Dr. Stone (Episode 18) – Stone Wars
Gen has just revealed that Tsukasa is coming to conquer Ishigami Village. He’s not willing to take any chances that Senku is alive and give him a chance to create his Kingdom of Science!
What did you watch?
This is episode 18 of Dr. Stone and it is the first show I watch each week. Sure, it comes out before My Hero Academia, but even then I have to get my Dr. Stone fix as soon as possible. Seriously, this is my anime of the year and it’s not even close right now. All we have to do is bring us in for a nice safe landing… oh, wait. You say Tsukasa is attacking. Fastens seatbelt. Hold on to something, it looks like it’s going to be a wild ride from here! You should also expect spoilers.
What happened?
The party for Senku becoming the village chief is still going on. I think that’s three episodes now… Anyhow, Gen has revealed that Tsukasa intends to capture the village so that Senku if he’s alive, can’t make it part of his Kingdom of Science. Kinro and Ginro are standing guard on the bridge when they spot something approaching. Kinro tells Ginro to notify the village and that Ginro will need to cut the bridge if anything happens to him. A group of Tsukasa thugs step onto the bridge and are knocked back by Kinro, but then, their leader, Hyoga approaches. He attacks with his spear and injuries Kinro, leaving him to yell to Ginro to cut the bridge, but he can’t do that to his brother.
Senku uses the last of the gunpowder to make it look like the village has rifles to buy them some time. It works and with Gen’s help, they manage to convince the attackers to wait until a storm comes. This gives Senku the chance to make some weapons that would give them the advantage. The storm comes and so does the next attack, but the villagers armed with katanas defend the bridge. Hyoga’s spear causes them problems, but Gen has already taken care of that. He has finally made his allegiances clear and joined Senku.
What did you think?
I was a little blindsided by the sudden attack, but that just made me that much more excited. Part of me thought we would have an episode of preparing for the attack and we kind of got that, although it was only after Senku managed to buy them some time. I was also a little concerned about the reintroduction of Tsukasa as I’ve been enjoying it so much more since it focused on Inshigami Village, but after one episode of it, I am really looking forward to the final six episodes of the season, which I think will mostly deal with this arc. As Senku would say, it’s going to be exhilarating.
What was your favourite moment?
I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned it, but I kind of have a thing for strong women with swords… Well, so far in Dr. Stone we have Kohaku who gets a massive check for the strong women department. Kohaku is awesome and it’s no coincidence that since she has been around, the series has got one-billions times better. Well, in this episode we finally solved the other half of the equation. That’s right! Senku had Grandpa Kaseki forge katanas. I was almost as excited as Kaseki when Senku told him what they were going to do. I didn’t shred my clothing in a Hulk style celebration, but only because I was watching on my phone in a public space…
What was your least favourite moment?
I’ll be honest, I was a little disappointed that Kohaku, Kinro, and Magma, all with katanas were unable to stop Hyoga with a bamboo spear. Fine, they aren’t expert swordsmen or anything, but even so, they are accomplished fighters and have a severe weapon advantage. Another thing, why didn’t Senku work on crossbows too? He’d already made one a while back and even though Tsukasa caught the bolt, he can’t catch all of them if a number of people fire on him at the same time. Swords are cool. I love them, but it’s always smarter to fight from a distance.
Who was your favourite character?
This episode felt much more like a team approach than other episodes and with the introduction of Hyoga and his thugs, no one really got that much time to shine. Gen made some notable contributions by convincing Magma to fight for Senku and destroying Hyoga’s spear. Then there was Grandpa Kaseki and Senku. Kinro got his glasses and almost instantly knew the correct way to adjust them as per anime lore. With all that said, of course, I’m going to give it to the strong woman with the sword. It feels like a long time since I last gave Kohaku the praise she deserves.
Who was your least favourite character?
I was going to award this to Hyoga, but I think his thugs deserve it for being pretty much useless and as a result, I shall mention Tsukasa too. Part of the reason, I really liked Tsukasa when he first entered the show was that he was an idealist, looking to create a world for the children where they wouldn’t be bound by the consumerist views of the old world. However, instead of doing that, he just seemed to revive all the fighters and goons that he could to create an army to fight someone he killed. Maybe, it would have worked if we’d seen him obsessing over whether Senku was alive or not. It could have been really interesting to see that shift in his objective, but we didn’t.
Would you like some more?
For sure! Despite my misgivings on the development of Tsukasa, I am fully behind this arc already and cannot wait to see how it plays out. Hopefully, Senku will take my suggestions on board and turn Ishigami village into an impenetrable fortress. I’m certain we’re going to get some good fights and I’m hoping for some great Kohaku moments, but I also really hope that they maintain the science elements that have made the last ten episodes so utterly compelling. This series has been excellent and excited to see it through to the end.
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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