Chapter Dr. Stone Chapter Reviews

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 116 Review by Belserion

Chapter Title: Miracle in Your Hands

The chapter begins with Senkuu explaining to Gen how to make the nitric acid by utilizing a small amount of the platinum. Gen admits that while he still doesn't know much about nitric acid it was enough to have Senkuu and Tsukasa fighting for it. Originally the cave where the nitric acid was found was called the cave of miracles, but now as Gen points out, it's no longer a miracle because Senkuu is creating it with his own hands. They now have the means of reviving all of humanity. In theory at least. Nitric Acid Acquired. All that's left for them to do is to win the battle against the petrification ray at the island where it all began. Elsewhere, Ibara informs his troops there is an intruder among them.

Gen is excited about the nitric acid since it means they can create gun powder, and in turn guns, that will allow them to have the resources to go to war. Senkuu says the lack of a factory makes it impossible to create many. The most they would get is a small amount. However, Senkuu considers this the perfect time to attack instead of waiting and plans to revive one of their teammates when they manage to generate enough of the formula for one person. The person Senkuu has in mind is Kaseki because he's the one that would make the drone. Unfortunately when they return to the ship it's to the sight of the soldiers dumping the statues, including Kaseki's, off a boat and into the ocean. Gen thinks this could work in their favor since it would've been tough to retrieve the statues off the ship with all the soldiers around. But now Soyuz raises a good point considering all the statues are in pieces. Just how exactly will they find all the parts? While this is indeed a dilemma, they decide to tackle it one step at a time. First they would need to read the flow of the water and for this they would need Ryuusui. Sadly they're forced to watch as Ibara, mistaking Ryuusui for the leader because of his nice clothes, has his statue taken.

Sometime later Ibara has Ryuusui's statue tied to a tree in front of the soldiers and girls of the harem. He announces there's an intruder among them and they would flush them out. He tells the girls if they are not a friend of Ryuusui's then they will have no problem destroying the statue. One by one the girls line up and take turns destroying parts of Ryuusui much to Kohaku's anger. Amaryllis has to stop her from blowing her cover and Ginrou reminds her that Ryuusui is not really dead as long as they can piece him back together and bring him back with the revival fluid. Kohaku suddenly receives a message from Senkuu, outlining some sort of plan. Whatever the plan is causes Gen to think Senkuu is crazy. It's now Kohaku's turn to break the statue, and because she hesitates it raises suspicion that she's the intruder. However, with great enthusiasm, Kohaku attacks Ryuusui's statue breaking it into rubble. She proudly presents it to the soldier who is as shocked as everyone else by her savagery. Kohaku reassures Amaryllis and Ginrou by telling them she broke the statue cleanly instead of letting anyone else break it into complex pieces since they didn't have Yuzuriha and her skills at the moment to put him back together. This way they would be able to do it without her.

Kohaku finds a way to transport the pieces of Ryuusui to Senkuu by using the mechanical rats. Senkuu calls it the "dismembered jailbreak plan" in which he plans to use their pertification ray against them. Gen tells him he's crossed right over into insanity. Kohaku predicts Ryuusui is telling them they've done a good job and he's now the first person to be revived twice. Senkuu and the others have put Ryuusui back together and there's a touching moment where Suika acknowledges Ryuusui as the one who saved her and gives him a new captains hat she made out of paper because the enemy took the one Yuzuriha had made. They proceed to use the revival fluid on him and watch in fascination as Ryuusui is revived completely, without the cracking and signs of weathering as with the first revival. It turns out that since Ryuusui was only petrified for a few hours he's basically back to good as new.

Ryuusui says exactly what Kohaku said he would, claiming the honor of being the first person to be revived twice. He then goes on to show amazing insight, predicting that Senkuu wants Kaseki revived next. With this, the process of reuniting with their petrified friends has begun.

Chapter Rating: 8/10

It's great to have Ryuusui back. Not only can he help locate Kaseki, but I think he can help out with the harem, as well as breaking into the palace. The revival fluid making process is slower than I anticipated so that might make it difficult to depetrify everyone right away. After Kaseki I think they should revive Kinrou, since he's a warrior and the mission they're on will include fighting against some great opponents like Kirisame and Mozu. The plot is definitely moving forward. They'll locate Kaseki, revive him, build the drone, then we'll see what happens from there.

 

[Seraph]

Dr. Stone - Chapter 117 Review by Seraph

Chapter Title: The Kingdom of Science's Counterattack

Ryusui aquired!...and with that Ladies and Gentlemen i welcome you to this week's Dr. Stone Chapter Review where we are reunited with a Fan favorite,naturally one of mine as well, the self claimed greediest man of the World and Master Sailor! Ryusui! The one and only has been revived by Senkuu and Co. through their gathering of platinum from the Treasure Chest Soyuz. While he seems exactly the same as always he has lost his distinct markings at his fingers and face when he was revived for the 2nd time possibly hinting at the markings being leftover signs of thousands of years in petrification,or at least i'd believe that being the case. As he makes his re-entrance he immediatly concludes the events that happened since the crew has been petrified as well as what Senkuu is currently trying to do,stealing the Weapon in mid-air by using and creating some sort of invention to do so but he also praises Suika for her efforts and claims that he knew she would come and save him to return the favor from before. Seriously,i want this guy's "Sailor Sense" when i wake up in the morning...*loud coughing*...ANYWAY! Ryusui is certain that Senkuu is going to build a Kite and will use it for their Operation but the Scientist denies that and tells Ryusui of the plan to build a Drone and have it pick up the Weapon in mid-air resulting in a shock for Ryusui, as Gen claims that even Ryusui seems to have his limits the Captain of the Perseus announces that this desire and ambition is what the Kingdom of Science is known for.

They will need a "God-Level" Craftsman for this project and who else but Kaseki could pull this off? Right,nobody can. As the Science Team approaches the Perseus they're surprised to learn that their enemies have boosted their security and have now added Mozu,the Strongest Warrior of the Island, as well as Ibara,the Minister and right hand man of the Great Leader to their guard. Senkuu claims that with security this tight they won't be able to approach the Ship,but Ryusui claims that there is no need to approach if their target is underwater anyway and he and Soyuz will dive down once to retrieve Kaseki and bring him back up. They take off their clothes and dive into the Water attempting to take Kaseki with them but halfway there they notice that they can't hold their breath long enough to get down and take him with them. They come up for air which was expected by our Mentalist Gen as it's just too deep to get down within a single breath, Senkuu agrees which is why he is going to build an Oxygen Tank as it is only fitting for their adventure on a sun-kissed Island.
The Team gets super excited for this and as soon as Senkuu returns to their cave he starts taking their Lab-Car apart without mercy, which he is scolded for by Gen who reminds him that there went a lot of effort and sweat into making the Motor for it as well as gathering all the materials but Senkuu brushes it off as they're going to re-use these materials as good as they can in order to start their Counterattack and get Kaseki back.

They're going to use the Exhaust System of the Lab Car as a regular Metal Pipe,when putting a lid on top of it the Pipe looks like an actual Tank although nowhere near a Professional Equipment sort of thing obviously. As Senkuu,Soyuz and Suika take care of the detail and refinements of the Tank we see Gen and Ryusui question if this thing will actually hold in all of their Oxygen or burst underwater,Senkuu calms them down that if they were to continously use it that the Tank would burst within a month but since that is not their intention it works flawlessly for a few trips underwater. As the Tank is apparently finished we see Ryusui question its design which Senkuu tells him that while he can make it work he can't make it look cool since he isn't as skilled as Kaseki,having said that he needs something to fill the Tank with Oxygen as well so he returns to taking the Lab-Car apart. Gen mentions that it would break Kaseki's heart if he saw what they're doing to the Lab-Car but Senkuu and Ryusui respond that they shouldn't underestimate Kaseki's Skill and that once he's revived they'll just have him make all this stuff again. Which is of course a comedic relief moment,because Gen scolds them jokingly for it afterwards. Gen fears what comes next as they'll have to pump the Oxygen into the tank with a 2-men Pump but they don't have any of their Labor-Team around like Magma or Taiju for this sort of job, so its up to Gen,Suika and Soyuz who are surprised how easy this process is going with the only downside being it's duration.

They would continue to pump Air,cool the Tank and continue pumping for about 10 hours until the tank was entirely full with Oxygen and their pump had exploded from the continous pressure applied. They managed to fill 2 tanks full of Oxygen and with this Ryusui and Soyuz can now successfully recover Kaseki and the other Members of the Crew, as they start their dive we see Soyuz being overwhelmed by the experience of breathing underwater while we see a beautiful underwater scenery with it's fauna and flora. The tanks will last for about 10 minutes,after that they're out of breath meaning they have to recover Kaseki so he can build proper and stronger tanks with Senkuu and Co, Suika cheers for Ryusui as nobody knows more about the Ocean than he does in her eyes. He can do it! Back underwater we see Soyuz leading Ryusui towards the statues of their comrades as he perfectly remembers where they got thrown into the water and where they should have floated towards,which turns out was a Reef Current. As Ryusui spots their Crew he can't help but praise them for enduring so long and that it's time for them to reunite on the surface, Soyuz sends the signal to the surface that they found the entire crew while Ryusui thinks to himself that this fated battle from 3,700 years ago is about to restart as the Kingdom of Science is going to face off with the "Kingdom of Petrification" to win the battle Humanity lost back then when it was powerless against the Bright Light petrifying everyone on Earth.

It's time for the Kingdom of Science's Counterattack!,and as he concludes his thought he pulls up Kaseki's Statue from underwater towards the surface...

Personal Thought's

I rate this Chapter a 9 out of 10.

When i saw them go through the trouble of recovering the Lab-Car i did not think they'd end up taking it completely apart for all sorts of convenient inventions lol. But i suppose it works as the parts seem to be legit and their usefulness was limited to a 10 minute dive with the Groups skill and craftsmanship. Recovering Kaseki is a good first step into starting their counter attack against the Petrification Kingdom(For some reason i'm loving this title haha.) but a real savior in need seems to have been Ryusui here for me. Once he was back in the group there was nothing they had to fear anymore i felt like. Which only brings him higher in my Character Ranking for Dr. Stone, he is without a doubt one of the best in this Manga for me and he keeps progressing and developing for the better in my books. His interactions with Suika and Soyuz especially, with Kaseki returning we'll get some proper professional diving gear for the Team to use and with that we'll get the entire Crew back together and their counterattack can start for good. I wonder what the Great Leader will be like and what Kohaku,Ginro and Amaryllis are up to at the moment. I also wonder if they will actually trigger and attack the Petrification Kingdom or if they're going to just lure one of Mozu or Kirisame into a corner and have them use their weapon to steal it? We'll see,either way i'm hyped for it! Looking forward to the next Chapters for sure,till next time everybody!

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 118 Review by Emperor Spriggan

Beautiful color page this week. Love the detail about Kohaku being a mermaid, and Senkuu catching her.

The chapter kicks off with a short flashback from the last one, and we see Ryuusui and Soyuz at the bottom of the sea trying to save Kaseki. His body is buried partially at the base of the sea, so they are unable to budge him out. The two are also running out of oxygen, so they are a bit short on options. Senkuu calculates they have 4 minutes of air left. Which means, they need to act fast.

Ryuusui immediately springs into action, signalling Gen and the others at the top by fervently tugging at the rope attached to the ship. Gen and Senkuu identify the message as Morse Code. Gen identifies the message as a cry for help, realizing that Ryuusui wanted the revival fluid. Senkuu tosses the revival fluid into the sea, and Ryuusui grabs it before heading towards Taiju's petrified body. Soyuz realizes that he intends on reviving Taiju.

He also notes that it's impossible to pour the revival fluid on him in the water, due to the rising water currents pushing the fluid upwards. Ryuusui uses the rest of the air in his oxygen tank to create an air pocket, which pushes the revival fluid upwards towards Taiju. Soyuz finds the remaining bit of Taiju's arm and reattaches it, just before the fluid works his magic and breaks him out of his petrification. We get a small cameo of Jafar staring into the water. A sign of something about to go horribly wrong? I honestly hope.

Ryuusui commends Soyuz for his photographic memory, and being able to remember exactly which arm was Taiju's. We get a comedic scene where he shouts that he's back, before getting overwhelmed by the water all around him. Which is followed up by another scene with Yaoi undertones, where Ryuusui and Taiju both share the air that remains (I can't believe I'm typing this, God).

Taiju understands the plan, and quickly takes in a gust of air. He reassures Ryuusui that he will be content with the air in his mouth, before going to where Kaseki is and pulling out his body. The end of the chapter is Taiju resurfacing with Kaseki's body. Ryuusui and Soyuz are in tow.

Personal opinion:
Chapter was alright, but too much nakama crap/camaraderie focus. Didn't quite appreciate that. There was no reason to have Gen in on it as well, it always makes him a bit out of character for me.

Chapter rating:7/10.

 

[Seraph]

Dr. Stone - Chapter 120 Review by Seraph

Chapter Title: Top Seacret

Last Week's Chapter 119 of Dr. Stone revolved all around Kaseki's revival,the retrieval of the Perseus Crew's statues and scattered parts of said statues by Taiju as well as the creation of the parts for the Drone like a propeller,a fidget spinner(Yeah,believe it or not...),Pachinko's and an engine for it. The entire Perseus Crew and a mysterious person have been fixed and gathered ready to be revived,they have all made it onto the Island now thanks to Taiju. Kaseki proves once more why he is the most masterful craftsman in the Stone World by displaying impressive skill and detail love to the several parts needed for the Drone,he and Senkuu also succeed in creating a Drone prototype ready for testing. Meanwhile Kohaku is about to be found out by Mozu as he voices suspicions towards her and menacingly asks her about her comrades location,naturally,our Kohaku is ready for battle even against the mightiest...

This Week's Chapter of Dr. Stone starts with a short step back in time before Kohaku is being confronted by Mozu,apparently the Great Leader has shown interest in "Ginny" and wants "her" to be send up to meet with him which scares Ginro as he was afraid this would happen but didn't want to believe in it as he is still a guy. He panics,Kohaku tries to calm him down by telling him that he might be the first to see and get a read on what the Leader is like and perhaps manage to get his hands onto one of the weapons,naturally this doesn't calm Ginro down it only makes it worse. Kohaku continues that he can also always take the Great Leader Hostage or threaten him,she also thinks that it is unlikely that the Harem Leaders would lay a hand on him once they find out that he is a Man,worst case scenario: he gets petrified on the spot. As Kohaku walks off she is questioned by Mozu if she is the Intruder and where she has left all her comrades, present point, meanwhile Ginro makes his way upwards to the Great Leader. Ginro suddenly remembers that Senkuu, what a surprise, had the foresight to equip him with a secret weapon just in case someone tries anything funny with them that he calls the "Pineapple". It's a pineapple shaped container containing ethyl acetate that can be used to create specimens of insects and bacteria when opened and can be made by adding sulfuric acid to alcohol and vinegar.

It reeks awful according to Ginro but according to Amaryllis it smells just like an ordinary Pineapple grown on the island which is Senkuu's thought with this weapon. The Islanders won't be confused by the scent but recognize it while the person using it can be on guard, as the smell and gas flood into a room it slowly but surely causes a person inhaling it to lose conciousness and with too much exposure a dizzy feeling and confusion about one's thoughts. As Ginro questions if this invention can really save his neck here he reaches the Great Leaders tent and begins to reluctantly introduce himself, we can see a big shadow behind the tent curtains that responds that he has called for Ginny and he wants "her" to enter now. Before Ginro actually tries to enter he begins to have breakdown from panic,he stutters all sorts of things and almost blurts out that he isn't a man but as he approaches the entrance he is met by Ibara who has apparently been called to the Great Leader as well. The Great Leader seems to mumble some words to Ibara which the latter responds to by saying he will follow the usual "protocol" and make sure everything goes fine, apparently the usual "protocol" is for Ibara to "check" wether it is safe or not for the Great Leader to interact with someone new from the harem. He is going to give Ginny a lesson on what it means to "Love" someone,if you all catch his drift, Ginro can't help himself anymore he wants to run away but Ibara takes it as a playful tease from him and chases him.

A few floors below Kohaku assures Mozu that if she was the intruder she would never sell out her comrades no matter what, she undoes the knot tied around her thigh and reveals a short knife, the soldiers immediatly take guard against her and attempt to capture her but she dodges them skillfully with a graceful jump. As she falls down she disarms several soldiers and destroys their weapons,Mozu witnessing this praises Kohaku for her strength,the latter is now met by a backup force led by Oarashi who vows to kill her for the sake of their great leader. As Mozu hears this he swiftly jumps in and attacks his own soldiers including Oarashi and knocks them unconcious with his mace but not only that,his attack was so powerful that it shattered the foothold of the soldiers resulting in them falling towards the ground. He tells them that nobody is allowed to kill one of the Cuties from the Harem,but they can gladly kill all the "ugly" women inside the Palace if they want because he is only interested in the Harem-girls. Kohaku is visibly shocked by Mozu's strength but expected no less from the Strongest Warrior on the Island, she thinks that nobody but her can take Mozu on from the current Kingdom of Science so if she doesn't stop him he'll find Senkuu and the others quickly. She jumps towards Mozu ready to attack him to have their promised match, as they begin to clash we see Ibara notice the noise from downstairs which gives Ginro an opening to use his "Pineapple" on him.

The smell immediatly expands within the area and Ibara inhales it too,questioning wether it is actually pineapple or alcohol, he quickly begins to feel dizzy and sick from it allowing Ginro to sneak away to enter the Great Leader's tent on his own. As he peeks into the tent he is met by a huge figure of a man with big eyes and a long beard as well as rather imposing clothing,the dark makes it hard for Ginro to see his face but he feels like he has seen this person before...he has similarities with Soyuz! As a cloud moves with the wind more moonlight shines through to the Leader's tent revealing that said Leader is nothing but a petrified man with a huge hole on his face, deep enough to reveal faint parts of the person's skull such as his teeth. Suddenly Ibara appears behind him asking if he saw anything, Ginro lies that he did not but seems to have been caught as Ibara has armed himself with fingertip claws to kill Ginro! Not knowing what is going on upstairs Kohaku continues her clash with Mozu, the chapter ends with both warriors exchanging heavy blows with each other...

Personal Thought's

I rate this Chapter an 8 out of 10.

This Mystery of who the Great Leader is had me on my toes and now it turns out that it was Ibara all the time while the real Leader is Soyuz Father and got petrified? Or did i misunderstand that? If so then this Harem thing they have established is even more disgusting now,Mozu and Ibara are the worst of the worst. A few questions remain,like,why do they keep this petrified former leader around? Why not make clear that Mozu or Ibara is the new Leader and wants to have a harem? What secret does this figure hold for them/us? How did they get their hands on the Petrification Weapons? Is the Leader even still alive given the smashed portion of his skull? and so on.

I'm really curious what is going to happen next,i wasn't surprised that Senkuu and Co. had prepared things for when they get to meet the Great Leader but they couldn't have expected this. Now Ibara wants to silence Ginro while Kohaku battles Mozu,the unpredictable variables here being Senkuu and Co. as well as Kirisame with the petrification weapon in possession. Is she perhaps the current Leader? Questions over Questions and no answers yet,i'm hyped for next time that's for sure. Till next time everybody!

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 121 Review by Emperor Spriggan

Very, very good chapter this week. Completely blew away all the other WSJ chapters last week, and by extension, all the other manga chapters as well.

We kick off from where we left off last week, with Kohaku continuing to fight Mozu. He is a bit impressed by Kohaku's skills, but he tells her that she should have realized that even an army of her would be unable to beat him. A bit of a shocker, I thought that Kohaku was a bit nerfed since she didn't have her shield and spear, though I didn't think the difference between both fighters was THAT big. Makes you wonder who will be the one to eventually bring Mozu down.

He does offer her a way out though. Mozu asks Kohaku what kind of guys she is into, basically telling her he wouldn't mind her falling for him. Tying her hair into a bun (Her usual hairstyle), she then states that she is into men who never stop moving forward. Implying Senkuu?! Lol if only, sadly that's a blanket statement, applies to quite a few other guys in the series as well. Ryuusui and Taiju come to mind.

We switch perspectives to Ginro and Jafar, where Ginro is in the midst of fighting for his life. Jafar reveals that there have been girls in the past who have seen the petrified statue of Aladdin, so sadly, he had to kill them. Ginro spots Kohaku at the bottom of the ridge where they are fighting, and fully intends on bringing the fight to her. Which is kind of stupid, since he should have seen she was in the midst of fighting someone else as well. Nevertheless, Ginro pays for this dearly, since Jafar runs him through with his nails (?) a panel later.

Ginro collapses to the ground below, and Kohaku breaks away from her fight to rush to him. She realizes that multiple of his inner organs have been pierced, so there is no way to save him. With his last breaths, he reveals that the great leader is a statue, one who looks exactly like Soyuz. Kohaku thanks him for the information, and he says his goodbyes to Kinro. Realizing that there is only one thing left to do, Kohaku grabs him, while Amaryllis watches.

She rushes to a vantage point where everyone can see her, before shouting to everyone to listen to her. She begins to say something about the great leader, and Jafar panics. He instructs the rest of the villagers to close their eyes, and the coconut girl proceeds to launch the petrification weapon into the sky. Ginro then realizes Kohaku intended on him getting petrified, since it would be the only way to save him.

The petrification device is soaring in the air space just next to Kohaku and Ginro, where they see what it looks like. Honestly, I have no idea what the hell that device is. It looks like some sort of futuristic device? Ginro remarks as to how beautiful it is, while Kohaku states that she has seen Medusa's eyes. Alluding to both the chapter title, and to the fact that Medusa was eventually stopped by Perseus. The ship that Senkuu and his crew used to sail to this island.

Amaryllis is in tears, as she watches both Kohaku and Ginrou get petrified. With the last wisps of her consciousness, Kohaku entrusts the rest to Senkuu, and his crew.

Where to begin? That was fluid writing, from the start to the end.

Pros:
-Revealing how strong Mozu is, and knowing that Kohaku won't be able to take him down that easily. Which makes you wonder how exactly he will lose. My guess is that Hyouga will be involved somehow.
-FINALLY, we get some real stakes in the manga. A constant criticism I have had with the series is that the stakes are far too low. I get it's supposed to be an easy going manga, but where fights/conflict are involved the stakes have to be raised. Even if it's just by a bit. Kohaku being petrified means that the Kingdom of Science has lost its strongest combatant. Also, you wonder what Jafar and his group will do to the petrified statues at the top of the tree. They could just leave them up there as a symbol of the leader's power.
-The revelation of the petrification device. Though I doubt this is the same one that was used on the whole world. The range seems smaller somehow. Plus this one seems to reflect the light of a solar object in order to work.
-Jafar being shown as the real deal, a villain who means business. That panel with Ginro was straight out brutal.

Cons:
-Chapter ended too soon, have to wait a whole FREAKING week to see the continuation of this plot. Just.....le sigh.

Chapter rating: 9.95/10

 

[Seraph]

Dr. Stone - Chapter 122 Review by Seraph

Chapter Title: The Battle of Wits' Puzzle Pieces

Yuzuriha has been revived!...And with that being out i'd like to welcome you all to this Week's Chapter review of Dr. Stone,there is a lot happening in this Chapter mostly in terms of piecing together the mystery surrounding Ibara and the Kingdom of Petrifications Secrets,like a puzzle as the title suggests. We'll get a reunion of the Perseus Crew as well as an incredible,unexpected and potential ally to the Kingdom of Science's forces but so much for the intro let's dig right into it,follow me as i break down this Chapter full with deductions,suspicions and surprises!

The freshly revived Yuzuriha,after having been greeted by Taiju in a rather comical and embarrasing manner, gets right into crafting and tailoring new clothes for the Crew while also helping Soyuz piecing together some of the broken statues of their friends. Thanks to her skill and talent,along with his incredible memory it's like they're piecing together a jigsaw puzzle as noted by Gen. And just like that Chrome gets revived and similar to Kaseki he seemingly loved his first experience of being petrified,the latter welcomes him with his first task,that being some seriously "hardcore" crafting work alongside Kaseki himself. Senkuu says that the construction of the Drone will be able to proceed smoothly with all the specialists on board,now onto reviving the Sonar expert Ukyo,right after his revival he asks to have someone gather information on the enemy but Senkuu puts his mind at ease by telling him about Kohaku and the Spy Team but just as he is baout to go into detail Ukyo notices someone closing in through his incredible hearing. It is revealed to be Amaryllis who managed to escape the Inner Palace and rushed off to see the Science Team,she brings them the bad news about Kohaku and Ginro,they have been petrified by Kirisame after finding out the Secret of the Great Leaders identity. She ran off when all the Soldiers were busy shielding their eyes,the perfect chance to run away, Suika wonders about the relation between Soyuz and the Great Leader since they look so alike apparently.

Spoiler: Kohaku and Ginro

Senkuu shrugs it off though,for now at least,because what they need to do now is to gather information on the enemy's military might and internal state of affairs. The brightest heads of the Kingdom of Science gather in order to plan their counterattack on the Kingdom of Petrification,among them being Gen,Ryusui,Ukyo,Senkuu and Chrome. Suika is sure that just as Kohaku said,once all their friends are back together coming up with a Strategy will be easy, Senkuu starts their meeting by praising Amaryllis and the Spy Teams efforts and the information they gathered because they managed to get their most valued secret which they're going to make full use of. Senkuu claims that the enemy only possesses one petrification weapon,meaning it's unique and perfect to be Ibara's most important secret, Ukyo acknowledges the possibility of that being the case but they can't be too certain. While Chrome wonders how certain they can be the other Members of the Science Team wonder if there is any point in them being there which Ryusui confirms,they need to work together with them because everyone's talents and knowledge will be needed to piece this puzzle together,this puzzle made of the enemies secrets. Senkuu begins to explain what makes him think that only a single weapon exists,the fact that the Great Leader doesn't hold onto it himself is a given since he is petrified but the Minister Ibara does not either. Amaryllis claims that this is most likely because he is a very cautious and wary man.

This is where Gen cuts in,Ibara's cautious and wary nature is exactly the reason why there can only be one weapon,someone as cautious as he is needs some kind of insurance for matters as important as this hence he handed the weapon to Kirisame of which we all know that she is a powerful warrior in her own right. If Ibara had another weapon he would have it with him in case he needed to petrify someone that found out his secret,we remember that he opted to kill Ginro with foxgloves instead of attempting to petrify him, with Kirisame holding onto the weapon there is also zero risk of getting petrified for himself as the person throwing needs to be the most careful given the risk. Everybody agrees now that there can only be one petrification weapon but before they move on with planning Ukyo wants Amaryllis to confirm something in regards to the petrification of Kohaku and Ginro, the weapon's effects reached all the way to Kohaku and Ginro but made sure to miss the Great Leaders House, Senkuu claims that this is another important piece of information because it means that Kirisame missed the Great Leaders House on purpose. She does not know that the Great Leader is a Statue! Something that gets confirmed by noone other than the Warrior Mozu!,he snuck up on the Science Team underwater and that too without Ukyo noticing his approach, Taiju immediatly gets between him and Amaryllis to block his attack. To everyone's shock Mozu's attack is powerful enough to send the highly durable Taiju flying!

As Taiju gets back up to protect his friends he is praised by Mozu for his endurance but it will only manage to buy a few precious seconds for them,which is all Senkuu and Co. need to come up with some sort of plan as they claim through inner monologues, Ryusui and Ukyo acknowledge Mozu's abilities which are so strong that even the entire group couldn't face off with him if they attacked him at once, meanwhile Chrome seems to be surprised by Mozu opting to tail Amaryllis instead of just killing her despite the difficulty of trailing her tracks at nighttime,while Gen deems this as obvious as he'd need to find the other infiltrators but that's when it dawned on him. Mozu knew that Amaryllis,Ginro and Kohaku were infiltrators yet he allowed Ginro to follow Ibara and had the girls walk around freely without eliminating a single one of them or warning Ibara,which means that Ibara's well being is of no concern to Mozu and he might even be considering to kill him himself. Now that all the pieces have been put together and Mozu could become their ally the only thing they need now would be for someone to strike a deal with the Warrior,and who better to do so then the Mentalist Gen,he approaches Mozu with a really twisted look on his face while offering him to join the Kingdom of Science. A battle between the twisted begins, Mozu vs Gen!!!

Personal Thought's

I'd rate this Chapter a 7 out of 10.

A really incredible Chapter of Dr. Stone this week in regards to intellect and twists, the next one should be even better with Gen taking Mozu on with the negotiations. I actually feel dumb for not picking up on some of these "puzzle pieces" myself lol.,like Mozu realising that Ginro is an infiltrator yet not protecting Ibara from the possible danger to his Life or the reason he would give the only Petrification Weapon to Kirisame. The only piece missing now would be why he does not want either Mozu(Even though he already seems to know) and Kirisame to know about the Great Leaders actual state and decides to pose as his Minister instead of just making up a story that he took down the former Leader and is now the rightful new Ruler or something? Why is the Great Leader such an important factor to his position on the Island when he could just become the No.1 himself? I'm Definitely wondering what Mozu will reveal here and now,he may be in for a deal with Senkuu and Co. but that won't clear him of the things he's done himself in the past. He knew what Ibara's intentions and plans are/were and instead of trying to stop him he actually went along with them,leaving Kirisame in the dark on the reality of their Leader being petrified,and having his way with god knows how many innocent girls when Ibara was done with them. His previous dialogue and interactions with Kohaku implied as much i think. He's still a villain in my opinion and likely to backstab them if they aren't careful enough. Till next time everybody!

 

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 123 Review by Belserion

Chapter Title: Brain-Battle Gambit

This week continues where last week left off, with the team offering to ally with Mozu. Gen uses the drone to impress Mozu, or maybe it was to appeal to his naivety when it comes to modern or past technology, by having it scatter leaves all around, calling it their sorcery bird and claiming they can fly it anywhere. Mozu looked suitably impressed, especially when Gen tells him they could use it to snatch the petrification weapon out of the air. This was his opening move in the gambit, making a weak card look like an Ace of Spades, which is accurate since, as Senkuu mentions, the drone isn’t even stabilized yet.

Ukyo is worried if it comes down to a battle between all of them against Mozu, they would lose. Ryuusui is excited at the prospect of gaining the strongest card in the deck if Gen manages to convince Mozu, a sentiment echoed by Senkuu who entrusts everything to Gen. Gen continues the smooth talking, telling Mozu if he allies with them he could end up ruling the island and the harem. We’re given a little lesson in manipulation from Gen, who uses Mozu’s distraction with the drone to sneak up next to him. Mind Manipulation Technique 1 is facing the same direction as the person you’re trying to manipulate instead of facing them directly, this fosters a sense of solidarity. Basically, always choose counter seating over a table when trying to win someone over.

Gen is throwing out compliments left and right, telling Mozu how amazingly strong he is and even if he came up against Ibara and all his soldiers he’d still be 1.5 times stronger than them. Amaryllis is worried because she thinks Gen is underestimating Mozu, which is proved in the next instant when Mozu himself tells Gen the gap is bigger than he thinks. Here we’re treated to Mind Manipulation Technique 2, where Gen teaches us that offering comments with claims only slightly off will compel your partner to make the correction, especially since, if they were unwilling to speak before, you would now definitely get them talking. Ryuusui is amazed at how strong Mozu claims he is and desires him, while Gen tries to twist his boast to their advantage by telling him he’d have no trouble bringing down Ibara if he desires. Mozu levels him with a stare that could only be described as sinister. Gen's confidence is shaken as he feels Mozu has seen through his every play.

Mozu now poses a question to the group. Should he slaughter all of them or kill Ibara instead? With that question hanging over them, he claims that since he could kill them at anytime he might as well explain things. Mozu confirms that it was indeed Ibara who petrified the Master, and while he played his part well, it’s time for the old man to give it up and die. He also thinks the girls would be happy to have him take over the harem, much to everyone’s disgust. Senkuu asks him why he doesn’t just murder the geezer and get it over with, and Mozu admits he would have done that already if not for the petrification weapon that Kirisame is holding. He also admits she’s no weakling and while he could beat her in a fair fight, with no defense against the weapon, he’s at a disadvantage. Ukyo realizes the dilemma in this and points out that if Mozu were to attack Ibara then Kirisame would defend him because she doesn’t know the truth, but if Mozu were to reveal the truth to everyone he would lose access to the harem he currently enjoys. This is lauded as a brilliant scheme since it appears Ibara's not just an old fool.

Senkuu tells Mozu that the petrification weapon is an obstacle in his path and they want to get their hands on that weapon. This means their interests are ten billion percent aligned. Gen uses this moment to take control of the negotiations again as he tells Mozu that the weapon is what they want more than anything and since a good deal should be fair and equal, what Mozu wants is control of the island and the harem and that should be enough. Gen tells him they will use their sorcery to lend him a hand on the condition that he gives them the petrification weapon. In fact, Gen demands it saying that part is non-negotiable. Everyone is annoyed at Gen’s tactics thinking his demand would only cause Mozu to dig his heels in. Mozu does seem angry at Gen’s audacity, asking him why things should be fair and equal. Mozu further states that as the mightiest, he would set the terms. He tells them they would put their sorcery to work for him then give him the weapon. Everyone is shocked, especially Gen who tells him that’s not fair and he should be reasonable. Mozu warns that he would keep an eye on their hideout from afar so they really have no choice but to obey him.

Gen secretly smiles at this proclamation, which brings us to Mind Manipulation Technique 3, which in psychology is called “Reactance”. Basically when someone is told to do something, they’ll instinctively reaffirm their right to decide. You effectively force them to refuse you. What Gen did was switch tracks completely since, as Senkuu mentions, the original question was whether Mozu should kill them or not. Mozu was so determined not to let Gen have his way that through Reactance, Gen moved the goalposts and got an unwitting Mozu to agree to team up with them. Senkuu agrees to Mozu’s terms and they shake on it before Senkuu gives him one of the earpieces to get messages to him. As Mozu leaves, Gen reveals that the key to winning a gambit isn’t to beat down your opponent, but what he managed to do there, which was to pave a deceptive flowery path forward. After ascertaining that Mozu was gone, Gen collapses in relief and everyone rushes to congratulate him on a job well done. Everyone is happy to have acquired the strongest fighter on the island despite knowing he plans to murder them when everything is done, something they’ll think about later.

The next day, the team begins working on some props for the next stage of their plan. They make Mozu a weapon and Senkuu explains to him that since the Kingdom of Science is small they have to win with a sudden brutal show of power. After Mozu takes out some of the soldiers, not killing them as they need them to spread the word, the Kingdom of Petrification will think they have no other way to fight back but to use the weapon. So under the cover of darkness, and with a new disguise, Mozu would play the part of an invader, something he’s already done brilliantly as on the last panel we see him standing on a mountain of injured bodies, looking quite impressive.

Chapter Rating: 8/10

Gen was amazing this chapter. His mentalist ability can never be taken for granted or underestimated. With Mozu on their side for now, they will be much closer to achieving their goal of obtaining the petrification weapon. This plan should work, but it’s afterwards that I’m worried about. Mozu wants the weapon as well, but as long as Senkuu gets the weapon first he shouldn’t be much trouble for them. But what happens after they leave? Will they really leave the village to Mozu’s mercy? He’s still the mightiest and his intentions are not good, so unless is personality does a full circle then he’ll need to be dealt with. Will they petrify him? Give him the Hyouga treatment and imprison him and take him with them? Or maybe, could they possibly come to a compromise? Definitely some good chapters coming up in the next few weeks.

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 124 Review by Emperor Spriggan

Chapter has an epic title, and the content is equally as epic. Nice way to bounce back after the weak chapter from last week.

One more thing, before I get into the meat of things. No comments from any of the characters this week. In this manga, everyone gets equal screentime;P We don't do any of that character bias thing here.

Right, so let's have at it:

Following the events from last week, Mozu proceeds with the plan to sabotage his own territory. A plan that succeeds, since the next morning there's an account of his stories from one of the guards of the village, O-Arashi. Said guard has an Egyptian like dressing on his head, which makes me realize something. Maybe Jafar and his group of lackies are based of ancient Egypt? Jafar could be the Pharaoh, and the petrification can relate duly to how bodies were preserved in ancient egypt through the sarcophagusi. But, I'm digressing.

We get a play by play of Senkuu's plan, and it seems pretty decent. Though with the plan being outlined like this from the get go, there's a high chance that it won't be as successful. Senkuu himself also acknowledges this, admitting that he has several contingency plans in place. Commendable. Ryuusui points out that they still can't let their guard down around Mozu, since he fully intends on killing them. Just then, we also get a scene whereby Mozu says that him and Kirisame will go and defeat the masked warrior. Jafar perks up a little, obviously not confident in the plan. Kirisame going means that the petrification device goes with her. Which would be inconvenient, since it basically leaves the island open to external attacks.

Kaseki is distraught about having to tear down one of his inventions, and Senkuu reveals that he has the perfect countermeasure in place for Mozu. Right here, this is my favorite part of the chapter, hands down. We get a call back to the first chapters of the series. Gunpowder makes a return, which quite frankly is a relief. I was genuinely bummed that such a concept was just brushed under the carpet. It also makes part of what is referred to in the chapter title 'The Devil's Weapon', a.k.a, a gun.

Once the gun is unveiled, we get another scene that I appreciated a lot. It involved Ukyo, and we got another call back. This time, it's to his principles that we saw when he was first introduced, those of someone who was never comfortable with taking a life. Ryuusui reassures him that they intend on doing nothing of the sort, and Ukyo seems relieved. Senkuu reiterates that the gun can be used to stop someone in their tracks by shooting them with lead.

There now pops up the obvious issue of who is qualified to shoot something like that. The group all turns their attention towards Yo, who had been revived. He was a former cop, so all logic dictates that he is supposed to be the one to operate the gun. Yo seems to have other intentions, so to quash these, Amaryllis approaches him sensually and proceeds to seduce him. The strategy works, and Yo agrees to the plan.

He proceeds to arrange three bottles on a table, then fires three times from the gun. All his shots miss, and Chrome gets skeptical about his marksmanship skills. Just then, a dead snake pops up out of nowhere. Turns out all of Yo's shots from earlier somehow ended up killing the snake. Senkuu is mighty impressed, but Yo admits internally that the snake wasn't his initial target. It makes for a pretty hilarious ending, all things considered.

Pros:
-Gunpowder making a comeback to the story. I just hope that this means dynamite is also just around the corner as well.
-The final panel with Yo, lmao.
-Ukyo's characterization being kept intact.

Cons:
-None

Chapter rating: 8/10

 

[Seraph]

Dr. Stone - Chapter 125 Review by Seraph

Chapter Title: Decisive Three Dimensional Battle

The Clash that decides it all between the Kingdom of Science and the Kingdom of Medusa is soon upon us,but before our heroes can enter this battle they will need 4 important pieces of equipment,those being:a few Hoods,a Wire,The Drone,and a gun. Senkuu explains the purpose of the hoods,that being that the "Hooded Warriors" are supposed to act as bait to force their enemies into throwing their Weapon at them. The Hooded Warriors will be 5 People,otherwise they'll run risk of not scaring their enemies enough into using their weapon against them,the cloth as well as the food needed for the hoods and our heroes is provided by Amaryllis who snuck back into her village's storehouse. Yuzuriha finishes the hoods within very short time, Hoods Complete!, However Amaryllis notices that there is a lot of noise coming from their working and preparations so she needs to camouflage their actions somehow. She gets into her Kawaii-Persona again to try and make believe to her admirers that she has escaped the Harem because she couldn't forget about their tenacious attempts of proposing to her,she wants to elope with one of them. The Strongest one,the man who can beat the drums the loudest at their next Village Festival will be the winner,said and done contrary to Amaryllis expectations the guys started beating the drums immediatly to practice for the festival. This makes for enough noise so the Science Team can work and prepare as loud as they want down in the cave,with Yo finally being able to hit his target with a straight shot.

And with that being off the table: Gun,complete!. Chrome can't help but wonder,that even if Yo is able to keep Mozu at bay with the Pistol how are they going to get the Petrification Weapon for themselves? Senkuu and Gen explain that they're going to try and have the string attached to the Weapon get tangled in the propellers of the Drone,Ukyo cuts in saying that this will inevitably mean that the Drone will stop flying and drop to the ground which by extension means that they will have to engage in a tug of war against the enemy to get the weapon for themselves. Senkuu agrees and begins to revive the Power-Team: Magma,Kinro and Nikki,the freshly revived Kinro immediatly checks on Ginro's attendance but quickly realizes that his brother is nowhere to be found in the cave. He asks the others to explain exactly what happened while he was petrified,as expected these news wouldn't just go by Kinro,he was deeply shaken after hearing it as he was only leaning against a wall while grinding his teeth. But he is soon to be relieved as Amaryllis tells him that both he and Kohaku were petrified before anything worse could happen to them,Kohaku's quick thinking saved his brother. Ryusui tells Kinro that he needs to lead the Hooded Warriors as it has to be someone that possesses actual skill with a Spear otherwise the bluff is for naught,Kinro accepts even after Senkuu tells him that the Leader will be targetted by Kirisame and Mozu first. Kinro says that they'll achieve victory and save everyone together,as they all get into their special gear.

But before that Taiju wants the Power-Team to start their Tug of War training,however just as he and Magma put their strength to the test the rope rips in half,something Senkuu would like to avoid which is where the required Wire will come in. In order to make said Wire Senkuu has dragged the Cotton Candy Machine out and has it spinning tar together to create the ultimate lightweight unbreakable rope: The Wire! Completed! Or at least one of them,our manual labor crew will tag in now to create more of them, Gen,Suika and Amaryllis go to work for that. Meanwhile Senkuu,Chrome and Kaseki begin with their final step: The Drone. Drone Mark 1 had the issue of being unstable and unmaneuverable in midair,as expected of the first prototype. Mark 2 has fixed the flight stability issue thanks to a fidget spinner spinning in the midle which creates a so called Gyroscopic Effect which allows the Drone to stay stable in midair,we get a funny comedic relief moment here with Senkuu and Chrome due to the latter actually finding out how to fix the stability issue but the former being ahead of him as always. Mark 3 is going to be the final and perfected version of the Drone envisioned,no stability issues and thanks to 4 Potentiometers being attached to it, it is also able to be maneuvered in midair at least when someone with knowledge of wind patterns and piloting handles it. And who better for that job than our Ryusui right? Yeah i thought so too,nobody else can do that but him.

He immediatly begins to practice and displays an incredible skill at maneuvering it as well as having really quick hands which he blames on the training to become a Pro-Gamer that he received when he was a child,prompting Gen to claim that Ryusui used his money in the past like Cheat Codes for Life. Yo shows interest in playing with the Drone while Ryusui would like to take a crack at his shooting range but Senkuu tells the 2 of them to focus on their respective trainings instead of playing around. As this happens we can see Magma standing in the background looking on sternly...anyway,Drone completed!. Senkuu notifies Mozu that they're going to begin their attack when the sun is rising,Mozu begins to inform Ibara that he and Kirisame will have to battle these Hooded Warriors otherwise they won't be able to live in peace. Senkuu announces that all their equipment is enough to take away their "Medusa",as they march towards the inner Palace lead by Kinro. We can tell by who was revived earlier and part of the clothing visible that the chosen Hooded Warriors are: Senkuu,Chrome,Kinro,Magma and Nikki,meaning 2 Members of the Science-Team and 3 Members of their Power-Team. The decisive Battle is upon us starting next Chapter...stay tuned everybody!.

Personal Thought's

I rate this Chapter an 8.5 out of 10.

I'm really excited for this incoming Battle for the Petrification Weapon now,i doubt everything will go down as planned and i'm expecting that it'll happen when the Weapon has been caught by the Drone. Either then or when it comes to dealing with Mozu,meaning i suspect that either Yo misses when it comes to it(despite his Training) or Magma does something unexpected. I feel like that panel where he just stood there and looked on was supposed to imply something into that direction,he either does something heroic or he messes their plans up. I liked Kinro's dedication,he's ready for this Clash you can tell already to avenge Ginro. Their reunion will be emotional i think,both have endured a lot after all. I did not think Senkuu would mix himself under the Hooded Warriors too but i guess he'll do the talking parts because i doubt he went along because he's good at tug of war lol. So the other Members should be Nicky,Magma,Taiju and Kinro as the Lead Spearman with Ryusui hiding in the bushes to steer the Drone when the time comes for him. I'm looking forward to the long awaited clash and even more so about what Ibara will do once he finds out about Mozu's betrayal. Till next time everybody!!!

 

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 126 Review by Belserion

Chapter Title: Three Dimensional Stratagem

We’re finally reaching the culmination of the arc and this week the stage is set. The final battle will take place at Wavebreak Cliff where the sound of the crashing waves and roaring winds will mask the sound of the drone. Moz calmly relays the location to Ibara and the other warriors, and they are immediately ready to go and confront the hooded warriors, confident in the belief that with Moz and Kirisame on their side they can’t lose.

Elsewhere, Suika is worried about the enemy heading towards them considering their numbers are so much smaller. Senkuu agrees that in battle that would be ten billion percent true, but the objective is to get them to throw the petrification weapon. They go over the plan once more, with everyone given their role, specifically the power team of Taijuu and Nicky who are responsible for pulling in the weapon after it gets tangled in the drone. Yo has the responsibility of using the gun to hold off the enemy after they’ve secured the weapon, especially Moz who will turn against them the minute they have the weapon. The three forces about to clash are The Kingdom of Science, hoping to steal the weapon vs The Kingdom of Petrification, who wants to eradicate the Kingdom of Science vs Moz, The Ultimate Warrior, who wants to get rid of the weapon and The Kingdom of Science. And so begins the final three way battle.

The two Kingdoms face off, and despite the difference in numbers, Kinrou steps up calmly with his golden spear shining like the sun prepared to protect his friends. He goes on the offensive in an impressive display that surprises the enemy. Ukyo, with his arrows and Senkuu with the help of the sun and mirrors to blind them, also attack the enemy. Moz approaches Yuzuriha, Amaryllis and Suika and gestures for them to attack him. They do this with a serious lack of skill but Moz, in keeping with the plan, pretends to be pushed back much to the astonishment of his allies. He tells Kirisame that the hooded warriors are indeed a force to be reckoned with and urges her to use the petrification weapon. Ryuusui gets excited as Kirisame tells her allies to close their eyes as she prepares to unleash the master’s power.

Moz has a plan of his own however. When Kirisame throws the weapon he plans to stand out of the range of the flash and close enough to reach the invaders in a single bound. He doesn’t plan on taking them lightly since he’s seen their sorcery up close and knows they’re not fools. Knowing that it only takes a moment and one finger to manipulate the drone, he plans to strike them just as quickly and remove their heads, thus ensuring his victory.

As Kirisame launches the petrification weapon, she recalls her last moments with Ibara before meeting the enemy. It turns out Ibara noticed the earring Moz is wearing as being the same as the one Kohaku was wearing. He thinks what makes him the strongest is not just having an army but remaining cautious in spite of that. Ibara acquires Kohaku’s earpiece and presumably knows the plans Moz has been making with Senkuu and co. Ibara smiles gleefully as he pronounces himself the winner. Kirisame releases the weapon and Chrome announces The Kingdom of Science has won while Senkuu orders the release of the drone.

Chapter Rating: 8/10

In this chapter all three sides proclaimed their victory and really this one is difficult to call. You have to wonder if Kirisame is going to aim at Moz, therefore petrifying him and revealing his betrayal. Is it even the real weapon considering it’s doubtful Ibara has a way of stopping the drone? Kirisame cannot hope to beat Moz in a 1 vs 1 situation so it would be silly if that wasn’t the actual weapon. Could she possibly maneuver it in a way that would make it difficult for the drone to catch it? If it is fake then is Ibara nearby with the real weapon and Kirisame is just a distraction? One thing for certain is that Moz has been exposed as a traitor and no doubt Ibara has ordered him dealt with. We’ll just have to wait and see how it unfolds in the next chapter.

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 127 Review by the Hermit Spriggan

Sensational manga chapter this week. The title pretty much gives it away; Medusa and Perseus.

Media comments before the big event:

Kohaku: Still waiting to come get rescued. Not like they don't have the revival fluid in excess now or anything. Not like they can't send someone to come rescue us or anything.

Ginrou: Ha, I'm getting used to this actually. But I have this very annoying itch on my back. Wish someone would get it for me.

Hyouga: Fingers crossed I'm going to do something epic by the end of the arc. There's no way I've been this ignored. Right guys? Right?

Homura: *Silently files her nails in the background*

--

So the chapter kicks off with a beautiful color cover. A bit fitting considering the current events of the anime, where the focus was on Byakuya and his crew in space. The first page is also a color cover, consisting of the events of the last page of last week's chapter.

Ryusui was about to release the drone, but he freezes before he can complete the action. Kaseki is confused, but both the captain and Senkuu immediately get a bad feeling. We get a panel where we see Jafar with his talons wrapped around Senkuu, which is just.....really really good. For a moment I thought Jafar had actually arrived there and captured Senkuu, haha.

Jafar and Kirisame are on a boat, and we get a flashback where we see him obtaining the listening device from Kohaku's petrified body. In detail, he listens to all of Senkuu and Mozu's plans. He divulges the same information to Kirisame, before handing her something in secret.

Senkuu tries to ignore the bad feeling in his gut, saying that Science is not dependent on such vague concepts as instincts and spidey senses. Immediately, he gets to calculating (A bit like what he did in the Grand Magic Games, when he was calculating how much time Chrome would need to set Magma's clothes on fire). He realizes that there is no way the petrification device can affect the Kingdom of Science according to its current trajectory, which leads him to one conclusion: The petrification device is fake. (Heh, pretty much like I called it last week x)

It confirms what Jafar had given Kirisame earlier was indeed the fake petrification device. Senkuu shouts to everyone to get into the mobile lab. Mozu spots the real petrification device in Kirisame's hands, realizing what was going on. She expresses doubt that Mozu is a traitor as she had been told earlier, but Mozu immediately darts off to take care of Senkuu and his group. He decides on another time to eliminate Jafar and take the genie lamp for himself.

Inside the trailer, Senkuu and his group spot Mozu quickly gaining ground on them. Yo prepares himself to take action, bragging about how this will take him to the top. Only to realize that he doesn't have the pistol anymore. Pretty funny turn of events.

Suika realizes that both Magma and Gen are not on the lab, and true to that, Magma does have the pistol. He had stolen it from Yo earlier when the police officer was asleep. Gen had caught him in the act, so he had pummeled him silly and dragged him along. Magma tells Gen that with a device like the pistol, it's as easy as heading to Jafar's lair and shooting him.

Jafar and Kirisame are on the Perseus, along with a good number of the island's population. The plan was to gather up every resident, leave just Senkuu and his group in the island and petrify them. Since they would pretty much have nowhere to run or hide, with their main mode of transport taken over. A pretty impressive plan in all honesty. Though it doesn't seem to faze Senkuu in the least bit.

The scientist explains that all they can do now is rely on Magma to save them by going on a shooting spree. Gen says that there is no way he will be able to hit Jafar from where he is, and the chapter ends with an awesome panel of Magma looking like he's playing Call of Duty. Or one of those hipster shooter games.

Pros:
-The chapter quality in general was just....really well done. They managed to retain the level of high stakes from the previous edition and carried it into this week's events. Something that this manga has honestly struggled with sometimes.
-Jafar is proving to be a damn good villain. Like seriously, the way he came up with the plan of the fake device. Even stealing Kohaku's ear piece to be able to listen in on the KoS's plan. And his plan to petrify Senkuu and co. by isolating them in the village. Just....very well done. It's exciting having a villain who is both brain and brawn.
-Magma getting relevance. Though I'd have thought by now he'd have given up on his plans to become village chief. And just go with the flow of things. Maybe he really will achieve his goal by the end of the manga.
-The color cover and first pages of the chapter.

Cons:
-Kohaku still not saved D: Someone pls save her, manga is severely missing her T_T
-Kirisame still not redeemed. Ugh, you can tell she is FAR more interesting than Mozu. Needs her to join the nakama group ASAP.

Chapter rating:9/10

 

[Seraph]

Dr. Stone - Chapter 128 Review by Seraph

Chapter Title: Island-Wide Battle Royale

This Week's Chapter of Dr. Stone starts out with Ibara and Senkuu claiming that they're going to win this round as the former feels like he has cornered the latter while the latter thinks the former has given him the perfect chance to claim victory here. Ryusui laughs confidently as he already knows how to get the Islanders Trust and expose Ibara,which is by simply showing them the Statue of the Great Leader since there is no way Ibara would take the risk of having him carried around in front of everybody otherwise he'd have to petrify even more people which would cause more suspicion about him. Amaryllis points out that the role of the leader is passed down by heredity,which means that instead of Ibara the next rightful Leader would be Soyuz if the intel of Ginro is true at least. As Ryusui and Ukyo check on the situation at the Perseus,Senkuu begins to split their group up into 2 Teams: One to retrieve the Statue of the Great Leader while the other stirs up Trouble and tries to get onto the Perseus. The Statue retrieval-Team consists of Taiju,Yuzuriha,Ukyo,Suika,Soyuz and Amaryllis while the Trouble-Team consists of Senkuu,Ryusui,Kinro,Nicki,Chrome and Yo. The latter team's goal will be to catch up with Magma as they need the gun back in order to deal with the overwhelming numbers of the enemy,unfortunately they have no idea where he could be...or do they? Just as everybody wonders where to look for they hear gun shots closeby and immediatly conclude that this has to be Magma's doing.

However,not just our heroes have been alerted by the noise but also their enemies,the scene cuts over to Magma and Gen where it is revealed that while Magma's shot clearly could not reach the Perseus and Ibara it did put a hole into one of the passenger canoes. Gen uses his quick wits and "Magic" to scare the Soldiers boarding it off so he and Magma can get closer to Ibara,and it is exactly then that Gen realizes that he has been subconsciously helping Magma in his agenda,he tries to escape but Magma won't let him instead he is appointed to one of his right hand men despite the fact that he once tried to kill Gen...something he conveniently "forgot" about apparently. Back at Senkuu's location the Trouble-Team worries how to catch up to him but Nicki has the answer as she just knocks out another soldier so they can take his canoe,which they do instantly in order to stop Magma in time. The scene switches over to the Retrieval-Team where Ukyo is setting fire to the Inner Palace to spread confusion among the remaining Soldiers while their Group enters the Great Leaders hut,as they close in on it we can see Soyuz seemingly recognizing it but their successful run is put to a stop as they only find the completely shattered Statue of Soyuz' Father. Brief shift to Ibara on the Perseus,our Villain has already predicted the Invaders would try to get their hands onto the Original Leader so he had to smash him,the plan from here on out is to stop the invasion and have someone carve a replica and then petrify the Sculptor afterwards.

As Suika and Amaryllis begin to lose hope Yuzuriha tells them that there is still hope because she still has some of Senkuu's glue left and they'll just have to try and piece him back together,although even she seems unsure after closely inspecting some of the parts as she believes he cannot be revived even when put together. Soyuz finds one of his hands lying around and begins to hold it in a manner as if he was shaking it for a greeting,suddenly,Soyuz begins to remember his fathers reaction when he was carried into the hut by his Mother. Soyuz claims that he just remembered everything from his time on the Island,his parents and most importantly...their faces and bodies,he apologizes to his late father under tears for the time it took him to return but with his perfect memory they will be able to put him back together and give him a resting place befitting for a Leader of his Stature. The scene cuts back to Senkuu and Co. where they're about to board the Perseus,the Soldiers get ready to stop them but our heroes charge right for Ibara and the Weapon. Senkuu needs the Team to stir trouble and go wild on their enemies until the Retrieval-Team gets back here,with Nicki making it her duty to stop Magma and take the gun back before he runs out of Ammo. Kinro will buy all the time they need while Magma only wants to put Ibara full of holes. The deciding clash begins...

Personal Thought's

I rate this Chapter an 8 out of 10.

Pretty emotional reunion between Soyuz and his Father,even more sad and shocking that he cannot be revived even when put together,meanwhile Ibara is becoming a better and better Villain than i first gave him credit for. Now i only wonder where and how Hyouga and Homura get brought back into this or if they are petrified as well because with a clash on the ship against their armed enemies that'd be the perfect chance for them to show up again,please make it happen Inagaki-Sensei!...Anyway,Magma really brought some chaos into their operation,gotta say,it is nice and well for a distraction but not when you've got a guy holding the gun with zero practice and skill at handling it. If it was part of their plan then Senkuu would've wanted Yo to go ahead and do it,surely. Nicki will probably have to stop Magma and perhaps feed more into their already teased ship from before. That'd be good actually now that i think about it...hmm...MagmaXNicki...i can see it happen...err anyway! I'm looking forward to next time as always,looks like we're heading towards the climax of the arc now. Final clash on the Perseus and Senkuu coming face to face with Ibara for the first time in the next chapter too,definitely gonna be interesting.Till next time everybody!

 

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 129 Review by Belserion

Chapter Title: Joker

This week continues with our heroes charging full speed ahead towards Ibara and the stolen Perseus. Gen thinks Senkuu and the others are there to rescue him so is shocked when he realizes everyone has lost their minds and are going after Ibara instead. The goal here is to buy time for Taijuu, Yuzuriha and the others to get to the Master, but as we saw last week, they would not be able to salvage him. Senkuu and the others don’t know that yet though. Gen worries because it’s the nine of them vs hundreds, but Magma is already on the ship and completely disregarding the fact that no lives should be taken, orders Ibara to prepare to die.

Nicky reaches Magma in time and hits him on the head causing the shots to go wild and serving only to scare the enemy instead of killing them. Magma is upset and threatens to kill Nicky instead, but Nicky’s impressed that Magma is still standing after her attack and the two continue to bicker. Ryuusui warns Magma not to waste ammo, while he’s reminded that the gun is their trump card, but it’s too late as there’s only three shots left. Senkuu adds some magnesium to the gun which would produce a fireworks show, as proven when Yo shoots it in an attack he calls Sorcerers Spell: Spear of Light. Gen plays it up promising to show the enemy the light, which causes most of them to panic and flee the ship. They notice one boat isn’t fleeing but instead is coming towards them, and it’s none other than Moz who’s on it and he looks angry.

Senkuu points out that now there will be no negotiations and nowhere to run so they would have a showdown. They tell Yo to earn his keep as Sheriff and he faces off against Moz. Yo fires, but unfortunately Moz dodges as he remembers that it only takes a single moment and a finger for the “sorcerers” to work their magic, so he waited for the moment he saw Yo’s finger move and skillfully dodged the bullet. He knocks Yo, and unfortunately the gun, out of the way fairly easily and Kinrou took that as his cue to confront Moz. The two have a brief skirmish but Moz eventually breaks Kinrou’s shield and knocks him down. He does the same to Nicky and our heroes have no choice but to retreat from Moz, with Senkuu admitting to Gen that the scientific trump card well has run dry.

They reach the bottom of the ship and like Chrome says, they’re trapped like rats since they’ve reached a dead end. Ibara claps and compliments them on doing well so far but unfortunately for them their time is up. Senkuu has a moment where he looks resigned, but tells his comrades that they haven’t been backed into a corner, they were right where they need to be in that exact room. He throws some of the revival formula behind him into a cage and Gen finally realizes exactly where they are. Senkuu admits this is the one card he did not want to play, their final Joker card. He’s not surprised Ibara and his forces could not open the iron and impenetrable gate of science. Kinrou also realizes what’s happening and as they have no other choice, entrusts his golden spear to someone. This person turns out to be our resident antagonist Hyoga, looking as sinister as ever as he finally leaves his cage.

Chapter Rating: 9/10

Fantastic chapter. My one issue is that the whole deal with Moz ended up being so unnecessary. Why would you prefer to make a deal with the devil you don’t know, one who you know plans to kill you when this is all over anyway, than with the devil you do know? One of the reasons Hyoga and Homura are on the trip was for if the team encountered enemies they couldn’t handle, and this was the ideal situation. Anyway, I’m not a Hyoga fan but I’m excited to see where this goes. I wanted to see Tsukasa vs Moz, and that’s impossible, but Hyoga vs Moz should be just as good if not better since they have similar ruthless personalities. Really looking forward to the climax of this arc, from this upcoming battle to the moment when Soyuz reveals his true identity to the village.

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 130 Review by the Best Star Shine

Chapter title this week is 'The Devil's Selection'. Quite ominous, I'd say. Though that color page is.....just extraordinary. Stunning really.

--

We kick off from where we left off last week, with Hyoga being released from his petrification. Gen is shocked, not sure of how things will turn out. Much like the audience, I presume. Nikki asks how they are going to stop him since they don't have a gun. Senkuu states that they first need to know which side he is on, before deciding on anything else. As things stand, he is currently Joker.

Jafar is puzzled. From his memory, Hyoga was a statue. He also remembers Ukyo as being one of the statues before, adding more to his confusion. Immediately, he bolts from the room, and Magma is beaten down by Mozu after trying to give chase. Hyoga realizes how strong Mozu is from that single swing. He also realizes this is why Senkuu revived him, something that the scientist affirms to.

Hyoga adds on about how currently he can decide to team up with the Kingdom of Science, or simply destroy them. Atop the ship, Ibara comes to a conclusion that Senkuu and his group can revive the broken statues. If they were to revive the Great Leader, things would be hectic. Within the Grand Palace, Yuzuriha has just managed to put together the statue of the former chief.

Soyuz apologizes for having abandoned his father for that long. Gen is brainstorming over what strategies to use to get Hyoga onto their side. He comes up with an idea, which involves Nikki pretending to be part of a couple with Hyouga. The girl refuses, saying that she needs to be in the mood. Hyoga tells Gen to shut up, or else he will kill him.

The masked man then thinks to himself that after that little charade, both Gen and Nikki do proper work. Senkuu, everyone else, if Hyoga were to team up with Mozu, all of them would be killed within an instance. He thinks back to Senkuu's ideologies about reviving everyone. Turning to Mozu, Hyoga begins to explain his own view of things. Like Tsukasa, he wants survival to be based on the fittest. A form of artificial selection where he chooses the people with superior genes, whereas the weaker ones are left to their own devices. Unlike Tsukasa however, he doesn't say he will destroy the statues of the ones left behind.

Mozu agrees with this train of thought, thinking that this is what Hyoga wants to hear. He tells him that they can select the best girls within the island. Ryuusui disagrees with this train of thought, stating that every girl is beautiful. To this statement, Mozu turns to look at Nikki, who has a smile on her face.

Hyoga asks if Mozu was referring to just superficial looks and beauty, to which he says that it applies to women. With men, the lines are a bit more blurred. This prompts Hyoga to make his decision.

Outside the ship, Kirisame and a few others have just arrived on a small boat. Ibara shouts at Kirisame to engulf the entire island in the petrification ray. Hyoga lunges at Senkuu with his spear, before instructing him to move left. A spear fight then breaks out between Hyoga and Mozu.

Within the island, Taiju and his group are heading towards the ship with the body of the Great Leader in tow. Hyoga shows his face to Mozu, complementing his comrades for doing things properly. The chapter ends with a caption announcing that Hyoga has joined the battle.

Pros:
-Hyoga's characterization being consistent with his first appearance in the manga. The first time he appeared, he complemented Senkuu and co. for being people who did things efficiently. At the time it seemed like sarcasm, but this time round he seemed pretty genuine in the compliment.
-Ibara continuing to be a stand out villain. Though I do wonder whether Kirisame will go ahead with the plan to petrify the village.
-Mozu vs Hyoga
-Ryuusui's comment to Mozu, lol.
-Kirisame's short cameo. This girl has a bright future ahead of her, letting you all know in advance.

Cons:
-The break this week, ugh.

Final chapter rating:9/10

 

[Seraph]

Dr. Stone - Chapter 131 Review by Seraph

Chapter Title: Nasty Crimes

As Senkuu and Co. make for the upper decks they're being chased by Moz and some of the remaining soldiers,while Gen and Senkuu can confuse the Soldiers with some basic science tricks they're steadily chased by Moz who is also keeping his own against Hyoga who keeps attacking him from all angles. Tsukasa's former right hand-man advices Moz to keep his guard up otherwise he will never claim victory against him,meanwhile,Senkuu and the others have jumped onto a couple of boats and are now trying to row back to the Island in order to create something of which Senkuu claims can earn them a sure victory against the Kingdom of Petrification if they hurry. Hyoga and Moz have taken their bout onto the upper deck by now with the latter claiming that he's ready to rise to Hyoga's expectations and will not be holding back anymore,even moreso because he is aware of Hyoga's strength now, he apologizes to his opponent for letting him believe he stood even a sliver of a chance all this time. As he finishes his apology he lets out a loud roar and attacks Hyoga with incredible speed and force,shocking him to an extent where he even opens his eyes for a change,but he barely manages to guard against it yet is still being pushed back a fair distance. As the 2 Warriors fight it out we see Ibara ordering Oarashi to take the Petrification Weapon all the way to the middle of the Island and activate it there to engulf it entirely,Kirisame who hears this voices and shows visible concern for Oarashi as he won't be able to outrun it himself if he activates it,asking the Minister to reconsider his plot of engulfing the Island she is only met with a condescending,evil grin and the Question why this Old man should heed her words. He continues by telling her that Oarashi is being sent because Kirisame herself is perfect for guarding him and the former is simply "disposeable".

As Kirisame hears this she can't help but question Ibara's behaviour,Oarashi isn't disposeable and all of their soldiers and citizens haven't evacuated yet either,but Ibara only responds if Kirisame wants too disobey the Great Leaders Will here which triggers a memory Kirisame has of a conversation with said Leader. He teached her that the range of the Petrification Weapon must never be abused or toyed with, engulfing the entire Island is crossing the line for her and she can't help but wonder if this really is the Great Leaders Will or infact Ibara's own. Just as the Minister wants to answer her question the Retrieval-Team arrives at the coast with the pieced together Statue of Soyuz' Dad a.k.a The Great Leader, with Taiju yelling in a very loud voice that everybody has been fooled all this time as their Leader is only a Statue and Ibara is the one pulling the strings here, seeing this Kirisame instantly confronts Ibara with this but the only words he says are: "One Meter. One Second."...As he holds up the Petrification Device. Realizing that the Minister is about to turn her into a statue the Warrior-Princess lunges towards Ibara intending to catch the weapon before the strap attached to it straightens and it activates but she is too slow,while Oarashi saves himself by jumping off the ship we are to witness Kirisame's petrification. She curses Ibara under tears as her screams end apruptly with her Petrification having finished and her statue falling off the boat as well. As her statue falls down Ibara bids her farewell and thanks her for all the hard work she put in for his sake,he turns to the island and claims that the only thing left to do is to petrify all the Intruders on the Island but just as he finishes a loud noise is heard,even all the way to Ukyo and Co. it is heard very clearly.

Suddenly Ibara's left hand is shot by a bullet by no one other than Yo who begins to state Ibara's rights according to the Law,with mild difficulties at that,while Ibara notices that he let go of the Petrification Weapon Yo tells him that he is under arrest for all of his countless and nasty crimes with the Minister very visibly freaking out at the loss of his trump card...

Personal Thought's

I rate this Chapter an 8 out of 10.

I actually doubt that Hyouga is being completely overwhelmed here,at least for now,he may have been surprised by Mozu's sudden rise in strength but i doubt Hyouga himself has been going at it with his best so far either. I believe that because Hyouga was aware of him holding back under deck and yet did not take advantage of it and dealt fatal blows to him instead he simply cornered him as much as needed at the time,and also because Senkuu and the others left for the Island so Hyouga could fight without holding back as well. So the last word isn't said here yet i'd say,i'm open to Hyouga losing but if he does then Mozu himself will be down on his last leg as well. Now with Kirisame i was really happy in this Chapter!, She showed emotion,concern and compassion for someone she barely cared for previously(namely Oarashi), she dared to mention and defend a rule established by the Great Leader to Ibara's face and she was willing to defy his orders instantly upon seeing the Statue of Soyuz' Dad. I know it is basically nothing but a starting line for her as a character in general but i don't care i loved to see this in the Chapter,not gonna lie. It was pretty sad to see her get petrified with tears in her eyes but on the upside it granted us some scarce insight on how and what the Petrification Weapon actually is i think.

It's interesting how the device also appears to be adjustable per voice input and not just throwing distance and positioning,unless this is another version of their Petrification weapon(Which it very well could be),and even how long it is going to be in effect it seems. Poor Kirisame had to feel the close range brunt of it but it allowed us to get a closer look at the device which seems to be 3 small iron bows bended into and around another with very small platines put all over it. At least from the looks of it,definitely appears to be of Modern Technology for me. I'm not sure anymore if i can see Ibara be someone from the modern civilization,even though i considered it initially,hearing that the Great Leader himself established Rules in terms of how to handle the Petrification Weapon makes me think that the Weapon itself is something left behind by Byakuya and the Soyuz Crew many years ago after they found out how it functions or how it might function. Perhaps for research purposes? I'm not sure,but it also tells us that the Weapon had been in usage even while the Great Leader was still around just not as much as it was the case with Ibara i guess. I liked that Yo got a moment to shine here,and even had some cool dialogue lol.,now i do wonder if he'll manage to get a hold of the Weapon when it hits the water or if Ibara will jump after it right away? I'm also really curious what Senkuu wants to build that will grant them a sure victory here...Till next time everybody!!!

 

[Belserion]

Dr. Stone Chapter 132 Review by Belserion

Chapter Title: The Strongest Weapon Is….

Yo's moment to shine? Ibara defeated? Hyoga overpowered? Let's see.

The chapter begins with Yo shooting the last bullet at Ibara. He hits his target and the petrification weapon falls into the ocean, which prompts Yo to dive in after it. He’s ecstatic to have obtained the strongest weapon, claiming the Medusa was his. He has big plans for the weapon, the first being to get revenge on Moz for pushing him into the ocean. He has daydreams about everyone praising him as the top guy in the Kingdom of Science, and as he prepares to attack Moz, he realizes he has no idea how to use the weapon.

On the ship, Moz praises Hyoga’s skill and comments on the amount of training he must have had to master his skill. It’s all empty since in the next instance Moz tells Hyoga that it’s not enough to beat him because his talent is natural considering he’s a genius. Moz attacks Hyoga and claims that in contrast to Hyoga, he’s been the strongest since he was born. Hyoga falls back into the water, a move Moz sees through as Hyoga dodging. He follows Hyoga, who’s swam to the nearest island surface, and he seems quite disappointed that Hyoga has chosen to flee instead of fight. Hyoga is hardly paying attention to Moz as he laments Senkuu’s character and knows that since he’s not one to run away with his tail between his legs, they must have raced off to get something. This turns out to be true as we see Nicki, Senkuu and Gen gathering materials in the forest. Hyoga knows that as their Joker, they would want him to have his strongest weapon, so he has faith that they will provide it, something that surprises him.

We see the team taking measurements for graphite and alcohol to combine with the bamboo they cut from forest. They’re making a type of lubricant to coat the bamboo inside, and eventually they do this. Magma is entrusted to get the bamboo to Hyoga, something that he does quite easily by throwing it to him, as he’s one of the strongest in the group. Hyoga, with more manners than I would have expected, thanks them and commends them for doing well as always. He tells Moz to prepare to witness the Spear of Science with 500 years of history woven into it. Hyoga then prepares to show Moz the Owari Kan-Ryu Spear Style. Moz is transfixed by Hyoga’s movement as the spear starts spinning in circles, gleaming gold like the sun. Moz is completely overwhelmed with Hyoga moving too fast for him to keep up. He asks how Hyoga is doing it and Hyoga explains to him saying it acts like a lever with the pipe as a fulcrum, it also takes months of training to master.

Senkuu and the others watch on, pretty excited as Hyoga overpowers Moz. As for Moz he can’t believe he’s being beaten by sorcery. Hyoga asks Moz what he thinks Humanity’s strongest weapon is. Without waiting for Moz to reply, he tells him it’s a certain privilege afforded to the human race, the accumulation of knowledge over multiple generations. For thousands of years it was diligently built up then passed on to the next generation. He ends by telling Moz that up against such never ending diligence, a single man’s raw talent doesn’t stand a chance. With this, Hyoga stands over a defeated Moz with his spear pointed at his throat.

Elsewhere, Yo is still playing around in the ocean by pretending to zap the village soldiers. Even though he doesn’t know how to use the device he’s content that he’s foiled Ibara’s plan of petrifying the entire island. Suddenly Ibara appears from above, mouth open in what appears to be a last ditch effort, ready to rip the device away from Yo.

Chapter Rating: 8/10

This was a good chapter. Not sure if Hyoga has had a complete change of heart but it’s obvious he appreciates the Kingdom of Science and will aid them, at least for now. Looking forward to seeing what Ibara will accomplish here. While I enjoy the comedic aspect of the manga, I found Yo to be too unguarded. With a weapon like Medusa he should have at least tried getting it to Senkuu right away when it became obvious he didn’t know how to use it. Now it’s highly likely that it’s about to fall right back into Ibara’s hands. Hopefully I’m wrong and Yo redeems himself.

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 133 Review by Hermit

Apologies for the late review, a truck run me over and I woke up in another world where there were no laptops.

But without further ado:

Ibara is still falling from the sky, and he gets to where Yo is. He shouts the command 'Three meters, one second', before plunging into the water. Yo gets petrified, effectively letting go of the petrification device. Oarashi is stunned at what happened to Yo, but Ibara fully intends on having him use the petrification device. He shouts '2000 meters, 15 minutes', before 'handing' the device to Oarashi. Scared out of his mind, he immediately darts out of the water and heads towards the inland.

Ukyo was paying attention to Yo, so he was able to pick on the commands Ibara had used on the device. The rest of the KoS notice Oarashi's crazed run towards the heart of the village, and Amaryllis instructs him to stop Oarashi in his tracks. Taiju shouts to everyone that he (Oarashi) has the Medusa. This in turn, triggers a chain reaction. The residents of the village (Ibara's subordinates) are fully intent on protecting Oarashi and letting him fulfill his objectives, while the rest of the Kingdom of Science intends on stopping the oaf of a man.

Magma and Kinrou catch up to Oarashi, but he easily swats them away. Ibara states that there isn't a human alive who can stop Oarashi (Feels like a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point). Ryuusui, Chrome and Senkuu immediately begin to brainstorm ideas. Chrome thinks back to the first time they were petrified on the ship. He tells Senkuu that the speed of the ray remained constant all throughout the process.

The junior scientist, Kaseki and Ryuusui all head in a different direction from where Oarashi was headed. Taiju catches up with Oarashi, and manages to stop him in his tracks. Brilliant show of strength and endurance. Even Oarashi is impressed. Sadly, it turns out that he doesn't have the Medusa. He tells everyone that Ibara informed him if he got to the middle of the village he wouldn't be caught in the petrification beam. And to the despair of everyone there, Ibara turns out to have retained possession of the device. He proceeds to launch it into the sky above the island and it activates.

Some of the KoS members start linking hands, and Chrome tells Senkuu he's leaving the rest to him. The chapter ends with Senkuu starting to formulate a plan.

Pros:
-Season 2 being announced!!!! Get in!!!! Lovely cover page to kick off the chapter as well, really glad this series is getting a second season. Hopefully it gets the MHA/Black Clover treatment and the whole franchise is adapted.
-Ibara continues to impress as a villain. The decoy plan with Oarashi was well played. Props to him, I wonder how they will take him down.
-Taiju being one of the unsung MVP's of the arc. Seriously loving how he is being dealt with in this saga. From rescuing all the statues from under the water, informing the village that the Great Leader is a statue (Something Kohaku had tried earlier), to even stopping Oarashi in the chapter, very solid writing. I just hope this trajectory of his continues to go upwards.
-Chrome getting a moment too. He isn't particularly one of my favorite characters, but I like how he usually gets a shining moment regardless of how knowledgeable Senkuu is.

Cons:
-How late this review is. My heartfelt apologies.

Chapter rating: 9/10

 

[Seraph]

Dr. Stone - Chapter 134 Review by Seraph

Chapter Title: Commander Faceoff!

As the terrifying light of the Medusa spreads across the entire Island petrifying everything in it's wake we see Senkuu hastily formulating a counter strategy against the light in order to avoid being petrified by it, Ukyo uses his final moments before becoming a statue to inform Senkuu that the device is voice activated in order to specify range and duration of the usage. Hyoga and Mos lament that despite fighting for their respective factions to the end they probably will not be revived as they're both too powerful and evil to be trusted again,however,if they are to come back someday then Mos would like Hyoga to teach him in the art of Owari-kan Ryu Style as he has become very interested in the technique and strength that Hyoga displayed. Hyoga agrees to teach him,that is if they ever get revived again. The light has spread across the entire island by now and everybody is being petrified instantly,the petrification begins to spread across Senkuu's body as well but our Scientist faces it rather eagerly judging by his expression. Does he have a Plan?. The Light of the Medusa stops right in front of the Perseus where Ibara relishes in the face of his plans success,a giant wall of water shoots up as the force of the light reached the Ocean as well. After the light subsided Ibara boarded one of the Passenger boats to cross the short distance to the Island in order to retrieve the Medusa,as he sets foot on the Island once more he(despicable villain that he is-) doesn't bother stepping on his petrified men lying in his path.

Ibara begins to laugh and celebrate his "Solo Supreme Victory",as he makes his way up the mountain where he sent Oarashi he cannot help but laugh at the efforts of his adversaries as they proved meaningless in the end. He is the last one standing on the Island,as such he gets to chose who will be revived and who can remain petrified. Naturally some of the Villagers will be revived,but mostly women as the harem needs to continue. He plans to take the Revival Fluid from the "Sorcerers" to do so and if there isn't enough he'll force them to create more and more. As Ibara comes across the statues of Ryusui,Chrome,Kaseki,Gen and Nicki he notices that they're all striking the same pose and standing in one straight line,but that's not all they're all showing a different amount of fingers as well as making different expressions which are as follows:
1. Chrome,standing first making an expression that looks like he is yelling at someone, is showing just his fist which would equal 0.
2. Ryusui,second in line cracking a cocky smile, is showing 2 fingers.
3. Gen,third in line making a relaxed and nonchalant expression,is showing a full hand.
4. Kaseki,fourth in line making his usual calm expression,also showing a full hand.
5. Nicki,fifth in line but since she is so far away her expression remains unclear,she is showing 4 Fingers.
It is a personal guess of mine so make of it what you want but perhaps the expressions and amount of fingers are supposed to convey a message/code/order to a certain someone,the order would be "02554". I'm not sure if this is something Chrome came up with but it is no coincidence that's all we can make of it for now i guess.

Anyway!,Ibara continues his path up the mountain and comes across the statue of Soyuz whom he recognizes and as he does he gets a flashback of when he petrified the Great Leader and chased Soyuz along with his mother of the Island while attempting to kill them both. Soyuz Mother succumbed to her wounds eventually meaning that Soyuz was discovered next to the dead body of his very Mother when they arrived in Ishigami Village. As his flashback ends he begins to ridicule the petrified Soyuz as he may have reached the Island he was destined to rule someday after 20 long years only to become the same as his father: A stone statue. He bids Soyuz farewell and hopes he will enjoy his eternal sleep,he walks over to Oarashi's statue and instantly smashes it with a big rock in order to retrieve the Medusa from his insides. Rejoicing over his "reunion" with the Medusa Ibara suddenly notices fresh footprints nearby,which is weird since nobody should've been able to escape that far from the top after the weapon activated,Ibara begins to follow the footprints and as he does the earring that he took from Kohaku before suddenly activates and emits a very loud noise. Following both the noise and the footprints Ibara arrives at the Labcar a.k.a "That Strange Beast",he recognizes the vehicle but wonders how it can be up and running with nobody around anymore,as he walks behind it he notices that it's door is open and another "Magical Device" is lying on the floor.

Said Device is a microphone,and right as Ibara lays eyes on it the words "5 Meters,1 Second" come shouting out of it,realizing that it is intended to trigger the Medusa Ibara throws his weapon away in order to remain safe but nothing happens. As the surprise attack failed we see who exactly the "attacker" was,and it was no one other than Senkuu! The Albert Einstein of the Stone World!. Senkuu doubts that Ukyo read the situation wrong but that the weapon can only be commanded when being close and personal with it,as Ibara spots him he greets the villain with a cocky challenge: Science versus Medusa! A true faceoff between the leaders of the Kingdom of Science and the Kingdom of Petrification! Ibara versus Senkuu!. Ibara's only response to these developments is: "HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!"...

Personal Thought's

I rate this Chapter a 9 out of 10.

Oh man,Senkuu is going to pay Ibara back so bad for what he did to all of his comrades i can feel it. Those last panels were incredibly satisfying to read and look at,Senkuu scaring him half to death with his little maneuver,but who can blame him...i actually thought it was gonna work like that too. What i am curious about is how Senkuu escaped being petrified entirely,we did see his fingers beginning to petrify,Chrome's hint gave him some sort of clue/idea as to how to counter the Medusa. He has to,otherwise he wouldn't take Ibara on so confidently. Then there's also the different numbers his friends showed with their fingers while all facing the same direction,perhaps an order of something? Another hint? We'll see just what Senkuu has in store for the Big Bad Guy here in this final face-off between the Leaders,i only know that i'm hyped for it already! Till next time everybody!!!

 

[Hermit]

Dr Stone Chapter 135 Review by Chibi Usa

After the short winter break, plus Boichi recovering from his unprecedented illness (Thankfully he's back), the manga makes its long awaited comeback with the first chapter of 2020. What was there in store for us this time?

Picking up from the decade end chapter, Jafar is quite irritated that Senkuu escaped the petrification beam. We then get a small flashback of how the scientist managed to escape. Senkuu had initially considered other alternatives to rescuing himself, but none of them were viable. Chrome rushed to Ryuusui, informing him that they had to line up in a straight line. The idea behind that was that Senkuu would be able to calculate the speed at which petrification happens, which would help him come up with an appropriate counter attack.

Senkuu proceeds with the calculations, similarly to what he had done before when Chrome was fighting Magma at the Grand Magic Games. Which leads him to his final solution, throwing a vial of the revival formula into the air just before the petrification beam hits him. A plan which works successfully, since the petrification beam doesn't even last more than a minute on him.

The moment he is unpetrified, he proceeds to high five all the petrified members of the Kingdom of Science, a show of gratitude for their efforts. Again, a similar sentiment to what he had done once before when he high fived Kaseki and Suika just before they completed the communications device. We get a bit of a funny scene where his hand is paining him afterwards, haha. Senkuu then proceeds to set up a trap using the microphone he had developed before, and we proceed to then cut back to the present.

In his earlier stupor, Ibara had ended up dropping the petrification device to the ground. Senkuu tells him that such an invention excited him, which prompts the usurper to immediately reach out for it. An action Senkuu had pretty much expected, afterwards which he proceeds to drop a new invention onto the scene:a self driving AI.

The chapter caps off with Ibara being seemingly crushed under the weight of the A.I invention.

Pros:
-Everything

Cons:
-Nothing

Chapter rating:8/10

--- Double Post Merged, Jan 31, 2020, Original Post Date: Jan 31, 2020 ---

Dr Stone Chapter 136 Review by Ami Mizuno

........

Second chapter of the year, and it's just as riveting as the first one.

Picking up immediately from where the last one ended, Senkuu jokes about Ibara not knowing about how dangerous it is to play in traffic. The AI proceeds to run over his adversary, but to no effect. He does manage to obtain the Medusa though. Jafar shouts out a command, before stabbing Senkuu in the shoulder with his oversized nails (Seriously WTF is the deal with those nails? Those better be part of a glove extension or something) The pain from the stab causes Senkuu to recoil and therefore drop the Medusa out of his grasp.

Looming over him, Jafar tells him that his whole life, he has been nothing but cautious. To that effect, he had put on special armor. Which seems to be made of clams? Fans? The armor falls apart as Jafar reveals it, but it did its job perfectly. It was able to shield him from the onslaught of the vehicle that had just dropped on him.

He challenges Senkuu to a one on one duel at the summit of the mountain, but Senkuu flees. An act that Ibara openly despises, calling him a coward and stating that he is not fit to be a commander in that regard. He proceeds to chase after Senkuu, coming to realize that Senkuu lead him there on purpose. If Ibara were to throw the petrification device in the air, it would get tangled up in the tree branches.

Senkuu throws two bottles containing a liquid at Ibara. The bulkier man proceeds to deflect one of the bottles onto a tree next to him, where it melts the tree bark. Realizing that he is now out of weapons, Senkuu proceeds to rush to the apex of the cliff. Which actually ends up being a trap by Ibara. He has more knowledge of the island's topography, so his intention was to lead Senkuu to a more open area. Looking back, Senkuu realizes that the only thing lying behind him is the sea. Plus a long fall.

Completely trapped, Senkuu shows of a circular device (I'm not sure where he got it from), citing that it's the same device that pierced Ibara's hand. Of course, Ibara sees through the bluff. Despite that, he still retains his distance from Senkuu, acknowledging him as a threat due to his sorcery. He proceeds to ask Senkuu's name, an act Senkuu recognizes as trying to buy time as he gauges the distance between himself and the scientist.

Giving out the command to Medusa, Senkuu then proceeds to give Jafar his name. The full one, including the surname. With an evil glare, Ibara greets him before bidding him farewell. Seemingly on the brink of victory, he throws Medusa into the air.

Ibara picks up on a noise in the air. Realizing where they are currently, he remembers Mozu saying that the army of invaders was at Wavebreak Cliff. We then get a snippet of Ryuusui being unpetrified. Immediately, he heads for one of the earrings that is on Mozu, retrieving it and listening in to Senkuu. Senkuu speaks his full name into the speaker (A second time?)

The drone that the KoS had been working before appears in the air, being controlled remotely by the captain. Ibara is puzzled as to what the invention is, as it proceeds to snatch the Medusa from mid air.

Pros:
-Boichi regaining his health again ))
-The fight between Senkuu and Ibara, albeit short and somewhat unconventional, was actually pretty entertaining. There was also the use of brain power which is a plus. Not just brawn.
-Ryuusui being the first one Senkuu chooses to revive this time. Admittedly, he is quickly becoming one of my favorites. That Senkuu/Ryuusui team up in this chapter is eye candy
-The emergence of the drone. Was genuinely wondering when it would make an appearance.

Cons:
-None at all.

Chapter rating: 8.5/10

 

[Seraph]

Dr. Stone - Chapter 137 Review by Seraph

Chapter Title: Last Man Standing

The "Senkuu Sora 3" has taken to the skies,operated by Captain Ryusui,engaged in midair with the Medusa now the only thing left to do is pull it back in to retrieve the device. That is if it wasn't for Ibara trying to pull it back...the midair clash turns into an on land tug of war! As the Medusa's own rope tears apart Ibara is quick to replace it as he throws one of his drapes hanging from his garments around the drone which magically ties itself together in midair(I know,i know-) allowing him to continue the tug of war against Ryusui and Senkuu. Speaking of our heroes,despite the advantage in numbers they appear to be in a heavy struggle against the Elder Ibara who is quite easily holding his own in this contest of strength...or is it a contest of strength?. We remember how Ibara gave the command of: "Five Meters,Five Seconds." to the Medusa before meaning if they time it right,which is one of Senkuu's strongpoints: Counting!. While Ibara ridicules Senkuu and Ryusui for losing in a contest of strength to an Old Man like him but it is to be expected,Ibara used to be a Warrior back in the day so he won't lose to someone who is still "green". On the other side Ryusui and Senkuu are doing their best to hold onto the Medusa before it activates,they plan to let go in the last second to have Ibara end up petrified while they go and retrieve the Weapon but to no surprise Ibara expected them to try that. As the Weapon flies towards him,about to activate,the Old Man throws his helmet against it in order to push it back towards his opponents, shocking them in the process. As the Weapon activates right in front of them Ibara begins to lecture them that while it was a good idea it would never work as he has done countless exercises to counter the Device if ever thrown back at him,besides,he is never off when it comes to measuring it's range either. He goes on to reveal a "Fun-fact" to the boys which is that those who think themselves to be smart will always be easy to trap!

Suddenly,just as the Old Man has finished rambling on and on,a petrified Ryusui comes flown towards him apparently striking his trademark pose to confuse the Minister which he interpreted as an attempt to overcome the Medusa with brute strength but we all know that both Senkuu and Ryusui are not friends of force and strength but of logic and tactic. As Ryusui falls to the ground and breaks into several pieces Ibara begins to mock him for his recklessness,as he retrieves the Medusa he announces himself to be the victor of this long and hard fought battle: The Last Man Standing!. But as he looks up our Villain realizes that Ryusui did not attempt to throw himself at Ibara but to attach the earring he had taken from Mozu before to the Medusa, as Ibara begins to sweat and fear for his safety Senkuu calls out to him. He was right,those that think themselves to be smart will always be easy to trap,which also includes Ibara himself. Senkuu calls the command: "Five Meters,One Second." As Ibara looks at the Medusa the last thing he sees is the terrifying light which so many others fell victim to turned against him,as the light engulfs and petrifies his entire body the last sound to be heard from him is "Nooooooooo....". As Ibara falls to the ground Senkuu slowly begins to approach him in order to take the Medusa away from him,as he holds it in his hands he can't help but smile and yell: "Yessssss!" in relief and happiness. Medusa Aquired!. As Senkuu makes his way up towards the centre of the island where Oarashi activated the Island Wide Petrification he notices all of the petrified Soldiers and Comrades of his,as he closes in on his destination he thinks that he is alone once more just like when he awoke from the petrification for the first time after 3,700 years.

But just as he concludes this thought he is contacted by Ruri and the Villagers of Ishigami Village asking him about his well-being,to which Senkuu responds that he isn't alone anymore because he has made many friends and said friends are awaiting their safe return. As the sun sets Senkuu sits down in front of Soyuz and Taiju,taking the first and very deserved peaceful breather since arriving on the Treasure Island.

Personal Thought's

I rate this Chapter a 8.5 out of 10.

Intense conclusion to this fight really,Ibara was a harder opponent than initially thought by me but then again it was more or less a battle of wits between him and Senkuu rather than an actual fight. I wasn't sure if things would go this well for them right away but apart from Ryusui sacrificing himself again for the Science Kingdom they didn't risk too much here. Or rather barely anything,as the Petrification can be reversed soon-ish and his Statue be pieced together too. Now i'm curious if Senkuu will immediatly go and inspect the Medusa or if he'll go and revive some of the others first to help him out,i'm very curious what kind of technology it is and even moreso where it came from and how the Islanders came into it's possession. Perhaps the Why-man is connected to this mess? I hope so,their voyage needs to continue anyway,since i doubt they build the Perseus for one trip to a small island to retrieve these minerals for the Revival Fluid. I'll be looking forward to the next chapters as always,till next time everybody!!!