The Spring 2023 Anime Preview Guide

Dr. Stone: New World

With the Stone Wars over, the former members of Tsukasa's Empire of Might join forces with the Kingdom of Science to build a ship capable of sailing across open ocean to seek answers on the mystery of the global petrification. However, before they can begin their voyage Senku and his friends need to find some key resources and push some new scientific advancements to build the type of vessel they need.

Dr. Stone: New World is based on Boichi and Riichirou Inagaki's Dr. Stone manga and streams on Crunchyroll on Thursdays.

Just a heads-up to any Anime-only viewers: you're definitely going to need to watch the “Ryusui” TV special from last year. It's already up on Crunchyroll, and this season premiere picks up right where it left off. So if you don't want to spend the whole episode wondering who this pirate guy is, or how Senku and co. made a hot air balloon to search for oil fields, you'll want to check it out.

Other than that, though, Dr. Stone is back as if it never left. With the conflict of the Stone Wars arc taken care of, the Kingdom of Science is busy working to establish its new society for the long run – with one group searching for oil fields as part of an eventual quest to sail across the ocean, while the other is busy sowing the first crops in over 3700 years. It's exactly the kind of practical-level science the series has always thrived with, and with the expanded cast of characters all together now, it's a very comfy and enjoyable watch. There's just something delightful about seeing Taiju diligently work the wheat fields, promising he'll grow enough food for his new home and friends to never worry about going hungry again. Bless him.

The one possible wrinkle is Ryusui, who's possibly the largest and loudest personality in the show's already raucous bunch. He is loud, greedy by his own admission, and has essentially become Senku's new second fiddle while they work on all the ocean-crossing prep, so he'll be the focus for a while. In other words he has a lot of potential Scrappy Doo energy to him, and if the series isn't careful he could wind up dragging things down compared to our established cast. Thankfully, the series seems aware of that, and takes some important measures to give his foibles an admirable context. Yes, he's a greedy man who grew up with incomparable privilege, but he's not a sponging failson who coasted off his family's wealth. His desire to have “everything” in the world is defined by his appreciation of the people and things around him, and in the context of a barely-established human society at war with the elements, his greed manifests as a desire for a more reliable life for everyone.

It's a tricky tightrope to walk, but at least for this episode, Dr. Stone has managed to keep its footing steady and sure. Mostly though, I'm just happy to see the series focusing on its greatest strengths, as the cast speedruns the agricultural revolution and works through the complex logistics of maintaining a growing population. The OP promises we'll be getting some more fights, eventually, but for right now I'm more excited to see them figure out how to make bread.