English Dub Review: Dr. STONE “Two Nations of the Stone World”

Overview (Spoilers Below)

The flashback of Senku on his own in the Stone World continues, where he theorizes what could have caused the stoning to happen. In addition, while trying to revive Taiju, he figures out that the stone has a regenerative property to everyone trapped within it (if de-stoned.)

Back in the present, Senku comes back to life, because the stone piece on his neck healed the entire area. He thanks a teary-eyed Taiju and Yuzuriha, but informs them that they need to split up. He instructs Taiju and Yuzuriha to rejoin Tsukasa as his allies so that they can act as spies. Senku plans to use science to defeat him, based on the intel they receive. They part ways, confident in one another.

Meanwhile, Tsukasa is assaulted by a mysterious blonde girl in the forest, whom he assumes is someone Taiju and Yuzuriha awakened. She is a skilled martial artist and claims she saw him take a girl hostage (Yuzuriha) and kill a man (Senku.) She doesn’t care for his reasoning and aims to kill. He deflects and makes a tree fall on her.

Senku witnesses the scuffle and sprints into action after Tsukasa leaves. He invents a pulley to lift the tree off of the girl — who is colored impressed by Senku’s perseverance. She introduces herself as Kohaku.

Our Take

Dr. STONE really doesn’t care how early into the anime it is, or if “special” opening/ending sequences are only supposed to come at the end of a season. It showcases its merit by framing multiple episodes — such as this one — with importance. Its extended pre-opening scene — followed by its elongated ending which played in tandem with the credits — shows how much they care about tone, as well as the content. Considering how this episode even had a title drop, it all seems pretty fitting, too.

Speaking of that title drop — the open-mouthed way the characters reacted (while probably unintentional) was hilarious. It was touching seeing the trio reunite — and even more-so when they parted. The voice acting still fits that vaguely vintage feel the show gives off (and this is meant as a compliment.) Characters aren’t afraid to be goofy in their voices, without getting too caricature-esque.

Kohaku seems like a fun addition to the crew. The voice isn’t anything too special, but the real focus is the character design — or rather, the animation. She seems to have…sort of a vacant stare? It’s unclear whether this was intentional or not.

Otherwise, the animation was fluid and fun throughout the episode. From the intro chibi sequences where Senku imagined the different stoning possibilities, to the fight scene featuring Kohaku and Tsukasa — it all had a lot of charm.

Music being used in-show made this episode seem all the more special. The music, by the way, slaps, and there should be more of it peppered in every now and then. This was either an extremely plot-relevant episode, or Dr. STONE is just flexing its ability to capture an audience.

Either way, we’re excited for more.