“Senkuu has made it his goal to bring back two million years of human achievement and revive the entirety of those turned to statues. However, one man stands in his way: Tsukasa Shishiou, who believes that only the fittest of those petrified should be revived.
As the snow melts and spring approaches, Senkuu and his allies in Ishigami Village finish the preparations for their attack on the Tsukasa Empire. With a reinvented cell phone model now at their disposal, the Kingdom of Science is ready to launch its newest scheme to recruit the sizable numbers of Tsukasa’s army to their side. However, it is a race against time; for every day the Kingdom of Science spends perfecting their inventions, the empire rapidly grows in number.
Reuniting with old friends and gaining new allies, Senkuu and the Kingdom of Science must stop Tsukasa’s forces in order to fulfill their goal of restoring humanity and all its creations. With the two sides each in pursuit of their ideal world, the Stone Wars have now begun!” – MAL Synopsis
Picking up right where season one left off, this season of Dr. Stone is the conclusion of its first major plotline. Continuing everything that made the first season great while also expanding on a fair amount of characters. This was a worthwhile watch. (This review is not spoiler free.)
Story-wise this war between the Kingdom of Science and Tsukasa has been brewing in some form since Tsukasa was revived. So in terms of this season being the climax of that, well it was okay. The battle itself was a fair bit underwhelming but everything leading up to it was really good and everything after it was phenomenal. Just to highlight my favorite things leading up to the battle. The first few episodes are great. I loved the first-hand demonstration of how information is the strongest weapon in any battle. The use of the phone to capture Homura. Speaking of the phone, the plan to use it, the past song recording, and Gen’s mimic abilities to turn Sukasa’s men against him was almost foolproof. Unfortunately, but ultimately, fortunately, they ran into one girl but that whole scene was hilarious. Rewinding a bit, Chrome, Magma, and Gen’s escape from submarine dude was a really interesting tactic battle. And of course, both of Senku’s reunions with big oaf and girlie were heartfelt.
The battle itself was whatever. It did get pretty tense when everyone was fighting and Senku, Chrome, and Gen scrambled to make something of use. Creating paper plane dynamite was a neat thing. Everything after the stalemate and truce is outstanding. Learning more about Tsukasa and why he is the way he is. Hyouga coming in as the secret boss. Their showdown then the eventual finale between Tukasa and Senku. The last 3 episodes were high points that not only bring this arc to a very satisfying conclusion but set up a lot for the future.
Senku & Tsukasa’s relationship is a focal point in the last stretch of this season. I talked about how much I enjoyed Tsukasa’s beliefs in my last review. So learning the real reason why he does the things he does and why he believes what he does was nice. The whole reveal about his sister being brain dead and that being the reason he became so strong and indisposed, was the first step to making him a sympathetic villain. But what really sold his redemption for me was that he vividly remembers every statue that he’s crushed. That it really hurt him to do that but in this stone world he believed he had to pick and chose who lives because the world just can’t sustain 7 billion people again. I love Senku’s response that being 7 billion people will have to take care of 7 billion people then. That the human race can and will work together as a community to get through this. Them fighting together against Hyouga was great. And their conversation just between the two as Tsukasa was being frozen was surprisingly really heartfelt, it got to me a bit just how wholesome it was. It also helped a lot that the direction of that scene was amazing. From the close-ups of each of their faces whenever they were speaking. The choice of music for the scene is a very powerful somber yet hopeful sung track that builds slowly. That scene is amazing. Their dynamic this season was amazing and hopefully, Tsukasa isn’t sidelined for too long in the future.
There were a few other characters that really stood out during this short season. Chrome and Hyouga were the main two to me. Chrome’s bravery has been put to the test time and time again and he keeps rising to every occasion. He’s easily becoming one of my favorite characters outside of the two I talked about earlier. With Hyouga he was solid “secret last boss” for this arc in a way. He just felt like a more extreme Tsukasa with lightly varying beliefs but also barren of any empathy. The best thing his character brought was the awesome tag team fight to bring him down. There are a lot of new characters introduced on Tsukasa’s side that I can’t wait to see developed more Niki and Ukyou in particular. I hope that they a part in the next arc and don’t get lost in the sea of discovery.
The animation was on par with last season in every aspect which is great. A lot of beautiful shots, a lot of funny shots. I enjoyed the soundtrack a lot more this season, not even just the great opening but a lot of the tracks played within the episodes are amazing. The dub also continues to be really good. Tsukasa, Senku, and Lillian were standouts.
So yeah Dr.Stone: Stone Wars, was a worthwhile season two and closer to this first major arc. The love and celebration of science continue to be ever present. Hammering home the fact that science and strength don’t exist on the opposite. Science is strength. There were more fun characters introduced while also giving more depth to already interesting characters and dynamics. I can’t wait for the Age of Discovery arc.
Dr.Stone: Stone Wars – 9/10
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