English Dub Review: Dr. Stone – Science Future “The Universe Is Written in the Language of Math”
OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)
The Perseus crew stop in India to find a mathematician to help with their test rockets, but Ryusui has one candidate in mind: his brother Sai Nanami, who ran away to India specifically to get away from Ryusui.
OUR TAKE
In the spirit of rocket countdowns (and amusingly timed with the recent launch and return of the Artemis II ship, which I’m sure Senku would have loved), we are now likely in the final ten episodes of Dr. Stone. I say likely because there’s always a chance they throw in one extra than the last two thirds of this season that were only twelve, but we’ll have to wait and see to be sure. In the meantime, we welcome YET ANOTHER CHARACTER to the already critical mass cast! And what better time to do that than in the home stretch! Introducing Sai, Ryusui’s older brother who cares more about programming than pursuing wealth or greed like his brother. Okay, in its defense, this is a BIT better than throwing in Chelsea and Joel like they did in the last batch, where it felt like they were just tossing in randos to fill a function…and it still kind of feels like that here, but at least Sai has a personal connection to Ryusui, someone who has been around for over half the series. I was also a bit surprised that he turned out to be Ryusui’s brother. It’s clear from his brief appearance in the OP that the two look alike, but, well, a lot of people in this series look alike despite not being related. The author, Boichi, does have a distinct and very detailed art style, but he too tends to run into “same face syndrome” from time to time.
So, will Sai’s late appearance be a pathway to some last bit of character growth for Ryusui in the closing stages of this story? I’m guessing not, partly because it doesn’t seem like anyone else is getting that shot, but also because Dr. Stone isn’t really that kind of show. The collective “arc” that most people in this series go through is to let go of their own egos and hang ups about themselves or the world and pursue the greater goal of knowledge, throwing themselves upon the altar of science. After that, all their conflicts become external and they basically just become a comedic gimmick and a function, that is if they weren’t already that from the beginning. That hasn’t bothered me so much throughout this series as it might in others because I actually like the message of everyone coming together as a community to better humanity as a whole, and the enemies they’ve faced have been those who believe might makes right (Tsukasa), those who use religious superstition to control others (Ibara), and those who believe in using science to destroy those against them (Xeno), with the idea that curiosity and community will eventually win the day, which is something I find heartening more and more in recent times. And now their final opponent, Why-man, seemingly represents facing the unknown itself, so next week we continue (or start?) the countdown to the end of Dr. Stone.
