"Dr. Stone" is a sci-fi survival manga written by Inagaki Riichiro and illustrated by Boichi, which began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2017. The first season of the anime aired from July to December 2019, with the second season scheduled to begin in January 2021. Senku, the protagonist, is obsessed with science and conducts experiments almost daily in high school. One day, Senku's friend, Taiju, summons Magari to a camphor tree to confess his feelings. Suddenly, the Earth is enveloped in a mysterious light, and all of humanity is petrified. Taiju wakes up to find himself in a stone world where human civilization has been wiped out. Taiju is the only survivor in this world, and it is Senku, a boy researching chemistry, who brings him back to life. Senku and Taiju resolve to save all of humanity in this stone world where everything has been lost and rebuild civilization from scratch. This time, we'd like to explore how the story's antagonist, the Tsukasa Empire, was created and declined.
It All Started Here
Attacked by a lion, Senku and Taiju are forced to revive Tsukasa Shishio, the strongest primate high school student. Thanks to Tsukasa, Senku and his friends overcome the crisis. Taiju is overjoyed at Tsukasa's strong and kind nature, but Senku feels threatened by Tsukasa's overwhelming military power. Tsukasa's true nature is revealed when Taiju is engrossed in collecting shells, leaving Senku and Tsukasa alone. Tsukasa, who dislikes adults who insist on their vested interests, sees the sudden petrification as an opportunity to purify humanity. Tsukasa acknowledges Senku's scientific power, but fears it as well. He tries to persuade him to join his team. However, Senku, a boy who loves technology, insists on using the power of science to help all of humanity, and the two men's opinions are at odds.
Was Senku expecting a fight?!
Senku had said that calcium carbonate had four important uses, but, feeling uneasy about Tsukasa's prying, he fudged the fourth use. The fourth use was gunpowder. In this Stone Age, possessing gunpowder would give an overwhelming military advantage. Even at this point, Senku had already foreseen a future in which he would face off against Tsukasa.
Each Goes Their Own Way
Realizing Tsukasa's true nature, Senku revives Kabane and attempts to escape while Tsukasa is away in the Cave of Miracles. However, Tsukasa returns before he can do so. Taiju puts his body on the line to stop Tsukasa from killing unnecessary people in the New World. Senku fires a crossbow to save Taiju, but Tsukasa blocks it with his bare hands and kicks Taiju. There's no way to defeat Tsukasa through force anymore. Tsukasa is confused by Taiju's mysterious deal, which shows no intention of attacking, but he backs off when Taiju falls. To Tsukasa, the unnecessary people are the adults who assert their vested interests, while Taiju and Kabane are the ones he wants to save. In this way, Senku builds a scientific kingdom that aims for modern civilization in order to stop Tsukasa, while Tsukasa builds the Tsukasa Empire, which lives in harmony with nature and has no vested interests.
Defeat Senku, the Tsukasa Empire's Greatest Enemy
Senku and the others appeared to be frightened of Tsukasa and ran away in a panic, but Tsukasa knew Senku was not the kind of man to run away. Why did he do that? It was to prepare for a fight with Tsukasa. Tsukasa felt something was off when Senku didn't mention the fourth use for calcium carbonate. Predicting that they were trying to create a scientific weapon: gunpowder, Tsukasa rushed after Senku and the others. Even Tsukasa was no match for gunpowder. Using the smoke signal as a landmark, Tsukasa catches up with Senku and the others and takes Kabane hostage to ask Senku for the recipe for the Resurrection Liquid. Unable to abandon his comrades, Senku decides to teach him the recipe. Now that Tsukasa knows how to make the Resurrection Liquid, he sees no reason to keep Senku alive. If he keeps Senku alive, it will inevitably lead to the development of scientific civilization, and we will return to the modern civilization that Tsukasa hates. Not wanting to kill Senku if possible, Tsukasa persuades him to abandon science. However, to Senku, abandoning science is the same as dying. Tsukasa kills Senku when he refuses to abandon science. The only reason Tsukasa killed Senku was because he possessed the power of science. Other than that, he liked Senku. If they had met in a different time, the two might have become friends.
The Tsukasa Empire Enlists Gen Asagiri to Track Senku
After killing Senku and obtaining the recipe for the Resurrection Fluid, Tsukasa resurrected talented individuals and built the foundation of the Tsukasa Empire. Because the fallen tree took Senku with it, Tsukasa never saw his body. Believing that if Senku had survived, scientific civilization would develop and pose a threat to the Tsukasa Empire, Tsukasa sent the magician and mentalist Gen as a reconnaissance unit. Tsukasa's mistake was failing to understand that Gen possessed no loyalty and would readily betray others if the situation required it in order to survive.
Taking Control of the Village by Force
The vision that arrived at the Kingdom of Science falsely reported that Senku was dead and only the village remained. However, Tsukasa found the vision's report unreliable, since he had not seen Senku's body. If Senku were still alive, he would likely have found the village and established the Kingdom of Science. Predicting the worst-case scenario, Tsukasa gathered combatants and attempted to take control of the village by force. By this time, he had revived a significant number of people, placing Hyotsuki in second place, Ukyo in third place, and establishing a hierarchy within the Empire with Tsukasa at the top. Although the military suppression attempt failed, Homura, under Hyotsuki's command, remained in the Science Kingdom for a while to monitor it.
The Tsukasa Empire Rapidly Strengthens Its Military Power
The Tsukasa Empire has collected many stone statues of talented individuals, each with a number indicating the order in which they will be resurrected. By the time Chrome and his assault troops invaded the Tsukasa Empire, they had resurrected 33 more people since Phantom's arrival, a much faster pace than expected. Magma says they can destroy it before it revives, but destroying it means killing it, and any human would hesitate to actually do it. Tsukasa, who can so casually do so, is a very dangerous character.
Collapse from Within
The Kingdom of Science recruited Nikki, Taiju's watchdog, to its side with the Phantom Lillian Impersonation Operation, and then began recruiting more and more members of the Tsukasa Empire. Concerned about the Kingdom of Science, No. 3 Ukyo worked to prevent Senku's death by inserting batteries into Chrome and giving false reports to Tsukasa. Upon meeting Senku, Ukyo promises to join the Kingdom of Science on the condition that no one dies. Thus, without Tsukasa's knowledge, the Tsukasa Empire began to collapse from within.
The Tsukasa Empire Sees Through Senku's Plan and Guides It
Assuming that Senku would definitely come to Chrome's rescue with a tank, Tsukasa imprisons Chrome in a place where he can easily be found and attempts to lure Senku and the others away. This plan fails when Chrome escapes on his own, but if Ukyo hadn't provided Chrome with a battery, the Kingdom of Science would have been wiped out.
Kingdom of Science vs. Tsukasa's Empire, the Final Stage
While mourning his comrades, Tsukasa notices the presence of a cell phone. Understanding the situation, Tsukasa and Hyoga head to the Miracle Cave. The Kingdom of Science had already taken control of the Miracle Cave, but their arrival instantly turns the tide of the battle. Though they were only two men, their military might is unmatched. The Tsukasa Empire promises to guarantee everyone's safety in exchange for Senku's life alone. Senku from the past might have accepted this deal, but now he has many trustworthy allies. While the Power Team bided time, the Science Team set out to create a weapon to break the deadlock. The Science Kingdom created dynamite, immobilizing both sides and resulting in a stalemate.
A Ceasefire and the Collapse of Tsukasa's Empire
Having reached a stalemate, Senku asked Tsukasa for a deal. Tsukasa accepted, and the war between the Science Kingdom and Tsukasa's Empire came to an end with a ceasefire. Tsukasa's sister, Mirai, was safely restored, and Tsukasa expressed his gratitude to Senku. However, Hyotsuki, who had always been after Tsukasa's life, attempted to kill him. With the emergence of a new enemy, Senku and Tsukasa team up to fight together. They successfully team up to capture Hyotsuki, but Tsukasa's injuries are severe. To save him, Senku puts him into cold sleep. Tsukasa falls asleep, and the people of the Tsukasa Empire join the Kingdom of Science. Thus, the Tsukasa Empire collapses, absorbed into the Kingdom of Science.
The Journey of the Tsukasa Empire: A Life of Young People Living in Harmony with Nature
What did you think? Tsukasa is terrifying, casually destroying stone statues and attempting to subjugate others with force, but it's all fueled by his hatred for himself and the adults for failing to save his sister. Tsukasa feared Senku's science, but Senku's science saved him both physically and mentally. When he awakens, he'll surely become true friends with Senku.
