Chapter Dr. Stone Chapter Reviews

[Kaoz]

Dr. Stone Chapter Reviews

Mangahelpers will be posting chapter reviews for featured manga such as Dr. Stone on the forum homepage. Each chapter, the first submitted review will be used. Preferably reviews are to be submitted as soon as possible and before the release of the following chapter. Subsequent reviews will be linked in the published review, and are also to be completed in this thread. Your permission will be sought before your review is published or linked.

The 24 hour spoiler rule does not apply in this thread. However this is for reviews only. Any discussion about reviews can be done in the chapter thread, or the Hangout thread (keep in mind the 24 hour spoiler rule applies in that thread).

Review standards

• Minimum 500 words
• English language. Standard spelling, grammar and punctuation apply - enough so it can be easily read.
• No emoji, slang, swearing. All forum etiquette rules apply.
• Refrain from using pictures. A picture may be incorporated should the need arise.

What should be included in the review?

A concise summary of the events within the chapter; and how said events are interconnected with the story. Aspects such as character actions/development, art, tone etc can all be subjects of the review. Any points can be appraised (was it good? was it bad), though it is expected to be reasonable and/or supported by chapter/manga content. The review should be finished with a concluding paragraph, with some forewords regarding possible future events. Feel free to add/omit any of these recommendations as you see fit, as well as adding your own perspective and character to the review.

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 76 Review by Emperor Spriggan

This week's chapter starts with Taiju rejoicing over finally getting hold of the Nitric Acid cave. Tsukasa's henchmen who he positioned as guardians around the cave are all seen in bindings, and behind Taiju Chrome relishes the prospect of making as much revival formula or gun powder as he wants. Senkuu says that it isnt time to relax, immediately wanting to make gun power. He realizes the immediate threat with Tsukasa about to show up, so he wants to get to work on finding a way to combat him once he's there. He also carried the necessary scientific equipment necessary to develop gunpowder, which means it was something he had accounted for before getting here. Brilliant insight, Senkuu, but that's something we've come to expect from him after all this time.

Before he can get to working on the gunpowder though, something eerie happens. Ukyo suddenly picks up on something with his sensational hearing, and immediately turns to warn Senkuu and the others shouting at them to run. Ironically, reading this part reminded me of the Promised Neverland Chapter 103 where the kids were warned by Pepe to run because their shelter had been compromised. This time however, Ukyo isn't as lucky as Pepe was. He gets immediately struck down by a spear and collides into Senkuu. The result of this is that the gunpowder making kit crashes to the ground and all its contents spill out. Gen displays obvious dismay at this, but on the other end of the field, Nikky and Ginrou all express shock at whatever it was that had attacked Ukyo.
As expected, Tsukasa shows up in stylish fashion, and besides him is his right hand man Hyouga. Easily one of the best and most menacing panels in the whole series. Tsukasa and Senkuu share some brief greetings, and the larger man expresses mock sadness at the thought of having to eliminate the scientist again in over a year. Senkuu on the other hand says that it was only through the power of Science that he was able to reunite with Tsukasa again, and he was being cold to him. Using Lilian's voice, Gen tries to rally the members of Tsukasa's camp to protect him, but Hyouga dashes the telephone that was at the graveyard at the mentalist. He then calls him out for his act and says it would be impossible to connect to America with such a primitive telephone. Chrome realizes that all their plans have been seen through, and some of the villagers realizing it was Gen get visibly saddened. Just before Tsukasa is about to offer Senkuu his conditions, Senkuu silences him, realizing he was going to set all the other villages free in exchange for Senkuu's death. Taiju reacts to the exchange, saying Senkuu can't take the deal and he won't go through seeing his best friend die again. The scientist tells Taiju to stop crying,and that this time things are different from they were back then since they have an entire village's worth of people with them this time.

Kohaku smiles, realizing that the situation isn't completely lost yet and springs into action. She leaps towards the cave, reassuring Kinrou that as long as they hold the cave of miracles, Senkuu and the others can find a way out of this predicament. The other warriors realize her plan, and they all move to help her. Hyouga remarks at how foolish this act is, saying they were all a bunch of brainless cavemen. This is something that Yo had also remarked on a few chapters ago, just before Chrome escaped from captivity. It displays the standards to which some of Tsukasa's men view Senkuu's, while Tsukasa himself has nothing but noteworthy respect for the scientist. Senkuu beckons Chrome to also rush to the cave, and behind them Tsukasa and Hyouga leap after them hot on their heels. The chapter caps off with Tsukasa saying that what will rule the Stone world is strength, and Senkuu with a pipette in his mouth remarks that it will be Science.

Honestly, this is one of the best Dr Stone chapters yet. Everything ever since Chapter 10 had been teasing a reunion between Senkuu and Tsukasa soon, and this chapter delivered on that fully. The dialogue between the two rivals was also top notch, as expected of two people who deeply respect each other as rivals. Part of me is hoping that maybe at some time in the future Tsukasa and Senkuu can be friends, but maybe too much damage has been done to repair that. Regardless, the next few chapters should be remarkable and this exchange will be brilliant. My hopes for this scene are that there is at least one casualty/death, otherwise the climax of the arc will be devoid of tension. I do have faith in the author though, so next week can't come sooner.
Chapter rating:9.5/10, simply because perfect 10's don't exist sadly. The closest we can get is .5 short.

--- Double Post Merged, Oct 9, 2018, Original Post Date: Oct 9, 2018 ---

Dr Stone Chapter 77 Review by Emperor Spriggan
Last week, the chapter ended with the face off between Senkuu and Tsukasa getting heated up. There's also a color cover this week, which look quite appealing portraying this battle. The first page of the chapter, which features Tsukasa, Senkuu and Kohaku is also in color, and the title of the chapter is "The Power of Science." A hint about what happens in the chapter? Let's read on and find out.

The chapter kicks off with Senkuu working on something within the nitric acid cave. Gen then asks him if he intends on making an invention while the battle is ongoing outside the cave. Senkuu doesn't answer, and immediately Gen turns to Chrome to ask him to get into the cave for safety. Senkuu tells Gen to leave Chrome be since he probably thought up a plan. Immediately after that, the sciencer storms out of the cave with the intention of looking for any usable materials in the nearby environment.

We switch back to the battle between Hyouga, Tsukasa and the rest of the Science village. Tsukasa leaps into their air while Hyouga launches a wide area attack that takes out a good number of the people there. The people from his empire are all in awe at how powerful Tsukasa is, while Nikky immediately moves to take him out in air. It's difficult dodging or evading anything when in mid air so she wants to capitalize on this. But Tsukasa throws his spear at her, destroying the metal plate she was intending to use in unison with Taiju in order to attack Tsukasa with a sound wave. The impact from the collision pushes Nikky and a few other guys who were behind her back.

Gen is seeing collecting solid waste off the ground, getting disgusted and wondering what animal the refuse is from. Senkuu explains to Gen that the urea in the refuse has to break down into the nitric acid, and white crystals have to surface in the solution. It isn't certain however, so it's all based on chance. Due to Senkuu's rotten luck in these situations, there is no crystallization process. They need to find another solution.

Kinrou tries fighting Tsukasa, and the larger man complements his skills, saying he doesn't wish to kill him. The parried attack reveals Ginrou right behind, the two having combined to trap Tsukasa so that he can't evade. Behind Tsukasa, Magma rises above him and effectively trapping him in a pincer attack. Hyouga seems surprised by the strategy before musing that it won't work on Tsukasa. Kohaku then appears in front of him and says she won't let him interfere, before challenging him to a revenge match. The first time the two fought, the girl nearly died if it wasn't for Gen tampering with Hyouga's spear. This time without any interference from anyone else, who knows if there will be a difference?

As expected, Tsukasa overwhelms the three Ishigami resident fighters pretty easily without even breaking a sweat. I always wondered whether Magma could put up a fight against Tsukasa due to his physical stature. That settles that then. And if Magma can't do anything, then Taiju obviously can't.

The scenes switch back to Senkuu and Gen, who are at a loss on what to do now. Gen states that he's a magician, so there's something he can find stashed away in his collection. The scientist then says sulphuric acid would help, but there was no way he'd carry around something that dangerous with him. Senkuu then theorizes that combining sulphuric acid and nitric acid will probably be their way forward, and just at that interval Chrome shows up at the cave once again. He's carrying a flask that has remnants of sulphuric acid from the bluff tank cannon.

Senkuu immediately moves to work, mixing the two ingredients. For Chemical X, he adds a dash of soap to the solution between the two acids. For a while, he reminisces about how soap was the first thing he ever made in front of Tsukasa. The remnants of soap came from the bag he always carries with him. We quickly switch back to the fight between Hyouga and Kohaku, where the girl seems to be losing. Before she admits that her plan all along was his spear, and that he's useless without it. The masked man is unfazed by this, immediately asking one of the people next to him to supply him with their own spear. Kohaku then makes a brave speech about how the strength of everyone there is coming together through Science.

The preparations are complete. Combining sulphuric acid, nitric acid and soap gives rise to nitroglycerin, which is a commmon substance used in explosives. Chrome wonders whether Senkuu is planning on blowing away all the enemies, to which Senkuu replies he's going to save them. Despite finalizing the creation, they have no way of delivering it to the battlefield. At that point Gen makes a paper jet, to which they dip some of the nitroglycerin in. The paper jet is let to soar freely in the air, and everyone on the battlefield sees it get dangerously closer to the sun before it explodes. Senkuu then equates this to dynamite, and the chapter ends on that explosive cliffhanger.

Overall, the chapter was alright. Not as thrilling as the one from last week since most of this was just downtime for Senkuu to come up with something to help the Kingdom of Science escape the pickle they found themselves in. The fighting went as expected in this chapter with Hyouga and Tsukasa completely overpowering everyone. I am curious to see what the dynamite will achieve though, since im not sure how it exploding sky high will help anyone.

Chapter rating-7.5/10

 

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 78 Review by Belserion

Last chapter ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. Senkuu managed to create Nitroglycerin aka Dynamite. As a warning he fired off a paper airplane coated in the formula that ended the chapter with a literal bang.

This week we pick up from there. Tsukasa and his empire are in awe of what Senkuu has created. We see Chrome, Gen and Senkuu holding more paper airplanes coated in Nitroglycerin, a clear threat to Tsukasa and those around him. While some of his henchmen question whether paper airplanes could even reach them, Ukyo, who was injured in a previous chapter, suddenly appears with an arrow coated in Nitroglycerin ready to fire. Seeing this, Gen proclaims it The Empire of Science victory and Tsukasa’s men start laying down their weapons. Hyouga is very impressed by this. Now whether this is a good thing isn’t clear as yet. We know Hyouga is a sinister character, more sinister in my opinion than Tsukasa is. The fact that he’s proclaimed the Nitroglycerin and the minor destruction it caused as “Marvelous” will be a situation to watch.

There was some debate after the last chapter as to who would be victorious after the Nitroglycerin was introduced. Under normal circumstances it would be a resounding victory for Senkuu and his allies; however there was one glaring weakness. Senkuu has promised both Ukyo and Taiju to spill as little blood as possible, in Ukyo’s case no deaths at all. If Senkuu was to use the Nitroglycerin against Tsukasa’s army then numerous persons would die, a fact Tsukasa points out. Knowing Senkuu as well as he does, he knows that’s the last thing Senkuu would want. It becomes clear to Tsukasa that Senkuu created this entire situation in order to negotiate an exchange of some sort.

Senkuu recalls Tsukasa as he was before in contrast to what he is now. Tsukasa could have anything in the world he wants now, yet he tries to purge it of those he considers corrupt, selfish people. Whereas before, he would appear on television to fight in matches that would earn him not only popularity, but large sums of prize money. This can be seen as him wanting fame and personal glory. Senkuu and Gen put it together that the man they see now is the real Tsukasa. So why did he do all that before? The answer was clearly that Tsukasa was not fighting for himself, but for someone else more important. His little sister.

In the first few chapters of the manga we were given small insights into Tsukasa’s life before the events of the Stone world, and we know he had a sister. To recap, she apparently had to undergo some sort of surgery and Tsukasa was only a little boy back then. He was trying to make a seashell necklace for her because she loved mermaids, but an old man saw him and accused him of stealing the shells and beat him for it. According to Tsukasa, even in the end he could not make her the necklace. This is what led me, and I believe others as well, to think his sister had died because in a way it explained his hatred of old people. But we learn this chapter that this was not the case. Tsukasa’s sister is indeed alive. To be precise, she was brain dead before but her body was kept alive by the hospital as long as Tsukasa kept paying them to keep her that way, hence the need for him to make so much money.

Senkuu tells Tsukasa it might be possible to heal his little sister with the restorative power that happens when being revived from petrification. Taiju reinforces this by reminding Tsukasa that Senkuu managed to come back after suffering a broken neck. Tsukasa is shocked by this but immediately asks Senkuu for the terms of his offer. Senkuu proposes in exchange for reviving his sister, they call a ceasefire. Tsukasa asks on what basis he should trust something that’s so hard to believe. Senkuu says he only has his word and that the power of science doesn’t lie. Tsukasa says Senkuu’s word is more than enough.

Tsukasa leads Senkuu’s group to the area where the hospital was. Gen mentions how deep everyone is buried and Senkuu proposes excavating the site with dynamite, reasoning that if any statues are accidentally destroyed they, meaning poor Yuzuriha, would simply put them back together. As everyone digs around the area, Tsukasa at last finds his little sister’s statue. This part was a very emotional moment because Tsukasa shows more emotion here than at any other time we’ve seen him. His love for his sister is so deep I actually empathized with him in this moment. The chapter ends with them pouring the restorative formula unto her statue.


Personal Thoughts

I’d give this chapter 8/10.

The creation of Nitroglycerin gave Senkuu and his science empire the means for a complete victory but instead Senkuu’s morals (what little he has) stopped him from finishing it. Instead he offered not only a ceasefire but also to give Tsukasa something precious in return. If we put it into context, Senkuu has the ammunition behind him to completely wipe out Tsukasa’s empire with Tsukasa being unable to counter in any way. Yet he met Tsukasa in the middle, putting them on equal footing. Whether this restorative miracle happens is something else entirely. I personally don’t think Senkuu’s broken neck is a good comparison to someone who’s brain dead. I know it was more the situation, the fact that a broken neck is usually irreversible, than a like for like comparison, but the brain is a completely different thing. It's not bone that can be glued back together. It's an organ that had stopped working completely, long before the world was petrified. Senkuu already said it was a slim chance so there’s that. I do hope it works though.

Then there’s the Hyouga aspect. I saw members of Tsukasa’s empire helping them excavate the area so it seems some of them won’t mind the new developments happening, but I can see Hyouga being the next villain in line. There were some statues we saw before of more soldiers Tsukasa planned on reviving. Perhaps Hyouga revives them. Ukyo was injured, and Kohaku has already proven to be no match for Hyouga, so while Senkuu, Tsukasa and co. are trying to revive his sister I wouldn’t put it past Hyouga to stage a coup. However, the war angle might be a bit repetitive so we’ll see.

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 79 Review by Emperor Spriggan
This week's chapter title is 'The Moment you've always been waiting for,' a clear indication that it's referring to Tsukasa and his long awaited reunion with his sister. To add on to this, the first page of the chapter shows a petrified Mirai surrounded by light. Which means the stone all around her body is coming off slowly by slowly.

Around Mirai, the villagers all express shock at how incredible the reviving formula's effects are. Gen remarks that this is the first time anyone from the village has seen something like this, and Senkuu bluntly states that the real problem starts now. He then states that it's called revival formula because it's capable of bringing back even someone who has brain death to full health again. In the next panel, Mirai breaks out of her petrified state completely and Tsukasa seems shocked.

The two siblings look at each other, and Mirai immediately recognizes her older brother. There are clear differences between how he looks currently and how he looked several milleniums ago, notably the longer wavy hair. But it's definitely her beloved brother. She remarks about how he looks different now before asking how long she's been asleep. Tsukasa at first responds with 6 years, before retracting his answer and saying thousands and thousands of years and the two hug warmly.

Kohaku looks pensive before talking about how Tsukasa was aware there was no way for her to be saved, but nonetheless he kept persisting with finding a way to keep her alive. She briefly thinks back to how she did the same for her own sister, Ruri, by constantly fetching water for her when she was ill with pneumonia. Finally, she alludes to the chapter title by saying that this is what Tsukasa has always been waiting for.

At that moment, Hyouga appears next to Mirai and tells her to go wash up in the river to remove some of the stone fragments on her body. Okay, the sequence of events here is pretty odd. Was Hyouga with them the whole time? Or he just showed up at that specific moment?

Chrome is counting the number of dynamite sticks that they made from the nitroglycerin from the cave, realizing that there are some missing. Ginrou then tells him that it's probably because they used a bunch, so the numbers don't add up because of that. The Sciencer counters by saying that he never loses track of ingredients so there's no way he's wrong. Next to Senkuu, Ukyo remarks that if someone had indeed stolen one dynamite stick and he didn't pick up on it, there could only be one person capable of that.

The scenes change back to the village, where we see Suika walking towards a makeshift prison. It turns out to be Homura's prison. It's supposed to be Mantle's turn to watch over her, but he's always slacking off so chances of him being there are next to none. The dog with her barks towards something and it turns out that Mantle has been knocked out. Which of course means, the prison cell is empty, something that the dog attests to as it uncovers a dummy in Homura's place. Suika immediately alerts the village and we see Yo quickly retreating from a few places next to the prison. Confirming his return to the story, something which didn't take too long. Like Homura I'm pleased to see the author didn't forget Yo as well. He's a generally unlikeable character, but he does offer some form of entertainment to the story.

There's a brief flashback about how he intended on turning around his situation by recapturing Chrome since he was aware of which direction he went towards. He managed to find the village, which is short on man power at the moment due to everyone being with Senkuu and Tsukasa at the old hospital ruins. Yo manages to spot Homura in the prison, and she tells him that she has a message for Hyouga. It's related to freeing her and the masked man's true objective. An interesting detail to note here, probably the first bit of exposition we have gotten about Hyouga ever since the story started.

We switch back to where Senkuu and his group are, and there's a huge explosion in the background. Everyone there seems in shock, and Chrome wonders whether it was an accident. Senkuu realizes with horror that the explosion happened at the cave of miracles. Kaseki laments about how the miracle water has been buried alive and they can't use it to make anymore nitroglycerin. Tsukasa and Hyouga are standing next to Mirai as she washes herself, and in the back we have Homura watching as she clutches onto two sticks of dynamite. This explains who stole the dynamite from Chrome's collection, while at the same time finishing on Ukyo's monologue from before.

Senkuu realizes something is horribly wrong, and immediately rushes to where Tsukasa and Mirai are, shouting at them to get away from there. Behind the two siblings, Hyouga has a sinister smile. He proceeds to lunge with his spear towards Mirai, and her older brother becomes aware of the danger. He remarks to himself how even an ambush or attack in his sleep would never take out the strongest high schooler (Something similar happened with Whitebeard in One Piece and Ace). However, if Tsukasa had someone to protect, then things would change completely. He proceeds to take his mask off again, akin to the previous chapter, before admitting that he was always waiting for this moment. Another shout out to the chapter title, and this is probably the best part of the chapter. The end of his spear is bloody, and Tsukasa is run through as he tried protecting his sister.

He collapses towards the river beneath, and Senkuu manages to reach him in time and holds onto him. The chapter ends with Tsukasa saying Senkuu's name.

Another solid chapter, completely blowing away all expectations. After last week's chapter it was pretty obvious that Hyouga would become the main villain soon following Tsukasa's redemption. The fact that we got all the questions about him, Homura and Yo answered in the same chapter was just expertly weaved. This actually makes me pleased since it seems like the story will go on longer than I had expected, and that's a massive plus one. I want Tsukasa to die, it would be kind of sad because of Mirai, but that would honestly shoot up Hyouga's villain factor by tenfold. Not to mention the story has been begging for a major death for a long while now.

Overall chapter rating: 9.5/10.

 

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 80 Review by Belserion

Chapter Title: Humanity’s Strongest Tag Team

Last chapter Hyouga showed his true colors by attacking Tsukasa’s newly revived sister Mirai, forcing Tsukasa to defend her and as a result he was stabbed through the chest and sent over a cliff. Senkuu however, managed to grab the injured Tsukasa before he could fall. This is where we continue.

As Senkuu struggled to keep hold of the falling Tsukasa, Mirai, Chrome and Kohaku could only watch on in shock as Hyouga sends Senkuu over the cliff as well. Surprisingly, Hyouga also follows the two over the cliff, which turns out to be what he planned from the start. Urging Senkuu to give up on Tsukasa because the wound he inflicted was lethal, Hyouga admitted to Senkuu that he had scouted the area ahead of time to know the current would wash them to their current location, something Senkuu reveals he already figured out when Hyouga tried to lure Mirai towards the river.

Hyouga tells Senkuu the reason for forcing him over the cliff was so that he could speak to him alone. Senkuu teases Hyouga about acting like a high schooler about to reveal his crush and states that he’s a married man and has no interest in speaking with Hyouga. Hyouga says it’s fine and that Senkuu should just listen. He states that he’s going to make a proposal and the only option Senkuu has is to accept it either by will or by force.

Hyouga explains the basis of his alliance with Tsukasa saying they both believed fundamentally that the Petrification Phenomenon that befell earth thousands of years ago was an artificial selection in order to thin out humanity. Senkuu responds that such reasoning doesn’t excite him and in the world of science such logic with zero basis is nothing more than a joke. As Senkuu is saying this he’s surreptitiously trying to stop Tsukasa from bleeding out by applying pressure to his wound.

Hyouga says Senkuu should play nice and tells Senkuu that he should know the earth had no way of supporting 7 billion people and if that’s the case, he asks who should live. Hyouga admits to Senkuu that what Tsukasa really desired was a “Shangri-La” where people did not take from one another, but he couldn’t care less about that. I think what Hyouga says here highlights that Tsukasa’s heart was in the right place. He may have gone about everything a bit radically but the end result he was hoping for would have been beneficial to those he deemed worthy.

Hyouga continues to berate Tsukasa’s plan saying if they did revive only the young, that would include the “brainless” and “skill-less” idiots that they would have to end up feeding, which ultimately would be taking from those around them anyway. Hyouga goes on to tell Senkuu that what they needed was selection. Only the superior should be allowed to live in the new world. All the average and ordinary should be eliminated and humanity being turned to stone was them being given that opportunity. I had to pause right here because this was absolute nonsense to me. Hyouga seems to conveniently forget that he was chosen by the same man he’s insulting and that if it wasn’t for Tsukasa he’d still be a statue. So how does he even consider himself superior?

Anyway, Senkuu tells Hyouga what he’s saying doesn’t excite him and if the earth can’t support the 7 billion people then they would just have to find a way to support themselves. That is the way of science. Although this infuriates Hyouga, he holds on to his temper and compliments Senkuu’s marvelous science power, telling him he has no doubt one day he will be able to create Nitric Acid which is basically the revival formula. Hyouga then puts his proposal to Senkuu that they rule the world together and “weed out and select humanity”. This would make them the ultimate tag team. Now comes the best part. Hyouga slices Senkuu’s finger and tells him his answer is yes and until he says it Hyouga would chop off his fingers one by one then move on to his legs. This is proof that Senkuu is only wanted for his brain and nothing more.

As Senkuu stands there afraid, Tsukasa nudges his foot to signal he’s about to do something. Senkuu uses this moment to cause a diversion. He starts throwing rocks from his bag at Hyouga screaming at him to stay away. Hyouga remarks that he overestimated Senkuu and that his current behavior was disgraceful. Just then Hyouga notices that the rocks aren’t ordinary; they’re in fact petrified birds. Suddenly the stone falls away from the birds and they start attacking Hyouga. It turns out Senkuu had some of the formula left over in his bag that he poured on the birds right before throwing them. As Hyouga defends himself from the sudden onslaught, Tsukasa launches a surprise attack at the shocked Hyouga. I must admit I was shocked as well because Tsukasa went at him like he didn’t even feel his injury.

Tsukasa reminds Senkuu of the promise he made him at the beginning, that danger would never touch Senkuu, but because of his ideals he broke that promise despite Senkuu keeping his own promise that science doesn’t lie. Tsukasa tells him he will now honor his promise of a ceasefire and once again swears to Senkuu that danger would not touch him again because Tsukasa will be the one to fight. Hyouga scoffs at this and says a wounded lion and a man with no fighting ability are humanity’s weakest tag team and all he has to do is get rid of them both. The chapter ends with Tsukasa asking Senkuu to team up. Science and Power uniting against a common enemy, something Senkuu finds exciting.


Overall Thoughts

I’d rate this chapter 8/10.

I find Hyouga’s ideals, while they make sense in way, to be selfish. He’s already set himself up as the god of the new world, so in the end this selection would be based on his reasoning, his ideology, the same as with Tsukasa. He didn’t say what the basis of the selection would be. Someone good at hunting might be bad at building and vice versa. Everyone has some sort of skill, some more obvious than others, so who decides what skill is useful? Hyouga that’s who. So basically his plan is for Senkuu to join him only because he would be the one to make the formula. Hyouga would then go about reviving whoever he wants without answering to anyone. Absolute power corrupts absolutely and Hyouga is already well on his way to complete corruption.

That being said I do agree with Hyouga’s analysis that Senkuu and Tsukasa as they currently are should be no match for him. It all depends on what Senkuu has in that bag of his. Also Kohaku and the others might be on their way so that has the potential for a surprise attack.

I’m also not sure of Tsukasa surviving this. Sure he looks like he has some life left in him but that doesn’t change the fact that the wound is lethal. Unless they somehow perform emergency surgery if the spear managed to miss the heart by some serious luck.

I think the upcoming fight should be good. The dilemma of Senkuu’s no kill policy might come up. Not sure if Tsukasa will take that into account or he will make the decision to end Hyouga on his own and face the consequences later if he survives, but I really don’t think Hyouga can be allowed to roam free. Building a sturdy prison has merit but they’d have to do it fast. Also there’s the Homura wildcard. Has she switched sides after passing along a message with Yo, or will she be the one to save Hyouga? Either way I’m expecting a lot of action in the next couple of chapters.

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 81 Review by Emperor Spriggan
Last week's chapter ended with Tsukasa and Senkuu squaring off to face Hyouga. The first time since the beginning of the story when the two have been side by side together, so will they manage to triumph over the masked man? Let's read on and see.

Hyouga boldly remarks that he is the strongest now since Tsukasa has perished, a taunt that Tsukasa clearly sees through. He doesn't deny the claim though, and Senkuu agrees with Tsukasa's assessment of the situation. The scientist then tells the larger man that they will team up and use Science and raw power to defeat Hyouga. To this effect, they both fist bump. I thought this was a pretty cool gesture, kinda reminiscent of Naruto whenever Killer Bee would always fist bump people as his signature greeting. Hyouga then charges at the two, seeing the fist bump as a ruse to cover their actual strategy meeting.

Tsukasa moves to meet him in the middle, and the two immediately break out into a fist fight. The primate is using his fists while Hyouga uses his spear, something which I find a little incredulous honestly. But it further goes to show how physically strong Tsukasa is. Senkuu immediately retreats in the opposite direction, something that Hyouga notices. He then says to himself that there is no way he will let Senkuu out of his sight, clearly aware of how he is capable of coming up with any scientific invention on the fly. Senkuu skids to a halt, shouting 11 o'clock at Tsukasa, clearly as a signal for something. Immediately, Tsukasa leaps into the air, but Hyouga is quick to mark him, following suit with his spear.

Before the spear can make contact though, Hyouga notices a black substance scattered around the ground at his feet. It leads on to a trail to where Senkuu is crouched on the ground, and we see a test tube next to him. The black substance originated from there. With a swift movement of his hand, the scientist immediately sets the trail ablaze, and it explodes in point blank range with Hyouga. The masked man is engulfed in the resounding flames.

Hyouga proceeds to take off his cloak, wraps it around the head of the spear and quickly spins it around, dispersing the flames all around him. I thought this scene was kind of cool since in Smallville, Clark once extinguished a fire with a similar technique. Senkuu and Tsukasa are both left speechless, the scientist remarking whether Hyouga was a monster. Immediately, the masked man charges at Senkuu, and Senkuu looks out of sorts. He sheepishly says that he could kill Hyouga with his finger tip using Science. Hyouga bluntly replies that such a taunt would only work on cavemen, before stabbing him with his spear.

The force is enough to push Senkuu back, and Tsukasa immediately moves in, resuming his earlier assault on his former right hand man. The two engage in fierce combat, with none being able to get the better of the other. Within a short while though, Tsukasa seems to be running short of breath, and Hyouga tries stabbing him similarly to how he attacked Senkuu. This time however, the strongest high school primate grabs onto the spear, stopping the attack short. Hyouga states that in Tsukasa's current form, there was no way he stood a chance against him. A punctured lung was a fatal wound, so he was a dead man walking. This part here makes me happy since after last chapter, I was genuinely worried that they were going to brush Tsukasa's injury under the carpet. So glad that this issue resurfaced, and sadly it seems like this fight is going to be Tsukasa's last stand.

Tsukasa affirms to what Hyouga is saying, and his lieutenant asks him why he's bothering to struggle even with the odds stacked against him. Tsukasa smiles a little, saying that he's not sure why himself, but maybe he just wanted to fight on a little longer. He adds on that he was enjoying his reunion as a friend with Senkuu even in his final moments.Behind him, his friend seems to be planning something, having come back to his senses. Hyouga aims his spear at Tsukasa's neck, saying that it was time the fun came to an end. Tsukasa seems to struggle at keeping the spear at bay as it inches closer and closer to his neck.

Senkuu manages to crawl to where the two are, saying that it's over while pointing his finger at Hyouga. The masked man immediately notices the finger is bandaged, remembering how he had cut Senkuu's hand before. Hyouga is a little startled, and the scientist reminds him what he told him earlier about being able to kill him with his finger. At this point, we get a closer view of Senkuu's finger, where we see two wire ends attached onto it. The bandages keep the wire in check, making the finger act like a mini battery.

Hyouga is visibly shocked at this point, thinking back to the earlier explosion that Senkuu had engulfed him in. How did he manage to start that fire then? The answer was in the wire ends attached at the end of Senkuu's finger. The scientist then adds on that primitive science isn't so bad, a clear retort to what Hyouga said earlier about Senkuu's taunt only being capable of working on cave men. Underneath his shirt, Senkuu proceeds to reveal a manganese battery that he had attached to him, explaining that if it was a lithium battery he had on,Hyouga's attack earlier would have caused it to explode. Manganese batteries are different in the sense that they are rock solid and hence, more durable.

Hyouga's eye widens in visible shock at that point, and Senkuu tells Tsukasa that he enjoyed teaming up with him too. Immediately, the masked man tries withdrawing his spear from Tsukasa's neck so as to stop Senkuu, but Tsukasa holds on to it firmly, putting Hyouga in place. Senkuu then says that what would follow was a Science present from him and Tsukasa, before discharging 100,000 volts of electricity at Hyouga. This is similar to Enel's ability in One Piece where he could discharge electricity at will using his Devil Fruit powers. The chapter ends with Hyouga caught up in the attack, undergoing an electrocution.

Final verdict:
This was a good chapter, once again. We finally managed to see what happens when Science and raw power team up, evident in the tag team between Senkuu and Tsukasa on Hyouga. I am hoping that he honestly isn't beaten yet, since I feel like his character still has more to offer to the story. Then again, I'm not sure how anyone would survive having 100,000 volts of electricity fired at them. In regards to Tsukasa, I am honestly happy that this will be his last stand. Not that I detest him as a character, I just feel as if having him around will honestly be overkill on the side of the protagonists. It depends on what the calibre of future antagonists are like though.

Chapter rating: 7.5/10

 

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 82 Review by Belserion


Chapter Title: Epilogue of the Stone Wars


Overview:

Last chapter Senkuu and Tsukasa formed the ultimate team up against Hyouga, ending with Senkuu launching a surprise attack, electrocuting Hyouga and seemingly grabbing a victory. This is where we continue.

In the throes of agony, Hyouga manages to ask Senkuu how he was able to get the weapon he used, to which Senkuu replied that Hyouga himself gave him the materials to create a 100,000 volt stun gun when he explained how to create a high voltage transformer a while back .

Homura arrives just in time to see Hyouga defeated, but as she was about to retaliate against an exhausted Senkuu, his friends show up and subdued her as well. Kinrou confirms that Senkuu is unharmed thanks mostly to the spear training he put him through in preparation for such an eventuality. Magma is hyped up to kill Hyouga, but Taiju stops him by reminding him that killing is bad. Hearing this, Chrome asks how long they are going to keep Hyouga and Homura tied up to which Senkuu replies they will keep them that way until civilization is created. Kohaku is relieved that it’s finally over but Senkuu corrects her by saying it’s only just begun. I like Senkuu’s point of view here. He saw the war as a prelude to building civilization, which in a way he’s right because Tsukasa was the only major obstacle so far.

As everyone worked to build The Kingdom of Science, Yo suddenly shows up wondering how he missed these new developments. For those of us who don’t remember him, Yo was a former policeman and one of Tsukasa’s weaker lackeys. He was responsible for guarding Chrome the time he escaped from his cell, and ran away to avoid punishment. He watches from the sidelines as Yuzuriha attempts to glue together one of the broken statues. She admits that there are a lot of fragments missing and wonders if the people can be revived that way even if all the parts aren’t there. Senkuu had hypothesized that as long as the inner fragments were all there then they should be able to be revived no problem. Gen morbidly states that if it doesn’t work then they’ll just have fountains of blood and corpses. They manage to revive a mangaka, proving Senkuu’s hypothesis was right. Gen surmises that with this they will bring back the world’s entertainment and that civilization will start there. He looks quite nostalgic here, and being an entertainer himself I’m sure this is the aspect he’s most looking forward to.

Yo reveals himself, telling the group a lie about losing his memory after falling down a waterfall. I guess this was his way of trying to integrate himself with them, hoping they would forget about all his past antics. Chrome warns Kohaku that Yo is bad news and was most likely the one to release Homura when they captured her the first time, but Yuzuriha interrupts and says if he wants to help then he’s welcomed to because there were a lot of statues to put back together. Yo is relieved to hear it and says this will absolve him of his crimes. He goes into shock at the amount of statues Yuzuriha shows him, proving that once again he’s rushed into something without thinking it through.

We move on to Tsukasa who is surprisingly still alive. He expresses regret to Taiju about the statues he destroyed, calling them meaningless sacrifices now that he’s been defeated by The Kingdom of Science. Taiju reassures Tsukasa that as long as he knows where to find the broken pieces there would not be any losses. Ukyo realizes that Tsukasa remembers all the statues he’s broken which Tsukasa confirms. This surprised me. I thought Tsukasa just went around smashing statues. I had no idea he not only remembered them but also where he smashed them. This shows Tsukasa in a more humane light I think. His reasoning for wanting to get rid of older people may have seemed weak, but it was something he truly believed in and had meaning to him. If it was just a selfish, fickle ideal, I doubt he would have given them a second thought much less remembered them all.

Chrome calls the villagers informing them of their victory and confirming that no one died. While the villagers celebrated, Senkuu, with the aid of Gen, used Formaldehyde along with other materials to create a substance which they plan to use in order to seal Tsukasa’s wounds and stabilize him. Senkuu warns Gen that he’s not a wizard; it would not save Tsukasa because his lungs have been ripped apart.

In the newly built prison cells, Kohaku takes food to Homura and Hyouga. Homura does not seem to mind her circumstances as long as she can be with Hyouga. Hyouga calls Kohaku naive. He says if they don’t execute the one his own commander there can never be order. Kohaku says she doesn't think even Hyouga would be enough to kill Tsukasa. Hyouga thinks it's absurd and that fools alwaysrely on miracles. Right here I think we get a glimpse into Hyouga. A statement like that makes me think his life was full of disappointments, or maybe even one big disappointment where he realized it was foolish to wish for good things. That could somehow explain why he’s so completely ruthless. Hopefully we get more insight into him as time progresses. Kohaku tells him that Senkuu doesn’t believe in miracles, he simply continues forward with his science knowing that one day he would achieve his goal. She ends the conversation by calling Senkuu the world’s steadiest and strongest man.

Senkuu visits Tsukasa and informs him that there is only one way to save him, and that is by petrifying him. He refers to the petrification beam as the mankind’s natural enemy, saying they will reverse it and use it to help Tsukasa. He excitedly tells Tsukasa that with science they would locate and seize the source of the petrification, something he finds thrilling. And with this the arc comes to an end.

Personal Thoughts:

I rate this chapter 8/10

For the most part I liked the conclusion with Hyouga defeated and captured. However, I did find the fact that they could now put people back together without all of the outer pieces a bit unbelievable. I think the author took an easy way out to fix the problem of the statues Tsukasa broke. It was enough that they could be put back together if all the pieces could be located, and if not, it would just be counted as an unfortunate loss. We already have Tsukasa showing regret for his actions, now with there basically being nothing to be sorry for, it loses a little of its appeal for me. It just seems overly convenient.

At the start of the series, the big mystery was what caused the Petrification Phenomenon. I always expected Senkuu to investigate it, perhaps even try to replicate it to maybe understand what the person was trying to do, if indeed it was a scientist that caused it. In this situation I find it far-fetched. Who knows how long it will take to figure out the process, and in the meantime what happens to Tsukasa and his lungs? How long can he live like that? Months? Years? I hope since Tsukasa’s survival is riding on this that the author doesn’t rush it because it has the potential to be a great arc.

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 83 Review by Emperor Spriggan
Before I start on this review, I'd like to draw attention to something. The title of the chapter is 'Doctor Stone', but a while back we had another chapter of the series with the same title. It was chapter 41, to be exact. In that chapter, Ruri was saved from pneumonia, a disease which had overwhelmed her for 18 years. And in this chapter, we possibly have Tsukasa 'dying'. Maybe it means these two's fates are intertwined? Let's read on and see.

This week's chapter starts with a color cover, and as it was promised last week in the cliffhanger, hell yes. Dr Stone is getting an anime, which is going to start airing next year in July. It was about damn time this happened. This series(imo) is probably among the most underrated series ongoing in WSJ currently, so hopefully this helps to increase its popularity.

The first page of the chapter is colored. It's actually the last page from last week's chapter which kicks off this chapter, but this time in color. Senkuu pledges to find out the mystery behind the petrification and make it his own weapon. This is followed by a color spread of all the characters in the manga up till this point. It also includes characters like Ukyo and Homura.Mirai is peeping behind a rock. Yuzuriha appears behind her, startling her. The younger girl explains herself by saying that she couldn't help but be worried about her brother. We learn that she was indeed peeping in at her brother, who Senkuu was about to perform a surgery on. Gen is as surprised as Mirai about the surgery since there are no anaesthetics around. The scientist then says for someone as strong as Tsukasa, anaesthetics weren't really necessary. Tsukasa has an uneasy expression on his face, but he doesn't deny what Senkuu just said.

We switch to another scene where we see Kohaku and Mirai sitting next to a cliff. In the distance, we see the sun setting. Maybe a parallel to Tsukasa's life that's about to be ended? Or well, 'ended'. Kohaku reassures the little girl that there was nothing to worry about at all. Senkuu isn't a liar, so he'd never lie about saving Tsukasa. No matter how long it took, Senkuu would find a way to save his friend.

The surgery is over. Tsukasa tells Senkuu that it would only serve to buy a little time. Sepsis would buy a few days as well, and Senkuu tells him that there is only one way to save him in the Stone World. Turning him to stone. Gen asks how he intends on doing that, and Senkuu tells him to stop being impatient. He turns his attention back to Tsukasa, and tells him that the petrification might take years, which wouldn't be helpful at all. Before they found a way to petrify him, Senkuu would kill him with his own hands.

Gen is shocked at this, and asks what he means. The scientist then confirms that he intends on freezing his body, and putting it into a cold sleep. While Tsukasa is frozen, Senkuu will find a way to turn him to stone and save him. His hand is shaking visibly at this point, and he begs Tsukasa to let him kill him, TsukaHis friend offers no objections to the proposal, and says that he had already killed Senkuu once before. If there was anyone's hands he'd want to die by, it would have to be Senkuu's.

We switch perspective again, and this time it's on Kaseki. Kaseki is with his steam engine, glad it wasn't destroyed. Senkuu takes two pistons from it, and Chrome and Suika are dismantling the cellphone they had made earlier. Senkuu himself had asked for large amounts of gold string. Stunned, Ukyo, Nikky and Yo watch the Science group work their magic, unaware of what is going on. The scientist tells them he intends on making a refrigerator. It just adds on to their visible shock and surprise. He explains the process he intends on using to freeze Tsukasa. Ruri's father then suggests that the process can be used to preserve food too, but Senkuu says a petrification ray would be more sufficient for that. All you would need is revival formula and you can pretty much have fresh sashimi whenever you wanted. Th petrification ray is also what he probably intends on using to save Tsukasa.

The refrigerator is completed. Kaseki asks everyone around to leave the two friends in peace, since he was sure no one would want to see Senkuu's face when he killed his friend. The two begin talking, and Senkuu asks Tsukasa if he was asked to take three people to space with him, who would he choose? Tsukasa asks him why he chose such a topic to discuss, and he simply answers back that them having a pointless conversation wasn't so bad. The primate simply answers back that he would choose Taiju, Chrome and Yuzuriha. An interesting assortment of people. Maybe this is who Senkuu intends on bringing along the ride to discover the source of petrification?

Senkuu immediately dives into another topic about Mario, before finalizing with a question to Tsukasa. The question seems to be heavily scientific, but i'm not sure if it's supposed to carry another meaning other than random banter. Tsukasa doesn't answer the question,and the next time we see him he's frozen solid. Mirai cries over his frozen body which is currently in the refrigerator. As her brother had protected her all this time, she was going to protect and watch over him this time. Senkuu and Kohaku are spotted talking, and they are making preparations about venturing out. His father and his crew of astronauts had left a scientific trail all around the earth, and they were going to follow it. The final page of the chapter announces the beginning of the third arc, an arc about sailing around the world.

Personal Opinion: This was an alright chapter, even if not particularly mind blowing or anything. Tsukasa was frozen solid, in an attempt to preserve his body until they find a way to save him for good. Mirai's emotions over the whole thing were done really well, I really like how the author didn't forget her as far as her brother went. I also liked the attention that the friendship between Tsukasa and Senkuu is getting, a lot. At this point it seems that Tsukasa is indeed closer to Senkuu than Taiju was.

Overall chapter rating: 7/10.

 

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 84 Review by Belserion

Chapter Title: People = Power

Senkuu calls a meeting with everyone, from the villagers to Tsukasa’s people. The villagers comment on the number of people saying they’ve never seen that many people before. That’s understandable since civilization was basically narrowed down to their village, until Senkuu showed up. Senkuu proceeds to explain what happened the first time with the Pertrication Ray. Ukyo comments that if someone was using it to attack then one more use of it would wipe out humanity completely. Senkuu states that’s the reason they need to acquire it for themselves, to save Tsukasa, then with it at their disposal they would exceed even the old civilization. He then announces that their goal is the source the light originated from, which is on the other side of the globe.

The villagers are shocked by Senkuu’s proclamation with Magma pointing out that if they go to the other side of the globe they would fall off and Senkuu as a scientist should know this. Yo can’t contain himself at what he perceives to be the ignorance of the uncivilized and starts laughing at Magma. Magma takes exception to this and the two begin fighting. Gen is not surprised that things degenerated so quickly considering they were once enemies now forced into being allies. He decides that it’s a job for him, “The Mentalist”.

Kohaku thinks about what Senkuu said about traveling to the other side of the globe and realizes they can’t do it by foot. Senkuu confirms this by saying they will travel by ocean. Yuzuriha takes this moment to place a pirate’s hat she made on Senkuu’s head to add to the mood. Senkuu announces to everyone the reason he called the meeting. They were going to build a boat. At this announcement the villagers get excited because unlike everything else Senkuu has asked them to make, they actually know how to build a boat considering their village is built around water. Magma tells Senkuu that it’s their expertise as boat riders that will be useful in this situation rather than the scientists. While Chrome and the others are freaked out by Magma’s euphoria, Senkuu admits he’s actually right.

Gen announces a sort of competition where anyone who wants to can come up with ideas for the boat and in the end they would vote for the best one. Magma uses the village artist Namari to help draw up his plans. I have to say the way he did this, kicking Namari and ordering him around, was quite scummy. We get a flashback of him saying that he would follow Senkuu until Tsukasa was dealt with. So now that Tsukasa was out of the picture Magma realizes his followers were directionless and looking for a leader. He tells his sidekick Mantle that the one who controls the ship will essentially be the leader. I guess he means with overseeing the building process the one who is in charge of that would be considered the leader since everyone was going to be helping and taking orders. Like a construction foreman to put it simply. Yo overhears this and quickly runs to his group nearby and asks for their help in one of his schemes.

Mantle asks Magma why he doesn’t just kill Senkuu now that Tsukasa is gone instead of going through all that if he just wants to be leader. Magma suddenly thinks back to when he helped Senkuu during the time they were working together against Tsukasa. Turning the question back on Mantle he asks if Mantle wants to kill Senkuu. Mantle has no reply to this. This is actually a big deal because these guys before were heartless and didn’t care if they inflicted pain if it got them what they wanted. So for both of them to suddenly hesitate over doing something they wouldn’t have thought twice about a few months earlier shows some character development. Magma tries to play it cool and insists the only reason he’ll let Senkuu live is because he makes some interesting things, and reiterates that he has not given up on the position of Village Chief.

The next day Gen announces that the boat building plans came down to Yo, Senkuu and Magma. Yo confidently states that everything after his is unnecessary because during the night he already completed the building of his boat. He thinks this makes him the undisputed winner and while Magma prepares to show his plans, Yo picks up where he left off the day before by calling anything Magma makes a flop and uncivilized people laughable. He’s quickly shut down when everyone is awed by the boat Magma had drawn up. It’s actually quite beautiful. There’s even a house on it with baskets at the sides to catch fish while it sails. Seeing how beautiful it is, everyone turns to a speechless Yo in anticipation since he already stated his was the best of the lot. Yo tries to backtrack saying they misunderstood him and that he has forgotten to bring his boat, but Suika points to a very poorly constructed raft with Yo’s name on it and asks if that’s not it.

Senkuu ignores Yo’s antics and questions Magma’s boat construction, specifically the sails. It seems he was curious about woven sails and Magma’s design showed him it was possible to use them. He’s grateful for Magma’s experience and says they can now construct his ship. Senkuu proceeds to unveil his own design. It is huge and fantastic. It looks like one of those old time war ships. If I squint I even see what looks like a little canon on it. So Senkuu will definitely be in Pirate mode soon. Magma and Yo are disheartened over Senkuu’s obviously superior design, while everyone else is excited. It’s a resounding victory for Senkuu. Chrome wonders how long it would take to build, stating that he would be dead before it was complete. Kaseki starts to crunch numbers in his head, theorizing they would need about one hundred people to build it quickly. Gen casually points out that they do indeed have that many people and so the building begins.

Ukyo questions Gen as to why they had the competition in the first place since it was obvious Senkuu would win. Gen states that they can’t unite people by forcing them, it’s better if people believe that they made the choice themselves. Ukyo compliments him by stating he’s glad Gen chose to side with Senkuu rather than Tsukasa or Hyouga. I agree with Ukyo, and I think this is why instead of Taiju or even Chrome, Gen is the one that can be considered Senkuu’s right hand. He knows how to deal with people. Senkuu is a scientist and while he wants to save everyone, people are basically background noise to him most of the time. Having someone like Gen explain and smooth certain paths for him will be an added bonus as the story continues. Gen reiterates my point here by stating that Senkuu relies on people and understands that people = power no matter how different they are. And it really is a change from Hyouga and even Tsukasa who relied on their own power to achieve their goals.

Tsuaka’s number one fangirl is sobbing over him which annoys Nikki who scolds her. Senkuu suddenly appears stating Tsukasa told him she was the best at selecting whom to revive from pertification and says he has a job for her. Now I don’t know if she was distraught over Tsukasa not being there anymore or the fact that she no longer felt wanted, but the minute Senkuu offers her a job we see a whole new side of her. Suddenly she looks smug and very eager to offer her expertise, simply asking Senkuu what he needs with no hesitation. Senkuu holds out the hat Yuzuriha made for him and tells her he needs a captain. Senkuu plans to increase their allies.


I’d rate this chapter 7/10

This was basically a set up chapter. We established the plans for the ship and what direction our heroes plan to take. I’m excited to see the captain that’s chosen and perhaps even some crew mates. It’s hard to pinpoint who is going to travel with Senkuu. Kohaku and Gen are obvious choices imo. I’d say Chrome as well but I’m not sure if the village can lose both scientists for who knows how long. I’d prefer if Taiju and Yuzuriha went along with Senkuu, mostly because they’ve been out of the story for a while and I’d like to see them re-establish their connection with Senkuu. Next chapter we will probably meet the new members and if the author wants to move things along the ship will most likely be completed. I’m excited for the upcoming adventure.

 

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 85 Chapter Review:

Chapter Title: The King of Resources

The Chapter begins with Senkuu telling Tsukasa’s reporter that he needs a captain to sail them to the other side of the world. She guarantees she can find anyone. Nikki points out that they’re building a sailing ship as opposed to a modern vessel. The difference here is the modern vessels like cruise ships run on oil and fuel whereas the sailing Vessels are propelled by the winds. The reporter points out that it will be hard finding someone from their era who could operate one, despite all the training they would have done. She suddenly has a flashback of a man doing an interview in front of many reporters including herself and utters the name “Ryuusu…” but tries to stop before anyone has a chance to hear her. Kohaku asks who Ryuusu is but is quickly dismissed.

Senkuu and the others arrive at the site where the Nanami Academy used to be. This was an ocean based school that had sailing as part of its curriculum. The reporter thinks that if they revive one of the instructors they would know how to operate a sailing vessel. The “Gorilla” team proceeds to excavate quite a few statues. Kohaku wonders if they should revive them all but Senkuu unfortunately does not have that much revival formula since Homura destroyed the cave of miracles. While they’re deciding on whom to revive, the reporter suddenly notices the statue of Ryuusui. Kohaku remembers her mentioning the name earlier but the reporter frantically tells them to use anyone but him. Senkuu asks her about him and reminds her that what matters most in the end is his skill.

The reporter proceeds to give them background on Ryuusui. It turns out his name is Nanami Ryuusui and his family founded the sailing academy. They are hailed as the Kings of the Shipping Industry, but she considers him a debaucherous party boy. When he was younger he was into making model ships in bottles, and as he got older he turned his attention to making real ships. Ever since he was in middle school he built and sailed ships using his own ability, partying around the world. Kohaku, Taiju and Senkuu are sold on this impressive feat but the reporter tries to tell them that while there’s no one more capable of sailing a ship he also has the vilest personality. Nikki breaks it down, do they want a normal person with normal skills, or a psycho with top class skills? Senkuu doesn’t even bother debating and throws the formula at Ryuusui’s statue.

Ryuusui dramatically breaks out of his statue and declares the world is once again his. This shocks everyone with the reporter reminding them that she warned them about him. After establishing that it was Senkuu and his group that saved him, he arrogantly states that his butler Francois would write them a check for any amount as a thank you. Realizing that he no longer has his butler or money at his disposal, he proceeds to show off his “sailor senses” and breaks down what’s happened, from the end of civilization to his lack of funds. After Senkuu confirms this, Ryuusui excitedly states that if ownership across the world has disappeared he would acquire it all for himself now, much to the dismay of those around him. The reporter shoves some clothes at him, because up until now he was standing there naked, and he apologizes for being inelegant standing before three beauties. Magma with all the common sense of a fly, corrects him by saying there are only two beauties to which Nikki knees him in the groin. This was a surprising moment because it’s obviously pointing to a future Magma/Nikki ship, which I can actually see. Ryuusui also corrects Magma and states that even though everyone has their own types, every woman is a beauty. Yes I definitely like this guy.

Senkuu shows Ryuusui the ship they’re currently building. He likes what he sees and definitely wants it. Senkuu asks if he can get them to the other side of the world. Gen points out that Ryuusui is used to modern top class vessels, while their ship is primitive. I’m not sure if Gen was trying to use reverse psychology here but Ryuusui interrupts and tells them they’ll have to disassemble the ship and protect it before he could answer as to whether he could take them around the world. He then proceeds to show off his sailor senses once again by guessing the temperature which is confirmed to be correct. Senkuu uses a thermometer to test this and we’re given a quick tutorial on how to make a thermometer. Ryuusui continues by listing the different things happening to the weather including humidity, air mass, cloud speed, going as far as predicting a storm is coming, which it does a few minutes later. Everyone is once again in awe at his precise predictions and wonders who he is and if he was using science as well. This is a huge compliment to Ryuusui because they’re in effect, comparing his intelligence to Senkuu’s.

Ryuusui tells Senkuu that the trees they’re using to build the ship aren’t like the tress that humans culled and raised over centuries. The ones Senkuu is using are weak and it’s too much of a gamble to use them to sail across the world. Senkuu agrees saying they’ll need sails and locomotion, a hybrid motorized sailboat. Ryuusui realizes Senkuu was testing him to see whether he knew what he was doing or if he was just a yes man. Ryuusui asks him what his locomotion is, saying if he gets some real fuel he guarantees he can take them across the world. Senkuu tries to play dumb by asking him what he wants since Senkuu wasn’t good at science, but Ryuusui stops him and warns him not to play dumb. Senkuu laughs and admits he knows what Ryuusui wants since it’s the same thing The Kingdom of Science wants and that’s the King of Resources, a.k.a Oil. Gen is beyond shocked at hearing this and demands to know where they will find oil in Japan of all places.

Ryuusui says that no matter how much time has passed one thing remains the same and that’s “he who controls the oil controls the world.” He sinisterly states that even in this new world he will acquire everything. Chrome’s excavation squad prepares to find the oil.

This was a nice chapter. I’d rate it a 7/10.

A captain was acquired. I like Ryuusui for the most part, but towards the end I had to pause because he seemed to have his own agenda in regards to the oil they’re going to be looking for. He seems determined to control the world, and we know one thing for certain is that Senkuu cannot be controlled by anyone. I had flashbacks to when we first met Tsukasa and he wanted the revival formula for himself because his ideals were far from Senkuu’s. A friend with the potential to turn into a foe. That’s the vibe I’m getting from Ryuusui. If he was like what the reporter first said, a party boy that likes sailing, it would be fine. But he’s ambitious and he’s smart. He would make a good enemy for Senkuu, or bad depending on how one looks at it. For now I think he’ll play nice, because I’m pretty sure he’ll be taking them to the other side of the world. What happens afterwards is what I’ll be keeping an eye on.

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 86 Review By Emperor Spriggan
This week's cover has Ryuusui on it, the captain who was revived last chapter. He's holding a coin in his hand, which is quite fitting with the chapter title being money. Perhaps they will actually invent money in this chapter? Let's read on and see.

The chapter kicks off with Senkuu and Ryuusui in conversation, both of them standing over a map. Senkuu mentions that Shizuoka (A place in Japan by the sound of it) specializes in oil. Gen and the others are all shocked at this revelation. Senkuu adds on that there was a guy called Sagara Yuden who has an oil fountain. He had stopped operating it due to issues with profits, so naturally the fountain should be overflowing with oil at that moment.

Chrome, Ukyo and Kohaku have formed a unit with the purpose of going out to excavate the oil. Ukyo is part of the squad due to his excellent hearing ability, Kohaku her excellent vision, and Chrome due to his knack for being able to find raw materials easily. Once the trio leaves, Ryuusui addresses Senkuu and Gen. He acknowledges responsibility for being Captain of the ship, but only in exchange of being given the rights to the oil discovered. The mentalist immediately protests, saying that Ryuusui was being too greedy. He proceeds to ask what they will do if they want oil for the ship, and the captain states that they will have to buy it from him. The first allusion in the chapter to the title, Money.

On the next page, we see Ginrou writing over some pieces of paper while Ryuusui watches over him and supervises him. Finally, money is created. That was probably the cheapest and simplest scientific invention we will ever see in the series.

As expected, Ryuusui assumes monopoly of the money. He is treated like a king by the villagers, and Ginrou is clearly jealous of that. Yo approaches the ship's captain. He initially wants to confront him about his current status, but holds back and decides to ask how he got that well off in such a short amount of time.Ryuusui explains the currency system to the former policeman. At first, Yo shows no interest, but upon noticing the various stalls and stands that are in the village, his interest is piqued. The stalls are selling stuff that was present in the modern day world before petrification such as ramen, cotton candy, and even manga. The manga part is the funniest bit of all this.

The girl who found Ryuusui tells Senkuu that this was the kind of person Ryuusui was, but the scientist couldn't care less. There's an evil expression in his face as he states that he intends on making full use of the currency that Ryuusui made. Yo has made himself quite a fortune. Nicky asks Ryuusui what the point in that money was if there was no oil, but Ryuusui states that it all depended on Senkuu finding the oil. We switch perspectives back to the oil excavation team, and they have discovered a waterfall. Something about this doesn't fit, since the map had no waterfall indicated on it. There was never a waterfall in Shizuoka 3,700 years ago.

Ukyo spots the tallest mountain in the area that was supposed to be their landmark, and the scenery is breathtaking. The archer has a realization, and immediately contacts Senkuu.Senkuu realizes that the mountain that Ukyo saw was indeed Mount Fuji. Once every few centuries, the volcano erupts, and the resulting lava and molten rock completely distorts the landscape completely. That meant that any maps they had were rendered useless. Ukyo states that they needed to create a new map since it would be too dangerous looking for oil without one. Suika wonders whether it would be easier making a map from the skies.

Senkuu gets inspiration from Suika's idea. They need hemp, so the scientist was intending on using the villager's motivation for money to gather large amounts of it. Yo and a few people from Tsukasa's camp have gathered an incredible amount of money at this point. Gen uses his mentalist skills here, telling Yo and his company that he has the perfect way to make sure that their efforts weren't wasted in getting the money.

In the next page, we have Yo and his friends working hard to gather large amounts of hemp. Ryuusui is surprised by how evil and cunning Senkuu can be, since he used the principle of inflation to motivate the villagers to work hard. Chrome wonders whether they are building a larger map with all the hemp, but the senior scientist confirms that they are going to make hot air balloons. The excavation of oil is going to be done from the skies.

Personal thoughts: This was an okay chapter. Not exactly mindblowing stuff, or boring content. Something in the lukewarm middle? Ryuusui's character is pretty entertaining. He reminds me a little of Jack Sparrow, so once the ship is completed, I guess you can say they'll become like the Pirates of the Caribbean? I do like the business concepts they introduced in this chapter, but more than that I am genuinely curious to see how the hot air balloons will fare.

Chapter rating: I give this chapter a solid 7/10.

 

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 87 Review by Belserion

Chapter Title: Senkuu Department Store

Continuing from last week, the villagers are still in shock over Senkuu’s announcement of building a hot air balloon to fly in. Reminiscent of their last fight, Yo once again tries to contain himself from laughing at the “savages” as Magma loudly proclaims that humans can’t fly, stating that he also has no idea how Senkuu plans to do it by scratch. Suika thinks the ability to fly like birds would be amazing. You’d think knowing Senkuu; they would all know to trust him by now. I guess they’re still learning.

Despite being fired up for the rough road ahead, Senkuu surprises everyone by showing that they only need hemp yarn and cloth to make the balloon. Although Nicky worries that the hemp might tear in the sky, Senkuu assures her that the first balloons humans flew were made from hemp so it should not be a problem. Senkuu goes on to convince everyone how simple it is to make but with one hurdle. Yuzuriha already knows where this is going and states they’ll need lots of cloth. Senkuu being the scumbag that he is, pretends not to have realized this and considers it a great coincidence that they have a craftwork member right there, aka Yuzuriha. He really is despicable in a hilarious way.

Yuzuriha assures Senkuu he can leave it to her and her team, consisting of Taiju and a confused Yo who wants to know when he became a part of the team. Now if we remember a few chapters back, Yo offered to help Yuzuriha put broken statues back together, as a way of getting into their good graces. He obviously didn’t realize it was a permanent position. Taiju takes over the job of crushing the hemp to make thread, a fact Yo points out to a confused Magma right before the two start fighting again. After Yuzuriha explains the Thread making process to them, Yo settles down and actually starts having fun. But as with anything Senkuu related, of course there’s a catch. They need to make tens of thousands of kilometers of it.

After they complete the thread making process, they now have to focus on making cloth. Yuzuriha goes through the process of showing the group how to maneuver the threads, how slow and steady it is, but everyone protests that it would take an eternity to finish, which for what they want to do with it, is an well founded complaint. Yuzuriha acknowledges this and decides to ask Senkuu to make her a loom to make the process a bit faster. She daydreams about a cute piece of board with strings running through it, but Senkuu and Kaseki present her with a huge piece of equipment, it looks like a malformed grand piano with lights and pedals and gears. It’s actually beautiful in a monstrous way. Not at all what Yuzuriha envisioned, but better with a faster output. Senkuu is worried she doesn’t like it and wonders if she wanted it electrically powered, but Yuzuriha assures him it’s fine.

It takes her a few days, but Yuzuriha finally manages to produce mountains of cloth needed for the hot air balloon. She mentions that there were some failures mixed in that would not be ideal for a balloon because it wouldn’t be able to keep the air in. Gen decides to rally the troops by promising that the person who makes the longest thread will win 10,000 Dragos (the money introduced last chapter). Senkuu is worried because Gen promised money they didn’t have, but Gen promises that soon they would have more than they know what to do with. His idea is to take the ventilated cast off cloth and make merchandise from them to sell in the newly thought up “Senkuu Department Store”. Overhearing their plan, Yuzuriha gets beyond excited and volunteers to be the one to make them. Everyone comments on her sudden personality flip, claiming she’s turned into a warrior beast.

Yuzuriha spots Ruri, Kinrou and Suika passing by and accosts them to be models for her clothing line. The clothes are fabulous, she has a mens line, womens line, kids line, you name it Yuzuriha made it. If you guys want to see the clothes she made check out the chapter, you won’t be disappointed. Gen is amazed at what she’s created and only from hemp cloth. Mirai comments on how expensive they are but despite that everyone still wants the clothes and soon the department store is crowded with buyers. Senkuu remarks that while he would have preferred giving it all away to the hard workers, Ryuusui’s presence makes it impossible since the money originates with him and is the only thing he cares about. This is accurate because Ryuusui practically buys out the entire store, realizing too late that he’s basically given Senkuu all the money he needs to buy the oil from him. If we remember last chapter, as compensation for being their captain and taking them to the other side of the world, he acquired the rights to any oil they would find and offered to sell it to them. Ironically they would have to purchase it from him with the money he created. So this was karma in all its glory. Never underestimate Senkuu and his allies.

I’d rate the chapter 8/10

Yuzuriha really grabbed the spotlight this chapter, highlighting her specific skill set. This was just another way the author shows off how character driven the plot of this series is. No one is filler. Now that they’ve gotten the money to pay for the oil as well as the cloth to make the balloon, I’m guessing the next step is to make the basket to attach to the balloon. That should be easy enough to make, so most likely they will take to the sky soon. I’m really anticipating the reactions of the villagers who get to fly for the first time. It’s always nice seeing appreciation for things we take for granted. The plot is moving along nicely, it’s not being rushed which was one of my main concerns when they made it clear that someone’s life was on the line depending on the outcome of this trip. I like the introduction of Ryuusui as a character and also the inclusion of those we considered “Tsukasa’s lackeys”. Hopefully it continues like this.

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 88 Review
The chapter starts with Chrome in disbelief over the gang building a device that can fly in the air. He remarks that he never got to work on the car or the tank, but this time he was not going to be left behind. The scene shifts to Senkuu making several calculations, and he comes to the conclusion that for a test run, they need a hot air balloon that can hold 3 people.

Last week's chapter cover had Senkuu on the cover along with Kohaku. There's a difference this time though. Upon Senkuu's back are wings, and the title of the chapter is 'Wings of Man'.

Everyone is getting involved in the sewing of the cloth that's going to make the hot air balloon. Yo makes a mistake and accidentally injures himself with the needle. Magma mocks him, saying that modern people are useless at sewing despite doing nothing himself. Yuzuriha is making the most progress out of everyone there, continuing to display her excellent craftsmanship skills. Within no time, the hemp needed for the hot air balloon is completed.

Now, the tricky part comes here. They need to decide the three people who are supposed to test the hot air balloon out. Of course, the first name that goes without saying is Senkuu. Senkuu then states that they need a proper pilot to navigate the hot air balloon. Only one person fits this bill out of everyone else there, Ryuusui. Taiju immediately shouts his name, but Gen stops him. He intends on making money out of getting Ryuusui on the ship. To this effect, he decides that drawing lots is the best way to achieve his scheme. Whoever got the two jokers that were in his set of cards would be the chosen two.

Ryuusui seems to see through this plan, and tells Gen that he will charge him 1 million dragos for his piloting services. He draws a card from the pack, but it isn't a joker. Gen then states that when people lose something they think they had, they experience more stress and psychological pressure. The mentalist had hidden a card up his sleeve that he pulls out at that point. Said card is revealed to be a joker, which of course means Gen is one of the chosen two to go aboard the balloon. He laments getting the card, and this is where the fun part of the chapter starts. Senkuu realizes what Gen is doing, and joins him in lamenting about the joker he obtained. The pilot then offers to trade with Gen, a proposal that Gen uses to gain more money from him. Both Taiju and Yuzuriha are in awe of what happened, and Senkuu coolly states that they should have enough money to buy oil now.

The second person for the ride is acquired. Now we need one more person to volunteer, Chrome then immediately shouts that he wants to go, arriving at the spot just in time. All he's done is hear from Senkuu what the world is like, but he wanted to see it for himself. He moves to draw a card, and succeeds in obtaining a Joker.

Senkuu finalizes the hot air balloon, and they realize the weather currently is perfect to take off in. Chrome marvels at how they are rising in the air. Magma and the others on the ground are also amazed by the phenomenon. Kaseki then remarks at how even without wings, man found a way to fly with Science. While in the air, Chrome is surprised at how the earth is lit up despite it still being dark outside. The senior Scientist replies saying that they are seeing the sunrise from 7 minutes into the future, hence the lighting up.

The junioe Scientist realizes that the earth really is round from seeing the horizon. He breaks into tears, revealing that he wants to see everything about the world. Senkuu acknowledges his wish, stating that he intends on finding out where the petrification ray came from. Ryuusui boldly states the world is theirs, and the chapter ends with a view of the horizon as the sun rises.

Personal opinion: This chapter solidified why this is one of the best ongoing manga currently. The emotion evoked from this chapter was stellar. Kaseki as he watched the hot air balloon rising, Chrome crying as he witnessed the world, even Gen tricking Ryuusui into getting on the ship. Everything in this chapter was done brilliantly. Art work in the hot air balloon scenes was top notch.

Chapter rating: 9.8/10.

 

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 89 Review by Belserion

Chapter Title: The Adventurers

The chapter continues from last week where Chrome, Senkuu and Ryuusui are the three chosen to test the hot air balloon. Chrome is crying because of the sheer beauty of flying, something he says the likes of Senkuu and all the modern ones take for granted. Ryuusui contradicts his statement by acknowledging that while they did have things like private jets that took them to different places for leisure; this was his first time in a hot air balloon so he could definitely appreciate the moment. While Chrome rhapsodizes about flying with the birds, Senkuu cautions him that it’s no time to be happy because birds can cause accidents. Ryuusui muses to himself that he was considering dodging the birds immediately but their lift in the balloon seems weaker than it should be, wondering if he should add fuel. Ryuusui reassures the other two that steering the balloon was similar to steering a ship and that he would get them to their goal, which is Ishigami Village.

Chrome is in disbelief because it takes two days by land to reach the village. Ryuusui assures him that travelling by sky would get them there in two hours, that’s the power of the wind. While Chrome thinks flying makes travelling the distance so easy, Senkuu counters him by saying it’s not as easy as he thinks, it’s actually rather complicated. All through the day and night in Japan the wind blows eastward, so anyone could easily travel east, but since they were moving towards the west they had to do so via low pressure areas. The winds in these areas spin counterclockwise, and if they catch one that’s how they will be able to travel west. This is very difficult and carries a high level of risk, but overcoming it is what makes Ryuusui a pro adventurer according to him. Calling the other two amateurs, he tells them to leave everything to him as their captain.

Chrome is insulted at being labeled an amateur since he considers himself the king of exploration. He tells Ryuusui that while he might be a pro adventurer of the seas, he wonders how he would do on land adventures. Chrome notes that the balloon is floating along the river and that near the ground the wind takes on the features of the land and it blows alongside the river. He finishes by saying if the wind blows them out to the sea they won’t be able to get back so they should gain some altitude and that someone who’s taken the time to adventure on their own two feet would know this by feel and sense, unlike some amateur who spends his time riding ships. Ryuusui takes offense to this and the two square off with Senkuu asking them to stop their silly fighting.

Senkuu tests the winds with a water doll, and the three suddenly realize there’s a massive storm cloud approaching, Cumulonimbus, the devil of the clouds. Ryuusui calls it a battle between the West Winds and the god of the skies. He cautions that if they get caught in it the balloon will be destroyed, and urges the others to prepare to land. He urges Chrome to open the top of the balloon to let off hot air so they could rapidly descend, but Senkuu shocks them by saying the top is already open and if they open it any more the fabric will tear and they will crash to earth. When Chrome questions how that happened, Senkuu informs him it was the bird strike earlier, proving that his caution to Chrome was correct that birds were dangerous to the balloon. It also answers Ryuusui’s earlier musing of the lift being weaker than expected.

Chrome panics because they keep going higher despite not burning any fuel. Ryuusui realizes they’re caught in an upward draft and they had no way of descending. Senkuu tries to come up with something among his weapons of science, noting he only has time to come up with something until his brain shuts down from altitude sickness due to the sudden ascent. Ryuusui sees their predicament as a challenge and vows to find the hole in the wind to get them out. Chrome really wants to run away but there’s no place for him to run to. He suddenly realizes that he needs to think in terms of nature. If you run away from the likes of a bear you’ll most certainly be killed, but if you stand your ground and fight, using your head and your heart, most likely you will obtain the victory. He applies it to the current situation and urges the others to push through it instead of trying to run from it. Ryuusui and Senkuu agree that if they somehow get higher than the cloud they should be alright since the oxygen deficiency shouldn’t be enough to kill them.

Senkuu throws the last of the revival formula into the furnace in order to generate more heat for faster acceleration, since the formula is a mixture of alcohol and nitric acid and therefore very flammable. This works like a charm. The sudden acceleration took them straight through the cloud. An excited Kohaku and Ukyo watch as the balloon makes its way to Ishigami village. Chrome, in contrast to his earlier snide comments, compliments Ryuusui on his skill, saying he’s a capable captain. Ryuusui returns the compliment and says with both of them working together they’ll definitely be able to find the oil.

Personal Thoughts:

I’d rate this chapter 7/10

I think the chapter was supposed to show us Chrome’s capability and probably show why he’ll end up going with the crew to the other side of the world. Lately he’s been taking a bit of a backseat to newer/older characters like Yuzuriha, Tsukasa, Gen and now even Ryuusui. I think the author was attempting to remind us that he was there and still useful, but to me it came off a bit forced. Having him come up with such a simple plan like “fly above the storm cloud” while 2 geniuses in the forms of Senkuu and Ryuusui could not come up with it is a bit too much to swallow for me. Navigating is Ryuusui’s area of expertise and in my opinion this should have been his chapter to prove how capable he will be as a captain. Ryuusui showed he was fearless and competent yes, but I still think having Chrome come up with the solution was out of place and the way he did it was a bit cheesy. Overall it was an alright chapter, perhaps even a glimpse of the teamwork to come once they all set sail.

 

[Seraph]

Dr. Stone - Chapter 90 Review by Seraph

Chapter Title: New World Map

Senkuu,Chrome and Ryusui have returned to Ishigami Village from their adventure in the Skies,as they land they're welcomed by Kohaku,Ukyo and some of the Villagers. As they briefly celebrated their return time flew by quickly and night had begun,in a tent,Ryusui starts showing his gratitude for the hospitality of these Beautiful Women as a few of the Senior Women carry food for the Banquet celebrating Senkuu's return to Ishigami Village. They can't help but giggle at the young man's comments,as they do Chrome is seen drolling over the various dishes set on the Table asking what they did to deserve such a feast to which a Villager responds by telling him that it is a Banquet after all.

Ryusui overhears this Conversation and immediatly starts fantasizing about the most fanciest foods and liquor he can think of,however,his expectations are quickly trampled over as he is presented with various Fish dishes such as Grilled Fish,Grilled Fish Salad,Grilled Fish Soup,Grilled Fish Dessert and the Star of Ishigami Village's Menu: Grilled Fish Something...Ryusui visibly stunned by this presentation looks on as Senkuu praises Turquoise and Jasper,the 2 Warriors that stayed behind in Ishigami Village to protect the seniors,who tell him that they didn't had to stay behind as nothing happened the entire time not even a bear attack which they would've welcomed since they could've gotten it's meat but instead they had to eat Fish the past weeks.

Ryusui,still shocked by what he's observed,asks Senkuu how long they plan on staying in this Village to which the Scientist responds that he can't give an exact amount of time but they can only leave when they found Oil which could take at least 1 or 2 years. Ryusui seems to have an epiphany as he shouts out that before looking for Oil they should make sure that they find some Food Ingredients as well,they ABSOLUTELY have to. Ukyo surprised by Ryusui's suggestion praises his desires by claiming that being greedy and desire driven in a World as the one they live in isn't necessarily a bad thing,i concur since while on the surface it may look like Greed and selfishness in their World it may as well mean the same as being enthusiastic and ambitious.

Said and done,they take to the skies once more but with a slightly different team this time. Instead of Chrome they took Kohaku along,who just like Chrome,is absolutely mindblown by the scenery before her eyes but her beautiful moment is cut short as Senkuu tells her to stop daydreaming and get to work now. He teases her as a Lioness to which she backfires by denying to be any such thing and that she didn't daydream at all,Chrome calls them over the Cellphone and reminds them that Kohaku is only with them for her good eyesight otherwise it'd be him up there instead of her. Ukyo tells Chrome that the Ground Survey Team also has an important role to play.

Kohaku asks Senkuu if they'll be able to see the Oil they're looking for from up in the Skies to which he replies that the possibility isn't Zero but if they were to rely on luck that wouldn't have anything to do with science anymore. He announces that they'll keep in touch with Chrome and Ukyo over the Cellphone as they look over their surroundings from the skies,while searching for the Sagara Oil Field is their goal looking for Ingredients for the Village's Food Supply isn't a bad thing either. Senkuu plans on drawing a Map of this New Stone Age-like World that he'll see with his own eyes,Kohaku spotted a Forest in the meantime. Ryusui's only concern is if there is anything edible to be seen.

As Chrome and Ukyo spot the Forest it is revealed to harbor many Japanese Cedar trees,which is great construction Material,Chrome tells them to leave finding a walkable Route to him as he is the King of Materials. Senkuu compares their trip to an open world video game as the more they proceed on the Map the more treasures and helpful items they find,Kohaku voices how enjoyable this adventure is and asks if they should consult Chrome for finding some Mines. Ryusui rather wants to find Food Ingredients instead,as he finishes complaining he looks down to a nearby hill and notices some movement.
He wonders if it is a herd of wild animals,as his Sailor hunches are never wrong.

Ukyo confirms this,after hearing the Animals steps and sounds he clarifies that it was a herd of Wild Goats,he shoots an Older one that strayed from the herd and apologizes to the Animal but reassures it they'll be leaving nothing of it behind. The Map is making steady progress as the Ground and Sky Team exchange their findings with another and keep making new discoveries,as they show the Map to the Village Elders they are met with nothing but wonder and happiness as the Elders have never seen a Map like this one before,Ryusui tells them that thanks to this Map their meals will not have to consist of just Fish anymore as he offers a meat leg to an elder.

An elder Lady is seen crying as she praises the achievements that Science can bring,and perhaps with this new Map and knowledge nobody in the Village will ever have to die of Starvation again. The other Elders start crying and discuss that it's good that they didn't have a famine in awhile,Senkuu and Ryusui look on with serious faces,As they prepare to leave for another trip with the Balloon Ryusui asks if Ishigami is so few in numbers because of food shortages. Kohaku reveals that before she was born their Village was high in numbers but a single year of famine reduced them to their current Numbers,Turquoises entire Family died of starvation as well.

Senkuu says that you can only survive on hunting for so long,they need to rely on agriculture as well otherwise their resources will eventually dry out.
Ryusui starts ranting about Humanities desires and goals,if all living things are just meant to grow and multiply for all eternity,he says only God would know that and stomps loudly as he doesn't care about any of those desires because the only thing he wants is to never see another Beautiful Woman cry again. They will find their means to start an agriculture so the Villagers can live without any worries,as the World's Greediest Man that is his current wish for Ishigami Village.

Senkuu and Kohaku smile wistfully at this,but this moment is cut short as well as Senkuu points out that with Agriculture the Rise of the Food Market is inevitable which means Ryusui will wind up swimming in Money. They Sailor laughs at this briefly,Kohaku wonders if Ryusui is a saint or just a scumbag but is also surprised that there is someone just as twisted if not more than Gen. Ryusui replies that he has never given up once,be it on himself or anyone else. Shortly after Chrome and Ukyo are notified that something is growing near the Coastline which is revealed to be Golden Colored Foxtail Grass,everyone looks on happily as the Ground Team discovers an entire field of wheat which enables them to make bread.

Ukyo happily announces that from now on Humanity will grow and create its own food supply. An agriculture can begin.

Personal Thoughts
This Chapter was great,infact i think this was the one i enjoyed the most out of all my reads this Week. Ryusui was a clear winner this Chapter and as a Character he is just getting better and better. Initially portrayed as a greedy guy only wanting to party (Which he is to an extent!) he is now doing and wishing for things others can benefit from as well,he is also really relatable in some regards. I think his behaviour towards Women and his wishes for no Women to cry are somehow connected to his past,maybe his Mother? I'm not sure but something must've brought him to it,his greed is justified given his background i think. It is not an admirable quality but as Ukyo said in a World such as theirs it is definitely helpful. I still don't think he wants everything to himself but rather wants to give,because instead of asking for any Money or rewards he just shared the Food with the Village and he expressed genuine happiness at finding wheat. Having him notice the shortage in Food was a good move by the author especially since you wouldn't have expected it from him, Kohaku was adorable in this chapter. I think we'll see the starting line of their newfound agriculture next Chapter but i wouldn't be surprised if we went and saw them go on a trip to find the Oil Field next. We'll see.

I'd rate this Chapter a 9.5 out of 10,till next time everybody!

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone- Chapter 91 Review by Emperor Spriggan

Last week's chapter ended with the gang prepared to make bread, as a supplementary diet to the already existing one they had of fish. The first page of the chapter has Senkuu in a baker's outfit. He makes a parody of Marie Antoinette's famous line, "Let the people have cake,", though in his case he states, "If the people have no bread, let them make it from wheat."

They need a large amount of long lasting food if they are to make the voyage around the world. That means, bread is absolutely necessary to their journey. Quickly, the Kingdom of Science moves to secure large amounts of raw wheat from the farm they had recently discovered. Ryuusui states the types of bread he wants them to make, and Senkuu retorts that they don't really have the luxury of making fancy bread. Chrome adds on to this, saying that they don't exactly have enough wheat to be creative. Which of course means, agriculture is needed.

Senkuu states it's hard getting a constant water supply if they planted the wheat seeds near the village. That means they need to go to the Kanto plains. Taiju and the Gorilla team (This team name always remains funny no matter how many times it's used). As they head towards the plains, one of the platoon members comes across a petrified statue of his father. Taiju proudly states that they managed to piece together more statues, but Nikki states that it might not be a good idea to do that. Due to the fact that food supplies were already limited as it was, increasing the population would mean there wouldn't be enough food to go around.

To this statement, Taiju states that he will just increase the amount of food available to everyone. A sentiment backed by Kohaku, proudly stating that they will no longer allow themselves to be slaves to mother nature. Instead, they would use wisdom and strength to create their own food supply.

With that said, they immediately began tilling the land. As expected Taiju was the one who put in the most hard work due to his incredible stamina and strength levels. Magma and Yo tire out fast, and Nikki calls them out for their weak wills. Yuzuriha shows up with a hand crafted strawhat. It's meant to offer shade against the sun as the Gorilla squad works on the field. Gen has other ideas for the hat though. He states that the hat will be given to the food supply king. That is, the person who manages to create the most wheat fields. Yuzuriha is skeptical of the ploy working at first.

As expected though, it works like a charm on Yo and Magma. The rivalry between these two has become a staple in every chapter of the series, and it is pretty hilarious how the author manages to find new ways to be creative with it. Just like that, the work on the farm continues till night. Yuzuriha notices how Taiju is happy while working, and Gen states that with his stamina this is one thing he would be unbeatable at. Remembering the statue they passed by towards the plains, Taiju reminisces on his past. His parents died while he was younger. That was why he swore that he would save everyone else's families.

The next morning arrives. Taiju's fields have managed to grow wheat abundantly, while Yo's and Magma's have barely had a sniff of wheat. The two are dejected. Taiju explains that he used fertilizer from crushed sea shells to make the soil more fertile. A pretty useful Science lesson here. Prior to the land being tilled, the soil was too acidic. Fertilizer is generally alkaline in nature, which meant it neutralized the soil's acidity and thus made the soil neutral. A factor that of course meant it was easier to plant crops in. Senkuu has Suika carry out a litmus test on the soil using morning glory, and it all but confirms what Senkuu had suspected. Yo and Magma's failure to cultivate the wheat seeds, of course was part of the necessary trial and error for the Science Kingdom.

And just like that, Taiju is crowned the food supply king. His gift is the straw hat that Yuzuriha made earlier. It's a bit hard to not notice the parallel to Luffy and his straw hat, haha. Wheat fields are acquired, and thus the first baked product of the Stone World also comes to fruition. Chrome, plus the other members of Ishigami village enjoy the bread. Similar to what happened the first time Senkuu made ramen.

Senkuu, Ukyo and Ryuusui are all skeptical of the bread, and true to their suspicions it tastes horrible. Ukyo praises how the villagers are able to stomach that food. Outside the bakery, Taiju is jealous thinking that the people inside are having the time of their lives. Appalled at the taste of the bread, Senkuu and Ryuusui immediately decide on reviving a chef in order to improve the quality of the food made.

Personal opinion: Again, another brilliant chapter. My favorite parts of the chapter were the bits with the information about the soil being too acidic so it needed to be neutralized in order to sustain plant life. Finally, we also learned about Taiju's backstory. It was shorter than I expected. Still satisfactory though. In regards to the chef who they are planning on reviving, I do hope it is a woman. The last person who was revived was a man, Ryuusui, so I hope the author gives this one a twist and makes it female. They can be our very own Erina.

Chapter rating: 8.5/10.

 

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 92 Review by Belserion

Chapter Title: Desire is Noble

Last week’s chapter ended with the group’s dismal failure in bread making. They realized that they needed a chef to make their food edible and this week set out to acquire one. First they needed revival formula in order to do that. Ryusui accuses the reporter; whose name we now know is Hokutozai Minami, of having a secret stash since she was in charge of reviving him last time. She initially tries to deny this but then Gen comes up with one of his schemes where he made it seem like Senkuu created something she specifically wanted. We’re not told what this something is but she falls for it and gives up the small amount of formula she had hidden away.

It doesn’t take the group long to decide on whom to revive, and no it’s not Gordon Ramsey. It’s Ryusui’s butler Francois, who he assures them was also his personal chef. They head to the place where Ryusui was revived since he and Francois were together when the petrification happened, so they found her immediately. Ryusui continues to praise her skill assuring them her cuisine is to die for.

Francois is revived and thanks the group. She immediately asks about Ryusui. Yuzuriha tells her not to worry about Ryusui but Francois dismisses that she’s worried stating worrying doesn’t solve anything and it’s strictly about her work. I like her. She gets to the point and can’t be bothered about much else.

While Ukyo and the others try to mentally figure out Francois, we learn that Ryusui doesn’t know what language his butler speaks or what gender she is for that matter. This was a bit far-fetched to me because we learned in the past chapters that Ryusui is a lover of women. He thinks all women are beautiful, yet he doesn’t know if the person that served him faithfully is a man or woman. He justifies this by saying none of those things matter when it comes to sheer talent. I’m still not buying it though.

Francois asks to be directed to the bread she’s supposed to bake. This scene is actually hilarious because we learn Francois and Gen have been walking nonstop for two days looking for Ryusui and Gen looks about ready to die while Francois isn’t even winded. They show her their previous attempts at baking bread and she is appalled, asking if they served that industrial waste to hungry people. When Ryusui confirms they did, she gets right down to business and asks what type of bread they want. When Senkuu is vague about what he requires, she asks for a specific number, so he tells her they need it for a lengthy sea voyage. Ryusui decides on something to last them ten months and she decides to bake Goat’s Gift Stollen, which Ryusui confirms is basically just fruit cake.

The group sets about gathering ingredients. They make butter out of goats’ milk, and soak fruits and sugar in alcohol. It’s noted that bacteria can’t grow without water, so the fruits sucking up the alcohol will make it so they won’t spoil. Francois sets about making the dough for the bread. Senkuu and Ryusui attempt to help but they end up doing it all wrong and Francois scolds them like the dictator she obviously is. Senkuu shows her the oven which has two separate fires, above and below, to regulate the temperature, something Francois loves since she strives to provide exemplary service. She says it is her duty to fulfill the guests’ every last desire because desire is noble.

Now we get into the science of baking bread. We learn that the first nine minutes are crucial to the texture of the bread. It is during these first nine minutes that the dough rises. It is essential that the oven be airtight so that as much energy as possible can be transferred to the dough. Senkuu as usual has a shortcut and instead of relying on the air, adds some steam to the oven. Steam is scientifically simple but has a lot more energy than dense air.

Francois informs Ryusui that as his butler she has every intention of reviving the Nanami Corporation. She also informs him that if it is to succeed in the new world then she desires Senkuu. Ryusui is already ahead of her as he’s already figured out he needs Senkuu on his side. She presents the baked bread to the villagers who end up crying after the first bite. That’s how good her baking is. Now that they know how food is supposed to taste hopefully they never allow Senkuu to cook for them again. They all compliment Francois on her top tier bakery rivaling bread. Gen states that just a bite has him desiring more. This pleases Francois because like she said before Desire is Noble.

Bread Acquired!

I liked this chapter. 8/10. Dr. Stone has been really consistent lately. This is world building at its finest. Now that I’ve set aside my disappointment that they didn’t skip right to the voyage, I can really appreciate the steps they’re taking to prepare. I’d say next up would be finding the oil but there’s always another step or two in between my predictions, so I’m going to just wait and see what they come up with next. One thing I know for certain, it will make sense and will be necessary for the endgame, which is building and fueling the ship.

 

[Seraph]

Dr. Stone - Chapter 93 Review by Seraph

Chapter Title: The First one goes to you

The Chapter kicks off with Francois,after having blown everybody's minds with her incredible bread making skills,explaining to Senkuu and Co. that there isn't anything difficult for her about making Bread. As long as she has wheat she can easily create bread,she explains her bread making process which is:
Mixing Water with wheat flour while keeping it at a Temperature of 30 degrees Celsius,since it's Summer she is going to take full advantage of the warm temperatures in their environment,then let it rest for a few days. If you follow those quick steps then bubbles will form and effervesce by themselves.
Gen cuts her off by asking if she doesn't need yeast fungus bacteria if she does plan to make bread,to which Senkuu replies that there is plenty of that within the plants and the wheat itself. Francois adds that it is also to be found in the peels and skins of fruits though that could end up changing the Bread's flavor.

Anyway,the more water you add the softer your bread will turn out but also get bad faster so a ratio of 1:1 between Water and wheat flour should be sufficient for their ideal bread. Francois ends her explanation by saying that if they can manage this simple bread then making the more fancier kind of bread and delicacies isn't out of reach for them either. Just as she finishes another Lady graces them with her attention as Minami,the Reporter,calls them to ask if they even know who to thank for this delicious bread they're eating to which everybody replies while almost completely swooning over Francois that it is the baker and not the Reporter who is to be thanked here. Minami,naturally,get's very angry about this and tells them without her and her Revival Formula flask they'd be without their delicious bread right now. She wants Gen to keep his promise to her and the Mentalist,while sweating,asks Senkuu to help him out.

The Scientist happily agrees to help Gen out and mentions that they'll need real delicate but complex craftwork for this Job,there is noone else but Old Man Kaseki to take on this Job,Kohaku worries about the Elders condition if he has to walk all the way from Ishigami Village to them which the Artisan brushes off by saying that it's been quite some time since they parted ways and they shouldn't underestimate him.
And right as they lay down the phone Minami comes driving in with Kaseki in their newly created Steam Gorilla II! In a cliché Gangster Boss manner at that,Kaseki gets out and is revealed to be wearing a High Quality Suit which he claims to be his new Outfit as it makes him look Badass. This seems to be confirmed as everybody looks at him in awe.

As the Artisan is done making his badass entrance he asks what his new Job is and right as Senkuu finishes whispering the particulars into his ears he literally bursts into zest,as Kaseki gets started on his job Senkuu and Chrome get started on their own to which Senkuu lets the King of Resources know that while Kaseki handles the craftsmanship they are going to do the Science behind the Job which is for them to deal with Sodium Hydroxide,Silver and Ammonia once more. They mix the 3 ingredients together and add some Grape Sugar taken from Raisins to it and next they'll put a Glass plate into the liquid and Whoosh the Glass suddenly possesses a reflecting surface,you guessed it,Mirror aquired! Chrome is naturally shocked by this invention and looks on as Senkuu applies some Paper to the Mirror to make it usable for Daily Life.

As some of the Villagers express their Happiness on finally seeing their own faces,Ukyo wonders if Minami wanted a Mirror so badly to which Chrome while swooning over his own beauty replies that it must be so she can check on her own from time to time. Ryusui replies that it's only natural for a Woman to wish for a Mirror as they are all beautiful and would want to look at their beauty. Minami cuts in saying that a Mirror is indeed important but it's not what she actually asked for but a necessary part of what Gen promised her. Senkuu agrees and states that the Mirror is nothing but film for their end goal,Kaseki crafted a Container for the Mirror to be put into and through a hole in the design they clean the Mirror with saltwater and pour it out again and like that the Film is loaded. Everybody looks on in high anticipation as Senkuu reveals that they were making a Camera.

He calls it "Senkon" which is a reference to the Japanese Corporation "Nikon" that focuses on producing Cameras and the like,it is a Daguereotype. The First and Oldest Camera created in the History of Humanity. As he hands it to Minami she remembers how thousands of years ago when the Petrification happened she lost and broke her Camera as she turned to stone,she breaks into tears vowing to make Photos of every Step this new Civilization takes in the Future. However,her emotional moment is cut short as Senkuu comes rolling in with a cart full of Cameras for everyone announcing that they'll take plenty of pictures as well even from the Skies, Aerial Photography. Senkuu claims that a Picture can say more than 10 Billion words and that's why he made the Cameras,Gen asks him to be a tad more sensitive as he makes Minami look like an idiot after her heartfelt vow from before.

The Reporter at least wants to be the first to make a Picture, Ryusui throws some Money her way claiming that he'll be buying the rights to be in the first shot. As Minami asks why he would have to be on the first picture Ryusui responds that it won't be him but Senkuu because this is the start of their Scientific Civilization,as he pushes Senkuu into the Balloon he claims that they'll show the shot of him in the Nanami Museum of Natural History someday.
Francois tells Minami that she has the wrong idea about Ryusui's greed,he doesn't want to stand out and have the most, he wants others to stand out and shine so they will be worth "aquiring" one day. She excuses herself and reappears with a few bags that she calls Ryusui's personal Photography Collection that she had Kaseki bring along. She has Senkuu try on multiple Outfits but decides to go with his normal Clothes as the fancy suits wouldn't be good for handling the Balloon.

Senkuu tells them to just take a Picture,Minami asks him to at least strike a pose which has everybody wonder what kind of pose he could use for this Photo. Francois suggests to take the Pose of the Worlds most Famous Scientist,Albert Einstein,as soon as the Picture is taken Senkuu and Ryusui make for the Skies again claiming that with the Photos they'll find the Oil Fields in no time at all. Meanwhile Chrome,Minami and Kaseki develop the First picture,for that they'll have to heat Mercury and let the fumes pass over the film and then wash it with the Photographic fixing solution they made from Sulfur. They express surprise and happiness about Senkuu having appeared on the Board but wonder about his Pose to which Minami says that only People from the Modern Era would know about it most likely.

Senkuu is shown sticking his tongue out like Albert Einstein on one of his famous portraits and with that the Photograph has been aquired!

This Chapter was really fun to read,and not just for the comedic relief moments but also for what it went for. 9/10. We may still not be on the actual Voyage to the Origin of the Light but these Chapters we're getting lately build more and more anticipation for me,what they display isn't a waste of time but the founding stones of Humanities Scientific Age. The Emotions and Ideals in Dr. Stone have always been portrayed in a great way and the art does a fair bit to that as well,i'm honestly impressed by how consistent this Manga has been the past Weeks for me. Amazing World Building,Development and spotlight for everybody. Hard to dislike,i don't think another Manga i've been reading lately does as good a Job at that as Dr. Stone sometimes. I think we'll be getting them looking for Oil next and/or analysing their first Photos taken in the Skies,either way i'll be happy about it.

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 94 Review by Emperor Spriggan
The chapter's title is 'The Scent of the Black Jewel'

Carrying the camera that they managed to finalize last chapter, Senkuu states proudly that they will use it to find the oil. How will they do this? Basically combining the hot air balloon they made, plus the camera enables them to get pictures from the sky. This would need to be done before it starts snowing in the earnest though.

Using aerial photography, they are also able to further enhance their agriculture. This is because it helps them be able to store up supplies for winter. The wheat that had been planted recently is also ready to harvest.

Ryuusui proudly states that since agriculture has been finalized, it was time to start the restaurant. Francois states that she would move to working on a menu. The ingredients would be obtained from the aerial photos. Senkuu tells her to make the menu as top class as possible.

The pilot starts salivating at the prospect of making truffles, caviar and foie grass. Gen states all those dishes are impossible since they dont have ingredients. Francois states that they will make black truffle wild boar rilettes. That is....a meal I have never heard of before. It sounds like something that would be in Shokugeki no Soma though.

Francois summons Suika, who is well aware of the surroundings and animals of Ishigami village. Looking at one of the photos that were taken earlier, Suika identifies that there is a family of wild boars nearby. To this effect, Kohaku goes out to look for them. They rear the boars in a pen, with Ryuusui fantasizing over the thought of feasting on wild pork.

Gen asks what will be done in order to acquire the truffles. Francois tells him that they grow naturally in Japan. Kohaku, who has super human vision (Touted at 11.0), takes a look at another of the photographs. She obtained this gift from her time in the wild.

At first, she manages to locate a black botch on the photograph. Something that catches Gen and Chrome by surprise. Senkuu bluntly states that mushrooms cant appear in an unfocused photograph. Upon closer inspection of the photo, he realizes that Kohaku has actually discovered the Sagara Oil fields.

Together with Kohaku, Ryuusui and Chrome, the four immediately venture out to the oil fields in order to lay claim to the oil. Back at the village, Francois and Suika use the boars in order to track down the mushrooms. Being from the wild, they know the scent of mushrooms. The mushrooms themselves contain the same scent as a wild boar's love pheromones, which is an additional plus in tracking them down.

Ironically, the experiment does work out. A little too perfectly though. The boar does find a black jewel, but begins feeding on them. Suika suggests that she will use her dog Chalk to do the rest of the work. This time, they do manage to find the truffles successfully.

Back to Senkuu and the others, they have made no ground in discovering the oil. The forest is too big to be able to use a single image successfully. Senkuu immediately starts brain storming about solutions. He thinks back to how oil was discovered in 1872. One wild boar accidentally basted itself in oil, and the people who followed it back to the source discovered the oil.

Just as Francois is about to start carving up the boar, Senkuu barely makes it back in time and shouts at her not to cook it. The boar has a frightened expression on its face, and the chapter ends there.

This chapter was a bit dull, in comparison to the content we have been getting over the past few weeks. Aside from the group finally discovering oil, nothing else particularly stands out in comparison. But I will admit the part with Kohaku carrying the boars and the end of the chapter were humorous in a way.

7/10 rating.

 

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 95 Review by Belserion

Chapter Title: First Contact

The wild boar, whose name is now Sagara, from the end of last week’s chapter, leads our heroes to the area where the oil is. Senkuu is excited because they’ve now acquired the means to power the ship, or as Senkuu puts it, they now have fuel to burn. Oil Acquired!

Suika is sad now because Sagara has served his purpose and is in line to be cooked. Senkuu asks Francoise if the boar is even worth eating. Francoise realizes what Senkuu is doing and agrees that with the scent of oil on him he’s not worth cooking in her professional opinion. Both of them just want to make Suika happy so that was a cute moment, especially with Suika ecstatic at getting to keep her new friend.

Senkuu wants to test out the oil, so what does he do? Builds a speed boat. Some of this is just so hard to believe sometimes, but yes, the first motorboat has been created. On smelling the oil, Taijuu calls it a love potion and asks Senkuu if he found a girl he was sweet on. Turns out the one of the last things Senkuu did before the petrification was to concoct a "love potion" to give Taijuu the courage to confess to Yuzuriha. Senkuu laughs at him because he still believes that lie. Turns out the “love potion” was gasoline Senkuu made from bottle caps, which he calls Grade A gasoline with a carbon count of five to twelve, so basically because it smells the same to Taijuu that must mean the Sagara oil is the same as what Senkuu made before.

Since that was the last bit of science Senkuu did back then, Ryusui considers what they’re doing now the starting point of science and they will now go beyond it. While the boys talk about what it’s like being so far out on the water, they realize they’re going to need an accurate way to track their coordinates. Senkuu then announces they’re making a GPS. While these are usually based on satellite signals, they know that it’s beyond their current capabilities to aim that high. Senkuu instead says they’re going to shoot strong radio waves from a tower back on the mainland. They run a test with the mainland and it’s a success. Ruri and Chrome can hear and speak to each other. Ginrou uses this opportunity to encourage Ruri to confess to Chrome since he was too cowardly to confess to her before, saying that girls can make the first move too.

Just when it looks like Ruri is about to take his advice, the signal gets interrupted. It’s too saturated to tell what direction the new signal is coming from, but Senkuu knows it was deliberate, not a natural phenomenon like Plasma in Space. It seems that when they activated their powerful signal tower someone or something took notice. While they try to figure out who it could be, possibly someone else revived, they suddenly hear what turns out to be Morse code. The person is repeating the same thing over and over. Why! Chrome, Ukyo, Gen and Ryusui look very worried at this turn of events. Senkuu simply grins like he’s excited. This is where the chapter ends.

I’d rate the chapter 7.5/10. The end is where it really picks up. Finding the oil wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be, but that’s fine as not everything needs to be a big moment. I have to say I’m getting a little disenchanted with the way everything comes easily for Senkuu. Looking at everything he’s done makes me wonder why he was even in school before the petrification. Surely he was beyond high school level?

The ending was an out of the blue surprise. Is it someone that was revived randomly like Senkuu was? One of the exiles from the village? Someone from another village, providing Byakuya’s group weren’t the only set of survivors? A pre-recorded message set to activate at the specific moment any sort of signal is triggered? There are so many avenues this could take, so I hope there’s a good explanation. What I don’t want however is a new arc that has nothing to do with the current preparation. They’re preparing for a new adventure on the other side of the world, so we really don’t need any new villains or random people showing up to take us off track. That would just drag everything out and unless the new addition goes with them, completely pointless and could have been left for a later time, maybe even when they got to the other side. But I trust this author so I’ll wait and see.