bring them up anyway.

My first complaint is that this episode was basically just an invention montage episode. We don’t really get any development aside from the fact that Senku completes his “cell phone.” But, Ishigami Village does get upgraded in the process, so I guess there’s that.

The other complaint I have is that Gen breaks out into song randomly in the middle of the episode. I should honestly drop my rating of this series down a point just for that, but I’ll hold off for now. Seriously though, I hate when anime break out into song for no reason.

Dr. Stone isn’t that good of an anime to begin with, so the addition of musical elements is just that much worse. If it was actually a good anime I might be able to overlook it a bit more, but it would still have made me consider dropping my score.

Maker Friends

Perhaps you remember way back when Kaseki was first introduced into the series. I’m pretty sure at that at that point I commented about how he would be little more than a background character. Well, it turns out I was somewhat wrong, and the Kaseki montage in this episode helped me realize that.

I mean, he’s not a character who gets very much screen time in most episodes, but he has been instrumental in the construction of just about every invention since his introduction. And this week we finally get a little bit of background information on him, though it doesn’t really matter.

Apparently because he was the only maker in the village, he was always a bit of an outcast. So to make sure he was accepted by the other villagers, he always used his crafting to create things which would improve the lives of everyone else. In fact, he’s even the one who originally constructed the bridges.

However, we don’t have to feel too bad for Kaseki because he’s no longer alone. He now has Senku and Chrome as his maker friends, and I guess Suika too, but she’s not a real character so she doesn’t count.

Chieftain Senku

Now, the only part of the episode I’d say really mattered was when we were shown Ishigami Village being upgraded by Senku’s inventions. Yeah, Kaseki’s background was nice, but it was also really short. And the “cell phone” invention is still something I think is pretty worthless at this point in the story.

But the upgrades to the village do matter. They mean that the quality of life will improve, villagers will be able to live longer, and perhaps other people from the Tsukasa Empire will be enticed to join the Kingdom of Science.

And these upgrades to the quality of life of the villagers is something I mentioned in a previous episode review (I don’t know which one). Although Senku has these road maps to create his big inventions, all the little inventions along the way have their own uses.

This is something the previous Ishigami Village chieftain, Kokuyo, realizes in this episode. Yes, Senku invented oven things to help produce components for his “cell phone,” but they can also be used to keep the villagers warm throughout the winter.

“Cell Phone”

For a few weeks now, I’ve been mentioning how the thing Senku is building isn’t really a cell phone. Yes, it’s a radio wave transmitter and receiver, but that’s not exactly what a cell phone is. In fact, what he built has nothing to do with the “cells” the word “cell phone” is derived from.

But that’s not really what I want to discuss right now. No, what I want to discuss is the “cell phone” itself, and how there’s no way that Taiju and Yuzuriha are going to be able to hide it from Tsukasa and his underlings — especially while under 24 hour surveillance.

First of all, it’s large, as I had previously pointed out it would be. Second of all, it’s not nearly as robust-looking as one would probably like. I don’t think that “cell phone” is going to hold up for long if it’s out in the elements. And lastly, they have to build a second one now for Taiju and Yuzuriha to use.

Wouldn’t it have been easier to communicate in basically any other way? Yes, the village got some upgrades along the way, but using these “cell phones” without being found out is completely absurd. What, is Taiju going to hide it in his cave and nobody from the Tsukasa empire is going to check?

Conclusion

What did you think of Dr. Stone episode 23? Did you like the fact that the episode was basically one, long montage? Did you like Kaseki’s backstory? What about Gen breaking out into song randomly? Let me know in the comments (unless you actually did enjoy Gen’s song, then keep that information to yourself).

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on all the latest content. I tweet out every time a new post goes live, so it’s the best way to stay up to date.

You should also come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community. All the cool kids are doing it, don’t you want to be popular? But actually, join the server.

And finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier, and CaptainRainbowPizza for supporting at the Sensei tier, this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, and the benefits you’ll receive for doing so, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the final episode of Dr. Stone season 1 is available here.

The Treasure

Dr. Stone episode 22 was extremely average. I liked that Magma got a bit more character development, but at the same time, he didn’t. Also, apparently Senku is strong and heavy enough to support Magma’s weight hanging off the edge of a cliff. I’m not saying that’s the most egregious offense in anime, but physics doesn’t work like that.

So anyway, let’s start with the pseudo-character development Magma received in this episode. We all know Magma was a minor villain earlier on in the series, but what about now? Is everything that happened between Magma, Chrome, and Senku water under the bridge?

Kind of, yeah. And the problem I have with that is that there’s no real reason for it. We’re just left to accept it.

It’s sort of implied that over time Magma has recognized the benefits of Senku’s inventions, but barely. He doesn’t really begin to respect Senku until the events of this episode. And by then, it’s already too late — his character development has seemingly already occurred.

Think of it like this, why did Magma risk his life to save Senku in the cave? Because Senku is the chieftain? Because Gen told him Senku’s birthday is coming up? From what we know of Magma, he doesn’t care about those two things.

My assumption is this: Magma is afraid of Gen because he doesn’t understand that his sorcery isn’t real. So when Gen told him to return Senku by a certain time, Magma saw this as a threat. Either he returns Senku safely and on time, or Gen will use his sorcery against him.

So is that really character development? No.

The Dungeon

However, although Magma’s character didn’t develop in that way specifically, he does get some real development over the course of the episode. Because of the actions he takes in his attempt to keep Senku safe for Gen, he learns a lot about Senku.

First, Magma sees that Senku trusts him more than he really should. For example, when Magma holds the ladder steady as Senku crosses the ravine. Senku doesn’t appear to have any hesitation, even though he knows Magma could kill him at any point.

Then we get to the part when Magma pushes Senku out of the way so he doesn’t fall into a mica pit. Despite Magma’s best efforts to hide this, Senku realizes what he did. And because of this, Senku refuses to let go of Magma despite it meaning he’s going to fall into the pit as well.

But even once the two are stuck in the pit together, Magma still isn’t sure about Senku. It’s at this point that Senku explains that he doesn’t see himself as inherently better than Magma. Instead, they both excel in different areas, and can achieve even greater feats by working together.

This is when Magma’s character development truly begins. Remember, everything helpful he did up to this point was likely caused by his fear of Gen’s sorcery.

Then, at the end of their adventure, when they find the rocks they’ve been searching for, Magma once again puts on his bad guy facade. Chrome takes this seriously and believes Magma is about to kill them, but Senku doesn’t even respond. He keeps his back to Magma because he trusts that Magma won’t hurt him. And this proves a lot about Senku’s character to Magma.

The Treasure of Friendship

Aside from all the mineral treasures which were found in the cave, Senku, Chrome, and Magma came back with another treasure: The treasure of friendship. Okay, so maybe it isn’t quite right to say that Magma is friends with the other two now, but they have a mutual respect for one another.

And this respect is actually seen all throughout Ishigami village. While the trio of spelunkers were off mining, Gen rallied the other villagers and together they built Senku an observatory for his birthday, complete with a telescope. This was the villagers’ way of thanking Senku for everything he’s done for them up to this point.

According to my calculations, which could very well be extremely wrong, January 4th is Senku’s real birthday. And I have to specify “real” birthday, because there’s an offset between his age and his birthday. He’s roughly 17.25 years old on the date of his birthday.

We know this because of the information we’re provided. He’s been “alive” for a little over 6,268 days, and he awoke from his petrification on April 1st 5738 CE. Additionally, this tells us that the petrification event occurred at some point in June.

Also, the Dr. Stone universe doesn’t appear to have leap years, meaning their version of Earth has 0.25 days less per year than ours.

And now that I’ve done that math and come up with those conclusions, just as you’re probably wondering, I too am wondering why I even bothered. Oh, and I could be off by a year on Senku’s age. I’m pretty sure this is the second winter since he awoke, so I based his age on that.

He could be 18.25 if there was another winter I forgot about, which seems very likely.

Conclusion

So what are your thoughts on Dr. Stone episode 22? Why do you think Magma seemingly had a change of heart and was helping Senku and Chrome through the first portion of the cave? Was it because he was afraid of Gen? Also, check my rough math, how old do your calculations say Senku is? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. And follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on future content. I tweet out every time a new post goes live, so it’s the best way to stay up to date.

Also, we have a Discord server you should join. We discuss anime, games, music, and more. There are even group anime watches when I’m not too busy with everything else.

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.