Dr. STONE SCIENCE FUTURE

Episode 7

On the its most basic level, this episode of Dr. Stone is about the differing philosophies of Senku and Dr. Xeno. When they first begin their correspondence, both are rather idealistic in their view of science. After all, Dr. Xeno is willing to correspond with a seven-year-old kid who's trying to build a rocket. However, Dr. Xeno eventually hits a roadblock that changes his views on science.

While Senku used his father's connection with NASA to basically enjoy unlimited funding and freedom for his research, Dr. Xeno had a project he put everything in to that was rejected by his superiors. It was then that Dr. Xeno came face-to-face with the idea that he needed power to ensure he had the freedom to research what he wanted to. Thus, he started looking into the destructive applications of his research—which in turn caught the attention of the US military (and, almost certainly, their funding).

Yet, even as Dr. Xeno became focused on the science of destruction, Senku was driven in a different direction: Senku wants to understand the world he was born into and the space surrounding it. He's not focused on a single project to the exclusion of everything else. Even though Senku does not agree with Dr. Xeno's “science is power” philosophy, he nonetheless explores the destructive side of science. It's not morals that rule Senku, after all. It's curiosity.

Through all these flashback scenes, however, there is also one other major difference between Senku and Dr. Xeno: Dr. Xeno is alone. Oh sure, he has coworkers and people he knows but he doesn't have any friends—he doesn't have a Taiju. Despite his often reduced presence in the series, Taiju is and always has been Senku's moral compass. He is there to support and cheer on his friend—while also reminding Senku about the thoughts and feelings of the normal people around him.

In the end, it's clear that Dr. Xeno and Senku deeply respect each other. However, philosophically they are in direct conflict. Dr. Xeno wants to control the stone world. Senku wants to bring back the modern world—all of it, both good and bad. And now each has a strike team out gunning for the other (even if Dr. Xeno is targeting the wrong man).

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• It was nice to see Byakuya again acting as a comedic foil. However, it's impossible at this point to forget his tear jerking end—not to mention the love for and belief in his son that stretched thousands of years.

• I'm disappointed we didn't get a Lillian cameo—though I suspect the time she spent at NASA was rather limited considering the whole pop-star thing.

• I wonder if that NASA credit card thing is just a plot device or if there is something similar in real life.

• I'm not going to lie, I laughed my butt off at Dr. Xeno's neck belts above his tie.

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Dr. Stone: Science Future is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Thursdays.