Dr. Stone: Season 1 – Review

Recently, I have been going on a massive binge of both manga and anime. For the most part, I have been picking up the first volumes of series that look interesting to me and giving them a shot. Some series have held my interest while others have, well…not. At the same time, I have come to recognise that some series are best served to my tastes in one format or the other. Take Attack on Titan. I have not and probably will not read the manga, due to an art style that really doesn’t appeal to me in that format, but I enjoy the anime immensely.  On the other hand, I have fallen in love with the One Piece manga but only ‘kind of like’ the anime. Owing to a recommendation from YouTuber Super Eyepatch Wolf, I picked up the first volume of Dr. Stone to give it a shot back in September of last year. After finishing the first volume I thought it was fine, I enjoyed the art style and central conflict/premise but wasn’t left hooked, never going back for more. That was until recently. With my partner away on a work trip, I was left with not much to watch and while scrolling mindlessly through streaming services, I eventually decided to give Dr. Stone’s anime adaptation a go. I’m glad that I did.

The central conflict of Dr. Stone is set up within the first minutes of the series-opening. Due to an unknown event, everyone in the world is turned to stone. Our main characters wake up out of petrification 3000 or so years into the future and set off to save mankind. Pretty simple anime stuff, right? Well, where Dr. Stone differentiates itself is in the premise, the hero Senku isn’t your regular Shonen protagonist; he’s not a brooding teenager with a big sword or fun-loving pirate with stretchy arms, Senku is a man of science – and that’s how he’s going to save the world. Usually, this character archetype is relegated to tinkering in the background but in Dr. Stone this character takes on the role of the protagonist, although it may not feel like this initially. Starting the journey, there is a semi-prologue arc where Senku is joined by his childhood friend Taiju and his love interest Yuzuriha. Taiju dominates a lot of screen time during this arc, and this can be a bit tiresome as his character is laden with anime tropes. Taiju is the muscle to Senku’s brains and, at times, his character can become annoying (although much less so in the anime than what I found in the manga). This is part of the reason that the anime managed to keep me more engaged; the characters feel much more alive and realistic here than they did on the page as well as being considerably less annoying. For me, this can be chalked up to their excellent voice acting, the characters ability to have real-time expressions or just that generally the more annoying elements of the manga have been toned down for this adaptation. In saying this, once the initial semi-prologue arc is completed Dr. Stone really begins to hit its stride.

It always feels a little odd recommending a show when you have to tell someone “It’s okay… it gets better after the first few episodes!” but that is the case here. While the beginning isn’t bad per se, Dr. Stone definitely steps up once it begins focusing more on Senku and introduces him into a new area with new characters. Providing Senku with an immediate goal and a sort of protégé, the kingdom of science begins to flourish. Once the prologue arc ends, Dr. Stone ends up moving into a weekly-problem format. For some, this may be a bummer as the main plot takes a back seat for a while, but I enjoy this; it’s nice to have a show that isn’t always slugging on and instead takes some time to have fun. Most episodes revolve around a science-problem that must be solved, but each problem is always driving the characters towards their ultimate goal, meaning the episodes don’t just feel like annoying filler. The show presents a problem and has the characters find a solution using real-world science (except in the stone age), this is the crux of the show and where it is at its best. This is Shonen though, so of course, there is some fighting mixed in there to satiate battle-hungry viewers. It’s interesting to view this series through the lens of someone who really enjoys battle anime and manga such as myself. Usually, we are rooting for the strongest to win, whereas Dr. Stone’s premise and main character flip that on its head. This series sees us rooting for scientific progress, rooting for the guys, who even within the story, are seen as weak—we are not just there for our protagonist to smash some big bad guys face in.

The animation in Dr. Stone is a real home-run for me. The environments are pretty, and the characters are beautifully designed (if not a bit typical anime) but that’s where the characters become interesting. While most characters in Dr. Stone can feel-trope laden and look quite generic, this is not entirely the case. On the surface, each character fits an archetype in general personality and design, yes, but each of them throughout the season is given their own motivations and backstory, fleshing them out and providing more reasons to engage with the characters beyond the fact they look cool. Everyone has a reason for why they do what they do, not just because the plot needs them to do something.

Dr. Stone shines with its science and fun. At the core of the show is a wholehearted, overbearing and consuming enthusiasm for science, driven forward by Senku and protégé Chrome. The problems our characters must face in this stone world are interesting, and the solutions are always engaging; we love watching these characters create and achieve. Even though the characters can at times feel a little one-note, this adaptation has managed to snare me where it’s source material failed. This comes from the part of me that enjoys content about fun and problem solving, not just punching or slashing your way to the top. While at this point, the first season is not yet finished screening, I’m ten-billion-percent along for the ride and implore everyone with even a passing interested to jump on board. Give Dr. Stone a watch, you just might find yourself the newest advocate for the Kingdom of Science.