Dr. STONE S2 – 5 [STEAM GORILLA]

This weeks sees the Senku 1 get both a name change and an upgrade! Meanwhile Chrome comes up with a plan of escape and Tsukasa begins to take action, all in this weeks episode of Pimp My Ride Dr. STONE! So without further ado, lets dive in!

First I want to talk about the slow shift in focus we’ve seen these last two episodes. I said in the seasonal preview that I was afraid this season of Dr. STONE would focus to much on the conflict and not enough on the science. And the next few episodes, 2 and 3, help alleviated that. We got a good focus on humanity, some scientific progress, the sort of thing you want out of Dr. STONE. But these past two episodes we are starting to see it slide back down the science slope. We’re starting to burn through science scenes, such as the quick upgrading of the Steam Gorilla with its new wheels and such, in favor of progressing the conflict more and more. My favorite bits like the humanity aren’t totally gone, and Senku got to showoff the paper shield a bit. Just not as much as I’d like.

Speaking of the science, this week was rather interesting, as always. The idea of layering something weak and light over and over to make something stronger makes sense. We can see it on a base level with phone books and how those have been known to stop bullets. But where Dr. STONE takes it a step further is with what it uses to bind the paper together, a sort of thick resin. While you might think this is make believe or fantastical science though, think again! Paper armor was, supposedly, used in Ancient China and was made in much the same way. Layering paper and resin on top of each other to form a lighter, thicker suit. There’s actually a Mythbusters episode out there about this that I recommend you check out. So while we didn’t get a lot of science this week, I love learning how true it is.

Similar to the science, the “humanity fuck yeah” bits were rather sparse this week. What we did get though was nice and Senku focused, a rarity for these segments. Most of the time such as with the lightbulb of Season 1, or Nikki’s love for music in episode 3, they focus on the other more relatable characters. I would wager most viewers aren’t super geniuses like Senku, so this works well for connecting with the audience. But its bits like this week with the older members of the village that help remind us that Senku isn’t just a walking encyclopedia. I mean, he is, but he also has a bleeding heart and that desire to help people is what fuels most of his creations. He didn’t need the Steam Gorilla, they could easily have made multiple trips. But cars can transport more than just cargo and everyone clearly noticed that.

Moving on, lets talk about Tsukasa who got a lot of subtle but important characterization this week. Up until now Dr. STONE has largely framed this conflict as one of Brain vs Brawn, the classic struggle that dates all the way back to middle school. It has framed much of Tsukasa’s forces as idiot meatheads who barely functioned in modern society, and painted Tsukasa with that same brush. This week though we are starting to see how that isn’t the case: Tsukasa is smart. He knows how dangerous guns and cars are and so he not only prepares for them but also lays traps for both. Even if the rest of his people don’t understand why, Tsukasa knows he can’t win with just brawn. And for me this is a very important distinction.

By making Tsukasa smart, by letting him stand toe-to-toe with Senku, Dr. STONE does two very important things. First it makes him much more threatening. Senku has dealt with all his problems by being the smartest person left in the world. So if Tsukasa can, maybe not match but keep up, against Senku then that really dials up his threat. But second, it brings back the thematic depth to their battle. No longer is it brains vs brawns, rather it returns to their original ideological conflict: Anarcho-primitivism without the vices of modern technology vs Transhumanism, using technology to improve and augment our everyday lives. Framed like this, a battle between two intelligent but competing philosophies, is much more interesting than simple brain vs brawn. Hopefully as Dr. STONE moves forward we can start to see it expand on this a bit.

So yeah, all in all, a decent episode of Dr. STONE. It doesn’t have any big moments, nothing like Nikki’s in episode 3 for instance, but it did what it set out to do. The important question at this point is whether or not Dr. STONE can keep it up. Can it keep Tsukasa interesting, can it keep the conflict in a non-action series engaging, can it keep the science from falling by the wayside. So long as Dr. STONE can manage those then its shaping up to be just as good as the last season. Which considering how I thought it would be going in, thats a pleasant surprise.

That said, let me know what you think! Is Tsukasa starting to grow on you or is he still dull as a villain? The science making sense or is it just magic at this point? Let me know down below and I will see you next week!