Dr. Stone

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Dr. Stone [9.5/10]
|**SPOILER FREE**|

Do you love science? Action? Adventure?? Are you looking for a beautifully executed shonen series that can successfully tackle all of those genres and more? Look no further than Dr. Stone. Get excited for this unforgettable journey to restore humanity back to it's former glory, or as some might say, former ugliness.

The story of a world petrified in stone for thousands of years, one man breaks free of his stone prison, literally, and immediately begins to use his vast knowledge of science to save humanity. With the help of his old friend, Taiju, Senku little by little begins to work his ... way back to modern technology.

Now that I've established a premise, if you're not already hooked then please continue reading. Personally speaking, Dr. Stone, as a series, is genius. Our story teller, Riichiro Inagaki, known best for his hit sports shonen Eyeshield 21, incorporates real science and experiments into this manga, fact checked by real scientists. Some being so dangerous there have been multiple warnings stressing not to preform anything you see and learn at home. As Senku would say, Exhilarating.

Speaking of exhilarating, the art made by none other than the legendary Boichi made this manga feel alive and unique. For those who don't know much about Boichi's style, he uses heavy realism and detail, sometimes to the point where backgrounds feel like I'm staring at a photograph. Some of Boichi's more famous works include Sun-Ken Rock, Origin, Hotel, as well as 2 One Piece chapter re-tellings drawn in his art style. He is also well known for his previous works in... *ahem* adult manga.

2 brilliant professionals combining to create a magnum opus. There were times I was genuinely laughing from the comedy, times where I feared for certain characters lives, times I was tearing up over unexpected circumstances, and yet there was never a time I found myself bored while reading a single chapter. Some of the inventions Senku and his crew were able to create genuinely had me shocked, especially with the simplicity of the creation. Just when Senku claims they are going to build something insanely difficult and the comedy sets in, we are often treated to a fairly accurate blueprint of a shitty makeshift version of said creation; and the reactions are always priceless.

While I have 9.99 billion percent praise and love for Dr. Stone, the only thing I felt was just shy of 10 billion percent was how rushed the final arc felt. While Senku is often portrayed as too smart for his own good, this arc definitely proved that. (I understand there was expertise and help involved in the final inventions, but it still felt unreal). I wished for just a smidgen more time with our lovely cast of characters, but when it's time to conclude there's nothing I can do but appreciate the time I spent with them. Well done, Dr. Stone, you've definitely earned a permanent spot on my Top Manga of Alltime list. [9.5/10]

There’s a lot to talk about in regards to Dr. Stone, but I’ll keep this review short and simple. Here’s a few things that I want to note:

- Story/Characters: Basically, the this show revolves around Senku starting mankind from scratch. He’s a pretty lovable character with his limitless confidence and pride. He’s not some overleveled isekai protagonist that has everything go his way. The direction of the show can vary from his proud accomplishments or his critical mistakes. I’ll admit that Senku can feel too smart for the convenience of the story, but I mean hey he’s the protag. The side characters who get involved ... with Senku’s journey are solid. They have unique motives and sense of humor. Your perception for a few changes as new information is shown to you. Though I’ll say every new antagonist introduced got weaker in a complicated manner regarding their motivations. This is mostly due to the story feeling like a sandbox game. There isn’t a need for villains in a setting like Dr. Stone. I never got the feeling that anyone in the main cast would be in real danger.

- Art: It’s solid. Boichi’s art is pretty distinctive if you’re familiar with his works (his most famous being Sun-Ken Rock). But the men look more unique than the women. I’m not sure if I had a hard time recognizing the minor female characters because of their wide eyes or whatever. It’s not something I’d consider a flaw.

- The pacing: The step-by-step process of building new inventions was great. The science is pretty accurate, sometimes blown out of proportion for the sake of comedy. But this got progressively worst. I understand that they can’t dedicate a few chapters for every single project they make. But the process got to the point where they can build whatever, all within in a few panels without a cohesive explanation. No more of the good ol days of seeing the grit and grind pay off. Now the characters usually say something similar to "wow science is amazing" almost every chapter like Senku is a magician. You could tell Inagaki started to fast forward civilization after Stone Wars which made the admirable side of science look more meaningless.

- Continuing the narrative is a tricky situation (following my previous point): This story would go on for a long time if they continued to be analytical from the start, which has a good chance boring most of us readers. It’s hard to say how the manga could improve in this manner, but it’s evident that this lead to the ending feeling rushed.

- No one ages: The story goes on for many many years yet everyone looks the same. This could slide if the whole cast were adults, but they’re not. The majority of characters look young. I get how convenient it is to make everyone’s character design the same. But cmon, you’d expect them to age a bit, especially from the characters who do the hard labor they’re not used to. They should look more sturdy than the average person right? Welp, Suika has the Ash Ketchum treatment.

Conclusion: It’s pretty simple for anyone to get a grasp of the story of Dr. Stone. This was never meant to a a psychological/thought provoking. Just pure entertainment. Even with the few complaints I had, it should be clear that you don’t need to use your brain to enjoy this. Just be aware that the quality of pacing and logic will fall off a bit around the last few arcs.

Disappointing to say the least. First half is quite fun because it's a survival story; you want to see how these people survive using science. It's a fantastic setup for a manga, but sadly it all falls apart in the second half. The second half is complete nonsense with most characters only existing for comedy gags. The science doesn't really matter anymore since anyone can create anything within minutes. Ridiculous villains show up for no reason just to pad the story out. It's so boring I really struggled to finish this series. If you are going to read it then set your expectations very low.