The anime series of Dr. Stone was handled by TMS
Entertainment which is an animation company known for works like Bt'X, Fruit
basket and Lupin among others. Just in case I'll be raising the minor spoiler
flag for this review.
A few thousand years after a mysterious phenomenon that
turns all of humanity to stone, the extraordinarily intelligent, science-driven
boy, Senku Ishigami, finds himself flesh and blood again. With the world has
turned back into the primitive age Senku feels duty bound to rebuild
civilization from scratch armed with only his vast scientific knowledge.
As plot goes Dr. Stone is pretty fast paced in a scientific
sort of way. It lacks a lot of the usually action set pieces found in shounen
series but makes up for it with a well detailed story. Each new scientific
breakthrough and each invention that they show in each episode is well detailed
that it more than makes up for it in its lack of fight scenes.
Yes the story does moves a bit slow if you are used to the
more fast paced shounen series out there but those that took time to delve into
the story will find Dr. Stone rich with knowledge about humanity, basic survival
and the wonders of inventions. Like a certain minor plot you notice at an
episode makes sense in later episodes. So far no minor detail is left out. The
writers really did their research in this series as far as I see.
Dr. Stone character development is pretty base but drives
it to such extreme that it's both amazing and funny. Like how Senku is this cliche
super genius person that you'd almost think he can invent a nuke out of duct
tape and a paper clip ala Mcgyver. Or how some girl is super cute yet super
strong and fast as well. The show is self aware and it makes fun of itself in
comedic effect. Even breaking the fourth wall to some extent.
Part of what makes the series great is how unlike most
shounen series this doesn't rely on some insane power up or just a main
characters brute strength. It a series about survival and working together
towards a common goal. That knowledge and ingenuity can be as dangerous a
weapon as any power up you can find. The idea is refreshing and this series
represents that in an entertaining and educational way.
This series isn't without its faults though. The villain in
the series is a mix bag for one. At one episode he can be really scary and
intimidating and then he can be pretty stupid in another. Like how he sends his
underlings to do a task that he can do himself and more efficiently.
Also the character design are a bit bland and uninspiring with
the minor exception of the MC, the villain and maybe a few minor characters. The
show has great potential plot wise but it's still not there yet as the show
does takes it sweet time. A lot of the invention are so insanely crazy I'm
surprised the main villain hasn't knocked at their doorsteps yet specially
after seeing how insanely capable said villain is. Still I guess it's a minor
complain on how good the series is.
Dr. Stone is a surprisingly entertaining and educational
series that is rare for shounen anime. It balances the serious side with the
comedy and action with near perfection. The series is both educational and
entertaining at the same time which is a rare feat in these kind of anime. It
has it shortcomings but only minor. I'll gladly recommend this to anyone
regardless if they like shounen genre or not. Definitely a must watch.
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