This is somewhat rare for me. While I, like most people, lose interest for many shows as they go on, few are the anime where the opposite is true. And when this happens it is almost always due to A) <\/span>a moment that redefines how I view the series<\/span><\/a>, B) a <\/span>single scene that makes everything that comes before and after worthwhile<\/span><\/a>, or C) a reset of the status quo that sends the anime in a new direction–as is seen in <\/span>Dr. Stone<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n The reason I didn\u2019t initially like <\/span>Dr. Stone<\/span><\/i> is due mostly to its viewpoint character and protagonist, Taiju. As far as main characters go, Taiju is a rather boring one. His character can be summed up in four words \u201call heart, no brain.\u201d He\u2019s that typical try-hard character seen in many <\/span>Shounen Jump<\/span><\/i> works (e.g., Luffy, Goku, etc.) and is rather predictable in most situations: he\u2019ll basically run headlong at the problem and expect everything to just work itself out if he just doesn\u2019t give up.<\/span><\/p>\n While Senku, for most rights and purposes his antithesis, is around from the first episode, the emotional stakes clearly lie with Taiju–and his quest to revive\/protect Yuzuriha. At the start, Senku is little more than a way to keep the story moving with his cool scientific knowledge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s in the fifth episode, however, that the story makes a hard left turn. With an extended flashback, we see Senku\u2019s life in detail–both his distant past and his time since awakening in the stone world. From this point on, the main character is unquestionably Senku, not Taiju. In fact, by the time the credits roll an episode later, both Taiju and Yuzuriha are effectively written out of the story for the foreseeable future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n From this point on, we get Senku unfettered–a mad scientist with no constraints. This is what turned the series around for me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Senku, unlike Taiju, is an incredibly unique and entertaining character. He has the insanity to try for the \u201cimpossible\u201d and the smarts to actually pull it off.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n From the back-half of episode seven on, he is once again on his own. Other than what\u2019s physically on his person, he no longer has any of the technology he\u2019s spent the last year developing nor does he have the physical and emotional support that he gained from Taiju. Everything has to once again be built from scratch. But this time, there is a literal deadline hanging above his head: it\u2019s only a matter of time until Tsukasa discovers he is alive and comes for him and anyone he\u2019s interacted with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Unlike the first part of the story, it\u2019s not only technology we see him build–he is also forced to build personal connections with the isolationist stone-age village he discovers. We watch as he plays an ever-more complex game of mental chess, turning enemies into allies one after another.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, this is not done through trickery–not really. Rather it is done through passion. His passion for science is so obvious and infectious that people respond to it in kind–even if they don\u2019t fully understand what\u2019s going on. This is Senku\u2019s true power: inspiring those around him–both on purpose and by chance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And this, along with Senku\u2019s other complexities are only truly laid bare once Taiju is out of the story.<\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Stone<\/span><\/i> can be seen on <\/span>Crunchyroll<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Funimation<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Animelab<\/span><\/a> (AU\/NZ).<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EAPe304UcAEzo6j.jpg?w=700&ssl=1\")
Image source: \u30a2\u30cb\u30e1\u300c\uff24\uff52\uff0e\uff33\uff34\uff2f\uff2e\uff25\u300d\u516c\u5f0f\u300010\u6708\u3088\u308a\u7b2c\uff12\u30af\u30fc\u30eb\u653e\u9001\u30b9\u30bf\u30fc\u30c8\uff01\uff01<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EByfXWNXkAAlA-Z.jpg?w=700&ssl=1\")
Image source: \u30a2\u30cb\u30e1\u300c\uff24\uff52\uff0e\uff33\uff34\uff2f\uff2e\uff25\u300d\u516c\u5f0f\u300010\u6708\u3088\u308a\u7b2c\uff12\u30af\u30fc\u30eb\u653e\u9001\u30b9\u30bf\u30fc\u30c8\uff01\uff01<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECF0xxEUYAIUPQ0.jpg?w=700&ssl=1\")
Image source: \u30a2\u30cb\u30e1\u300c\uff24\uff52\uff0e\uff33\uff34\uff2f\uff2e\uff25\u300d\u516c\u5f0f\u300010\u6708\u3088\u308a\u7b2c\uff12\u30af\u30fc\u30eb\u653e\u9001\u30b9\u30bf\u30fc\u30c8\uff01\uff01<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECfCCQcUcAAHdOA.jpg?w=700&ssl=1\")
Image source: \u30a2\u30cb\u30e1\u300c\uff24\uff52\uff0e\uff33\uff34\uff2f\uff2e\uff25\u300d\u516c\u5f0f\u300010\u6708\u3088\u308a\u7b2c\uff12\u30af\u30fc\u30eb\u653e\u9001\u30b9\u30bf\u30fc\u30c8\uff01\uff01<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
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