I like that Nikki is attacking Magma here and not the enemy.
©Kome Studio, Boichi-Shueisha, Dr. STONE Project
Dr. This week’s Stone is a great example of controlled chaos. Our heroes are faced with a situation where everything seems to be going according to plan, but something is wrong. Although neither Senku nor Ryusui could know where it all went wrong (i.e. Ibara had eavesdropped on their communications), they both concluded that the plan had failed. For Ryusui, it’s a matter of instinct. To Senku, the reality is that, based on what they know about the device, it was not thrown properly to turn it all to stone. Therefore, Senku issued a call for withdrawal.
This is where things get interesting. No one even questioned the order. They simply ran to the mobile lab like they said. They were confused and didn’t understand why they ran away when it seemed like victory was inevitable, however, their trust in Senku was absolute at this point. And when you think about it, it makes perfect sense.
None of them, not modern humans or even Chrome knew even one percent of what Senku did. Time and time again, they had to trust that things would work out as he said they would—and by and large, they did. Because when it comes down to it, what they all really believe in is science itself—and science works whether you believe in it or not.
The funny thing about this whole situation is that Ibara is a smart guy and knows it—to the point that he overestimates himself. His plan to petrify the entire island is the nuclear option if there ever was one. It burns a house to kill ants. Furthermore, he intended to sacrifice some of his troops in the process as he had left guards at the Master’s compound. It was a desperate plan—but then again, the unknowns of Senku’s “magic” may have pushed him down the safest path in the long run no matter the collateral damage.
But Ibara’s overestimation of himself may not be his greatest weakness. Rather, he is underestimating others. He never thought that people like Soyuz with his photographic memory and Yuzuriha with her manufacturing skills could exist. To him, the destruction of the Master was irreversible and assured his victory.
In the end, we’re left with Senku and the others on a near-suicide mission to buy time for Yuzuriha and Soyuz. Their last trump card is in the hands of a fool and they must somehow get it back from him while fighting against almost the entire population of the island. Furthermore, there’s no doubt that Kirisame and Moz are on their way—which means things will only get worse for our heroes the longer things last. The tension is tolerable and it looks like we will have to give it our all until the end of the season.
Rating:
Random thoughts:
I wonder how this fake petrification device came to be. Given the secrecy surrounding the petrification device, did Ibara have some stonemason or carpenter make a replica and then turn them into stone to hide what they did?
→ Can the petrification device turn an entire island into stone in just one shot? What is the energy source of that thing? A portable nuclear reactor?
topic Everyone sneaks around while Nikki takes out the boat guard with a single punch is instead a great little joke.
→ Magma is the second strongest native hero—only behind Kohaku. So the question is can Nikki take him? I guess since she’s skilled in judo (mainly using the opponent’s weight against them) and Magma doesn’t have his weapon of choice then maybe she can.
Dr. Stone: New World is now streaming on Crunchyroll.