Welcome one and all to Dr.STONE and my first post on the new site! I hope its working well for anyone, and if you have any issues, please leave a comment somewhere. We want to make it the best we can. That said, let’s get into the episode.
So really quick, lets run through Dr.STONE production this week. There were a number of picturesque scenes throughout I feel. From the Christmas tree to the dawn of the New Year. Like always, I think Dr.STONE pulls these off well. Instilling a good amount of emotion into what are otherwise pretty basic shots. Something about the music, the framing and the characters all comes together to make them greater than they otherwise would be. The big thing though from this week I think is actually how the science is presented. As we are starting to get into very small things, science which requires precision. Unlike the water wheel or the generator or even the ramen stand, the lightbulbs and such are to small to really show off building. At least to do so easily I feel. So I think Dr.STONE did a fine job depicting scale and precision here.
Speaking of the science, let’s take a moment to dive in to that. Because we are starting to near the edge of what they could believably make. Don’t get me wrong, Dr.STONE sells it well, there is a charisma to the whole thing. However we are getting to the point where even needle work isn’t precise enough to describe what is happening. Literal micrometers are the difference between success and failure here. And as great a craftsman as Kaseki is, you can’t hammer something to within a micrometer precision without a machine. Of course Dr.STONE tries to mitigate this somewhat with explanations of the science. Such as how the copper expands inwards vs outwards. This doesn’t change the fact though that they are literally blowing light bulbs manually and carving them. Is it possible? Sure, someone had to do it first. Thats why were are just nearing believabilities edge.
But then you look at things like vacuum tubes, diodes and literal machine engineered parts for circuits. Don’t get me wrong, Dr.STONE is a fun shounen. If we can suspend disbelief for an action series like Kimetsu no Yaiba where breathing gives you lightning swords, we can do it for this. However it has to be said that Dr.STONE benefits a lot more from believability than an action shounen like Yaiba does. After all the main draw is the science, the slow growth of humanity and the cool things you can do with science. So the series just has to be a lot more careful about not going to far over that line. Luckily enough, Dr.STONE provided good enough explanations this week to clear itself. Both in terms of expansion of glass, and how many months they have been at it. But its a concern to keep in mind.
None of this is to say we didn’t get good or fun stuff this episode either. We need look no further than the Christmas tree for proof of this. What I enjoyed about this whole sequence though, beyond the obvious visuals, is what it does for Senku’s character. He often has this front of being this logical machine, only doing what makes sense and such. But its instances like this that show just how sentimental Senku is about the past. Yes, they have a war with Tsukasa coming up, yes they need to create all these new technologies for it. Yet he still makes time for the small things, the human things, such as simply lighting up a tree. Sure it tests the lightbulbs and shows them to everyone, but thats clearly not what Senku cared about here.
We also get peeks into how Senku has improved the lives of the villagers. A sort of counter to Tsukasa’s push against modernization, we see how it makes lives easier. Such as removing Ginro and Kinro from working the generator, or how easy forging is now. It even addresses issues raised earlier in this arc. With how the village had to prepare for Winter, and start stocking up, or the soldiers had to train. Both addressing these previous issues and putting the struggles of earlier arcs into perspective. Where powering a single forge to make a single bar of metal was once an entire arc, now it’s nothing more than a plug and a fire away. Even small things like the glass allowing them to make bottles to preserve food they normally wouldn’t have. Sure, its all the idealized aspects of technology, but that’s what Dr.STONE is. A technological celebration.
Finally, we have our next little mini arc of going into the caves. I always thought this was a bit past the previously mentioned “believability edge” to be honest. As not only do they find the “Ultra rare gemstone” nearby, but they are going to use it to make Tungsten. Something that is highly prized and valued even now in the modern day. Yes, Dr.STONE presents it in a charming manner, and yes it makes an adventure out of it. Its just getting into levels of technology that are difficult to believe can be reproduced by a stone age people. That said, Dr.STONE is at least making the arc interesting by reintroducing Magma to the plot. Bringing him along in their quest through the caves. Naturally, we can expect this to not go well. The guy was a villain for an arc afterall. But it should be fun to watch.
So, all in all, how was Dr.STONE this week? For me, it was about as good as every week. A nice average episode with some emotional setpieces that progressed the plot. It still has the same issues the rest of the series does, its not perfect by any means. But its a fun show to check into every week. The science continues to be the most interesting aspect and though we are nearing the edge of what is “believable”, at the worst its fun to watch. Basically, Dr.STONE is anime fast food, but pretty good fast food. Well above McDonalds, but not quite a sit in restaurant, if you catch my drift. All that’s left now is to see how the series ends in a few weeks. I hope to see you there!
