Dr. STONE S2 – 7 [Secret Mission]

Yes, I know I’m late on this weeks Dr. STONE. In my defense work has gotten busy and I’m closing/moving into my new house this week, but the real issue is just not knowing what to write. This week of Dr. STONE was pretty straight forward all things considered. So lets leave all the flowery language and metaphors behind and just jump right into it.

I want to start by pointing out some clever directorial tricks I saw this week, starting with the languages. Dr. STONE isn’t the first anime have bilingual characters and it won’t be the last. But many anime struggle with how to portray this. Sometimes you get complete Engrish and other times they don’t even try at all, such as with Vinland Saga. But Dr. STONE was rather clever about it I think. It started in Engrish, established the conversation, before blending back into Japanese while still matching the mouth flaps the whole time. It’s a really simple trick but one I wish more anime would make use of. Beyond the languages, Dr. STONE also had some rather evocative shots this week. From Yuzuriha’s secret to Gen holding Lillian’s throat as he spoke with her voice. They did a good job of bringing emotion to a scene with limited animation.

Getting to the actual content of the week lets talk Ukyo! It was pretty obvious he was the one to help Chrome escape with the battery 2 weeks ago. He was the last one to have it and he already lied for Chrome once. This week we learn why: The dudes a total pacifist. It makes sense that there would be some among Tsukasa’s army that resent his hardline murderous attitude. But for it to be one of the top 3 dogs, and the only one who could stop their plan, is pretty convenient for Senku. That said I do like how he was a disaster relief worker and how that informs his decision. He’s just a bleeding heart who wants as many people to survive as possible, nothing more. And I think Dr. STONE did an alright job of showing that.

Of course a big part of what brought Ukyo over was Yuzuriha’s “secret mission”. It’s a bit ridiculous all things considered. Gathering all the parts, sorting them and managing to recreate the most difficult jigsaw puzzle known to man. But everyone else in this cast has some sort of superhuman ability so it’s nice for Yuzuriha to have one to. Even if it’s only advanced arts and crafts. On the narrative feel good side though I love it. Its taking Senku and co’s goal of saving everyone to an extreme. Naturally upping the stakes for this upcoming battle and reminding us that this goes beyond just Senku and Tsukasa. Rather this is a battle for the future of mankind and the survival of millions on billions. And it all comes down to 2 men and a cave.

Or at least its supposed to be 2 men, because this week reveals a second traitor alongside Ukyo: Hyoga. This one was pretty obvious in its coming, the man is clearly the most sinister person in Tsukasa’s army. But this week from Ukyo we learn that he has also been consistently lying to them. Playing up Senku killing their men and playing down his own mistakes. All to set Senku and Tsukasa against each other more, most likely to take Tsukasa’s place for himself. Contrast this with Tsukasa’s clear care for his people. This is a man who believes what he is doing is right and honestly wants a better life. He remembers everyone’s names and mourns the fallen, burying memento’s such as Yo’s to give them a proper sendoff. It feels like Dr. STONE is setting Hyoga up to be the main villain more than Tsukasa.

I generally thought it was another decent episode. The production is starting to fail a bit compared to early episodes, which is a shame. But random chibi cuts and a lot of stills aside I still think there is plenty to love here. The pacing is alright, previous weeks could stand to be a bit faster, but this episode handled it well. Ukyo and Tsukasa were this weeks “Humanity fuck yeah” moments while Gen and Yo provided a bit of good natured levity. All in all Dr. STONE gave us an alright amount of everything, with nothing really standing out as that “wow” moment. With 4 episodes left we are on a good track to finish this war in 3 with an epilogue for the arc as the last. Hopefully it can nail the ending and land itself roughly around where the first season was.