I am back baby, and with another season of Dr. STONE! I’m so glad this series got a second season. Because while this arc is a bit more combat focused, it appears like Director Shinya Iino knows exactly what people loved about the first. The science is back in full force, the picturesque direction and we may even have a few animators this time! So without further ado, lets dive into episode 2!
Speaking of animators, hot damn does Dr. STONE actually have a few now. Last season was hardly animated at all, relying primarily on well shot stills and poses. This season however already has a few pretty good cuts and I’m looking forward to more! By no means is this a sakuga action show now but it is a step up. And the best part is that Dr. STONE hasn’t lost what made last season work either. The emotive posing, detailed background art and expressive… expressions are all still there. The Homura chase sequence was a perfect way to show off all of these, as we got a bit of each one. I don’t know if this is just a one-off event to start the season off. But my hope is that with the reduced run time, 11 episodes, Dr. STONE will be able to show off a bit more.
Getting into the actual narrative, Dr. STONE continues to be really good at having the science build on itself. At making what would seem like arbitrary power ups or upgrades in other Shounen feel natural. For instance in this episode we have the flashbang. With how this came out of nowhere, it would normally feel like bullshit. But by explaining the science behind it and how they obtained the materials for it, how it evolved from their prior inventions, it still feels earned to me. It also helps that the flashbang wasn’t an instant win, I enjoyed Homura’s realization of how weak Senku actually is. All of these elements together are what manage to sell the technology though. Both justifying its existence and explaining how they got it at the same time. It’s very rare for power ups to feel like ass pulls in Dr. STONE because of this.
Another great example of this is the core technology of the episode, the cell phone. On it’s own, the phone doesn’t actually do much. It only allows them to talk, it doesn’t give them any direct physical boost to combat. But that was never Senku or Gen’s MO. Instead they thrive, they win, with information and Dr. STONE does a great job of showing this. Of showing just how impactful being able to communicate over long distances can be. It let them coordinate the pincer attack, to track each other and to warn them of impending danger. As far as B-Plots in episodes go, this was a great self-contained one inside the larger Tsukasa vs Senku narrative. I’ve been gushing for awhile about how Dr. STONE has handled its technology and presented these scenes though. What do you think? Was it a job well done, or am I over reacting?
On a similar vein to the technology, Dr. STONE explores what our modern times have physically as well. We saw it last season with Hyoga’s spear techniques and how it was built up over generations. This season we see it with Homura and her gymnastics. It’s a specialization that wouldn’t have been necessary in ancient times. It’s something new, but not necessarily superior since Homura still isn’t really a fighter. Just a runner. I like how Dr. STONE depicted this visually as well. For instance you can see during Kohaku’s chase that Homura never disturbed the snow on the branches. But every time Kohaku leapt off the same branch, the snow fell off. It’s a small visual que, but these small details in scenes really help sell them for me. I can’t wait to see what Dr. STONE does as more and more modern characters are introduced through Tsukasa.
This brings me to a more contentious part of the episode: The killing, or lack thereof. It’s something you see a lot in Shounen and is a pretty standard trope, how the good guys are “above” it. That it’s their moral line in the sand. It’s no different here in Dr. STONE but I do like how Dr. STONE at least tries to explain it. The entire conflict is setup over the idea that Tsukasa doesn’t get to pick who lives and who dies. So the idea that Senku wouldn’t want to do the exact same thing in regards to the stone warriors makes sense. It’s not the best strategic decision, and its rather naive. But it’s at least a decent narrative excuse for the “good guys” not to kill. Nothing amazing but I appreciate that an attempt was made.
Finally we come to the big emotional highpoint: The return of Taiju and Yuzuriha. Their actual return was pretty standard, we knew they were coming back for awhile now. Rather, what sold the scene for me was Senku. Senku is generally a very… stoic character. He is either calm and collected in the face of the unknown, or snarky and maybe a bit smug when planning something dastardly. So He’s your standard stereotypical mind over heart scientist to a tee. So the moments where he does show emotion such as the lightbulb, the telescope, Suika’s glasses really hit. He’s like an emotional barometer for the series. And its his reaction, his quiet, heartfelt joy at speaking to his friends again, that makes the scene work. I don’t want to call it a “moment of weakness”, rather its these “moments of humanity” shining through his façade that I really love.
So all in all, I think this was a brilliant return to form for Dr. STONE. The 11 episodes instead of a full cour, or even 13 or 2 cour, gives me a lot of hope for the pacing and production. It’s not going to be trying to fill time, instead it can focus purely on important content. Similarly it’s not going to be stretching its resources out and can focus them towards where they are needed most. I am still concerned with how much action focus this arc will have of course. But the animation we have seen this week alleviates that somewhat. As for everything else, the OST is still great, the VA’s are still great, Dr. STONE is all around still the same good product it was before. And I can’t wait for more.
