Dr Stone (Dokutaa Sutoon) - Season 1

DR STONE - TMS Entertainment

Shonen Jump's Dr Stone is an exceptional Japanese property made for an anime adaptation from the moment its few early chapters cemented their potential as a classic. Eyes were set with equal caution and excitement by fans when TMS Entertainment announced that they would be adapting the first 50 or so chapters for a 24 episode run. Set to air domestically on Tokyo MX and internationally licensed in joint custody of Crunchyroll and Funimation, who would be handling the sub and dub distribution of the show, respectively. 

For what the first season presentation of itself, TMS Entertainment have managed to adapt Dr Stone into a beautiful and poignant show. Delicately balancing the already complicated task of the Manga's fact-based narrative alongside its own creative insertion, the anime easily stands out as its own identity among a spew of Shonen animes already vying for the viewers‘ attention on a monthly — if not weekly — basis. This unique identity of the show is all thanks to its narrative ability to make authentic science look attractive in a commercially appealing and accurate way, while also brilliantly inserting those processes into the story so it does not lose any traction of its central narrative goal. 

It helps that the show has a plethora of interesting characters that appeal to the various types of personality and skills that one might closely relate to. There is Senku, the main character of the whole ordeal, who could have easily stooped into a Mary Sue rabbit hole due to his immense knowledge of scientific concepts and processes. Nevertheless, saved from such a definition due to his physical weakness in performing those tasks, this balance effectively gives the abilities of the character an authentic and humanistic portrayal. There is also Chrome, a self-made scientist and student of Senku, who provides the most determining and thoughtful scenes throughout the show — going as far as giving Naruto Uzumaki a run for his money when it comes to judging the knuckle-headed determination that a character can withhold. Aside from these two main focal characters and the antagonist Tsukasa, who carries his own set of morals that are very three dimensional, there is a litany of characters who are one dimensional. The battle-hardened Kohaku, comedy duo Kinro and Ginro, cute and cuddly older man Kaseki and scientifically perfected puffball Suika manage to steal the limelight for themselves from time to time, never overstaying their presence as a roadblock in either story progression or integral character moments. 

The voice acting — whether English dubbed or subbed — does a great job of giving genuine verbal emotions to the animation of these characters, with just the right amount of three-dimensional subtexts and undertones to give a much deeper looking audience something to be appreciated. However, there is a small percentage of the audience that will never get to meet this expansive cast due to a very major drawback of series: the opening few episodes and, more specifically, the animation. The animation of Dr Stone, especially in the latter half of the season, is mesmerizingly satisfying but it is the animation and narrative crawl of the first six or so episodes that will make many quit with genuine frustration; it is basic to the point of being an eyesore. Possible vast sceneries like high mountains or expansive forests do not seem to give the viewer the necessary emotion needed to become captivated thoroughly. 

The narrative, on the other hand, takes substantial time in introducing all of the main characters one by one before moving on to some unusual narrative threads rather than organically developing both of them, something that made its contemporary Shonen competitors like Demon Slayer and Fire Force such an instant classic. Luckily later, this drawback is rectified when viewers get to see the prelude to the central conflict that the narrative is heading towards in its second season, a somewhat condescending and baiting decision that feels as if the audience has ultimately wasted their time. 

If one has not already caught up with this new anime phenomena, then they must. Of what has already been shown in this possibly legendary series — from its stunning animation and captivating emotional gravitas — it seems to be making its impact known in the popularity of the professional and scientific fields.