Dr. Stone is a serialized Japanese manga series written by author Riichiro Inagaki, and it is illustrated by South Korean artist Boichi. It is adapted into an anime series and produced by TMS Entertainment.
After a cataclysm phenomenon, a mysterious flash of light petrifies the entirety of humanity and turns them into stone statues. Taiju Oki, after long millennia, awakens to find himself lost in a world filled with statues, but he is not as alone as he thought. Senku Ishigami, Taiju’s science-loving friend, is revived from petrification 3700 years later and has been up and about planning to rebuild the civilization with the help of science.
Dr. Stone Facts
The story follows Senku, who, with his vast knowledge, tries to uncover the cause of petrification and how to undo it, all the while trying to create new technology in order to rebuild society from scratch. Along the way, he is joined by various allies, who are all the people who he revives from the petrification. They face all kinds of challenges, like dangerous animals and humans and the opposing faction with their own agendas.
As Senku and his allies try to take on the daunting task of trying to revive the rest of humanity, it turns into a battle of brains and brawns as the two opposite sides struggle to decide who exactly deserves to be revived. Dr. Stone is a thrilling and unique story that explores the power of science, which is both boon and a bane to human society. The series deals with how the power of science improves human life, as well as the ethical challenges and responsibilities that come with scientific progress.
Senku’s Iconic Quirks
Senku Ishigami, the main protagonist of Dr. Stone, is well known for his genius-level intellect, and he calls himself a scientist. Even though he has a rather cold and calculating personality, he genuinely and deeply cares about his friends. Even though he is incredibly intelligent, he is not perfect. He does miscalculate and makes mistakes, but he gets over them as well.
Senku has a go-to catchphrase, “Ten Billion Percent!” that he uses whenever he is feeling determined to face a challenge, and this has become an iconic line associated with his character, much like Naruto’s ‘Dattebayo!’ He has two more catchphrases, “This is exhilarating” which is what he says whenever there is some progress and “Not one millimeter” when he feels something is impossible.
On top of his high intellect and scientific knowledge, Senku also has incredible physical abilities like speed and agility. He also has really good hand-eye coordination. All of these skills are a great help in his day-to-day survival.
Names Reflecting Personalities
Names in Dr. Stone reflect on the character’s personality and physical appearance a lot. For instance, the main protagonist Ishigami Senku’s name Senku is a combination of “sen,” which means “One thousand,” and “ku,” which means “emptiness” or “void.” The meaning of his name reflects his goal of rebuilding the whole world from nothing.
Kaiju is another one of the major characters in the series. His name, Taiju, is a combination of “Tai,” meaning “large,” and “ju,” meaning “tree,“ which obviously hints at his physical strength and endurance.
Yuzuriha Ozawa’s name, Yuzuriha, is a combination of the Japanese words “Yuzuru,” meaning “to transfer,” and “ha,” which means “leaf” or “fallen leaves” which is a significant symbolic name referring to the connection Yuzuriha acts as between the stone world and the revived new civilization. She serves as the building bridge that bridges the gap between both eras.
Differences Between Senku and Tsukasa
Senku believes that all of humanity, regardless of how they are and what they contribute, should be revived. He aims to restore the world back to the way it was. His ultimate goal is to unlock the reason behind the petrification and bring each and every statue back to life, reviving the entire human population. This is the core of his character arc in the series.
Tsukasa, on the other hand, only wants strong and useful people, basic human resources who can be useful for society in the future. Tsukasa is one of the primary antagonists in the series. He is against Senku’s goal of reviving the entire civilization. Tsukasa believes in “Stone World Paradise.” and his aim is to create a world without the corrupted and evil influences that once lived in the past.
Manga Achievements
The Dr. Stone manga has been a worldwide hit for a long time and has been received incredibly well by both the anime and manga communities. By the month of April, at the start of 2021, the manga already had over 10 million copies in circulation. By the month of June 2022, the number of manga copies being produced and circulated went up to 14 million.
Dr. STONE manga was also praised by Nicholas Dupree from Anime News Network for its original plot. It was on the list of “The Most Underrated Shonen Jump Manga.”
Dr. STONE manga has also won an impressive amount of awards and has been nominated twice as much. In 2019, the manga won the Shogakukan Manga Award under the Shonen category. It was also ranked pretty high, coming in 15th place in the list of manga for male readers.
Anime Achievements
The reception of the anime was just as well as the manga. After the long-awaited animated series finally came out, it ranked high on multiple lists all over Japan. Crunchyroll’s 2019 list of “Top 25 best anime of the 2010s” had Dr. STONE on the list, which was a big feat since the anime was released earlier in the same year in July.
In 2020, just a year later, Senku won the “Best Protagonist,” and his catchphrase “This is exhilarating!” was on the list of anime buzzwords list of Crunchyroll. Dr. STONE was also the eighth most-watched series on Netflix in 2019.
References To Other Media
Senku once made a direct reference to the children’s series Doraemon which is one of the many things from the modern era that he enjoyed, using it as a defense against Tsukasa’s constant suggestion of reverting the world to the Stone Age.
Senku has also made several references to video games like Super Mario Bros, Civilization, and Monster Hunter, which was explicitly mentioned in chapter 63. In chapter 59 of the Dr. STONE manga, the characters play “Dragon Quest,” which is a popular role-playing video game franchise. They use a different version of the game, one recreated by Senku in the Stone World.
In chapter 100, there is a special crossover with One Piece featuring characters like Luffy, Zoro, and Boa from the popular series. They make an appearance as petrified statues in the Stone World.
Every Character Has A Role To Play
The Kingdom of Science was a state created by Senku to oppose Tsukasa and his group, known as the Tsukasa Empire, with the aim of bringing the entire population back into the world with the help of science and technology.
All the five members of the Kingdom of Science, also known as the Five Wise Generals, have important skills they can contribute with. Senku is basically an encyclopedia of knowledge of chemicals and scientific technology. Chrome is a craftsman, and he is knowledgeable of all the places they can find resources.
Gen, even after switching sides, did not switch his old ways. He is still a trickster but also a great negotiator. Ryusui is an expert in sailing and business strategies. Ukyo is an incredible marksman. He is also a great scout and is well-versed in tracking.
Gen and Bats
The term “bat” being used to describe Gen has been a constant recurring moment, especially in the first half of the series. It is not even a nickname, but it has been used by several people, including Gen himself.
The first time, Gen wandered back to the science shed alone after the Sulfa drug was completed; since he was not allowed in the village, he refers to himself as a bat while accepting that this is how it is. Kohaku calls him a bat after she assumes that Gen has betrayed them, and Hyoga also calls him a bat when he is actually betrayed by Gen.
This is a reference from one of Aesop’s Fables, “The Bat, Birds and The Beasts.” where the Birds and Beasts are fighting, and the Bat has to pick a side since it is both furry like Beast and can fly like Birds. The bat, instead of picking a side, just switches to whichever side is winning.
In the end, Bat had no friends since he betrayed both sides multiple times. Gen is called a bat with negative connotations during the above-mentioned instances.
Also Read: Most Popular Anime Similar to Dr. Stone That Every Science Fan Needs to Watch
