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.
