Dr. Stone: New World Episode 20 Review

Posted on by Irina

I was really wondering where this season was going to go. Because as far as I could tell, the main plot was over in the last episode. Sure we still had a bit of cleanup to do. Revive everyone maybe go back to the village but the Big Bad was defeated, the good guys had the Medusa, there really wasn’t anything left to do…was there? Oh boy was I wrong!

So the beginning of the episode was more or less what I expected. I’m not sure why they were reviving folks piecemeal though. They can have as much revival fluid as they want now, right? I was fully expecting Senku to just douse everyone right away. Actually, to be completely honest, I was expecting him to do it offscreen between episodes and for this week to start with everyone already back to fully animated status.

I’m not saying I would have preferred that, I was just a tiny bit confused at the beginning and then everyone was just received so it came down to the same thing except for Ginro’s return. And I found it touching. I think it’s too bad they reversed a lot of the character evolution Ginro had gone through in this episode but I’ll give it a pass since he’s gone through a lot. My personal preference would be that this was just a little character relapse and he’ll go back to showing some of that maturity he gained during his ordeal but I’m afraid that’s not the way it’s likely to go. I am very cautiously optimistic though!

The other very interesting revival is that new guy. I looked up his name and it’s Matsukaze. At very first sight, I thought it was Tsukasa for a second there. And he certainly seems like he knows how to handle himself in a fight. Oh but wait, I’m getting way ahead of myself.

Three very important reveals happened during this episode. First, we learned that a mysterious transmission is still being sent. Everything seems to indicate that whoever is sending this transmission knows how the petrification device works as these would be a command to petrify the entire earth again. And, equally intriguing, they are using Senku’s voice. Ukyo confirmed that it was synthesized and not actually an alternate/future Senku trying to petrify everyone again (and let’s face it, would anyone really be surprised that Senku would do something like that… you know…for science…), but why bother with that. Is it someone whose voice would be recognizable to anyone currently alive? It seems it’s the Why-man again but all this is very mysterious indeed. (I had almost forgotten about the Why Man. That was legitimately one of the creepier moments in Dr. Stone).

The second interesting thing we found out is from Matsukaze. We know that at least at some point, several centuries into the past, there were multiple petrification weapons and they rained down on this island. But where are they now? And where did they come from in the first place? My immediate thought is that someone, potentially connected to this Why-man fellow, collected all the Medusas that fell way back and simply missed one. But I don’t have any particular reason for thinking that and it hardly answers anything.

Finally, though, we know that the transmission is coming from the Moon. And nothing good comes from the Moon. at least not since Queen Beryl showed up. Immediately the assumption is that this Why-man is on the moon but it could be a recording. Still, Senku seems very adamant about going there and of course he would be. He was just waiting for any old excuse. He probably knows it’s a recording.

So this episode started with everything all nicely tied up into neat little bows. The good guys have the device and the islanders are free from their oppressors. Senku can study the Medusa to his heart’s content and civilization can slowly rise up again. And then bam, 20 minutes later and we have more questions than ever and are going to the moon. I like it!

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3 thoughts on “Dr. Stone: New World Episode 20 Review”

  1. Watched this episode a ridiculous number of times, it just clicked for me on so many levels.

    Random Thoughts:

    – Neat! Revival effect as seen from the affected individual’s P.O.V.

    – Both OP & ED Themes have grown on me more than a little. 🎼🤗✨

    – Does François wear that greenery as a collar to hide an Adam’s Apple, or lack thereof? 🤔✨

    – Oh yeah, Taiju missed out on the whole ‘Marriage/Divorce’ arc (… all three minutes of it.) ⏰✨

    – During Taiju’s brief ‘Shakedown’ of Senku, the music track associated with the Cotton Candy Machine plays.

    – Magma has a great range of expressions in this episode.

    – Somehow, Senku turning into Kohaku’s embrace carried far, far more emotional heft than the earlier fake smooch.

    – Did ‘Why-Man’ simulate Senku’s voice because it would be more likely to be listened to?

    I remember an old “Jackie Jokers” comic where Jackie had to use ventriloquism to throw his voice and impersonate the over-the-phone voice of an Underworld Boss he’d never heard before: His solution was to imitate the voice of the person on the receiving end of the call, figuring that “… he had to listen to himself, right?” ☝️✨

    – I’d noted that ‘Mystery Statue’ Taiju had retrieved, knew it held some significance but hadn’t imagined it being a narrative window back to the arrival of the Petrification Device(s).

    – The revived Perseus crew includes a few seldom-seen (… and still unnamed) minor characters from the ‘Stone Wars’ arc.

    – Could have sworn Mantle stayed behind.

    – Almost missed Kirisame bowing reverently to Soyuz: It’s slightly more prominent in the Manga.

    – Oarashi and Magma definitely share ancestry (… though I suppose pretty much everyone does.)

    – “Food as Celebration.” ‘Nuff Said.

    – Adored that Senku and Chrome worked out an order for revival, at least up to the point at which they wouldn’t starve.

    – There’s something profoundly uplifting about seeing former enemies partying together after the conflict.

    – The sound mix tends to be under-praised, the cut to the ‘Why-Man’ flashback sent chills down my spine. 😱✨

    – Seems that Kohaku currently has possession of the Medusa.

    – Matsukaze’s de-Petrification was hinted at in the OP – He & Senku are among the scant few to retain their de-Petrification scars, Mirai and the popsicled Tsukasa being others.

    – Adapts Chapters #138-139

    The Moon. This would’ve been a great (… and terrible) place to end the season.

    We’re way into the narrative now, yet we don’t understand the ‘Why’ of the original Petrification: I’d always suspected it might have been intended as a way to survive climate disaster, though that’s merely one possibility.

    Is the Moon-Based signal an automated A.I.? Or are there humans there as well?

    One of the Mission Statements of Dr. Stone as a series has always been to rebuild Civilization to its current height of technology, and a Moonshot is very much emblematic of that. It also harkens back to the rocket experiments Senku conducted in pre-Petrification times, bringing the narrative full circle.

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  2. Pingback: Dr. STONE NEW WORLD Part 2 Episode 20: Favorites - Crow's World of Anime

  3. I thought Nier as soon as I heard the voice came from the moon. I’m not against such a cross-over, but man, that did not go where I thought it would.

    I liked your thoughts about Why-Man. Made me wonder if the lunar voice and Why-Man really are the same person. I assumed they were, but you’ve got me thinking maybe it’s more complicated than that.

    Which would be par for the course, in a good way, for this series!

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