I’m feeling pretty conflicted (which I guess is better than ambivalent) about Dr. Stone after two episodes.  It’s definitely an interesting concept, and even within the execution itself there’s some fascinating detail.  But more so than with most fantastical shounen series – perhaps because this one is self-proclaiming to “beat fantasy with science” – I’m really struggling with how frankly ridiculous so much of it is.  And Taiju is annoying as hell too, of course…

I’m hoping this will become less of an issue with time, either because things get less silly or or because I become inured to it, because I’d quite like this show to win me over.  The premise is a good one even if the specifics don’t live up to it yet.  This week we find Taiju and Senku deciding who to revive first – which is not really much of a decision once Senku leaves it in Taiju’s hands.  But the best laid plans are laid low by the presence of lions (who’ve conveniently decides to start attacking now after leaving the solitary and defenseless Senku alone for six months), forcing the boys to use their first dose of miracle water on someone who can kill a lion by punching it in the face.

Mongo being unavailable, the fleeing duo are conveniently (2) in the presence of Shishio Tsukasa (Nakamura Yuuichi), and decide to revive him first.  He – like the others – wakes up without a trace of pesky insanity from being trapped in stone for 3700 years and immediately asks for an update on the situation.  Tsukasa is conveniently (3) a superhero, and can, well- kill lions by punching them in the face.  Which he does, which scares off the females in the pride, and then proceeds to skin and butcher it out of respect for the circle of life (surely, this joke is intentional).

Now, the implications of reviving someone like Tsukasa are actually quite interesting, as Senku notes.  In a world with no guns or bombs, somebody like that is a huge threat – if he wants to be in charge, who’s really going to stop him?  At first all seems well enough, as Tsukasa takes charge of hunting and defense (which are easy for someone with superhuman powers).  But Senku is no fool (Taiju has that covered) and he senses that trouble is brewing here.  Soon enough the truth comes out – Tsukasa has been hurt by life, and sheds no tears for the lost world Senku wants to restore.  To him this is paradise, and reviving adults can only turn it into a living hell.  And he has no compunctions about killing defenseless statues in the meantime.

Again, this is actually quite an interesting conundrum, because on some level there’s an attractiveness to what Tsukasa is saying.  But how are you going to play God and choose who to save – and what are you going to tell the children who want to revive their parents?  Also interesting is the next phase in the boys’ technological advancement – calcium carbonate, which they can get by pulverising seashells.  Senku makes note of its four hugely important uses, but later stops after agriculture, mortar and soap and claims he’d earlier said “three”.  The fourth use is of course saltpeter (potassium nitrate), and there are many very nasty things which can be made with that.  Senku obviously hopes Tsukasa doesn’t know that, but Tsukasa seems like a pretty smart fellow himself.

This is the realm in which Dr. Stone can succeed best, I think – not just as a depiction of a worldwide laboratory for Senku’s genius to thrive in, but as a unique sort of social experiment.  The problem is that it’s a decidedly juvenile series (so far) in many respects – as a commenter last week noted, this is a show my 12 year-old self would have loved unreservedly.  I think the pieces are in place for this premise to flourish as both an adventure yarn and a think piece, but I’m not yet convinced the writing has the chops to pull it off.