@desa:
So what are the strength and weakness of Dr. stone as a story and entertainement?
I think Ruin hit the mark on this series being good for the quick comedy and fun implementation of real world science, but not being that interesting in terms of direction and most of the characters outside of Senku, although his latest possy can be a bit enjoyable here and there compared to the first two party members.
I feel like a lot of the big emotional moments are rather token, brief/rushed, and shallow. Like Chrome wanting to hook up with Ruri, Kohaku being tearfully glad that Suika is okay (One Piece that a lot better with Hililuk in Chopper's flashback), and the characters not wanting to accept inheriting the others' legacies if they die. None of these moments are bad, they merely feel like that typical shonen stuff you expect without enough real build-up or heart to get that invested. A lot of the characters thus far are two-dimensional.
I'm not really into the world of the stone age itself or the worldbuilding yet since it's gotten really same-y at this point, but the tournament is a neat change of pace and maybe Ruri's stories can help enhance the scope of this world to be more interesting. Maybe the story will feel a lot more awesome if we ever explore beyond the village in depth at some point, but the author would need to put work into creating quirky locales to see that can stand out. Sort of in a One Piece/Toriko-esque way, but obviously more grounded.
I think the best emotional moments in this series that feel the most "real" are when major scientific improvements are made that make us appreciate how far we've come as a society. Like when Senku and Chrome recreated the ability to make artificial light like Edison and making the glasses for Suika. I can get engrossed in those moments because they payoff on the amount of focus we get on the characters creating those items.
Tsukasa's motivations and skills in combat are cool, but his actual personality is bland and he's been in the background so much that it's easy to lose interest in his role in the story. I often forget he even exists. And it feels somewhat boring to go from all of this unique focus on technological improvement and gaining the village's favor using manipulative tactics to a generic war. Not that I don't think a war can work, but I need more of a focus on how fighting Tsukasa's side is interesting and how it complements the scientific discoveries being made in the series thus far.
I think a missed opportunity with this series that I hope the author eventually takes advantage of are the wildlife creatures. It's rather disappointing to see that the animals in this stone world are barely focused on, as well as any changes in evolution they may have gotten. Seriously, imagine the stories we can explore. Like exploring giant bug hives and obstructing bug-spread illnesses, or having to tame wild creatures.
I will give this series good credit for the art-style. Aside from the repetitive bug-eyed women (not unlike the hourglass body shaped Nami/Robin clones of One Piece), the character designs, tools, and surroundings in this series really click well with satisfying my eyes. Senku and Tsukasa look awesome and unmistakable. I love the facial expressions on characters as well as the ways the art can play with lighting, character movements like Suika's helmet rolling, diagrams of what plans are, figurative elements like personified poison lake spirits, etc. These elements aid the humor a lot. And the action looks impactful too even though it's not as much of a main focus like other shonen series.
All in all, it's a decent read and the series still has plenty of potential. I can't call it great or THAT good, as if I would recommend it every geeky friend I know. But I like it for what it is and definitely respect what it's trying to do in how it's utilizing science as a narrative hook.