Dr. Stone: Stone Wars (Season Two)
Winter is almost over and Senku knows that Tsukasa will lead his army against Ishigami village. That’s why he’s preparing to strike first, but he’s also committed to a bloodless war. This should be exhilarating!
What did you watch?
Dr. Stone was my favourite show from 2019. I will admit that it was a little slow, to begin with, but picked up once Kohaku joined the show and steadily got better from there. So, when I saw that season two was coming out, I knew that I had to continue to watch and review it. I don’t want to get too into it just yet as this is just the introduction, but I just finished watching the second season of three different shows and this was easily the best of the bunch. Anyhow, from here on you can expect spoilers and lots of positivity!
What happened?
Senku successfully built a pair of working phones. Admittedly, they were a far cry from the cell phones he first pitched, but to get anything working was incredible. Now, he just needed to get one of them to Tsukasa’s base so that he can contact Taiju and Yuzuriha to coordinate his attack. By attack, he planned on capturing the miracle cave and its nitric acid, which would give him the ability to force a peaceful resolution.
That wasn’t going to be easy, and even then, he still had to find a way to get people onto his side. That was when Gen approached Senku with a rather devious plan that involved impersonating the late Lillian Weinberg. That seemed like a great idea, but the first person they tried it on was a Lillian superfan and instantly saw through the charade. However, if Senku could preserve the song that they played, she would join them.
The next step involved moving his base closer and to do that, they needed some wheels. This got Kiseki all fired up and seemed like a big hit. Of course, this was only the tip of the iceberg as Senku rolled out invention after invention in his attempt to win the war without a single death. Easier said than done, especially when they are up against Tsukasa and Hyoga.
What did you think?
This season was only eleven episodes long, which seemed to fly by compared to the twenty-four from last season. However, it was just as exciting and continued to do what it does best. The premise seems like it shouldn’t work, especially with the way the media tends to go for the all-guns-blazing heroes. This is about a scientist who does things his way. He’s not strong, he’s not a fighter, but he is determined. On top of Senku, there is a fantastic cast of characters that the first season built up and the second season continued to play with. We got some interesting new characters and learnt a little more about Tsukasa and his motivations. This was just a thoroughly enjoyable series and I can’t wait for season three.
What was your favourite moment?
There were a lot of great moments, but the one that really stands out was during the final battle as Tsukasa and Hyoga attempted to kill Senku once more. Kohaku and the others had rushed to engage Tsukasa and Hyoga in an attempt to buy Senku some time to come up with a solution. He raced into the miracle cave with Gen while Chrome ran off in search of supplies. The battle outside the cave was furious. Inside, however, Senku and Gen were watching a beaker full of nitric acid, waiting for a reaction. Science, baby!
It was just such a brilliant contrast to the fight that I couldn’t help but laugh as they sat there watching and waiting. Unfortunately, nothing happened which is so often the case with experiments. Luckily, Chrome reappeared with sulfuric acid, which Senku was able to use along with a bar of soap to make nitroglycerine and end the fight in an instant.
What was your least favourite moment?
There were some moments that fell a little flat and usually seemed to be where they over-explained certain aspects. The main one for me was when Chrome had been captured and was being used as bait to lure in Senku and his vehicle that Tsukasa was sure he would have developed. He realised that he needed to escape so that Senku wouldn’t be hurt saving him. However, Kohaku had also said the exact same thing in a different location only moments before.
In the grand scheme of things, this is a pretty minor quibble and certainly didn’t do enough to dampen my enjoyment of Dr Stone: Stone Wars.
Who was your favourite character?
I pretty much love all of the characters in this show, but Kohaku will always be my favourite. She is a strong and determined woman whose conviction in Senku is absolute. Of course, it would be. She’s seen first hand what he can do when he saved her sister. I was really looking forward to seeing her fight Tsuakas with a real sword, but she got stuck having to hold up Hyoga instead. Even when she’s angry, she’s cute.
Who was your least favourite character?
For this one, it was almost a tie between Homura and Yo. I still don’t quite understand Homura’s motivation. If it was just that she liked Hyoga, that seemed a little too convenient and I wanted more from her. Yo, however, was a weird one and it looks like he’s going to continue on as a semi-regular character which is annoying, but he also did offer some comedic moments. At least we can laugh at Yo.
Would you like some more?
This series is great and I honestly hope that it goes on for many more seasons. It has the characters and the world, and it’s only just really about to get into the mystery behind the petrification that afflicted the entire world. There’s so much more to discover and as long as Senku continues to rebuild a modern world with his own twist on things, I will continue to watch it. It is one-billion percent enthralling.
What have you learnt?
The best thing about Dr Stone is the characters. It has such a wide variety of characters, but at the same time, none of them feels like they’ve just been thrown in to fill a certain type. They all act in a manner that you would expect and that really helps. Even with the crazy ideas that Senku comes up with, it all appears completely natural and in character. He also has a number of different characters that all compliment him, giving him the chance to interact with different people differently.
Another thing to note is the development of Tsukasa. He’s always been a fairly interesting villain as he is fighting for something that he believes in and his logic isn’t completely mental. He does evil things, but you can see his purpose. Then, when he realised that he didn’t have long left, he told Senku where every statue he had broken was. That small detail showed how much his actions had been weighing on him. That was a game-changer.
Other Posts 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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Truth be told, the premise of Dr Stone sounds good on paper, but at the end of the day, it’s the characters that are very important to making a series be memorable, best as a successful one.
Sure DS has most of its characters being familiar archetypes from the “Anime/Manga/LN Tropes”, but at least their behaviour & personalities are in line with the plot progression consistently.
One series has the similar premise regarding its post-apocalyptic setup like DS. Unfortunately, all of the main characters (except glasses guy) started to behave randomly/turning on a dime like it’s a natural thing to do, not to mention, when the serious stuff happens very late into an episode, it all feels like a stupid joke for the beginning’s comedic timing is ridiculous & downright offensive in my eyes, becoming the most blundered series I’ve ever watched.
I’m just glad Dr Stone’s characters didn’t go through a Genre Roulette as the main storytelling method which the blundered series has & continues in the source material. Otherwise, one series can make or break that solely depends on the characters & how their behaviour affects how the viewers see the worldbuilding of a new world through any characters’ POV.
Characters are the single most important thing in a story for me. A great plot will not work with poor characters. After all, it’s them that we relate to and share experiences with.
I love the premise, but I feel like it’s not the standard all action shounen series that seems to be so typical.
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