Dr. Stone

After five years of harboring unspoken feelings, high-schooler Taiju Ooki is finally ready to confess his love to Yuzuriha Ogawa. Just when Taiju begins his confession however, a blinding green light strikes the Earth and petrifies mankind around the world—turning every single human into stone.

Several millennia later, Taiju awakens to find the modern world completely nonexistent, as nature has flourished in the years humanity stood still. Among a stone world of statues, Taiju encounters one other living human: his science-loving friend Senkuu, who has been active for a few months. Taiju learns that Senkuu has developed a grand scheme—to launch the complete revival of civilization with science. Taiju's brawn and Senkuu's brains combine to forge a formidable partnership, and they soon uncover a method to revive those petrified.

However, Senkuu's master plan is threatened when his ideologies are challenged by those who awaken. All the while, the reason for mankind's petrification remains unknown.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ishigami, Senkuu Main

Kobayashi, Yuusuke Japanese

Asagiri, Gen Main

Kawanishi, Kengo Japanese

Chrome Main

Satou, Gen Japanese

Kohaku Main

Numakura, Manami Japanese

Ooki, Taiju Main

Furukawa, Makoto Japanese

Suika Supporting

Takahashi, Karin Japanese

Shishiou, Tsukasa Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Kaseki Supporting

Mugihito Japanese

Saionji, Ukyou Supporting

Ishigami, Byakuya Supporting

Fujiwara, Keiji Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Satou, Souta Producer

Katagiri, Shuusuke Producer

Matsutani, Hiroaki Producer

Reviews

Dec 13, 2019

Inferno792

Recommended

Dr. Stone is one of those sorts of anime which you love even though it’s extremely over the top. It’s realistic while being unrealistic, funny yet with high stakes. It’s set in prehistoric-like times and that’s what’s unique about it. Make no mistake, this is the kind of “you’ll either love it or hate it” anime. It’s got these moments that’ll either make you fall in love with the show because of its execution or make you hate it because of how stupid it might seem. I fall into the former category and I’ll explain why. Dr. Stone is as much a comedy show as ... it is about science. You’ll fall off your couch laughing if you continue watching it. I liked the concept to begin with and enjoyed the first few episodes, but they are nothing compared to what Dr. Stone has to offer later in the season. The build-up is quiet but every following episode is an explosion. This is when I honestly began to dig the show as much as I do now.

The setting of the show is so intriguing that you’ll get sucked right in: Earth has been petrified; turned to stone by a mysterious light that suddenly encompasses the globe. Not one person on the planet is left standing. However, petrification doesn’t mean death. These people are still well and truly alive, but they can’t move, can’t speak, can’t think? Well, there’s one person who’s still maintained his ability to think and through his steely determination, breaks his petrification. I’m talking about none other than the protagonist: Senkuu.

Now, Dr. Stone is a show that you’ll only fully appreciate if you can give a pass to its ridiculous science fiction stuff. A lot of what it portrays in terms of science is correct, however, the way the characters achieve it is fairly exaggerated. That’s all down to the genius of Senkuu. He’s a supercomputer in the skin of a human. Senkuu is a guy made by mixing all of the most brilliant brains to ever exist in the real world. He’s just ten billion times smarter.

The main focus of Dr. Stone is showcasing the brilliance of Senkuu and his little science team that he manages to gather. The gang of characters that he befriends all have their different goals and personalities. His initial encounters with them are not always on friendly terms but one of the things that’s good to watch about this anime is how these characters work together with an aim to form the kingdom of Science – Senkuu’s ultimate objective. Most of the inventions of the team wouldn’t have been possible without the cooperation and expertise of each individual and this, in my opinion, is one of the major standout points in the show.

The story starts off with Taiju finally deciding to confess his feelings to the girl he’s loved for all his life. But, just like all great things, this does not come to pass. Right before his confession, the world is petrified. Along with Senkuu, Taiju is one of the few characters who partially maintained his ability to think, and that was largely thanks to his overwhelming love for Yuzuriha. He’s a hardheaded character (in both senses) who’s a perfect foil for Senkuu’s genius. He does most of the physical stuff which Senkuu isn’t great at, and their partnership together is what helps them overcome their greatest enemy.

Speaking of the enemy, that would be Tsukasa Shishio: the strongest person in the show thus far. He is another example of the exaggerations in the show as he’s shown to be powerful enough to kill lions with a single punch. His petrification is cured by Senkuu when he found himself in a perilous situation. However, the two soon find themselves to have totally opposite goals. Their rivalry is a great example of what Dr. Stone is about: brains vs brawns. We don’t see too much of Tsukasa after the initial few episodes but I do expect him to play a major part in the upcoming seasons.

The fiery Kohaku is the first of the many characters of the “new generation” that Senkuu encounters in his quest. She’s a fiery girl who’s one of the best fighters in this prehistoric world and one whose story I particularly enjoyed. Then there’s Chrome, the yang to Senkuu’s yin; a science user who’s shunned as a sorcerer as people find his interests weird. I personally think that Asagiri Gen, one of the characters introduced a bit later in the first half of the season, is one of the best in the show. I won’t go into details about him because almost anything I say about him would be more than some minor spoilers.

The art of Dr. Stone is great with extremely detailed backgrounds and character designs, but the animation does leave some question marks at times. It’s not that it’s bad, but you can certainly ask for something better, especially for a show that’s garnered this much popularity. There are times when stills are overutilized while the “chibi animations” were somewhat overused. That said, I can’t fault the overall art quality, although I fully expect and hope for this aspect of the show to be improved upon in the second season.

Unlike the animation, I have very little to complain about in the sound department. The OST has a variety of different tracks for various situations and their placement is pretty much spot on. I felt the voice actors too did a great job of mixing comedy along with the more serious stuff. The balance between the two adds a lot to the overall experience of the show. The first opening was good, but I think the second opening truly set the tone for the rest of the episode. I never really got bored of listening to it every episode and the visuals during the OP were perfectly directed.

Dr. Stone is definitely going to irk a few people due to its approach to the sci-fi genre and the way it’s handled. It has divided opinions over the last few months and I can understand where some of the negative opinions may stem from, but it covers up for it in spectacular fashion. But if you can ignore that, you’re in for a hell of a ride and an amazing watch. It kept me wanting more after every episode and I watched it as soon as possible most weeks during its run. Its transition from comedy, which is better than most pure comedy anime out there, to a darker tone whenever required was one of the highlights for me. Overall, Dr. Stone was a great source of entertainment, and definitely one of my favorite anime of the year.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Dec 13, 2019

HellLyter

Mixed Feelings

Local turnip hair kid wakes up in a prehistoric future and uses the power of science and improbable percentages in an attempt to beat the anime version of Sid Meier's Civilization in record time.

This basically sums up what I’ve seen from Dr. Stone, and I’m 99% percent certain that its unique premise has drawn the attention of a lot of anime fans. Ha, bet you were expecting a cheap 10 billion percent joke, but I still have my dignity. Of course just because this anime has a plot that isn’t “dude dies by truck-kun and is revived as an OP isekai god” doesn’t mean that ... the show itself will be great. With that said, let’s dive into my thoughts on Dr. Stone!

Plot: 7 billion out of 10 billion (So much for my dignity…)

Premise aside, I actually kinda like what they did with the execution of the story. Now naysayers will surely argue that this anime fails because despite it advertising that the protagonist Senkuu uses science and reason to solve problems, the anime is still crazy over the top. And yeah, things are incredibly overblown, like people in this anime accomplish feats that should be physically and mentally impossible. But now I’d like to remind everyone that this is an anime. A shounen at that. One that takes place 3700 years in the future. Did anyone actually think that Dr. Stone was going to aim for absolute realism? I personally believe that it does a seamless job at combining fantasy and shounen elements with the application of science. And Senkuu’s experiments really spice things up with how innovative and useful they can be. Also, the anime goes on to explain how he was able to make all of these modern achievements with such primitive tools, and it’s actually kind of believable. Its even kinda fun, and I actually learned a little about the construction of scientific elements. But hey, if Dr. Stone’s approach turns you off, you can always learn about science by watching Bill Nye the Science Guy before he became a shill or something. Your choice!

The plot is definitely the high point of the anime for me, and while it’s a little held back by some of the weak characters, the story still manages to be great. It has some solid progression in both science as well as the advancement of the primitive village people. I honestly think that their development and curiosity with the modern world is endearing and shows that no matter how far civilization has regressed, humans will alway maintain their desire for progress and innovation. I’d also like to give a shoutout to the backstory episodes revolving around Senkuu’s dad, which, while rushed, were really interesting and added a lot to the narrative.

Animation: 4 billion out of 10 billion

Visuals are probably the weakest point of this show. One thing that Shounen anime are typically known for aside from deafeningly loud protagonists and bloviated power levels are their fight sequences. And the ones depicted in Dr. Stone are pretty lackluster. They use the typical easy-outs like close ups to hide the fact that nothing is really being animated and a bunch of still shots with nothing but the characters’ voices to remind us the characters are actually battling. Also, the art, which is generally fine and consistent, can get really bad when characters are drawn to look “funny.” Now this is just my opinion of course, but I thought the CrAZy faces the characters made were closer to cringe than comedy so…they just didn’t work for me.

Sound: 5 billion out of 10 billion

Did anyone notice the catchy Celtic sounding music that would play right after the theme song? I love that kind of stuff. The soundtrack was also infused with some similar sounding music from time to time, which was cool. I’ll probably get a lot of flack for this, but I wasn’t a fan of any of the theme songs. They just weren’t my style, ya know? When it comes to voice acting, the performances sort of go both ways for me. While the seiyuu generally do a good job, they also sometimes go a little overboard with their acting, and it just seems really forced sometimes.

Characters: 4 billion out of 10 billion

Oh boy, here’s where the anime could have been a great success in my eyes had they done this part right. Unfortunately, a lot of the characters are hit or miss. And for me, the science wizard Senkuu falls in the latter category. He’s a super duper spectacular unparalleled genius dude who uses big brain time 10 billion percent of the time. He knows all there is to know about science and cackles annoyingly when he figures something out as his companions look on in dumbfounded wonder. I praised the show’s usage of science, but I have to bash the guy who they wrote to apply it. He’s more of a plot device if anything, and despite the anime’s best efforts to make him a deep character by doing things like providing his backstory, it just doesn’t work for me. He’s just a character who feels sorta…empty.

Senkuu’s childhood friends, Taiju and Yuzuriha, are featured a lot at the beginning, but get absolutely zero development. And of course right when you think they’ll become important and useful, they’re completely removed from the anime without a trace. A bit of a waste if you ask me. There’s also Tarzan-kun, the antagonist of the story who’s a big guy with a big heart. Except not really. He’s supposed to be one of those hero antagonists who despite his questionable actions still wants what’s best for the world. Tarzan-kun just wants to make a utopia consisting of only untainted children with the goal of them living in harmony. Except he counteracts his own goal by literally reviving con artists, murderers and sluts, so…so much for that!

The characters who save this anime are definitely the village people. While none of them have stood out yet as particularly special, I believe that a lot of them have the potential to get there down the line. I like warrior girls, so I ended up liking Kohaku. Yeah, I’m actually not that hard to please. Chrome ended up being a solid character who would honestly be a better protagonist than Senkuu. Suika is absolutely adorable and actually useful, and the other villagers like Ginrou and Kaseki just add some needed humor and fun to the anime. They’re all around pretty solid characters, and I started to enjoy watching Dr. Stone a lot more after their introduction.

Entertainment: 6 billion out of 10 billion

I honestly got pretty bored with Dr. Stone at the beginning. While the plot was definitely interesting, I feel like the writers weren’t effectively using what they had and instead focused on some one dimensional characters making terrible jokes with a little bit of random science thrown in here and there. But as I said, once Senkuu got to the village, the anime started to turn around for the better, and I actually found myself becoming a bit invested in the show. It wasn’t a dramatic shift or anything as the core problems of Dr. Stone were still apparent, but the show was able to alleviate some of these issues by actually becoming fun and enjoyable to watch.

Overall: 5 out of 10, because I can’t handle any more billions

Dr. Stone had a lot of potential. Now while it wasn’t completely squandered or anything, I feel like this anime could have really been so much more if it wasn’t for the failings of a lot of the core characters and the general mediocrity of the first six or so episodes. And while it certainly got better down the line, it wasn’t a big enough improvement to elevate this show to new heights or anything in my mind. But hey, its still a fine show, and you might actually learn something from watching. I know I sure did! Wanna know what I learned?

Appreciate soap. It can be just as effective as any old doctor. Yep, that’s what I got out of this anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Dec 13, 2019

Krunchyman

Not Recommended

---The review contains spoilers---


Dr. Stone is an anime that took itself too seriously, and not serious enough — at the same time!

It did this by highlighting the ‘cool’ aspects of science (through Senku’s re-engineering of past inventions), via methods that were beyond human capability. Sure. Humans can grow their own antibiotic (penicillium) through the natural molding process of bread; in fact, this was taken advantage of in ancient Egypt. But is it reasonable for one man to memorize the entire process of producing a sulfa antibiotic, and creating the various instruments necessary in doing so?

Seems rather absurd.

But what’s more unbelievable than these ... absurd scientific feats, is Senku’s eccentric personality. Actually, everyone’s personality is turned up to an eleven on the ridiculous scale (Taiju would probably be around 3,700). This wouldn’t be a problem if said characters were funny, yet their personalities are anything but. Starting with the man of science himself, Senku, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of all scientific inventions (actually, he puts encyclopedias to shame with their dearth of information). Senku offsets his profound cognitive abilities with an edginess that redefines the trope itself. Essentially, think of Senku as an extreme version of Light Yagami. But where Death Note succeeds in providing an engaging, thought-provoking plot, Dr. Stone is as fake as Matsuda’s girlfriend (forever alone!).

Even bad anime have one character that can make the show, somewhat, bearable. That is not the case for Dr. Stone. (Google) Chrome’s inane antics and exaggerated facial expressions would normally be sufficient to categorize him as the worst character of the show; however, Taiju’s tomfoolery is second to none (although, Ginrou’s cognitive bêtise was something to behold — so many awful characters). Moving on from the comedically impoverished lot, Shishiou is the token evil dude who is bent on world domination. Instead of a personality, he perform epic physical feats like punching a lion or snatching a bird in mid-flight (dude thinks he’s a f—kn’ falcon). Kohaku is your basic action-girl, and Yuzuriha is just that…m-minus the action, meaning: she’s just a girl (hard to believe, I know).

The amount of posing in Dr. Stone puts runway models to shame. Every time Senku inspires Chrome — which seems to be at least once per episode — they overly dramatize the situation to make it look like the two are going to save the world. Incidentally, this tone matched numerous events, particularly the tournament for Ruri’s hand in marriage. The staff conveyed a sense of urgency in winning the tournament, but zapped all tension away when “liquid hot” Magma lost in the second round. Also, the tournament itself was a travesty of bland fights, mismanaged pacing, and excessive stupidity.

Dr. Stone sort of had an interesting concept (turning everyone into stone), but it quickly dissolved into bat shit. The isekai-ish plot, along with the MMORPG style of acquiring new items was a stark reminder that Dr. Stone was a video game masquerading as an anime, meaning: we all got played.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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