Just dudes being bros naked together.
What They Say:
E12 – The Kingdom of Science’s Counterattack
Kohaku is forced to destroy Ryusui’s statue to prove that she isn’t a spy.
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Dr. Stone New World arc resumes and the spring season feels like it was a million years in the past. This is odd because the summer season was rather dull so it’s not like my brain was filled with other anime to displace it. The one big difference between this season and the previous is that Crunchyroll has a same-day simuldub for the series now. I checked out the English dub once again and found it to be solid but I’m so used to the Japanese voice cast that I’ll probably switch back for the next episode.
When we left off Senku had synthesized the chemical needed to restore the petrified humans. The problem remained that the victims had all been tossed in the ocean, from islanders to Science explorers. The island goon squad recognizes Ryu as important and brings him to the harem to have the women prove their not outsiders. HOWEVER… Kohaku decides the best way to restore him is to shatter the captain into bit-sized pieces to send back to Senku by remote control rat. Which she enjoys a bit too much.
Forgetting the fact that gluing people back together took forever in the past, Senku is able to restore Ryu quickly and the girls (and one man in drag) maintain their cover. Once restored it’s time for Senku to create the tool needed to send Ryusui and Soyuz deep underwater to rescue the others, starting with Kaseki.
Scuba gear. Specifically compressed air tanks.
Now, this is another case where a simpler technique (like air hoses and billows) would have probably sufficed, but they make a point to mention that the petrified went over an underwater ledge. A tense rescue mission ensues… which would be tenser except for the nudity. (Which wasn’t really played for laughs, but the speech about ‘seeing with the heart’ or something was perhaps the gayest straight shit I’ve ever heard. Once again, the buff lads were just played straight (har har) as nude dudes. I’m a child.)
With the mission a success and with Taiju returned to operational condition we’re on our way to victory over the usurpers! Slowly…. so slowly.
The new opening and endings for this cour are beautiful. The opening has lots of shots of the sea and night sky, with the song being “Haruka” by Ryujin Kiyoshi. The ending features really cool sand art that I can’t tell if it’s real or faked to look real. The song is “Suki ni Shinayo” by Anly, and has a Celtic folk beat.
In Summary:
Aaaaaaaand, we’re back! Picking right up where we left off with Senku and the team making a move to rescue their friends. For that, it’s going to be a deep dive to retrieve the victims, which necessitates the newest invention to return to the world, compressed air. It also requires nude dudes…. many nude dudes. If you were to watch the first half of the season and the second one after the other you wouldn’t notice much of a change, it’s the same old Dr. Stone. The new opener and ending are fantastic as well, so no complaints from me!
Episode Grade: B
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
