English Dub Review: Dr. Stone – Science Future “Fire”
OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)
Emboldened by Why-man’s new message, Senku’s team makes its first stop in South America, specifically Barcelona, to find fluorite for use in telescopes, as well as begin test rockets for their eventual trip to the moon. Though after settling in, they must also break away the long abandoned Suez Canal to make use of its easy route.
OUR TAKE
Dr. Stone is back on its usual routine, so the tension is probably going to cool down for a bit…which is not something I like to say when it comes to final parts of final seasons, but there’s still at least ten episodes left so I suppose there’s still time to ramp things back up again. This episode in particular seems to be just sort of another hunt for a new material, though it is a crucial one in their plans to get a space rocket to the moon. So, while the way things are going so far feels like business as usual, there are clear signs all over that the Kingdom of Science have clearly upped their pacing in terms of progress, including in how they handle the natives they run into. The group comes across some spanish speaking natives who honestly seem a bit too calm about the situation they’ve only now been woken up to, and then thank everyone for not conquering them and…huh, I just got a strong case of Deja Vu for some reason. We also see what Ryusui has cooked up to get people to all become connected through commerce, and it’s a new coin currency with the faces of Senku, Suika, and Kaseki. You’d think we would see some gold coins, but I have a feeling Ryusui is saving those so he can put his own face on them.
With the Fluorite acquired, their next stop is India, where they hope to find some mathematicians, citing India’s illustrious history of mathematical research. I have my doubts this show would count towards even a passing portrayal of foreign (to Japan) cultures, but I do give it points for showing viewers a clear connection to the subject of math and India. And it seems Ryusui has the perfect person in mind to find, as he knows the greatest living mathematician! Well, greatest currently petrified one, at least. And based on the OP, it looks like this guy will probably be an important character for the remainder to some degree. I can’t say I’m a fan of adding new important characters this close to the end AND before the epilogue of the story, made more worrying with the casual tone of this week’s episode, but again, I just have to believe this story will sort things out in time for the end. Or at least, I really really hope they do.
