Dr. Stone: New World

Episode 19

What we're getting in this episode is one of my favorite kinds of climatic fights—the kind with two layers. On the surface, it's a fight between two relatively equal forces—where either side could come out on top at any given moment. It's full of tension and surprising reversals and ends satisfyingly, making you want to cheer. Meanwhile, the other layer contains a deeper message—a moral about what we should learn from the fight about our human nature.

When it comes down to it, Ibara loses for two reasons. The first is that he is alone. He has no true allies on the island—only people he has deceived and those he has stalemated into inaction. He trusts no one but himself and would never even think of giving his life for another or some greater goal. As a "cautious old man," he is willing to sacrifice everything and everyone else as long as he remains safe and sound—which brings us to the second reason Ibara loses: he's a coward.

Despite his age, Ibara has the physical strength advantage in this fight—even combined, Ryusui and Senku can't overpower him. There are points in this fight—namely when Senku is running away—that Ibara likely could have caught and killed the teenage boy. However, Ibara's cowardly nature prevents him from pressing the attack. He lets the fear of the unknown hold him back—waiting until he is in the strongest possible position before launching any attack.

Ibara doesn't realize that Senku is playing on this the entire battle. If the petrifying the whole island thing didn't make it clear, seeing Ibara smugly approach the car only to panic when Senku says the activation words through the speaker shows Senku the old man's true nature. Then, while running away, Senku throws acid at Ibara to cover up Ryusui's revival and keep Ibara weary of what other tricks Senku might have. Senku, claiming that the telephone speaker is a gun, does the same thing and buys him the final bit of time he needs for a counterattack.

And then, in the final moments of the fight, Senku and Ryusui exploit both of Ibara's weaknesses at once. Ibara could never imagine sacrificing himself as Ryusui does for Senku—not only turning into stone but doing so in a way that's sure to get him instantly shattered. It is utterly antithetical to Ibara's self-preservation instinct—to the point that he can't process what happened until it's too late. However, unlike Ibara, Ryusui trusts his friends—trusts that Senku will understand what he has done with the earpiece (and what to do next) and trusts Yuzuriha to put him back together when the fight is over.

In the end, the fight leaves us with a solid message: Be brave and trust in your friends to support you, and together, you'll be able to accomplish what no one could do alone.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• The phone call at the end was touching. While they aren't there with him in body, they certainly are with him in spirit. And all he has done in the series so far has assured him that he will never be truly alone ever again.

• Senku needs to wake someone else up ASAP—preferably someone who knows where the anti-biotics are stashed and can treat him while he's passed out for a few days. (I wouldn't be surprised if that stab wound gets infected.)

• Ibara seems to be who Gen would become if left without a goal he couldn't accomplish alone.

• I'm so happy this isn't the last episode of the season. I love it when a series leaves an episode or two at the end to tie up loose ends and set the stage for things to come.

Dr. Stone: New World is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.