I will be updating you all on my blog scheduling changes for the summer season tomorrow but in the meantime, here’s first try at a brand new episode review template. I’m trying something to help me keep my thoughts focused and keep the posts from going out of control by adding headers… Let me know if you have any suggestions!
And now, on to the show! Here we go with Dr. Stone, episode 2:
What I thought Would Happen
The first episode of Dr. Stone actually did a fantastic job setting up the premise and universe so we had a pretty clear idea where we were heading. Since they had just figured out how to reverse the petrification process, I thought they would start waking up people. Potentially hi-jinks would ensue.
What Did Happen
Well call me miss Chloe cause that is exactly what happened! With a few extra details. Naturally Taiju wanted to wake up his long lost love first but due to some conveniently timed lion attacks they ended up thawing that teenage strong man Taiju had spotted, Tsukasa. Thawing is not the right word. I realized watching this scene that we also saw dogs not being affected by the “stoning” last episode. Is it just birds and humans that got turned into statues. If so, why? And why isn’t my man Senku asking this question.
Long Story short Tsukasa is really strong, Really really strong and he’s going to take care of the hunting and fishing from now on. But Senku doesn’t seem all that thrilled about it. It’s going to be trouble if a guy that strong gets mad…
What About the Characters
Newcomer Tsukasa is still a bit of a mixed bag. At first I thought he was redundant with Taiju’s character but he actually turns out to be there to bring some potential conflict and menace which is a good thing. Unfortunately he is similar enough to Taiju that now, Taiju’s role has been reduced to comic relief. LOUD comic relief. I can’t say I’m thrilled about that. Taiju wasn’t a great character but he was pleasant and I enjoyed him a lot in episode 1. He got a little grating here. Tsukasa could still go either way. His ominous turn in the very last seconds of the episode was a bit too obvious for my tastes but I like the idea of adding in someone with a differing point of view to the mix.
Senku remains my type of character and right now he is carrying the show as far as I’m concerned. I was under the impression that the title Dr. Stone referred to him so it was fun to find out it was actually soap.
What I Liked
I continue to like the premise and the science. The chemistry throughout the episode was fairly solid. Also as I mentioned, Senku’s character is fun and manages to somewhat balance out the other two.
I know the art style here is hit or miss for some people but after seeing it again this week, I have to say I enjoy it. I’m also digging the “earthy” colour palette. I feel like if this had played during the winter season instead, I would have appreciated it even more for those lush sun-drenched scenes.
What I Liked Less
Maybe it’s because I had enjoyed that first episode so much and was waiting for this all week that I ended up disappointed. Honestly, this week’s Dr. Stone just didn’t do it for me. There is still a lot to like about this show and it is unmistakably well made but the humour didn’t land in my opinion, the loudness of the characters was cheap and Tsukasa isn’t interesting enough (yet) to focus so much on.
I might go as far as saying this is the Friday show I enjoyed the least this week. Bummer!
Closing Thoughts
A dip in episode 2 is hardly going to make me give up on a series. Basically, this week’s Dr. Stone leaned hard on the shonen tropes I tend to enjoy the least but that doesn’t really take anything away from that amazing premise which is what I appreciate the most about the show.
I’m hoping we are still in the establishing episode and the first one is more illustrative of what the series will look like overall.
Mood: Cautiously Optimistic
