English Dub Review: Dr. STONE “Fire the Smoke Signal”

Overview (Spoilers Below)

While Senku is busy crafting gunpowder, Taiju and Yuzuriha have a dip in the hot springs. Taiju tells her that he wants to say what he’d been meaning to thousands of years ago, but that it would be unfair to say it in a world where she would “have nowhere to run.” Yuzuriha understands him wholeheartedly.

After Senku creates a mini bomb (which Taiju explodes) a smoke signal is sent up — and in response, three other smoke signals rise up from the wilderness. This signals to the gang that they aren’t alone. Although it runs the clear risk of signaling their location to Tsukasa, Senku decides that alerting the other survivors of themselves would outweigh the risk. Tsukasa finds them easily (obviously) and takes Yuzuriha as a hostage. He then faces off with Senku, negotiating Yuzuriha’s life for the stone-revival recipe. When Senku considers the deal, Yuzuriha threatens to take her own life to make sure that Tsukasa doesn’t have the recipe. Senku tells him anyway, though — and this is where Tsukasa reveals that he was never going to let him live, considering that technology/weapons/science would bring back the evil into the world.

Tsukasa tells Senku he’d spare his life if he gave up science. A flashback reveals how much science meant to Senku (and his loving father) throughout his life, so Senku refuses. Tsukasa then appears to snap Senku’s neck, just as Taiju returns to camp.

Our Take

Welp. Show’s over.

Just kidding — it wouldn’t make any sense to kill off the title character like that (especially with all the emphasis on himself and his development.) Either way, the scene was still enough to elicit a gasp, so the emotional factor was present.

Honestly, Tsukasa is just coming off more and more like someone who would love Black Mirror. “Durr hurr, technology is bad, fire is scary, Thomas Edison was a witch.” Real talk: Tsukasa’s character basically just brings the whole “technology doesn’t kill people: people kill people” argument to the forefront. What, does he not believe in vaccines, either? Is flat earther Tsukasa really going to eliminate all science in the world?

One of the most heartwarming scenes so far was definitely the hot springs scene between Taiju and Yuzuriha, though. It was really, truly, deeply considerate of Taiju to make sure Yuzuriha didn’t feel pressured — or uncomfortable — with his confession. He was so incredibly in-character, being so strongly heartfelt while totally convinced she had no idea what he was talking about. Is it sad that seeing the bare minimum amount of respect be reached by an anime character toward a female character is such a joyous occasion? Just goes to show how much we put up with.

The characters are really solid, and the voice acting, as usual, was consistent. Senku may have a tinge too much “edge” in his voice though — he tends to do that weird edgy anime thing where he’ll just go “heh” at nothing. He ain’t laughing too hard at the moment, that’s for sure. (This is why — despite Tsukasa’s genuine sentiment about how Senku could have been his first friend thousands of years ago — it wouldn’t have worked out. There’s too much snark in that duo.)

Whether Senku is there or not next episode (he will be) it’ll be exciting to see the new characters.