With the 4th Episode of Dr. Stone’s second season, the action continues to build up. In the previous episode, Senku and the Ishigami Villagers were able to avoid a minor setback to execute their plan thanks to Chrome and Magma’s quick-thinking. However, what’s going to happen to those two now that Ukyo has them cornered?
Although “Full Assault” only covered Chapters 67-68 of the manga, it also gave the audience a great curveball to ponder on in anticipation for the next episode.
This review contains spoilers. Tread lightly.
Quick Recap
Here’s what you’ve missed in the previous episode:
Senku and Gen tasked Taiju and Yuzuriha to convert and recruit Nikki Hanada from Tsukasa’s Empire by using Lillian Weinberg’s voice
Being a huge super fan of Lillian Weinberg, Nikki had to validate the authenticity of the voice by asking Gen and Senku some information about the singer
By establishing that they both needed Lillian’s recording, they got on the same page and Nikki has now agreed to help Senku and the Ishigami Villagers to defeat Tsukasa
Chrome and Magma were cornered by Ukyo, the archer of Tsukasa’s army with supersonic hearing, in an attempt to help Gen escape
You can access the full review of the previous episode here.
Logical Thinking
The main theme about this episode is logical thinking. Numerous scenes allowed the characters to display this trait. Of course this was to be expected with the science duo of Senku and Chrome but what made this episode all the more interesting is the fact that it was also evident in Tsukasa and his men. Even if this was not totally surprising in Tsukasa’s case, but knowing that his major henchmen were capable of this as well definitely stirs the pot even more.
As Senku relies heavily on his brain to get ahead and defeat Tsukasa’s brute force, now it seems the latter has also stepped up his mental game and use some strategic tactics as well. Ironically though, the two of them had the similar idea of converting an ally to gain some form of advantage over the other. Senku targeted Nikki Hanada who’s one of Tsukasa’s guards, and Tsukasa targeted Chrome from Senku’s side. Although Chrome was brought about by chance, Tsukasa was still able to think about the same scheme.
Tsukasa and his army are getting more formidable by the day as the anime shows more information about his soldiers. It’s a good asset if you have a very clever strategist on your team, but it’s an even deadlier combination if you have both the brains and the strength to execute a plan.
Missing Links
As the episode goes on, there’s something that does not quite add up. There’s a missing link as to how the people that were cured from petrification developed some form of new skillset apart from their existing ones pre-stone world.
Take Ukyo for example. He used to be a sonar operator of a submarine before he got petrified. But when Tsukasa cured him, he automatically became a deadly archer. His insane supersonic hearing can be justified by his previous job as a sonar operator but how the hell did he become such a skilled archer?
People can say that he might’ve learned it during the 1 year gap in preparation for the stone wars but there was no indication of this in either the anime or manga. All we’re saying is that there should be some form of backstory that justifies a character’s current state especially since abilities such as archery cannot be easily attributed to a sonar operator.
Another questionable thing is Tsukasa’s insane brute strength. A high school student capable of lifting barren trunks and throwing it with force and precision? There’s no form of continuity or explanation that shows the audience how these characters got these specific skillsets. Could it be the years of petrification allowed them to mutate and develop these abilities?
As the audience gets introduced to more characters from the Tsukasa Empire, it’s exciting to know that the enemy is also capable of challenging Senku on a more mental aspect. This particular detail allows more room for character development and adds to the already very engaging dynamic of the anime.
However, a lack of information about the new characters poses a train of thought that does not quite add up. But since we’re only just getting to know these new individuals, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and they might show the viewers some form of backstory to justify the current skillsets. Apart from that, it's interesting how Ukyo's curve ball at the end of the episode pans out.
Season 2 Episode 5 of Dr. Stone entitled “Steam Gorilla” comes out on February 11, 2021 at 10:30PM (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.
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read)
Logical thinking was the main theme of the episode as it was displayed by multiple characters in different scenes.
New characters from Tsukasa’s Empire display not only insane physical skillsets, but mental ones as well.
The lack of backstories of the new characters causes a chain of missing links that pertain to how these characters got completely new skillset post-petrification compared to the ones they had before they got petrified.
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How do you think Ukyo became a deadly archer? Let's discuss in the comments below!
