English Dub Review: Dr. Stone “Joker”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Senku and company manage to get back on the ship and confront Ibara, even reviving the wild card Hyoga to fight Moz, while those on the island manage to put the pieces of the Master, threatening Ibara’s narrative. Kirisame begins to doubt him, so Ibara uses the Medusa to petrify her and sink her in the ocean, and then gives it to another minion to re-enter the island in order to petrify it all, but Yo manages to shoot Ibara in the hand before the Medusa can be used.

OUR TAKE

The battle for the Medusa continues to escalate, with the enemy forces and subfactions continuing to try and play cards, including Ibara and Moz. Senku revives Hyoga, someone who was the previous biggest threat to everyone after the battle with Tsukasa, and reveals that revival from petrification is possible to Ibara. Both are risky, especially bringing back someone who is just as likely to turn on them, but it turns out to give them the means to escape. But even then, it’s possible that even Hyoga might not be able to beat Moz, so that extra time better be worth it. Likewise, Ibara has now had his true intentions and the means he obtained power revealed to those who were only following him because they thought he was legitimate. Knocking out Kirisame (she’s probably not dead since they can retrieve her later) cements that he will turn on any who threaten his rule, even if they are a major asset. And it looks like that may be the last time he does it, as losing the Medusa to Yo of all people means he’s lost his only major trump card. He can probably still fight and command those around him for a little longer, but with the Master assembled and possibly revived, his days are certainly numbered.

Once again, it feels like we’ve rocketed past a bunch of stuff very quickly. We’ve still got five episodes left so there’s plenty of time to handle things at a good pace, but Ibara seems basically taken care of at this point. The Medusa is secured, even if they don’t know exactly how to use it just yet. Hyoga seems to have sided with Senku’s group for the moment, though he might not be enough to take on Moz…but dying to redeem himself somehow doesn’t seem like what’s going to happen to him. Kirisame is probably going to live and join the Science Kingdom, while Moz will PROBABLY be defeated in some way, though maybe he’ll escape in the confusion. There are still so many balls in the air and yet it feels like there’s still so little left to do. And yet, sorry for possibly repeating myself, I’m completely stoked to see how they catch and throw all of those balls! Hell, put the balls in your mouth! Do whatever you like with those balls! And I’ll be giving thanks for those balls next week, on Thanksgiving!