Dr Stone- Chapter 91 Review by Emperor SprigganLast 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.
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