Dr. Stone: New World

Episode 7

To say that this season of Dr. Stone has been moving at a snail's pace would be an understatement. Even with the last episode's revelation that there was an entire island filled with native humans, our heroes weren't really doing anything more than sitting on a boat. Then we have this episode, which knocks things up to 11 in pretty much every way.

Up until now, we've had no real idea about how the petrification worked. Given the hard science base of Dr. Stone in general, it's unlikely to be magical. Moreover, as the petrification beam that hit the whole planet came from the Americas, it felt like whatever did it was some kind of massive device on the other side of the globe. So suddenly running into a portable petrification device a few hours off the coast of Japan—well, that basically changes everything.

It means someone who wasn't petrified (or who was unpetrified at an earlier date and got their hands on the petrification technology) found the island. As the people of Ishigamami village didn't have any stories about said technology, it's likely this happened after their migration—perhaps even as recently as the time when Soyuz escaped the island as a child. It's likely that the entire reason Ishigami Village has been allowed to survive is simply because no one knew of its existence. But now, thanks to Senku's radio tower, they are no longer hidden—and there's a nation with a super weapon capable of taking out the entire Science Kingdom in a single shot sitting right offshore.

On a personal level, the stakes have risen dramatically as well. Our cast has dropped from dozens to five in just a single episode. Everyone on the ship—the best and brightest of the Kingdom of Science —is basically dead at this point. There is no revival fluid and half of them are shattered—and the one person capable of putting them back together is petrified herself. It's safe to say things have never been so bad for our heroes. They are strangers in a strange land and have no idea what they are up against.

But here's the thing about Senku, while he understands the dire situation they are in, he doesn't panic. He knows what they need most is information. He and the others immediately use the tools on hand to locate and observe a native villager—Amaryllis. From this, he is able to get a basic handle on the political situation on the island: it's an oppressive dictatorship. Anyone who opposes the man in charge will be turned to stone and dumped in the bay. While the men in Amaryllis' village want to rebel for her sake, she plans to let herself be taken to the leader—and use that as a chance to assassinate him.

Of course, once Senku, Gen, Kohaku, and Soyuz show up and are able to incapacitate all the men of her village in seconds, the situation changes. Now, Amaryllis may not need to go through with her suicide mission. After all, now she is armed with something no one will expect: the power of science!

Rating:

Random Thoughts

• My biggest complaint with this season of Dr. Stone is what should have been its most shocking moment (everyone getting re-petrified) was ruined by the trailer months ago.

• So the evil dictator is named “Soyuz”... I'm sure that's not going to be important.

• I'm actually quite happy with downsizing the cast at this point. Senku, Gen, and Kohaku have long been the core of the show, and freeing them from the supporting cast makes room for a whole slew of new characters.

• Ryusui is a real GigaChad using his last moments to save Suica's life.

Dr. Stone: New World is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.