Dr. Stone: New World episode 8 aired on Thursday introducing us to a handful of new characters, shocking moments, some action, and…a fling between Senku and Kohaku? Another week, another fantastic episode proving once again Dr. Stone is one of the most consistently great anime around nowadays. Now that we know who is still alive aboard the Science Vessel, no, not Ginro, the fight between the Treasure Island natives and the Kingdom of Science may have just taken a turn in favor of the latter.
Episode’s Big Moment
Do you guys ever expect Senku to be the romantic type? Me neither. And he wasn’t in this episode. Sorry for the clickbait! But those of us that watched the episode knew how Senku reacted to the moment between him and Kohaku and it was just as any of us could’ve imagined it would’ve gone—with Kohaku excited and Senku disgusted. So if you’re an anime-only reading this that wants to voice your frustrations with it, I understand completely. All of us wanted to see it really happen in some capacity.
But everything surrounding the moment never deviated away from their characters, and I think there’s what I enjoyed the most. Kohaku was excited and trying to go along with everything while Senku had the “Yeah yeah, we need to get to the boat” attitude the entire time. Then you mix in the humor of Kirisame blushing at the act after giving Kohaku a 20-piece combo straight out of Street Fighter like she was Chun-Li herself, it was an all-around “Dr. Stone moment” to the fullest extent.
Kohaku just embraces everything as it comes and her quick instincts to save those she cares about the most proves once more why she’s one of the best characters in Dr. Stone. We haven’t really seen much of Kohaku do much this season besides helping with some things around the Kingdom of Science. So it was nice we finally got an episode that was more Kohaku-focused for the most part. What I liked more is that it wasn’t some forced fan service episode. There was meaning in making her look as good as possible rather than just flaunting her for the sake of flaunting her like so many shonen would nowadays.
Speaking of Big…
We have Tsukasa tall, then there’s Ibara tall. This man has no business terrifying the inhabitants of Treasure Island as he does. What he should be terrifying are some basketball players because that man would dominate the NBA with that height, wing span, and hand size. His sheer size and evil twirly mustache and long beard basically make him the Jafar of Dr. Stone but taller.
The moment he looked into the barrel where Ginro was hiding, and the loud drum pounds as you got a close-up of his eyes, was the perfect moment to display that this guy means anything but good news. While Tsukasa has his own physical prowess that proves that makes him intimidating, Ibara’s entire design just looks like a villain out of a Disney movie (hence the Jafar reference). His smile, his gaze, his lanky body…everything. Definitely doesn’t strike me as a person who would like to chill on the beach and catch some waves. He’s more of a “Hey, you want to see these traps I made in the forest?” kind of guy.
When you introduce a clear-cut villain to the series, that’s how it should be done, though. From the first moment you see them a viewer should know they’re bad news. So what is a new villain without some henchmen? While we got an idea that Moz is the intelligent womanizer between him and Kirisame, the duo plays off of each other fairly well which leaves some mystery to the two.
Usually, in these scenarios, one of the henchmen turns to the protagonist’s side at some point and the episode did a wonderful job of possibly foreshadowing that with Kirisame and her reaction to Senku and Kohaku’s (sorta) public display of affection. Could I be looking more into it than I should? Of course. However, it showed she might not be the cold-hearted yes-woman that Jafar, I mean, Ibara wants her to be.
Dr. Stone: New World Episode 8 Wrap-Up
So we were introduced to new characters. Chrome was broken to pieces courtesy of Ibara’s obsession with Chrome’s wonderful fashion sense. Kohaku turned into a princess for a few moments, sort of. We got wonderful humor just as always. And we ended the episode on a wonderful cliffhanger with Suika going from “not needed” last episode to becoming the key piece that Senku needs in order to accomplish what he needs to do.
We learned a lot more about the petrification device through Amaryllis’ childhood story, which was a nice change of pace in explaining how things work from a storytelling standpoint. And Senku’s alertness to get things done is still dialed to 11. Next week, things continue to get even more intense!
Episode 8 rating: 9/10
If you enjoyed episode 8 of Dr. Stone: New World, then make sure to vote for it in our weekly poll! Episode 9 of Dr. Stone: New World titled “Beautiful Science” will air on May 27 on Crunchyroll.
Screenshots via Crunchyroll
©Richiro Inagaki, Boichi/Shueisha, Dr. STONE Production Committee
