English Dub Review: Dr. STONE “A Tale for the Ages”

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Ruri tells Senku that she’s known about him since she was a child because as Priestess of the village, she is the holder of sacred stories and archaic information. Her mother, the previous Priestess, told her “One Hundred Tales” — with the hundredth tale being titled, “Ishigami Senku.” This is the story of child Senku, and his fascination with life’s mysteries.

A flashback cuts in with Senku’s father, Byakuya, narrating Senku’s life. He details his fascination with space, as he himself had recently been rejected from becoming an astronaut because he failed the swimming portion. Child Senku creates a training suit for Byakuya, which encourages him to keep trying until the next decade when they’re recruiting for astronauts again. When he successfully becomes an astronaut, teen Senku watches him blast off as he stays researching the “stone swallow” phenomenon on earth.

Byakuya is put into the International Space Station with a few other astronauts: Yakov, Shamil, Dalia, Connie, and Lillian. Yakov and Dalia are doctors, Connie was a NASA staffer, and Shamil is a researcher. Lillian, on the other hand, is a passionate, international singing sensation — there to record her latest concert from space. As they go about their business, the petrification of earth happens, and all they can do is watch. Byakuya is determined to get himself and the other survivors back to earth. Senku states that Ishigami Village must be named after his father — who he infers founded it.

Our Take

The emotional factor in this show has really been amped up with these past few episodes. With the world full of millions of people, Senku was bound to cross paths with those who remembered him — but it was a really fresh and original plot device to have Senku be made into a mythological legend. There’s always the “legend of the hero” that protagonists are involved in, where their quest and adventures are foretold in some kind of prophecy. This puts a really great turn on things, because it doesn’t force Senku into some fated destiny plot. Rather, he is a legend — but without the “destiny.” If anything, everyone’s destiny now lies with him, as the bringer of science.

It’s not even coincidental nonsense. It’s likely that Byakuya was able to get his team back to earth, near to where his son was. Knowing no way to get his son out of the stone, he probably founded the village near him and made sure his story was told on purpose — just so that Senku would know he loved him. Two logical thinker characters make for a plot with a lot of good, greased up wheels.

There’s so much speculation to be had from just this episode. Since Lillian looks a ton like Ruri and Kohaku, could it be possible that she and Byakuya had children in the stone world? If that’s the case, could Ruri and Kohaku actually be related to Senku?

Would that make Senku their great, great, great, great…great, great brother?

If so, there might be a few problems with his marriage to Ruri.