Dr. Stone review

So I started watching Dr. Stone along with everyone else. I haven’t read the manga so I'm not going to act pompous and say I know a lot about it. I, like all other first timers, have only seen 3 episodes of the show. However I feel that these 3 episodes themselves have given me enough insight to talk about why I think this show is going to be the next big thing!

 I wanted to start by talking about how this show handles the structure of the story. Having the entire world encased in Stone right from the get go might seem a bit weird but it's quite ingenious. By doing so, the author allowed himself to build the story in a very linear fashion. What I mean is, there isn’t a lot going on to progress the story and the only thing we have to focus on is the antics of the main trio of Senku, Taiju and Yuzuriha which makes things sweet and simple. Now of course, as the story progresses, more characters will be revived and that will lead to interesting encounters. But for now, we have the luxury of keeping ourselves glued to just these 3 characters (and ofcourse that psychopathic middle schooler). What I like about this is that we are practically along with the ride in more senses than one as far as the progression of events goes. As Senku and the others rebuild society and bring the world back from the brink, we will be there to watch them every step of the way and that feels exciting. We start from 0 so everything that happens , we will be a witness to it which is rather refreshing whereas in other stories most of the framework of their respective universe is already in place (such as the soul society in Bleach, the hidden villages in Naruto and even the Hero Association in OPM). There isn’t a lot of mystery since the whole world is encased in Stone and so no one should have been able to revive yet, but then again there is that element of doubt because what if some others revived like Senku and Taiju? That also makes the story exciting. To think about how people like them survived makes the story interesting once more.

Having little elements of mystery also allow for the story to take on a completely adventurous feel. I personally really loved how at the start of the show Senku says “I'm going to beat fantasy with science” which is kinda like the author himself breaking the fourth wall to say that he is going to shatter the mold and upstage all beliefs we have had of what a shounen anime needs to be like in order to be interesting. This has been true as up till now there has been very little action and yet the story has proven itself to be a gripping one. The way the scientific aspects come through and Senku himself being the arrogant yet lovable guy he is, you can tell that this show isn't going to play by the usual rules. It's fun to learn new things along with Taiju as well because, lets be honest, we all forgot our high school chemistry lessons (unless you're still in high school or are doing a chemistry bachelors/masters in which case I feel bad for you )

 Next up is the characterization. Starting with Taiju himself, I thought he was just going to be that one off character who is there to compliment the main and then that would have been it for him. I definitely thought so when he was encased in Stone too. I was like, “poor one dimensional dude, this is it for him”. Once again I must praise the author for making even a character like him seem intriguing because after Taiju comes back he turns into a completely different person. All thanks to how he stays alive for over 3000 years just because he is in love with a girl. You can say he is simple minded to a fault and that's definitely the angle the author was going for. But, where in other shows characters like him are boring , here Taiju isn't in the slightest. This is all thanks to one simple character motivation he had in loving Yuzuriha so much that it practically kept him alive for thousands of years! And what kind of person would I be if I didn't appreciate someone who can prove his love like that? This one simple aspect of his personality makes me realise he is determined, passionate, caring and of course strong willed! It just goes to show how skillful the author is and how easily he was able to showcase the various sides of this character through one simple piece of writing. Having Yuzuriha come back threatened to distort this view I had of him but once again the author skillfully makes sure Yuzuriha moulds the group with her interaction and is an interesting girl in herself so that Taiju’s character motivation is not only justified but also isn't questioned or put under the microscope.

 Taiju has since taken on a personality of his own and become a genuinely likable character and do I even have to talk about Senku and how awesome he is? I love a character who oozes confidence and having someone like Senku as the MC is definitely a plus for this series. Then there is the fact that this Stone world is basically up for grabs. Each character who has even a shred of self confidence can basically rule the world if they play their cards right so whilst the stakes have not been made clear yet, it's pretty obvious that the entire world is on the line. Senku says he wants to revive every last human and nothing more but what would happen to someone like that? A genius who brings everyone back? Ofcourse, like Taiju, people would praise him as the saviour of humanity and he would become the next king or whatever. In any case, that further elevates the intrigue in the story.

 So, as you can see, Doctor Stone has a lot of things going for it.

(1) A world that has not been explored and is brimming with possibility (kinda like what the Grand line was in One Piece before the Straw Hats entered it),

(2) An incredibly interesting MC and a supporting cast which is destined to become more and more colourful and interesting as Senku revives more people ,

(3) A definite end goal which is to find out how the world turned into Stone,

(4) A great soundtrack and awesome animation , I really love the unique facial expressions and close ups

(5) An adventurous feel and unique flavour with science taking the place of fantasy. If Dr Stone builds on its already solid platform and keeps introducing new characters like it has with interesting personalities and higher stakes whilst staying true the claim of beating “ fantasy with science” then I have no doubt it's going to be the next big thing! Yes , there are some plot holes (like how did Yuzuriha stay alive for 3000 plus years too?) and it is a bit cliche in some areas but that's to be expected of a shounen.