Hey Guys. Welcome to another entry of Jainituos Anime Reviews.
This time, I am very, very… VERY EXCITED. Why? Well… I finally was able to see the very first episode of Dr. Stone.
Here are my thoughts.
DR. STONE AND ME
Ok. I am not going to lie. When I saw all the new roster of the upcoming anime for this summer, this production is one of those that really hooked me for its premise. In siple words, the fight of a young high school genius, Senku Ishigami, and his best friend, Taiju Ooki, to survive in a «post-apocalyptic» world in which… EVERY… SINGLE… HUMAN BEING… was turned into stone, is one that I can rewatch for hours.
SURVIVING AGAINST ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE CIRCUNSTANCES, just like The Promised Neverland, just like The Rising of the Shield Hero, in a completely hostile, yet original and carefully-created environment; and with a great deal of character development; the battle against despair and hatred. I think many anime fans will remember 2019 with great love (especially if we pretend Virtual-san wa Miteiru does not exist).
Ah! Lobotomy… never there I need it!!!
Any way. Based on the manga written by Riichiro Inagaki (Eyeshield 21), and illustrated by Boichi (Eques, Raqiya), and produced by TMS Entertainment, Senku and Taiju are going to use the power of science to both free humankind for their stone prison, and allow it to inhabit the world once more, with the helps of the adorable, yet powerful Kohaku, and the infamous Tsukasa Shishio.
IMPRESSIONS OF EPISODE ONE (SPOILER ALERT!!!)
The First episode immediately sets the conflict.
«That day, everyone in the world turned into stone.»
Shortly afterwards, we meet Taiju, who tells Senku that he is going to confess his feelings to the girl he was loved for the past five years; Yuzuriha Ogawa; then Senku gives him a «love potion», which Taiju immediately rejects. Turns out that the «potion» is actually gasoline. At to this point. I want to review something very smart that the episode itself does. It established the identity of our characters – Taiju, emotional, determined, shy, and physically strong, and with a very loud voice indeed. And Senku – calm, rational, very smart, and a very paused voice, like someone who really acts on reason rather than impulse. In the first minute of the episode, the characters are perfectly presented, and of course… What a really wacky hairstyle of Senku!! So badass!!
But, be as it may be, I can’t help but think is like chives that turned into Super Saiyayin (Proves that this is an authentic shonen manga).
Then we see Yuzuriha, a sweet, yet assertive young woman. Her design, despite being so simple, is quite original. And just when Taiju is about to confess his feelings, Earth is engulfed with a bright, powerful green light that provokes everyone to become statues.
Afterwards, there is a montage that is basically the answer of what Earth had to suffered after the end of Avengers: Infinity War (Every bit of the plane crashing due to the pilots being stone is freaky), but I do not know what saddens me the most, the dog barking powerlessly, or her owner asking for help as her body is 100% stone. All the sequence finished with Taiju determined to survive self-petrification as millennia pass in a blink of an eye, and what remains of the civilisation finally crumbles.
But then… suddenly… Taiju awakens.
While he tries to figure out what happened, and how many… centuries have passed, the episode shows a flashback in which Taiju finds a bird that apparently became stone. He rushes to the veterinarian office, but is closed. Immediately, Yuzuriha appears, chastising Taiju for being so dense, for not realising that the bird could not be real. Yet… Turns out that she made the same misinterpretation.
It’s a simple scene, but is beautiful. At least I see it like that, because it shows the great chemistry (NO PUN INTENDED) that both Taiju and Yuzuriha can display should they become a couple. Then, after waking up, Taiju finds her, beneath the same camphor tree he intended to confess to her, but that is not the only surprise for him.
There is a message with a familiar style.
«Follow the river downstream, big oaf.»
When he does… He finds Senku, in all his great glory. It is later revealed that Senku has been awaken for the past six months, and that 3,700 years has passed since the event of the green light.
Now it’s up to Taiju, with his strength, and Senku, with his intelligence, to find a cure for the petrification, and a way to rebuild humanity. And thanks to the amazing genius of Senku, there might be a way to cure the petrification.
MY THOUGHTS
Like I mentioned before, the first episode masterfully shows both the conflict of the whole story and the identities of our protagonists, to the point that you want them to succeed. The issue is that, despite the harsh situation they have to face, the tone of Dr. Stone is what it makes its first episode so entertaining; the optimism and enthusiasm of Taiju is so infectious you cannot stop watching the whole episode; and the well-balanced pace of the story helps you to learn even the most complex scientific explanations.
The calmness and perseverance of Senku makes him immediately so badass; and that is what a great shonen manga does; they expose all the strengths and the weaknesses of the main protagonists, as well as how they persevere to beat all the obstacles, i.e. Fullmetal Alchemist, Shaman King, My Hero Academia. But Dr. Stone is so different. It does not need big special effects, yet, or insanely powerful beings, it just needs to establish a conflict and well-defined protagonists.
In this first episode, Dr. Stone has proven that, sometimes, being simple is the best way to being amazing.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Dr. Stone has given me an amazing impression on its first episode, and definitely I will be not the only one that is getting too excited about this anime. Looking forward to watch all of its 24 episodes.
But is going to be a great adaptation like The Rising of the Shield Hero? Only time… and science will tell.
For now, I will repeat the same words of Dr. Senku Ishigami.
«This is exhilarating!!»
Jainituos Presents 