Dr. Stone Season 2 is now over and let me just cut to the chase, Season 3 has been announced and I’m already a little impatient for it. Also, it’s apparently going to be One Piece… I enjoyed this season of Dr. Stone and I enjoyed the first season as well. I think it’s safe to say, I am a bonafide fan of this show!
I gotta say, if Dr. Stone is an example of what the new generation of otakus have to look forward to in their big shonen series, then I think anime is doing just fine.
Should I troll you all and give a super negative review for this last episode? Let me think about it. First, let’s catch up with Crow. He’s in bold font this week and he’s going to help me totally spoil the season finale of Dr. Stone!
I’d love to see you try to give a super negative review of this episode! It would be hilarious!
Is it cliche to say I’m excited to be a fan of this show? Of every series I can think of, this is the one that best represents what I’d like to be my view of the world. It shows how warm, uplifting, and human science can be. It’s a human construct, after all. I come away from every episode feeling better about our chances as a race.
That’s some heavy lifting for an anime series!
The episode was called Prologue which should have been my first clue. I mean that’s what happens at the beginning of a story, not at the end.
It was one of those sneaky Dr. Stone episodes. It started out with all these great scenes of the villagers and modern folks coming together and starting to rebuild an actual society. I really liked that montage. I also liked the tongue-in-cheek little meta-references to the endless hours mangaka has to work. We appreciate it! A lot! Even though I can read all of Dr. Stone online, I’m going to buy copies to show my support.
I got kind of sidetracked. Sorry.
Sidetracked, maybe. But spot on! The mangaka reference was hilarious, in a “sorry your life was hell” sort of well. But maybe his life will be better now!
But then, just like that, the episode turned sentimental. Not sappy mind you. Not at all in fact. I think this is what I like so much about Dr. Stone, there is a rigor and a discipline to its dramatic scenes. It doesn’t force emotions down the audience’s throat, it doesn’t spell out everything in detail or have these long lingering scenes and drawn-out monologues to make sure we know how to feel. It just lets these sometimes sad moments play out at their own pace, completely organically and then moves on. It’s very low-key and naturalistic compared to the over-the-top slapstick bits the show puts on.
And I think that’s why it tends to devastate me every time. But in a pretty way.
Sappy scenes just annoy me anymore. And of this scene in Dr. Stone, I’ll say this. I was not in the least bit annoyed.
This was no exception.
I might have grumbled a bit about how quick and smooth Tsukasa’s redemption arc was going but man, they really managed to pull it together. Something as simple as the fact that he remembers every single statue he broke just told us all we need to know about his character. To be fair they had developed him well. I was already like 70% sold, but by the time he and Senku were chatting away next to that refrigerator, I was 1000% sold.
And crying. I cry a lot.
It was pretty, well written and well presented.
I was doing just fine, being my stoic, manly self, when Tsukasa seemed surprised that Senku wanted to engage in small talk. When Senkuu said that’s exactly what he wanted to do. And then they just chatted like two old friends. When Tsukasa’s head rolled asideand Senku kept talking, I wondered, did Senku not know how friend was dead?
Senku knew. That shot of Senku resting his forehead on his hand really got to me. It was well-earned. It was realistic, and it was utterly in character.
That’s how you write emotion.
And not just that particular scene. Chrome calling back to the village to give them the good news and slightly desperately proclaiming that it had been a completely bloodless coup. Kohaku repeating that Senku would find a way throughout the episode to different people in different words. To the point that it became sort of a mantra. His science might as well be a religion from that standpoint. Taiju and Yuzuriha working even more frantically to put the statues back together, to buy redemption.
All of these little moments that were part of generally happy scenes quietly brought the sadness going through everyone back to the surface. Making that conclusion even more poignant.
Do you remember the gentle piano music during some of those scenes? Or the shots of Senku’s treehouse from the first season? The jungle had started to reclaim it. Vines covered the wall. Moss covered broken pottery. The reminder of where Senku and Tsukasa had some from, the camaraderie they’d shared then, cast a wonderful emotional tone over that whole section.
I’ll just call it like I saw it: It was beautiful.
Still, as much as I appreciate how well made and touching this episode was, I don’t like a downer ending. I’m a simple girl with a shallow heart and I like the Disney “they all lived happily ever after” stuff.
This is why I am choosing to follow Kohaku’s example and 1000% believe in Senku. If he says they can petrify Tsukasa and bring him back good as new, I’m going to assume that this is exactly what’s going to happen.
Well, if you and Kohaku agree, who am I to rock the boat? Actually, if I wanted to rock it, I’d try to do so in a friendly way. In this case, I can’t think of another show that has earned such positive feelings from me. It’s a delight to watch. I wasn’t kidding: I feel better about humanity after watching this show.
Besides, there’s an entire 3rd season on the way! And figuring out the cause of the petrification has been one of the biggest mysteries in the series. I’m honestly very excited about that, even if it wasn’t to bring someone back to life, I just think it’s going to make for a super interesting arc!
So I guess as far as I’m concerned, I’m going to see you all in season 3!
Wild horses couldn’t keep me away from it! Though, come to think of it, I’m not sure why they’d want to…
Previous Dr. Stone 2 Posts
- Dr. Stone 2 Episode 1 – Starting With A Bang
- Dr. Stone Season 2 Episode 2: HOT LINE
- Dr. Stone 2 Episode 3 – Smokescreen
- Dr. Stone Season 2 Episode 4 – Steam Powered
- Dr. Stone 2 Episode 5 – Paper Tank
- Dr. Stone Season 2 Episode 6 – Primitive-Kun and the Bad Cop
- Dr. Stone 2 Episode 7 – The Puzzle of Ukyo
- Dr. Stone Season 2 Episode 8 – Their Faith in Each Other
- Dr. Stone 2 Episode 9 – Dynamite!
- Dr. Stone Season 2 Episode 10: With Science and Might
The dub of this episode finally – *FINALLY* – dropped today, likely the most emotionally satisfying episode since “Voices Over Infinite Distances,” the Season One finale.
Gotta admit, production has chosen superb break points for each season.
Repeating myself, but really can’t say enough good things about this show, and how it continuously reinvents itself – “One Piece,” indeed.
I’d known/suspected how at least a few plot points would play out, yet otherwise went into this last batch of episodes (… gratefully) unspoiled: What a lovely journey it’s been.
Now, if I could just petrify myself till Season 3 starts up, gonna be a long, long wait.
I know what you mean. I am still trying to resist just binging the manga and spoiling the next season for myself…
I’m thinking about starting in on “Eyeshield 21,” the sports anime based on the manga Riichiro Inagaki wrote in the early 2000’s, prior to teaming up with manga artist Boichi for ‘Dr. Stone,’ ‘cause I’m curious if he managed to do for American-style football what he did for science, which is make it comprehensible and fun.
You know, I watched it a long time ago but I remember liking Eyeshield 21