Dr. Stone Season 2 review: This Japanese anime is 'ten billion per cent' exciting!

4/5

Story:

Senku aka Dr. Stone wages war against the Tsukasa empire, led by Tsukasa. However, this war cannot involve bloodshed and only has to be fought with brains. While the villain 'depetrifies' (converts petrified humans back) all of humanity and destroys statues (as seen in the first season too), Senku tries his level best to save every person using science.

Review:

Dr. Stone aka Senku has proven his capability more than once in the first season of the anime. This time, too, he is back as a refreshed personality who has the same amount of energy.

Senku wages 'war of intelligence' against the Tsukasa empire. While Senku is the smartest man alive in the Stone World, Tsukasa is the strongest. The latter is so heavily built that he actually causes an earthquake in one of the scenes. While Senku wishes to convert all statues back to humans, Tsukasa wishes not to have industrialists in the Stone World. As a villain, Tsukasa would go to any extent to stop Senku from succeeding, including killing the scientist.

The series, however, begins with the 'Mentalist' Gen who can impersonate people too. Gen is the link between Tsukasa and Senku. While he was working for Tsukasa, the Mentalist has now sided with Senku in hopes of drinking cola in the Stone World.

Gen turns the narrator in the first few episodes of the second season. The makers have also given a recap of season 1 in the first episode through his character which is a remarkable move on their path.

While Gen has his quirks and scary nature intact, Senku is still 'ten billion per cent' (something the scientist says when he's sure of something). The intelligent scientist does not like being the centre of attention for his work. He is among those who does his job in a fabulous way and then moves on with life. Mecha Senku, who teaches you science, is also back. He is as cool as the original Senku and even better since he simplifies science for the layman.

The show retains its hilarious moments like the strongest man from the 'Kingdom of Science' aka Magma suggesting to throw ramen on the enemy. He is the crazy version of the Tsukasa and as deadly, especially when he talks about killing people as the only way. This powerhouse is always ready for a fight. The madness goes on to the extent that Magma challenges a machine to fight him.

Chrome, the scientist, is as energetic as ever. Despite that, he doesn’t come close to Taiju. However, that is expected since Chrome is crazy with brains while Taiju is a softie who is a brawler. The former constantly proves himself as a scientist and an entire episode in the second season is dedicated to his failures and success as a noob scientist.

The first episode itself brings so much promise that you can't wait to explore the rest of the show. So, soruze koreva (Get excited!) since this season keeps getting interesting. Season 2 is slightly better than the first season and gets even better as you progress towards the 11 episodes.

Dr. Stone season 2 is remarkable in giving the girls as much screen space, brains and brawl as the guys. The second episode is dedicated to the two powerful girls Kohaku and Homura. They blow everyone's minds (not literally), including each other's, by performing deadly stunts.

The camera work in this season is quite brilliant too. A scene where the sun shines on 'deptrified' humans, is quite the moment.

Kinro and Ginro, who were the ideal bodyguard duo in the first season, do not have much to perform this time except when Kinro takes centre stage in an episode. Ginro, for whatever limited time, shows his mad and scared sides, which isn't new for anyone who has seen the first season of Dr. Stone.

The series is something every science fan will love. The makers, however, have not educated people enough about preserving the environment. In fact, in a scene, Kinro cuts a tree just to give an example that his sword can cut even the strongest of trees in a swing. This comes as a rude shock in times of global warming.

Taiju and Senku, who are the unusual BFFs and the first ones to get 'depetrified' in the Stone World, get a lovely introduction in Season 2 as well. The scene is shown beautifully. Taiju, who is known to act on his emotions, cries when he realises he can communicate with Senku. The tears are focussed on before bringing Taiju's face in limelight. When his face actually comes in view, we also get a pleasant surprise in Yuzuriha - not only about her existence but also her emotions. As this scene moves further, it gets hilarious, just as expected from Taiju and Senku's friendship.

Team Senku gets new brainy members from the Tsukasa empire. Nikki, out of them, is no-nonsense and the most important member who plays a pivotal role in leading the 'way of science'. She has a soft but strict side to her, which could warm people's hearts.

Ukyo the archer, who is from the Tsukasa empire, is introduced as someone extremely dangerous. His personality, however, takes an interesting twist soon after the introduction.

The 'Steam Gorilla' episode begins on an interesting note. Grandpa Kaseki, who is too attached to his creation, is endearing. He is also competitive despite his age, which is an unusual surprise and quite cool for people of all ages.

The makers, however, appear to have done lazy work at some places. Despite showing Senku as the smartest character in the anime, his swag is the least impressive in a few scenes. After building up his character, who prepares for war, Senku touches his cap, which is placed on the top of his glasses. If he really had to show swag, he would have worn glasses rather than just touching the cap.

Detective Suika, who is one of the first people to have helped Senku, is back too. She is adorable as always. Yo, from team Tsukasa, on the other hand, is scary but stupid. He makes a good impression every now and then. But unfortunately, his character doesn’t bring much to the table.

"When we take everything for granted, that's when we're the most vulnerable," Nikki is heard telling Taiju in one of the scenes. This statement holds true for Tsukasa, who ideally would not have seen where he was headed. Because of that, his character develops on a different tangent than anybody else on the show, even if every character showed remarkable growth in the season. Tsukasa has a back story and a side to his personality that you never see coming.

The moment when the villains, Tsukasa and Hyoga realise that Senku is ready for the war, is a huge moment on the show. Like Tsukasa, Hyoga's character also takes a 360-degree turn. It was also something nobody could see coming.

The "war" is dissolved in 20 seconds and without any violence, a feat that would otherwise be deemed unachievable. The series ends on an interesting but expected note. There is however another invention that gives way to an exciting third season.

Verdict:

Dr. Stone Season 2 has a good balance of drama and comedy, just like in Season 1, which makes it an interesting watch.