Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Well since I reviewed a bad Shonen Jump anime it only seems right to review good one to wash away the bad taste and the anime I’ve chosen is Dr. Stone. Looking back, Dr. Stone was definitely a Shonen Jump series I regret not paying more attention to during it’s run. The series did a great job blending together comedy, science, and a little bit of action as well. After two successful seasons, the third season came out in 2023 roughly one year after the manga ended. In following the new trend, the season was split into two courses. The first part came out in the spring while the second part came out in the fall to finish up the year. With the final season set to start next year now seems like a good time to review this season and get ready for what’s to come. Let’s return to a simpler time, this is Dr. Stone S3.
Opening and Ending Theme
The opening for part 1 is “Wasuregataki” by Huwie Ishizaki. Overall, it’s a good song. When I first heard it I didn’t much thought but looking back I do enjoy it. Honestly, it sounds like something that could fit in FMA.
The ending is “Where Do We Go?” by OKAMOTO’S. I think this may be my new favorite ending from the series. That guitar riff at the start is just beautiful. The whole song just feels like meaningful rock song you would hear on the radio in the 2010s. It goes hard and leaves a lasting impression on you.
Episodes 1-5
The season starts with Senku, Chrome and Ryusui landing in the village after their successful flight. We get a semi-recap of the last two seasons (including the OVA) and everyone gets ready to move on to the next step of restoring humanity. While the ship is being built, Senku plans to use the balloon to search for oil (it’s out there somewhere. We just have to find it). This plan also helps them map out the world. As they explore they manage to find fresh now food sources which was a major issue in the past. This was the reason why the village never truly expanded all these years. With a limited food source and not knowing how agriculture works (yeah, you didn’t fit crop rotation into the fables?) people starved to death and it’ll happen again if they revived everyone immediately (even if they do succeed in bringing everyone back, without a proper food source you’d be subjecting them to a fate worse than petrification). They find some wheat and start making wheat fields. When they try to make bread they find that they suck at it (time to revive a chef or a baker).
In episode 2 Ryusui tells them where to find the perfect chef. Journeying to where they found Ryusui (that island feels lonely without him) they look for Francois his personal chef and butler (the Alfred to his Batman. Hopefully they give him witty banter and wisecracks). They revive Francois who quickly heads out to return to Ryusui (not even revived a minute and already looking for his master. That’s dedication right there). He waltzes right in and gets to work creating stollen bread (aka goat bread. Scene here: https://youtu.be/O8b-B02940o?si=fNDVBCLchK2GL0Fm). Francois’s bread is a hit, but in exchange for the fluid they have to make a gift for the reporter lady, Minami, who gave them the fluid. They call in Kaseki and with the help of Chrome, Senku creates a camera (a reporter’s most trusted tool). It’s silly from an outsider’s pov, but for Minami this is more precious than gold. For thousands of years there has been no recording of human history, and now with this one camera they will have proof of humanity rebuilding the world from nothing. Senku reveals that he made multiple cameras which he intends to use to photograph the land from above for his maps. Minami takes the first picture which is Senku doing the famous Einstein pose (scene here: https://youtu.be/ErB0RfoJems?si=9eS22IWxxUGnnpMj).
Things are progressing well in episode 3. With the help of the camera, Senku has been taking plenty of pictures and giving people a good overview of the area they’re in and making it easier for them to forest for food. Sadly, they’ve still had no luck in finding oil and with fall in full swing, they’re desperate to find the oil before winter. Otherwise, they’ll have to put their search on hold due to the snow. Luck comes their way when they do find a black puddle in one of the pictures and quickly start searching the area. They have no luck and thanks to photos still being blurry (thank you digital cameras) they don’t know the exact location of the black puddle. Luckily, Senku comes up with the idea to use boars to find the oil (Isis: Are you sure you don’t want to use the eagles? They solve everything). Yep, back in the 1870s that was how Japan found its oil fields (look it up, it’s actually a pretty funny story). With the help of the boar they manage to find the oil (congratulations, you won’t be tonight’s dinner. Scene here: https://youtu.be/yxT4Dtur_Ds?si=v46TPLbQlsP4ZA4r). With the oil in their possession Senku creates a speed boat and tests it out on the open ocean. Once out in the ocean they activate their own radio beacon which will act as a GPS for them (we’re inching closer and closer to modern technology). We end the episode on a big note with them receiving a message in Morse code from someone else (scene here: https://youtu.be/CHVEvrbRBTQ?si=VBWu1xcIydR0vmtT, and yeah this scene is downright chilling. The music, the static radio, and the fact that the first unknown message you receive is just someone repeating why over and over again is scary as hell. I think it be even less scary if they said die).
So in episode 4 Senku and the others are wondering who was on the other side of the Morse code (hopefully not a telemarketer). In order to find their Why-Man, they create sonar and radar to find them. They head back out into the ocean where they catch some fish and continue building the ship. As they come close to entering the final stages of the ship, they’re stuck on building the engines. Unfortunately, they’re going to need more than just a research lab to build these things. They’re entering an industrial venture (and those things aren’t cheap) which means they’re going to need a lot of oil and steel to make that engine. Luckily, Chrome comes through for them by finding an entire iron deposit within a mountain (you beautiful bastard). The advancements keep coming as they start to create paved roads to make the transportation of materials easier and even create mine carts and tracks for the mine (and thus a distribution network was created. Scenes here: https://youtu.be/TRierILOaC0?si=SFe3u12FQTZUkDB9 and https://youtu.be/AFMz6uUKjUo?si=pK_hRIxuA5zUwxFn).
In the first half of episode 5 they manage to finish the ship and we get some moments with the group such as them snowboarding in the winter, celebrating Valentine’s Day, making some swimsuits (I’m sure the men loved that), and even starting a school for the children. In the second half, they get ready to sail. Ryusui picks the crew and we get a pretty funny moment by finding out they’re bringing Hyoga and Homura with them as onboard prisoners. With the team’s more notable fighters going on the trip it’s too dangerous to leave them behind so it’s best to bring them on the trip (worst-case scenario, the ship sinks and we take them down with us).
Episodes 6-11
So in episode 6 Senku and the others are going on a treasure hunt to find his dad’s treasure box. Why is this box so important? Because it contains, platinum one of the rarest ores in the world and one piece is all they need to make nitric acid which will allow them to revive everyone without any problems (https://youtu.be/aLgT0ZDSnWU). After Senku tells them about their plan to find the platinum we get introduced to a villager named Soyuz who reveals that he came from outside the village. When he was a baby he was found and adopted by one of the villagers and since his name would be out of place among them (fun fact, all the villagers are named after ores and minerals) he kept it hidden from everyone and just didn’t have a name. Soyuz says he might know where the treasure box is and his reveal once again confirms that there are other people in this world. In the second half of the episode, nothing much really happens. We get a tour of the ship and see some of the crewmates get seasick. They then sail through a storm to reach their destination.
The group makes it to the island in episode 7 where Senku, Soyuz, Kohaku, and Gen explore the island to find the platinum. While they’re gone, everyone on the ship gets petrified somehow. The only person who managed to escape was Suika who stowed away on the ship and got away thanks to Ryusei. They all remain calm and focus on finding one of the islanders and convincing them to join their side so they can revive everyone (gotta give them credit for keeping their wits about them). They manage to find a girl named Amaryllis who’s a beauty (but as shallow as a puddle of water) and about to be sacrificed to the island’s god tomorrow. Senku approaches her where she mistakes him for the master of the island (a work in process) and tries to win him over but her womanly woos have no effect on him (scene here: https://youtu.be/sqAUKKz2jL4?si=otEcZhJ4Yj1Lr1VN, you’d be better off getting a man to leave down the toilet seat). After seeing their science in action she decides to take a chance and sides with them saying she knows how the petrification beam works.
Episode 8 starts with a flashback five years ago. When Amaryllis was 13 she as well as a few of her friends attempted to leave the island. They didn’t get far as the group was petrified by the master’s goons. Amaryllis escaped by the tips of her hair (literally) and has been buying her time waiting for a chance to get close to the master, steal his weapon, and stage a rebellion against him. Since their goals align, Senku and the others agree to help her and thanks to her story Senku now understands the rules of the petrification beam (and if you know the rules that means you can learn how to break them and get away with it). The master will be coming by the village tomorrow to pick his bride and they decide to go with Kohaku on this infiltration mission (they’ve got a lot of work to do). In order to make Kohaku stand out Senku needs his science which is stuck on the ship which is now being overrun by the islanders. Thankfully, they have no idea how handle any of the stuff on the ship (they’re like boomers when the ipad came out). Kohaku no longer able to sit by and watch heads down to the ship only to get cut off by Kirisame one of the master’s goons and strongest fighter on the island. She easily senses Kohaku and fights her head-on where she’s more than a match for her. With her back against the wall and believing someone is still on the ship who hasn’t been petrified, she shouts lab a word foreign to the islanders and they quickly act to cover their tracks. They make Kirisame believe that Lab is Senku’s name and he’s in a relationship with Kohaku (only in the fanfics). They manage to trick her into believing this a romantic rendezvous and she retreats embarrassed by the PDA (scene here: https://youtu.be/c6KcMUhrxoE?si=Pj8FL0sYTaq3uI9R). Meanwhile Kohaku’s gamble worked out as there were two people on the ship who weren’t petrified. The first, Suika, and the second Ginro (guess who heard the message?). Sure enough Ginro got the message but won’t be much help (I like the guy but no. Can we get a do over?). Luckily, Suika is way ahead of him and ready to help.
At the start of episode 9 Ginro and Suika succeed in getting the mobile lab off the ship and reuniting with Senku and the others. They hide the lab in a sea cave and get to work making Kohaku more beautiful (than she already is). They beautify her and even have Ginro dress up as a girl to go in as well. Ibara, the high priest chooses Kohaku, Amaryllis, and Ginro as potential brides for the master and they get taken to the palace.
In episode 10 as Kohaku and the others are being led toward the palace, Senku throws an earpiece which will allow him to communicate with her (and he made it out of cooper wire and rocks. I think this quote from Parks and Recreation perfectly sums up Dr. Stone: https://youtu.be/V64BDBfsIK4?t=29). So Senku tells them their plan is to gather intel and lure Kirisame away so that they can secure the petrification beam. How do they plan on securing the beam? By catching it in midair with. . .a drone (oh I can’t wait to hear this one). So yeah, they’re going to make a drone and they pretty much have all the tools they need to make it. All they’re missing is the motor which Senku easily makes. However, they’re going to need a powerful electromagnetic to power each propeller (so that means doing everyone’s favorite activity, wrapping copper wires repeatedly. For like thousands of times). Meanwhile, Kohaku and the others reach the palace (well more like a fancy treehouse. Hope lightning doesn’t strike the place) where she finds the key to their victory but isn’t sure how to tell Senku and the others. The good news is they have a week before they meet the master and will be undergoing proper training. Senku and the others finish the motor and attach it to a motorize rat creating a 4WD (with surprisingly excellent controls. You ever try driving one of those things? It’s hard as hell). They have the rat sneak in and this allows Kohaku to send her message to Senku. The only problem is none of them know how to write (in hindsight this probably should have been one of the first things we taught them). They all try to decipher Kohaku’s message and after enough time they finally figure it out, platinum. She found the platinum.
The first half of the season ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger. Using a silent bomb (yes, that’s a real thing. Look it up) Kohaku is able to break open the space shuttle slightly and find some gold dust which she recovers and sends back to Senku where he finds pieces of platinum in the dust that his dad collected from the river (fun fact: platinum can be found in gold but this is extremely rare. For Byakko to find that much platinum is nothing short of a miracle. Scene here: https://youtu.be/O_PffOvbo0Y?si=SX7ztXo_GUEQM034). There’s enough platinum to create the nitric acid which means they can revive everyone. Back with the others, the inhabitants investigate the shuttle and realize that there’s an intruder among them.
And that’s the first half of season 3. Tune in next for the second half where it’s the Kingdom of Science vs the Islanders. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.