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This Week in Shonen Jump: Week of 2/27/22

By | March 2nd, 2022
Posted in Columns | % Comments

Welcome to This Week in Shonen Jump, our weekly check in on Viz’s various Shonen Jump series. Viz has recently changed their release format, but our format will mostly remain the same. We will still review the newest chapters of one title a week, now with even more options at our disposal. The big change for our readers is that, even without a Shonen Jump subscription, you can read these most recent chapters for free at Viz.com or using their app.

This week, Robbie checks in with “Dr. Stone.” If you have thoughts on this or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!

Dr. Stone Chapter 231
Written by Riichiro Inagaki
Illustrated by Boichi
Reviewed by Robbie Pleasant

As “Dr. Stone” heads towards its final chapter, it all comes down to this. The Medusa devices that turned the world to stone have been revealed to be a mechanical alien intelligence that offers the “gift” of petrified immortality in exchange for maintenance, and Senku, the protagonist, is ready to negotiate on behalf of all humanity.

So before we discuss the contents of this chapter, let’s talk about the Medusas, the true identity of the “Why-Man” and the ones responsible for humanity’s petrification. I… have mixed feelings about them.

On one hand, it’s unlikely that any explanation Riichiro Inagaki had in mind would satisfy everyone, and it was indeed a twist with enough setup to make the explanation make sense in context.

On the other hand, for a series all about humanity’s intelligence and inventiveness, for the driving force behind the entire plot to be some kind of alien AI made by who knows what (not even the Medusas themselves know) feels unsatisfying. Their overall goal also doesn’t really work; they seek out sufficiently advanced civilizations, then petrify them under the assumption that everyone would be so grateful for the gift of stone-based immortality that they’d create new batteries for the Medusas? It feels like there’s a lot of leaps in logic there, even if the story hinges on the fact that, yes, the Medusas/Why-Man can’t comprehend why people would not be cool with spending the rest of eternity as a statue.

So yeah, it’s not my favorite explanation. It still leaves a lot unexplained and would have worked much better if it were an actual human deciding that petrification would be good for the world. But that’s not the main point – we’re here to look at how the chapter itself worked.

And in that regard, well, “Doctor Stone” continues to impress. That is, of course, due in large part to the amazing artwork from Boichi. This chapter gives us a massive skeletal figure made out of swarming devices in zero gravity, and it looks absolutely stunning in detail and immensity.

At the same time, Boichi’s bold, clean, and highly-detailed art is filled with a sense of depth made through judicious use of shading, alongside distinctive character designs and expressive moments. The amount of attention and care that goes into images like Senku holding up an axe to the sky, illuminated by the Earth in the background, absolutely hits just the right notes.

Similarly, Riichiro Inagaki’s script continues to bring us well-defined characters with their own voices and personalities, while building on the manga’s overarching theme of the power of human ingenuity and science. The conversation between Senku and Why-Man is filled with optimism and hope (or at least Senku’s half of it is) in the face of the unknown and uncertainty. It’s a good note to end the chapter on, and a fitting way to conclude the overarching story of the series.

So even if the reveal behind humanity’s petrification might have fallen a little short, “Doctor Stone” continues to hit the right notes for the art, characters, and overarching theme. Chapter 231 is no different, bringing the series closer to what will undoubtedly be a satisfying conclusion.

Final Verdict: 9.0 – While the reveal of the Why-Man in previous chapters may be mixed, this chapter stays strong with incredible artwork and a good conclusion based on the manga’s core themes of science and discovery.


//TAGS | This Week in Shonen Jump

Robbie Pleasant

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