Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Dr. Stone: Season One - Part One Blu-ray Movie Review

Science meets Shonen

Dr. Stone is an action-packed anime which explores the realm of science and its essential importance to mankind. Based on the original manga series written by Riichirou Inagaki and illustrated by Boichi (as published in Shonen Jump), the anime is an entertaining adventure that promises a ton of fun with the Season 1, Part 1 collection. Dr. Stone is worth a look for anyone interested in a science-infused anime adventure.

The entire world population turned to stone in a flash on a mysterious night circa 5738 A.D. When the headstrong scientist Senku (Yūsuke Kobayashi) awakens from his seemingly eternal slumber, he has one goal on his mind: to save humanity through the power of science. Meeting and befriending some allies along the way – including Taiju Ōki (Makoto Furukawa), Senku uses scientific discovery for the benefit of mankind. Can Senku find a cure to save the entire population?

Matters become more complicated when Senku revives Tsukasa (Yûichi Nakamura), a martial artist who doesn't want Senku to achieve his goals of reviving all of humanity. A new foe is found. While Senku wants to form a Kingdom of Science to benefit all of humanity, Tsukasa has other plans. As Senku joins forces with a group of villagers, can the team face off against (and defeat) Tsukasa? Or could things become much more deadly? The threat of a new world order based only on strength looms... yet science might be the cure that the entire world is waiting for. It's science versus brawn.

The art direction by Shunichiro Yoshihara (Attack on Titan, Slayers Excellent) is easily one of the greatest strengths of the production. The art work is truly fantastic. This is a beautiful looking production. The character designs by Yuko Iwasa (Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, Yowamushi Pedal) are distinctive and creative for each of the main characters. The animators clearly put forth a lot of effort in to the design of the series. The production values are therefore quite impressive. The experience is all the more enjoyable because of how super-sleek and cool the art is.

It's time to doctor it up!

Another cool element of Dr. Stone is the music by Hiroaki Tsutsumi (Children of the Whales), Tatsuya Katō (Buddy Complex), and Yuki Kanesaka (The God of High School). The composers crafted some interesting and effective action-packed tunes to accompany the exciting fun. The score music works well within each episode and helps the series feel even more ambitious and grand in scale. Each of the composers deserves some accolades for the quality music.

Yuichiro Kido (After the Rain, Fruits Basket) is the head screenwriter of Dr. Stone. The series is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of storytelling. This is one area where the anime could have perhaps been more well rounded. Even so, the anime is entertaining and the characters are often compelling. As the series progresses, it becomes more engaging (especially during the second half of the set).

There are several nerdy elements to the series (with science being a focal point of the production) and the scripts seem to be designed to appeal to science nerds who also enjoy in some action-packed adventure. This makes Dr. Stone stand out as something decidedly different from most other action-anime series. While other anime series are more about the brawn (Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho), Dr. Stone is a series with science on the mind.

Directed by Shinya Iino (Black Bullet, Revue Starlight), Dr. Stone is a unique anime series that seems like a cross-way point between an educational program and a action-packed anime aimed at teenage youth. The series has some cool fight scenes while remembering to explore science throughout the story. While it makes for a decidedly different Shonen anime, Dr. Stone is still worth checking out.

Dr. Stone: Season One - Part One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Funimation Entertainment, Dr. Stone: Season 1, Part 1 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release is a stunning one: the picture-quality is off-the-charts impressive here. Colors are vividly realized. The image has impressive depth from the first to last episode included in the set. The visuals greatly enhance the experience and the encode from Funimation capably handles the first-rate animation.

Action scenes are fluid and there are never any detrimental compression woes (such as macroblocking) to distract from the viewing experience and the fun action scenes. The encoding is top-notch and the only nitpick to report is slight banding in a few scenes. The majority of the presentation is nearly flawless: a great video encode that fans will not be disappointed by. A job well done by Funimation.

Dr. Stone: Season One - Part One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Blu-ray release is presented with two unique lossless audio options for fans of the series to select from: the English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 dub and the original Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). The first thing to report about the audio presentations is that the presentation is altogether crisp, clear, and satisfactory in either version. The presentation sounds clean and dynamic. With the surround sound implementation on the English dub option, the series takes on a sense of depth with regards to sound-stage which is far more enveloping. The action scenes are more intense and engaging to experience. The entire series is more fun in surround. While the LFE is a bit subdued sounding at times, the audio is consistently impressive nonetheless. The audio tracks have a sense of warmth to them which is pleasant from beginning to end.

Dr. Stone: Season One - Part One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes packaged with an attractive o-card slipcover. Inside of the case, the combo pack release includes the Blu-ray + DVD + Funimation Digital Copy. The set also comes with a set of collectible art cards which showcase some great art work from the Dr. Stone series.

Episode 2 Video Commentary (HD, 24:12)

Episode 10 Audio Commentary

Textless Opening Song (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song (HD, 1:32)

Dr. Stone: Season One - Part One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dr. Stone is a nerd-tastic anime series which explores the importance of science while mixing in action-packed fight scenes throughout the episodes. The production has some nice animation and the series becomes more entertaining over the course of the set (as it starts off on an average note). The Blu-ray from Funimation Entertainment features a strong video-audio presentation and some extras (including collectible art cards). Recommended.