Dr. Stone: New World

Episode 4

Last episode ended on a massive cliffhanger—with the discovery of a Morse code radio message indicating that there are other humans with modern technology out there in the wider world. However, after a few moments at the start of the episode debating whether this mysterious message's sender is friend or foe, the massive implications of this event are put firmly on the back burner.

What we get instead is a string of science. Oil has been found and now our heroes need to finish building the ship—especially its key systems. Basically, this means they need to build sonar and engine systems. The radar (and sonar) are built from materials they have on hand. Then, using the radar, Chrome is able to find an iron vein to get what they need to build the engine. Along the way, we get the creation of asphalt and railways as well.

While the science stuff is interesting as usual—especially seeing how easy it is to make something as revolutionary as an oscilloscope—it's missing the connection to the human heart that Dr. Stone usually does so well. The invention of Cola gave Gen back part of the world he lost. The record player gave Nikki a mission in life. The creation of agriculture freed the villagers from the fear of starvation and showed why Taiju is the person Senku wanted by his side to rebuild civilization. There's nothing like this connected to any of the inventions in this episode. They're just the next thing needed to get the boat ready.

Now, that's not to say there aren't a few good moments in this episode. Seeing the various members of Senku's core team predicting what they need to do before he even tells them is both funny and telling. Even without knowing what they are creating, they know from experience what the likely next step would be. They are using science to make educated guesses. This goes doubly for Chrome who is able to invent a ground radar system on his own when he remembers that iron is magnetic. They're all growing and in time, would be able to continue on even without Senku at their head.

However, in the end, it's hard to call this episode anything but a letdown—especially in the face of last week's cliffhanger. And with its lack of connection to the humanity behind our characters, it's the first episode of Dr. Stone in a long time that feels more like busy work than anything else. Hopefully, now that all of this is out of the way, we can finally get started on our journey to the titular “new world.”

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• I never would have expected Nikki to remain in the core team after the end of last season, so it's great to see her enjoying the impromptu roller coaster and palling around with Taiju each week.

• It's got to be both amazing and frustrating to be Chrome. In any era, he would be a genius but with Senku around, he's eternally playing catch up.

• I'm interested to see who will be on the ship and who won't. Losing Senku would be bad enough but losing Chrome as well would all but stop any further technological advancement.

• I think we've hit the point that the Kingdom of Science must be facing a manpower shortage. Oil fields, farms, mines, and shipyards—that's a lot for a population of around 150 to handle.

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