(CR) Dr. Stone

[RDNexus]

Don't forget that these kinds of stories start as one-shot ideas for the publishers, with only some getting the OK for serialization.
Normally, such ideas may have faults or lack of consistency, since its primary goal is to entice the audience.
Going deep into each of the scientific elements of the story might've taken months of research, time a mangaka usually doesn't have

[zztop]

Fun facts - Stone's artist, Boichi (real name Park Moojik), is a native South Korean. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boichi

However, he left for Japan in 2003 due to his dissatisfaction at the Korean government's clamping down on freedom of expression in print manhwa via the 1997 Juvenile Protection Act.

(T)he Korean manga market (used to have) four major (seinen) manga magazines...but (under the Act) they were forced to cease publication by law...(the Act's rules meant) many adult manhwaga can’t express themselves (as freely as Japanese mangaka)... and bookstores no longer welcome or display adult and young adult manga magazine and titles. They even look down on kids manga.

The Korean PTA and prosecutors claimed that our manhwa were harmful for children and teens. They treated us like criminals. At times, they even called us to court.

After much consideration (and some protests), he left to start his career in Japan, seeing no future in Korea. He pretty much enjoys the artistic freedoms Japan offers.

https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-fe...-artist-boichi

PS. The Korean government also tried applying the same censorship laws to digital webtoons, but had to back down due to intense opposition from its readers. The result is webtoons are afforded more freedoms of expression than print counterparts (ex. big presence of pornographic webtoons). https://www.reddit.com/r/manhwa/comm...nd_censorship/

[4th Dimension]

The petrification might as well be some ridiculously advanced alien shit that is nearly indistinguishable from magic. They will add a bit on this how MC thinks some of it worked so I won't say more.

And yeah, the ratio is apparently the key, which neither the manga nor the anime showed really TBH.

As for caveman science, without going into events I'm pretty sure it's playing pretty fast and loose with what is theoreticaly possible and what is practically possible. It's as if the writer wants to make a thing so he looks what he needs for that and skimps entirely on how rare ingredients are*. Or how you need tools to make tools to make tools. And also specialized artisans to make tools for more specialized artisans etc.


* given that this isn't actually thousands of years BC, they are in a worse spot than cavemen were because we have picked most of the easily mined resources already. So to get more resources in sufficient quantities you'd need to go below ground which is HIGHLY impractical for cavemen. Like, for a long while first people to use a metal could just find it by picking rocks up right from the ground containing it. No luck there for our guys. Unless you can like turn rust back into iron or something, since there shoudl still be a LOT of old world material but corroded.

[Irenesharda]

Originally Posted by moridin84

Science fictions stories have different degrees of realism. The more realistic ones are "hard sci-fi" and the less realistic ones are "soft sci-fi".

It is very common for a sci-fi story to be "realistic" except for one or two elements. For example, in Alnoah Zero everything worked on normal science except the enemy super robots that were powered by an Aldnoah drive.

The idea behind this anime is that while it is clearly "fantasy" it should be possible to use, if not science, then at least the "scientific method" to understand it.

I totally get that. I mean, I watch Star Trek, Star Wars, and Gundam all the time, and they mix their science up to varying degrees. I JUST watched Astra Lost in Space, and they have some big issues with their astrophysics, but I barely paid attention to those and I really enjoyed it.

However, I think because this series made such a big deal about the science and they are using it as the basic tagline and reason for everything and they basically say that they are trying to prove things through science (it's pretty much on every artwork, poster, and pv) then I can no longer ignore it or let it slide. They are calling attention to it.

If they wanted it to be soft sci-fi, they should have just stayed with the premise of it being a world turned to stone and two friends trying to figure out what happened. Don't bring the science aspect in at all, or just leave it in the background. It makes people assume that it is hard sci-fi and then they are disappointed in what little actual science there is.

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

I really think what the show need to establish early is whether the victims are turned to stone, encased in stone, or is it a process of changing from the former to the latter?

I mean, when Taiju broke off, it was an obvious case of "encased in stone" but when he saw stoned-people whose bodies are broken to pieces (such as the stone-girl that he tried to assemble), we only see stone "interior" instead of blood, bones & organs spilling out which is a case of "turned to stone" like what Medusa usually do to her victims. That's not even counting how various animals (especially mammals) are immune to it, but certain birds got "stoned" along with the humans.

So yeah, some consistency or solid foundation is needed for these kinds of stories.

Yeah, the foundation is the most important thing. What are the rules for this world? No matter how fantasy you want to get, you have to set up that world's rules so you know what should and should not be happening as the plot progresses.

Originally Posted by 4th Dimension

As for caveman science, without going into events I'm pretty sure it's playing pretty fast and loose with what is theoreticaly possible and what is practically possible. It's as if the writer wants to make a thing so he looks what he needs for that and skimps entirely on how rare ingredients are*. Or how you need tools to make tools to make tools. And also specialized artisans to make tools for more specialized artisans etc.


* given that this isn't actually thousands of years BC, they are in a worse spot than cavemen were because we have picked most of the easily mined resources already. So to get more resources in sufficient quantities you'd need to go below ground which is HIGHLY impractical for cavemen. Like, for a long while first people to use a metal could just find it by picking rocks up right from the ground containing it. No luck there for our guys. Unless you can like turn rust back into iron or something, since there shoudl still be a LOT of old world material but corroded.

Yeah, this is the hardest part. The tools are what is going to be an issue. You can know the science, but not know the first thing about how to make any of the tools that you need to do the science at the level in which you need them.

For example, I know how to make aspirin, but I only know how to do it using the tools that I have learned and have been taught to use. In theory, I could break down those tools in order to figure out how to make each one, but then I would need further tools that I don't have to make sure each one is accurate and suited for my purpose. And for those tools, I would need further tools, etc.

And the raw chemicals and minerals would also be hard to come by and then to extract. But then again, after 3000+ years, some of those raw materials should be making a slight rebound.

Honestly, one thing I would try to do is scavenge. You KNOW there was once a civilization here, there are lots of materials you can excavate. You have the advantage of knowing what all those materials are and how to use them and perhaps even what they are all made of. Use what you can find.
Go to other lands that wouldn't have been hit so hard by tsunamis and earthquakes over the years, you will probably find "relics" in much better conditions.

[alex_drian]

I fucking now nothing of chemistry (I passed my lessons but I hated them) but I'm here to enjoy the coolness, only give me it in a good envelope.

[Guardian Enzo]

I'm interested to see this feasibility thing is an issue for other folks too. I normally have a pretty low bar when it comes to realism for fantasy and SF anime, but for whatever reason the sheer ridiculousness of this premise did throw me quite a bit. I enjoyed the premiere for the most part but the suspension of disbelief required is a big ask.

I think the single biggest gripe I had was with the idea that these guys were encased in stone (or whatever) for 3700 years and emerged fully functional mentally.

[Anh_Minh]

Petrification and everything related is magic, or might as well be.

The rest is McGuyver science: based on true phenomenons, but works a lot better than it has any right to.

[Nivek von Beldo]

Originally Posted by zztop

Fun facts - Stone's artist, Boichi (real name Park Moojik), is a native South Korean. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boichi

However, he left for Japan in 2003 due to his dissatisfaction at the Korean government's clamping down on freedom of expression in print manhwa via the 1997 Juvenile Protection Act.



After much consideration (and some protests), he left to start his career in Japan, seeing no future in Korea. He pretty much enjoys the artistic freedoms Japan offers.

https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-fe...-artist-boichi

PS. The Korean government also tried applying the same censorship laws to digital webtoons, but had to back down due to intense opposition from its readers. The result is webtoons are afforded more freedoms of expression than print counterparts (ex. big presence of pornographic webtoons). https://www.reddit.com/r/manhwa/comm...nd_censorship/

That is what you get when combine american style morality in east asia, even worse censorship

[Go0gleplex]

Interesting concept for story...the MC's snark kills it for me though. Too over the top. Be fine if I have nothing else going on and need a time killer though.

[frodonk]

I feel like I'm watching danganronpa all over again with these high school geniuses, there's the science guy, there's the muscle and now we have somebody who could snatch birds off the air and fight off lions and boars with his bare hands.

It's interesting what the girls would be able to contribute once they're revived.

[Stark700]

Tsukasa is such a badass. I'm glad to see him this week.

The world fiction in this show feels so immersive with potential for even more world building. I'm still really entertained by the humorous comedy gags too. A very entertaining episode again.

[grecefar]

I knew tsukasa was too good to be true but to be honest I can’t balme him to think like hat and what he said has some true in it.

[FlareKnight]

Considering Tsukasa did murder someone it really is only a matter of time until he turns on his current 'allies.' In reality once he figures out the bits about reviving people then he may just leave. After taking all the people he's chosen to revive along with him.

No doubt there will be issues in bringing everyone back. Humanity always has issues though. Tsukasa's dream of a perfect civilization just isn't going to happen. Eventually he and the others he picked will grow older. But beyond that eventually good and bad qualities will develop as people develop a civilization.

It might be crazy to say, but not all adults are evil . Not a bad thing to keep reviving people and build up a civilization here. The soap thing covered a key point. Getting to a point where you can revive medical personal and try to prevent your tiny civilization from being wiped out by illness would be a good idea.

[Irenesharda]

Well, here we are with episode 2. Still not really impressed and series has a little too much raw testosterone for my liking.

A little bit more science here as we talk about the wonders of calcium carbonate. Though I would probably say that there a few other things that are going to be important going forward as well.

An interesting new character that I'm actually liking more than our first two characters. He has a point, though he is a bit radical. Though the thing is, the issues that he's bringing up, would happen regardless. Teenagers are pretty much young adults, they are pretty much set in their ways as well, as the same issues regarding property and ownership and rules would still come up.

The people you are resurrecting grew up in that culture and would apply it to their own lives as a matter of fact. You build a house on a section of land, you till the soil, you raise a family there, you call it your own, and you protect your family, crops, and home from others. This is not an "adult" issue. It's a human issue. Unless you started with only young children and babies and taught them to think communally and against the concept of "ownership" and "mine", and instead to think as a collective, the problem you want to ward against, will always be there. For teens and older children, it is already too late.

Also, I'm also pretty sure our people in Japan aren't the only ones on Earth who are awake. And there are many places in the world that have an even bigger issue with ownership and such, that you do.

[4th Dimension]

Tsukasa's entire spiel sounds to me like every edgey teen ever and makes my head hurt how little clue he actually has. So far we were going for "science" but now shounen rears it's ugly head where it takes a guy from our times all 10 seconds to learn how to work stone, fur etc to make an impractical stone sword and of course simply be impervious to projectile weapons for no real reason. Except that it's published as shounen, so you got to have that.

And that's the sign fro me to check out.

[Dop]

You know, I can look at this show and I can clearly see it's one of those things that a younger self would have absolutely been a big fan of, but it doesn't gel with current me in the slightest.
Maybe it'd help if that guy DIDN'T SHOUT ABOUT EVERY LITTLE THING!

One more episode, I feel.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by grecefar

I knew tsukasa was too good to be true but to be honest I can’t balme him to think like hat and what he said has some true in it.

I don't think there's anything really true about what he said.

For one thing, even animals have concepts of territory, so even his all natural world will have people harping about it. For another, the people most at risk of fighting over territory ownership aren't the old guys whose property records were completely wiped millenia ago. It's the young, physically fit guys who'll carve niches for themselves in this new world.

Originally Posted by Irenesharda

The people you are resurrecting grew up in that culture and would apply it to their own lives as a matter of fact. You build a house on a section of land, you till the soil, you raise a family there, you call it your own, and you protect your family, crops, and home from others.

I think he's a lot more into the hunter-gatherer lifestyle than the agricultural one.

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for ep2:

Instead of spending all that time flashing back to the previous episode, I wish they had a scientific explanation corner to explain why they could fall such a distance and no one, including the stone statue, were damaged and the lions actually were closer to them than when they ran away normally.

Oh I get it. Since animals are scientific, the protagonists are now using fantasy to defeat science!

[Applehell]

Enjoying the way how well the character play off each other. Tsukasa does present an interesting point, but ultimately it's just sophist logic. Makes good starting point for a potential villain tho.

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

I'm interested to see this feasibility thing is an issue for other folks too. I normally have a pretty low bar when it comes to realism for fantasy and SF anime, but for whatever reason the sheer ridiculousness of this premise did throw me quite a bit. I enjoyed the premiere for the most part but the suspension of disbelief required is a big ask.

I think the single biggest gripe I had was with the idea that these guys were encased in stone (or whatever) for 3700 years and emerged fully functional mentally.

Honestly, don't get why some people are harping on details like this so much. There is obviously no real life scientific explanation for the mass perfication and that because it is not something modern science can do (or at least not at this point anyway) so in the end who say what kind of afteraffects any of this should have anyway? Who an say Senku and Taju were even thinking a normal terms for detrimental effects of brain tissue and such to matter? I'm surprised they had any level of consciousness at all. It feels like these criticisms are missing the forest for trees.

That said, like Anh-Minh pointed out, just becasue it is an unnatural phenomenon that probably happened through some flimsy pesudoscience and possibly applied phlebotinum does not mean rules for it are nonexistent exist. Dr. Stone is not natural geographic documentary, like most SF uses science to an extent to tell it's story without being to boggled down too much by details that do little advance that. It just needs to make enough sense to be plausible.

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

The rest is McGuyver science: based on true phenomenons, but works a lot better than it has any right to.

Yeah, that's like a lot of SF, I don't mind perosnally.

[Mad Pierrot]

The fight was cool but it complete felt like something you would see aimed towards a young audience. It's like the first episode tried being realistic while the second one went full shonen jump with jokes and animal fights. I mean, even the refusal to revive the girl felt like the writer didn't want to include her in the story