An Anime Review of 'Dr. Stone'

Dr. Stone is a 2019 anime adaptation by TMS Entertainment that is based on the Shonen Jump manga of the same name. As of the writing of this the manga is still ongoing and the show has been renewed for a second season. The first season is comprised of twenty four episodes.

The set up for the narrative is quite fascinating. A mysterious green flash covers the entirety of the Earth and transforms all the people into stone. Few millennia passes by and our incredibly smart main protagonist Senkuu wakes up from having been stone all this time and figures out how to revive others.

While this is an intriguing start to the narrative, a majority of the time we are actually following Senkuu's friend Taiju and his romantic interest Yuzuriha. Following a moment of desperation they revive Tsukasa to protect them. If we were following these characters through the show I probably would have dropped the show altogether. Taiju is the typical loud overly excitable character that usually ends up getting on my nerves unless they grow and change, and Yuzuriha has about as much personality as wet cardboard. Thankfully Tsukasa was intriguing, despite how much of a superpowered freak he is, and while Senkuu's 'ten billion percent' tended to get on my nerves, I enjoyed the moments whenever these two characters were interacting.

As if the show itself was getting the idea that the longer the team dynamic remained as they are was a bad idea, before long the team splits up and Senkuu finds a village as a result of helping Kohaku. From this point onwards the show changes years from one focused on reviving people to one that felt like an anime adaptation of Age of Empires. So much so at times they would actually show stats and achievements on screen as if it were a real-time strategy.

The narrative, once Senkuu finds the village, became far more interesting as you start to wonder how it was that the village came about, if they were once petrified, or if there were those that were immune. Many questions that would be answered slowly over the course of the season rather than dumping all the answers in one go.

The biggest benefit of this change is that, now we are slowly introduced to characters that are just as, and at times far more, interesting than Senkuu himself. This makes the character interactions far more interesting as you get to see various personalities come together, as a result the ways in which characters are similar and different from each other makes things all the more intriguing. Watching this village slowly upgrade itself as a result of the materials and tools that are developed is fascinating to observe.

That being said due to the type of development that is involved the progression of time that is involved is incredibly rapid with little to nothing else happening in the periphery. While you do get the sense that every milestone that is reached is absolutely earned by the amount of effort put in and the challenges that are overcome, as a result of how fast time is progressing you do not get the chance to linger and take things in. You only move forward at a hundred miles an hour. At least, that's how it seems.

The visuals for the show are fantastic. From a design perspective, it is the most distinct show I have seen in a long time. The colours that are used are all bright and vibrant, even the night scenes aesthetically pleasing to a ridiculous level. The world is incredibly well detailed, and the character designs are sublime. Each character stands out on their own and are distinctive to the personality, making it easier for them to be remembered even if you do not remember their names. One more aspect this show excels in is that the character designs for the female cast are some of the cutest I have seen in a long time.

This is a very enjoyable show that has some entertaining characters, a good sense of humour, a fascinating concept, and an interesting method of progression to the narrative, characters and world mechanics. The visuals are brilliant and the soundtrack is a blast to listen to. If you are bored and are looking for a new show to watch. I would recommend Dr. Stone. It is available to watch on Crunchyroll.