English Dub Review: Dr. Stone: Stone Wars: “Hot Line”
Overview: Senku (Aaron Dismuke), Kohaku (Felecia Angelle) and the gang hatch a plan to stop Homuru (Megan Shipman) in her tracks by trapping her, while Gen (Brandon McInnis), Magma (J. Michael Tatum) and Chrome (Matt Shipman) sneak into the Tsukasa’s (Ian Sinclair) domain to plant the cell phone for Taiju (Ricco Fajardo) and Yuzuriha (Brittany Lauda)
Our Take: Dr Stone: Stone Wars second chapter “Hot Line” not only furthers the plot that it began building last season but also makes a meaningful episode that isn’t just a transitional phase for the citizens of the Kingdom of Science.
The entirety of this episode presents a critical moral quandary of whether killing the enemy is necessary for the Kingdom of Science to win this war. First, with Kohaku as she hesitated to strike down Homura despite the threat she posed to their operation. Then after with Chrome and Gen contemplating whether murdering stone people poised to be in Tsukasa’s Empire of Might is the right course of action. I leave Magma out of this because of course, him being the madman that he is, is just swinging for the fences without thinking and wants to off all of them. It’s quite a thought provoking issue indeed so much so that I understood their rationale for how the thought would cross their mind and had me sympathizing with their difficult plight. But at the end of day, just like Chrome said, they have taken the high road and who can complain about that right? While this sets a very positive precedent, it’ll be interesting to see whether that can be maintained with someone as imposing as Tsukasa and his Empire of Might that has plenty of like minded individuals similar to him.
Also as the episode wraps up Gen, Chrome and Magma finally make their way into enemy territory. While successful, it seems they are poised to take on a character that has been seen very little up until now. One of Tsukasa’s right hand men, the archer known as Ukyo Saionji. His introduction was pretty rad showcasing his incredible hearing capabilities that extend across long distances and making him a very dangerous threat for the three. Not to mention his insane accuracy with a bow and arrow without even having a clear view seemingly. How these three will potentially combat or maybe just escape this foe could be very interesting. Especially with Chrome on their side and if they use the power of science.
Get excited! Lastly this episode ends with quite the emotional note as Senku at long last reunites with Taiju and Yuzuriha through the use of the cell phone. Very brief but incredibly heartfelt as these guys are struggling to hold in the tears after so much time apart. And god dammit so was I. The lack of screen time in the second half of the first season helped build up this scene and give it the payoff it so rightfully deserved.
