SENKU'S DEAD?!
The chase is on! With Episode 2 of Dr. Stone’s second season, “Hotline”, we find Homura on the run to catch up with Gen, Chrome and Magma but reliable genius Senku (as always) gets the upper hand in this information warfare! Let’s dive into this episode which also covered Chapters 62-64 of the manga.
Quick Recap
Here’s what you’ve missed from the previous episode:
An anime-only segment showed Senku’s introduction of Space Food to be used as rations by him and his comrades as they prepare for the encounter against Tsukasa
Asagiri Gen devises a devious plan into tricking Tsukasa’s army by using Lillian Weinberg’s voice
Senku prepared and detonated his sonic bombs to get Homura’s attention while the Engineer group of Chrome, Gen, and Magma make a run towards Tsukasa’s base
The full review of the previous episode can be found here. This is also the point where we warn you of spoilers ahead. On with the review!
Pathetic Homura
With full awareness of Homura’s acrobatic skills, Senku came through, like he always does, gaining the upper hand with his 3 Shocking and Surprising Scientific Items.
The Stone World limits all technological comfort and forces people to rely on basic survival instincts. But for people like Senku who has witnessed all of the world’s most advanced and modern technologies, it was only necessary to capitalize on what the current world lacks knowing he has the brain to scientifically create anything out of scratch. After all, their group will be completely annihilated by Tsukasa’s army if it were only based on brute strength alone. That being said, planning and strategizing will be a vital component of Senku and the Ishigami Villagers to gain the upper hand in the Stone Wars.
As established from the previous season, the key advantage to win the war will be communication. And right out of the gate, this was in full display as Homura played right into Senku’s hands. It was ridiculous to see how pathetic she looked being so confident with her athleticism but the end result was not something she hoped for.
What it Means to be Human
As Chrome, Gen and Magma make their way to enemy territory, they come across some carefully selected petrified humans deemed to be part of Tsukasa’s army. This is when Gen perfectly displayed what it means to be human. They were at a point where they can get a huge advantage over the enemy but seeing that the method would entail an irreversible effect, it impacted their decision and chose to take the high road instead.
This was a surprising yet admirable display of character development especially from someone who was known to play underhanded tricks to gain an advantage. It was the perfect opportunity to stay true to character but going the other way ended up being one of the best highlights of this episode. Something everyone can definitely learn from.
Here Lies Big Brain Senku
Upon reaching Senku’s grave to achieve their objective, Gen was especially cautious about their movements as someone from Tsukasa’s army had extraordinary hearing. However, Magma made sure he had something in this episode to be remembered for – alerting the enemy. And because of this, the audience gets its first glimpse of the said enemy.
The small yet impactful display of the new characters’ skills may have hyped up the episode for the audience but nothing would beat a call from beyond the grave. This brought out such an emotional reunion between the original duo of Senku and Taiju as it served as a huge milestone of their carefully crafted plan from way back. Heck, it was so emotional, we even saw Senku teary-eyed!
However, there was one slight deviation from the manga that was not shown in the episode. Manga readers would be familiar as the chapters showed there was another character who was present as Taiju and Senku were talking over the phone. Judging from the way it was illustrated, it seemed like that this character might be another enemy. Who might you be?!
The episode was once again a great display of Senku’s intelligence. The way he manipulated the enemy to perfectly play into his hands was definitely very clever. Too clever, it was pathetic. This however might be the downfall of this anime as the hero always gets the upper hand against his enemies regardless of how strong they are.
While the plot has already established the premise of this entire arc being Brain vs. Brawn, and as entertaining it is to see Senku’s creations, I’d personally hate to see the show plateau just because Senku is too perfect with his plans and execution. But who knows, maybe Tsukasa was also able to evolve in his own time of preparing for this war. It’d be interesting to see if he also displayed some form of a well-thought plan that'll put Senku at a disadvantage. After all, we haven’t seen much of him at this point yet. That’s definitely something we can all watch out for!
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)
Senku's 3 Surprising and Shocking Scientific items made Homura look pathetic as she plays right into his hands.
A great display of character development comes from Gen as he shows what it means to be human.
Senku calls from beyond the grave to create such an emotional scene for a much awaited reunion with Taiju and Yuzuriha
New characters from Tsukasa's army are introduced
Senku's perfection might possibly be the downfall of the anime as it plateaus with him always outsmarting his enemies.
The next episode entitled “Call from the Dead” airs on January 28, 2021 at 10:30 PM (PHST).
The Second Season of Dr. Stone is also available for viewing on one of AniRadio+'s official video-on-demand streaming partner, iQIYI Philippines.
Official Anime Website: Dr. STONE
Official Anime Twitter: @STONE_anime_off
©Kome Studio, Boichi/SHUEISHA, DrStone Project
Do you think it's boring to always see the heroes win? Let's discuss in the comments below and let us know what you think about this episode!
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