Yes, this title is designed to grab your attention. No, it is not an exaggeration. I even put the word “probably” in there as a proper qualifier. Dr. STONE quite possibly saved me from an early death. How could a post-apocalyptic Anime featuring a lead with hair that ridiculous do such a thing? Well, let’s talk about debilitating pain, body mutilation, and the effects of brain injuries first.
Caution, graphic medical descriptions in the following segment. This will be the only segment with that.
How I Ended Up A Broken Man
I served in the Army from 2003 to 2020, and during that time I deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. If you want to hear about some of the specifics I suggest my 86 – Eighty Six – review. However, I will say that I did see combat, and I did suffer head injuries and PTSD. As my career continued, I suffered additional injuries to my body, and eventually developed chronic pain in my scrotum. To this day, we do not know the cause, but I tried everything to stop the pain: from acupuncture and occupational therapy to Spermatic Cord Blocks and Spermatic Cord Stripping. What’s Spermatic Cord Stripping? I had all of the tissue coming from my torso, except blood vessels and my testicles, removed from my scrotum. All of that in search of ending pain that left me nearly bedridden.
The Cord Stripping helped for a bit, but in late 2018, it came back with a vengeance. My last option was to have my left testicle removed, and that happened in January of 2019. Oh, and this condition helped put my career to an end. I was medically retired for PTSD and this condition. I am sure you can guess how all that pain affected my already fragile mental state. Also, we can’t forget the car accident in November of 2019 that left me with a stutter, cognitive impairment, and severe sleep issues.
End of graphic medical descriptions.
The Bottom Of The Pit
So, where does Dr. STONE come into this story? In an emergency room, although I can’t remember if it was for me or my son, I had Adult Swim on in the hospital room and an ad for Dr. STONE had played. I didn’t think much about what I saw because the volume was down, but I remembered the main character’s, Senku, hair and the title. There would be months of suffering before Senku and the inhabitants of Ishigami Village would find me again.
In November/December 2019 I was suffering severe depression, my half-sack (my name for my single testicle situation) was still hurting, and I was unable to maintain a healthy sleep schedule. I would sleep for 12 hours and then be up for 28, and I spiraled into a world of endless run-on days filled with speedrunning Resident Evil 2: Remake or watching mind-numbingly familiar content. I was reaching my limit for this life, and while I don’t think I was actively willing to kill myself, I sure wouldn’t have cared if I never woke up from my next sleep. I felt as if I could just increase my chances of dying, maybe my luck would run out eventually. Driving is dangerous after all. There was no joy in anything I did or watched, and I desperately needed something to make me smile.
Calling Dr. STONE
It was my desperate search for something, anything, good that led me to subscribing to Funimation, and which led me to Dr. STONE. The big orange logo, Senku’s hair, and the stone skin all intrigued me just enough to give it a shot. Damn, was that a lucky night months before when I saw that commercial in the Emergency Room.
I was hooked on the series from the first episode. Seeing the whole world be turned to stone was shocking enough, but seeing how long it lasted and the first few months of Senku after he broke free floored me. The application of science and engineering was something I could really appreciate given my time as an Army Engineer. Seeing Senku figure how to bring his friend, and needed manual-laborer, Taiju back added additional layers to the already engrossing series. There was now an opportunity to divide labor, focus on improvements to their situation, and a door to more people from the past, such as Taiju’s love interest, Yuzuriha.
All of that was great, and Senku’s mission to bring back all 7-billion people on earth was a cool idea, but I didn’t see Tsukasa coming. I figured nature and the isolation from others and technology would be the opposition for our heroes, but we got a philosophical dichotomy between Senku and Tsukasa instead.
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How To Save The World
Tsukasa was revived because of his fighting abilities and only in an emergency situation, but that choice changed EVERYTHING. Senku desired to rebuild the world as it was and let humanity continue its free will, while Tsukasa sought to reshape the world by bringing back only certain humans. As a nearly 40-year-old person, I can’t imagine a world filled with only youth of today, but that’s what Tsukasa wanted, and his reasoning wasn’t completely flawed. Although, he did forget that fickle loyalty and short attention spans are just as burdensome to society as stubbornness and resistance to change. However, it’s Tsukasa’s methods and ruthlessness in pursuit of his ideals that undo any good he could offer.
As a way of thanking them for reviving him, Tsukasa promises Senku and Taiju that no harm would come to them after this day. It seems like a throw away line that can easily be just part of “that Anime style” of talking, but it’s not. It’s a story element that comes back into play much later, and this show is filled with slow-burn setups like that. This alliance is not long for this stone world.
A Reason To Smile
As I am watching all of this, and it’s all in the first five episodes, I am finally laughing and enjoying something. I was impressed with the realism, despite this being a complete fantasy, in the science and survival. I was engaged with the characters, and I wanted more. Then came the smoke signal episode.
Ishigami Village changes the show, AGAIN! However, this isn’t a bad thing. How we get from Senku alone to his fragile alliance with a murderous madman to his discovery of other humans is an amazing story. Even so, the show’s biggest shock comes during its tournament arc, because of course there’s a tournament arc. Let’s just say that I was left speechless by the village’s Priestess, Ruri, and her revelations.
I ran out of episodes really fast and spent months waiting for more to be dubbed and hit Funimation. You see, I used to have a thing about watching Anime, however I discovered them. I can watch Subs or Dubs, but I preferred to stick with however I discovered a series. That is mostly over now. I convinced my wife to rewatch what was out with me, I convinced our friend Brian to watch it, and I even got our son (6yo at the time) into it!
Rediscovering A Lost Love
I WAS OBSESSED! It was like rediscovering Anime all over again. I was reminded of what it felt like to watch Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might in 1996 or Fullmetal Alchemist in 2005. I was branching out and watching new series and rediscovering classics I had long forgotten. My wife and I even began watching ecchi stuff together, something we hadn’t done in years. Finally, after an eternity in darkness, I had a light. That light helped me see I needed to be here. I needed to fight to get better for my son and for my wife. I saw that there were options coming in my near future.
After retiring, I was able to exchange the awful medications the military had me on for medical cannabis. That, combined with trauma therapy, occupational therapy, prayer, and support, helped me reach more functionality. More functionality made me feel like I had value again. I wasn’t bedridden (or couch-ridden) anymore, and that meant more improvement to my mental health. Despite still struggling with Narcolepsy and having limitations from my brain injury and pain, I am doing well. I enjoy playing games with my family and I love watching multiple seasonal Anime at a time.
I have been able to help LRM and The GenreVerse grow and learn valuable new skills in the process. Hell, Dr. STONE is what inspired me to start the Anime-Versal Review Podcast (Subscribe to our YouTube channel) See, as a Soldier I was valuable. I had worth in the form of knowledge to pass on and skills to use that resulted in buildings I helped construct standing to this day in six different countries. When I lost that, I lost a lot of what helped drive me. This job of writing and talking about entertainment led me to graphic design, video editing, and helping others find confidence in being on camera. I had knowledge to pass on and skills to use again.
Final Thoughts
I have been through a lot, and was once told by my therapist that she’s lost patients to less. I don’t always know how to take that statement, but it feels like it means I am strong. Strong enough to have held on for just a little longer. Long enough to find Dr. STONE
Dr. STONE isn’t super cerebral. It isn’t filled with epic fights every other episode. But it is damn sure well written, excellently acted, and beautifully animated. Oh, and those OPs are BANGIN’. Dr. STONE may not be the world’s greatest Anime, but it is one of the best. It gave me a new lease on life, and I am forever thankful. Life is… exhilarating, after all.
Have you seen Dr. STONE? What are your thoughts on it? Also, has there been an Anime or other series that impacted your life in a big way?
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