OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)On the run from Stanley, Senku’s team make a stop and meet a new friend.OUR TAKEWe’re full on into this batch of Dr Stone episodes, with the current main objective being reaching the Amazon rainforest while escaping the pursuit of Stanley, who continues to chase them to get back Dr. Xeno. But while Stanley seems genuinely worried about the doctor, Xeno himself feels pretty much right at home, especially since he’s able to mentally spitball with Senku on a level that he probably couldn’t with anyone else. That is actually a pleasant surprise, since Xeno is meant to be a genius and probably surmises that being uncooperative would not be helpful and also likely sees some fun challenge in helping Senku get his team to where they want to go. It does, however, make the stakes feel rather deflated as a result. Stanley definitely proved himself to be a more than capable threat in a fight in the first third, so it’s not like there’s NO tension, but the conflict that he came from has also already been pretty much resolved, and even Xeno, the guy he is going after, doesn’t really seem to care about it anymore. Hopefully this is just a lead into something more interesting instead of just drawing out something that’s not.The other big thing is that, upon landing at their first stop, Senku’s team encounter another new human character, Dr Chelsea, who Xeno recognizes from a conference they attended just prior to the global petrification. And just like with Fire Force adding more enemies in its own final stretch of episodes, I am quite wary of adding yet another new ally this late in the game. But it does seem like she has a unique usage, as the party is in need of a cartographer to help them navigate this area and find the rainforest with GPS being down. So, Chelsea is not on my shit list yet, but she is on probation. Also, in another fine example of this series liking to teach its audience about science, the group manage to make a kite sail from kites Chelsea made and use it for their ship, allowing it to go much faster and completely surpass Stanley’s progress in closing in. So, we’re still on the way to the Amazon, but faster, and they have accrued one new team member. Still at least ten episodes to go in this batch. Also it’s kinda weird how the ending animation is only focused on Kohaku, Tsukasa, and Hyoga when they aren’t really active in this part so far and Kohaku doesn’t have much in common with those guys. Oh well!