Dr. Stone (Episode 16) – A Tale for the Ages
The secret is out and Senku seems remarkably relaxed about it. Chrome and Kohaku still have no idea what’s going on, but it would appear that it’s time for Riri to sit down and tell everyone a story!
What did you watch?
So, episode 15 of Dr. Stone was incredible and it left us with one hell of a reveal. Just exactly what that meant wasn’t clear to us yet, so I’d imagine we’ll get some more details in this episode. It’s safe to say we’re in for a massive plot point and I’m envious of everyone that hasn’t accidentally visited the Dr. Stone wiki page and seen the rather obvious spoiler right at the top… damn you, Wikipedia! Anyhow, get ready for some serious spoilers. I mean it. This will shatter your very existence!
What happened?
So, we learnt that the village is called Ishigami Village and that Senku’s family name is Ishigami. Riri then revealed that she already knew of Senku before meeting him from the one hundred tales that the priestesses have passed down for generations. Senku is surprisingly unshocked by any of this. He then makes the leap to assume that his father was the person that founded Ishigami Village. Roll the flashback!
Senku’s father was a scientist like Senku, although not nearly as incredible. He had a dream to become an astronaut and having failed once, Senku took it upon himself to help his father the next time the opportunity presented itself. With Senku’s backing, Byakuya was successful and set off to live on the International Space Station for a brief period of time. He was there with four other scientists and one international singer. Then the unimaginable happened. The Earth was bathed in a green glow and then there was nothing. No radio, no Tweets, the world had gone silent!
What did you think?
I knew it was coming. Having seen the International Space Station Crew as a header on the wiki page, I put the two together and made the small leap to this conclusion. That said, it was still spectacular and raises so many more questions. So many! The obvious one is what caused the event that petrified humanity. It seemed like some sort of attack, maybe a weapon which would explain the sparrows as some sort of weapon testing. After that, we have six people trapped on the ISS. How will they get back to Earth? What will they do when they get there? I can’t imagine Ishigami Village has been in the same spot for three thousand years, so there’s so much more to this story now.
What was your favourite moment?
I enjoyed all of the stuff aboard the ISS. That was cool and I think they portrayed the weightlessness really well. There was, of course, one moment that stood out from that and that was the sheer horror of witnessing the Earth go silent. Admittedly, it’s a fairly obvious story idea, having the inhabitants of the ISS witnessing the end of the world and coming down to try and restart things. They even showed the reactions on the ISS to the zombie apocalypse in Highschool of the Dead. That doesn’t mean this had any less of an impact though.
What was your least favourite moment?
Poor Kohaku and Chrome had no idea what was going on. It’s great that the priestesses control the stories, but I don’t see why they haven’t told all of the villagers all of them. They seemed to know little bits of some, but this feels like important information that all should know.
Who was your favourite character?
You’d think I would struggle in an episode with barely any Kohaku but worry not, I believe I have the answer. And her name is Lillian Weinberg and she is quite clearly a distant relative of Kohaku. She was the singer that went to the ISS with the astronauts and apparently paid her way onto the rocket. When they arrived, she pretended to be a massive diva to the astronauts already there, but Byakuya couldn’t keep a straight face. I feel like she is the start of the line of Priestesses. Anyhow, this is Lillian in zero gravity… you’re welcome!
Who was your least favourite character?
At first, it was Byakuya, Senku’s father, but then after about two minutes of him, he grew on me. I can’t wait to see how the next episode plays out as I assume it will continue the story of the ISS survivors heading down to Earth. All of the astronauts will no doubt be important for the future, especially as we’re starting with a limited gene pool.
Would you like some more?
There are so many things flying through my head right now, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to wait a whole week. This series is just mindblowing and I have no idea where we’re going to go, but I am on board for the ride. I will warn you that once this season is over, there is a very strong chance that I will jump into the manga and prepare myself for the future. I called this my anime of the year last week and nothing has happened since then to change my mind. This is just a fantastic series.
Other reviews in the series
Series Information
| English Title | Dr. Stone |
| Japanese Title | Dr. Stone |
| Genres | Action, Adventure, Apocalyptic, Comedy, Science Fiction, Survival |
| Demographic | Shounen |
Anime
Season One
Season Two
Bonus Posts
| Saturday Spinoff | Kohaku Lost |
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I move that we all petition for zero gravity!
You have my vote.