Dr. Stone: New World episode 4 aired on Thursday rapidly progressing the rebuild of modern civilization with one of the most practical inventions in human history — radar. Sure, Senku re-inventing radar was a drastic leap forward, but it’s the excitement around the invention in this episode that really stood out the most. This is what makes Dr. Stone so damn fantastic. The series is rehashing inventions we already know about and turning it all into an exciting sci-fi adventure.
From here on out, Dr. Stone‘s pacing is going to be a lot faster than what we’re used to from the previous two seasons. Chrome discovered an iron deposit and in the same episode they built an entire mine railway. So it just gives you a quick taste and lets fans know that this series is no longer a slow burn — it’s going to be a thrill ride from here until the end of the story.
While it may throw some fans off, and rightfully so, it makes sense. If Dr. Stone were to give a full episode or two of development to every modern invention that can help revive humanity, this series will go as long as One Piece. And for Dr. Stone‘s case, it would grow extremely stale over time. Luckily for us, series author Riichiro Inagaki and the staff at TMS Entertainment know exactly what they’re doing with this story.
I always loved this fast transition when reading the manga. A huge criticism of the first two seasons was that the development of the new stone world was taking way too long. Even though that criticism is hollow in itself because it’s about rebuilding modern civilization with sticks and rocks, the series has built up everything on a mineral level to the point it allows this story to speed up a little now. The series has established what the world has now and what it can make. In short, it doesn’t have to dwell on the small stuff (like roads and railways) and can focus on the more impactful inventions.
There is nothing to rag on this episode about. The episode was so damn enjoyable I was smiling and tuned in the entire time from beginning to end. No bathroom break. Didn’t even bother to look at my phone. I didn’t even eat a cookie while watching it. It was just that good of an episode.
One moment I loved in this episode, which also shows off Senku being a true genius (again), is when the five generals of the new stone world (well, four according to Kohaku) go out on a boat to test the newly made radar. At first, it seems like this is all for Ukyo’s sake since it’s his area of expertise, even Senku constantly asks for his input on everything too. But it’s when Senku sees Chrome going nuts over his moment of realization that radar is also used for fishing, and he admits that building a radar was also because he wanted to see Chrome’s reaction, further proves my point in a small way that Senku is one of the best main characters in shonen anime history.
Senku’s love of science and even greater love of seeing other people so enamored with science is something that I’ll never get tired of seeing. Unlike many other shonen main characters, Senku rarely shows any negative emotions at any point and that carries the series in more ways than one (that’s not a bad thing). His love of science resonates with Chrome’s love of adventure and learning. And Chrome’s moment, at the very near-end of the episode, was the highlight for me.
When Chrome said, “It’s just that when you have some idea of how things work […] Crap, it’s too fun!” I was almost brought to tears. We’ve all been there in many walks of life in different ways. That overwhelming feeling of understanding something you didn’t before is what I believe to be one of the foundations of human nature. Chrome is this series’ personification of that feeling in the best ways possible and Gen Sato’s (Chrome’s VA) voice acting in this episode just made those moments with Chrome that much more impactful than in the manga.
The episode probably ended on the highest note possible I’ve seen in the Dr. Stone anime as a whole. The speech by Ryusui gave me chills from head to toe and Gen almost shedding a couple of tears at the realization of what Ryusui was saying created a double-whammy after Chrome’s moment. Why? Because Ryusui pointed out the biggest theme of the entire series in one speech —science is supposed to be fun!
A leader of the Kingdom of Science isn’t supposed to be a tyrant, they’re supposed to be the most encouraging one of all. It’s not about telling people they’re wrong, it’s about giving those in the series all the possibilities to create and learn stuff they haven’t before. It’s about watching centuries of genius work unfold in a matter of seconds. Just think about that for a minute. Hundreds and hundreds of years of science led to the creation of radar and Senku made it in a flash. That isn’t mickey-mouse writing as anime Twitter would find it, it’s what science is all about. Having the greediest person in the series give praise to Senku like he did just further proves Senku isn’t just a genius when it comes to science — he’s a genius at turning a bad situation into a thrilling experience where everyone can look back on it and say it was a blast, us viewers included. And this episode brought that out in a major way.
The Kingdom of Science continues to prove to be the most fascinating society in modern anime right now as each episode passes. At this point, Dr. Stone is a must-watch for every anime fan. It’s unlike anything out or anything before it as well. Right now is the best time to get on the hype train before major spoilers release in the coming weeks. So go text your friends and family right now, keep bugging them to watch the series, and don’t stop.
Episode 4 rating: 10/10
If you enjoyed this week’s episode of Dr. Stone: New World, then make sure to vote for it in our weekly poll! Episode 5 of Dr. Stone: New World titled “Science Vessel Perseus” will air on May 4 on Crunchyroll.
Screenshots via Crunchyroll
©Richiro Inagaki, Boichi/Shueisha, Dr. STONE Production Committee