Episode 16 of Dr. Stone: New World aired on Thursday providing fans with more thrills than previous episodes now that everything is in motion. Adapting chapters 126-128 of the manga, Dr. Stone is now entering the darkest parts of the Treasure Island arc. With the new cour of this season basically at its halfway mark, there are still plenty of events to unravel.
I think writing these reviews I’ve come to notice every episode always had its stand-out moment for me, but I can’t seem to come around to one with this episode. While the adaptation was almost a 1:1 of the manga chapters this time around, there was one part I still enjoyed more than I did reading the manga and it has to do with the most unlikely character—Soyuz.
I gave Soyuz some flack earlier in the season for being the most random new character possible to join our favorite characters on this journey for the petrification device. That being said, his moment of flash memory of his parents was a little more fleshed out in the anime and I really appreciate the production staff for that.
In the manga, Soyuz just has a flash memory, literally two panels, of his mother holding him and his father looking at him. So adding those little bits of dialogue in this episode for his dad made the emotion Soyuz was going through a little heavier. Other than that, the episode really did everything just as the manga intended. Senku feeling the terrifying presence of Ibara was wonderfully done in this episode. Ibara’s voice actor, Yutaka Aoyama, really captures that pure sinister mood Ibara gives off when he’s being serious.
Again, though, nothing was eye-popping for me this time around. It was another wonderful episode with more Gen humor, funny facial expressions, and everything I love about Dr. Stone. The animation wasn’t the greatest the series has seen, but that’s okay. Dr. Stone doesn’t necessarily need Jujutsu Kaisen-like animation to be the great series that it is.
What I do have to give credit to is not so much the production staff this time, but to series creator Riichiro Inagaki himself. Dr. Stone is a never-ending world of conflict after conflict no matter how big or small. So to be able to constantly have certain situations lead to the next is a wonderful piece of storytelling. There’s never a moment in this season of Dr. Stone where you sit there and think “When is something finally going to happen?” Seriously, let’s break it down in the most basic way.
Ryusui is revived along with his butler Francois at the start of the arc bringing a new dynamic to the cast and story (also a working economy). Senku invents the first camera of the new age. They learn proper farming. They build a giant, steam-powered ship to go to this island Senku’s dad lived on when he was one of the only humans left in order to find titanium. Senku hears a mysterious voice for the first time in the series.
The island they finally get to is inhabited by people and they befriend one in Amaryllis. The crew is turned to stone. Senku now learns they have the petrification device. Senku had to organize a plan to revive them. Amaryllis infiltrates the village with Ginro and Kohaku. Ginro is basically killed by Ibara in a very brutal way but Kohaku gets them to use the petrification device on Ginro and herself to save Ginro.
Kinro is revived and is pissed. Moz finds out the truth about who they are and what they’re planning, adding a wild card to the series. Senku invented the first gun of the new age. They begin their battle with Ibara and the villagers. And now, as a cliffhanger, they’ll be facing off in person with Magma in possession of said gun heading into the next episode.
So to sit there and say this season isn’t bringing any sort of excitement, let alone humor and awesome science lessons, is a bold statement to make from anyone. There’s constant stuff happening and they all flow in sync with one another. Senku and company don’t have time to sit back and relax this arc and I think it’s also why so many people consider it the best of the series. The writing for this arc is damn near perfect and the artwork has been wonderful to see, especially the highly detailed character close-ups.
In just this episode alone, Senku had to go full “Brain no jutsu” because Ibara was one step ahead of him. Seeing Senku calculate everything surrounding the threat of the “Medusa” that was thrown into the air and conclude it was a fake before Kirasame could even think of throwing the real one is some wild stuff. I don’t know how anyone can sit there and not be entertained by that.
Once again, Dr. Stone delivers an entertaining episode. It’s not jaw-dropping but it’s certainly far from anything dry and dull. It’s another episode that keeps you tuned in the entire time and there’s not a single trace of boredom to be had. But with the action really kicking off next week and the possible foreshadowing between Senku and Ibara from this episode, I don’t see Dr. Stone: New World ever getting to the point where I’ll be bored for 23 minutes trying to watch it.
Episode 16 rating: 8/10
If you enjoyed episode 16 of Dr. Stone: New World, then make sure to vote for it in our weekly poll! Episode 17 of Dr. Stone: New World will air on Thursday, November 16. Crunchyroll is steaming Dr. Stone: New World with English subtitles.
Screenshots via Crunchyroll
©Richiro Inagaki, Boichi/Shueisha, Dr. STONE Production Committee