Anime

Review: Dr. Stone Episode 16 – Best in Show

Quick Summary

In Dr. Stone episode 16, “A Tale for the Ages,” Ruri told Senkuu that the village he’s now chief of bears his name: Ishigami Village. He was shocked. Is it just coincidence? A scientific mind like Senkuu’s wouldn’t accept any kind of mystic answer, that’s for sure. Ruri’s story, though, is even more strange than Senkuu imagined. It involves his father — as in the man who raised him over 3,000 years ago — and a ring-side seat for the petrification of humanity. How will Senkuu react the story? Will it affect how his supporters like Kohaku see him? And what does it mean for their future?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.

Best Moment in the Show

Well, we now know where Senkuu gets his drive. And, as they say, he comes by it honestly.

We get a cool flashback in this episode. Turns out Senkuu’s dad, Byakuya Ishigami, was an astronaut who happened to be stationed on the international space station. He was up there with a paying customer named Lillian Weinberg, who looked more than a little like Kohaku and Ruri, along with four other people who also looked suspiciously like the inhabitants of Ishigami Village (as we now know the village is named).

Before my Best in Show moment, we got to see that Byakuya had a great sense of humor. He also craved new experiences, and he liked those around him to have new experiences, too. He had given one of the other astronauts some freeze-dried ramen when they saw something very unusual outside the window. A strange glowing green cloud rose over the Earth. A wave of greenish light washed over the globe. Instantly, all communication ceased.

I think it says something of Byakuya’s character that his first thought, upon seeing something wash over the face of the Earth, was for his son. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

What came next reminded me a lot of the first days after a zombie outbreak — as shown in some of the best zombie movies or even a series like High School of the Dead. The crew of the International Space Station tried to figure out what had happened. They were scared, but they maintained their professionalism. Byakuya was still able to get into the Internet, but found that all activity, including tweets, had ceased at the same moment.

Then he thought to bring up feeds from the thousands of webcams that are not secured with passwords (and really, that’s a lot of them!). What they saw terrified them. Stadiums full of statues. Streets populated with stone people. Everyone, everywhere, had been turned to stone.

That’s when panic pushed through some of their professional veneers. The Russian couple suggested that there had to be some survivors. Surely someone would realize they were still up there and send help! Another astronaut asked how long they should wait. He said there was no hope of rescue with humanity in this state.

Now we know where Senkuu gets his drive and clarity of thought. Oh, and where their villages gets its name, too! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

All the while, Byakuya floated with his arms crossed, his eyes closed. He was analyzing the situation. Finally, he said they should go back to Earth.

The others were astonished. They tried to argue, but Senkuu’s dad had already run the numbers. By pushing aside his emotions, he understood the situation clearly. They were the last six humans that were still mobile.

“Wait for help?” he asked (22:08). “You’re wrong. We’re going to help them. All seven billion humans.”

His ability to think through problems under severe duress; his ability to make sound decisions under pressure; his ability to cut through all the crap to come to the right conclusion. Like son, like father — and this moment summed it all up.

What did you think of the different perspective of the petrification? What was your Best in Show moment? Let me know in the comments!

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4 thoughts on “Review: Dr. Stone Episode 16 – Best in Show

    1. “My thoughts went to Highschool of the Dead too, but then they always do…”

      Cue the “Ahhh. I see you are a man of culture as well” meme!

        1. “If we ever do a collab, we have to call it the Men of Culture!!!”

          That’d be awesome!

          Sounds like a series for Ecchi Hunter!

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