Dr. STONE, Vol. 20

Dr. Stone #20

by Riichiro Inagaki, Boichi (Illustrator)

Imagine waking to a world where every last human has been mysteriously turned to stone...

Senku and Dr. Xeno are the Stone World’s top two scientists, and now they’re teaming up in search of the origin of the petri-beam that zapped all of humanity. But the road to where it all started is proving to be a bumpy one! Can the crew traverse through nature to make it deep into South America, all while dodging the ferociously dogged Stanley?

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction, Shonen, Fiction, Adventure, Comics, Fantasy

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2021

About the author

He is a mangaka from Tokyo, Japan. He debuted in October 2001 with Nandodemo Roku Gatsu Jū San Hi, and also wrote for the magazine Square Freeze and Love Love Santa, published in November 2001 and in February 2002 respectively. He later moved to Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump, in wich he won the 7th "Story King" section in the same year.

Reviews

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn, I had the best time staring at the whole panel of the gang riding the motorcycles. Worthwhile! I don't know, but it feels so freaking great. I'm so proud! By the way, Medusa's working again, and we're back in the game!!

[Kulwinder Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Senku has outwitted Stanley again. Now Senku's crew has two full-fledged scientists.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cool as we have Senku and gang coming to South america with stanley chasing after them, they arrive here by boat and then leave it behind and there is an interesting face off between the two and after that we have more face off between the two of them and they make bikes for faster travel, there is a part where they have to weigh each other and its so funny there and we move closer to finding the secrets of petrification and the Medusa. Its getting interesting. This whole arc is a breather atm before the big revelations next volume. Also good focus on dynamics between various characters.

[Olly · Rating 3 out of 5]

belle citaizoni ad Akira, a partire dalla copertina

[Sol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Stone continues to impress. Great adventures, cool gadgets, lovable characters, consistently funny. My only conceivable complaint is that as time goes on, less page space is spent on building new mechanisms over new materials and travelling. It's been coming dangerously close to having too many characters as time goes on, but there's a very clear distinction between main, secondary, and tertiary characters. There's no great loss to the story leaving Ruri or Soyuz behind on their islands, and Inagaki doesn't try and mislead the reader into thinking every Dick and Jane might secretly be important. Characters serve their purpose and exit gracefully. I might wish for my favourites to get a few more stand-out moments, but I can recognize that it wasn't meant to be.




I love how each phase of the story feels different, yet there's an underlying consistency. Stone Wars was scientific cavemen vs. primitive moderns, and while Tsukasa had a slight advantage in manpower, it wasn't insurmountable with scientific equipment. Treasure Island was scientific cavemen vs. primitive cavemen, and the population disparity between Treasure Island and Ishigami Village was too huge to overcome directly, so all action had to be as covert as possible. America was scientific cavemen vs. scientific moderns, and the situation was reversed to the protagonists having superior manpower but (slightly) inferior technology. Now, in South America, it's all about avoiding a direct confrontation they can't possibly win, and information superiority is in the hands of the antagonists. In every case, however, the key to the conflict has been possession of a single thing, whether it was the revival cave, the medusa, or each side's scientist. You could lose lots of battles, so long as you came out with that one thing. This is why the end of the America arc doesn't feel like a defeat, even though Senku lost his ship and the bulk of his allies. Possession of Xeno was more valuable.



I'm eager to see how South America turns out. Given that we've seen that both turning off/on and popping the battery in/out work for medusae, plus Chrome's idea for a passive depetrification device, it's possible that Senku will try to take the Perseus by petrifying the crew. If they can recharge one, it'd definitely be the best choice. It seems a little implausible to found a city in South America without Minami, and I don't know if their tiny catamaran could possibly make a trans-oceanic journey back to Treasure Island, so it seems confrontation is inevitable. It also raises questions about the future of the series. As Senku says, with the acquisition of the medusa cargo, they could blast past 21st century science into the realm of science fiction pretty quickly. With that in mind, I wonder if the next arc (or next next) could involve a struggle against robots? Maybe that's what China will be? This is probably just my hope that the spinoff is canon talking, and with the revelation that Chrome can, in fact, read, that's looking unlikely. Then again, Chrome remembering that out of the blue would be very fitting for Dr. Stone. Australia is also a complete wildcard.



I'm also curious how the petrification effect will be treated from here on out. There's some discussion in the latest arc about its properties, whether it was a sphere or a wave, its speed, etc. I have to wonder why Inagaki is bothering. It's an impossible effect, so how much worth is there in trying to justify it inside a scientific framework? It's almost certainly going to be some kind of mumbo jumbo when it comes down to it. We also learn that Whyman has (or had) massive industrial capacity at the time of humanity's petrification. There are hundreds of tons worth of medusae in that pile. He also had the capacity to create more (or had more in reserve), as he was able to bomb Treasure Island thousands of years later. He clearly wants to keep humanity down, but either doesn't care about, or can't detect small pre-industrial societies like Ishigami Village. Corn City seems like an obvious target if it actually gets off the ground.

[Agnese Rosengren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho apprezzato molto i nuovi personaggi introdotti e la costruzione delle moto, così come il prosieguo dell'inseguimento da parte di Stanley.
Non do punteggio pieno solo perché ho faticato un pochino a seguire il tutto, ma in generale è stata una lettura piacevole.
P.S.: la tavola più bella di questo volume è quella che vede ritratti Gen e Xeno, secondo me. “Tu sei come Senku. Non mentiresti mai alla scienza, no?”. Bellissima.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

دیگه حافظه م یاری نمیکنه کدوم چپتر ها اینجا بودن، ولی کلن از وقتی ژنو و استنلی اومدن تو داستان و رقابت علمی راه افتاد جذاب تر هم شد حتا.

[Casey Sánchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore Chelsea as a character. She's so fun to read about, and it's interesting to see someone else young aside from Suika on the crew. Also, the constant outmaneuvering of Stanley really forces everyone to stay on their feet.

[Yuno · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need more omg TT such a cliffhanger. I LOVE LOVE LOVE ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS. Tsukasa is my most favorite for sure; I wish he was on my side. I mean, how reliable he is. And then Ryusui gotta be the man for me. I mean this guy is so optimistic, and so attractive. AND THE GIRLS, especially KOHAKUUUU <333 I'm in love. I love how Hyoga is right now too. I mean i love everyone. I'm so glad i read this. It's been a long while since I read manga.

[Goober Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume’s alright. I do like all the stuff they’re doing to evade Stanley, and it seems like the next of those efforts is going to be especially wacky. I really like how Xeno and Senku bond over science, it’s nice.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This keeps getting more fast paced and outlandish, but is really fun!

Check out my YouTube channel for bookish videos and monthly wrap ups!

[charly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE CHELSEA. Also will always love how smart senku is and now with dr xeno❤️. Cant wait to see them finally figure out why the world was petrified and also for them to beat stanley. That bitch just wont quit💀. Also cant wait to see this animated 😝

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Season four, part 2,* of the anime just started, so I HAD to hunt down which volume this was, to compare. Eerily cleanly, it starts at the same place this volume starts, though with filler padding at the beginning of the episode with a young Xeno and Stanley meeting. I guess that's deliberate, to keep the "seasons" somewhat to the same lengths each time?

What are "seasons," anyway? Lately, it feels like some are 12 episodes, some are two- or even three-part, some go for 100 episodes as one "season"...

Anyway, more good MacGyver sciencing! I mostly took a star off because my brother has poisoned me against the science in this after his complaint about the nitroglycerin paper airplanes, though at least most of the *ideas* behind the science is accurate.

...ish.

There's admittedly a large amount of stealth superpower at work: If the team "unlocks" a thing by doing it exactly once, no matter how difficult the task was in the first place, they can now generate apparently infinite amounts of the thing. Because video game logic, I guess, especially since it uses a lot of video-game-style iconography ("Chelsea has joined the party!" "Rubber acquired!").

So, it's fun, and it's still *more* realistic than similar titles, MAYBE. It's just completely absurd, and most of the fun is just seeing what happens. "Turn off your brain," as they say for action movies—even though this series ironically wants you to keep it on at the same time. I do at least appreciate the "Mecha Senku Q&A" that covers the whole "Wait, half of them are Japanese and half are English-speakers, so how do they all talk to each other?" thing.

(Answer: The bi/multilingual characters translate off-panel. Cheat.)

Unfortunately, since the series ended (or did it...?), I don't have a lot of outlets to get more of Boichi's weird but interesting art. Marco Polo is... both strange and a lot of crossing over that I don't understand (yet) because I haven't read all of the series that cross over with it. Ace’s Story is only two volumes. Kind of feeling withdrawal, but I guess that's what re-reads are for, haha.

Recommended for fans, obviously, and DEFINITELY only ones who've been keeping up. Starting from here is a mistake.

P.S. Got to show my spouse a fun joke since they go to Brazil, haha! Also got to sort of fact-check the rubber after today's other read.

*I was confused about this after rechecking my last review for the series, but the new episode is #13, which I somehow forgot in between watching it and re-reading this. What are "seasons," anyway, I guess??

[Rocío · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo que AMÉ este tomo por favor. Necesitaba mucho reírme de la forma en la que lo hice leyéndolo, tanto que llegué a llorar de la risa, además se incorporaron nuevos personajes y hubo un montón de creaciones nuevas. Me encantó, estoy fascinada.

Enterarme que Xeno sabe del hombre del Why me sorprendió al inicio, pero luego pensé que era obvio porque es una persona demasiado inteligente. Además, ellos también contaban con las onda de radio para captarlo. Algo que me encantó fue como él y Senku, aún siendo enemigos declarados, se sentaron uno frente al otro como maestro y alumno para poner en común los conocimientos con los que cuentan e intentar llegar a algún lugar con eso. Para ellos la ciencia y el conocimiento está antes que cualquier cosa. También la suma de Chrome al equipo me pareció lo mejor del mundo y es que los tres son un equipo con el que te ríes o te ríes.

Nuevo destino: Sudamérica, ya que creen saber exactamente de donde vino la luz petrificadora, pero con Stanley a sus espaldas es un jaja constante porque el miedo es real de que los atrapen. Pues, al final no hubo sufrimiento sino dos personajes nuevos, Chelsea (que ya la amo y más su momento con Suika por no ver nada las dos) y Joel (que no duró nada hasta petrificarse a las 2 páginas de aparecer), y construyeron varias cosas, una en especial me tuvo super enganchada. Desde que hicieron las motos no pude parar de leer, me emocionó muchísimo no se porque, y encima también hicieron y enviaron un fax manual, además de que termina con la promesa de crear un teleférico para cruzar la Cordillera de los Andes (amamos). Por último, una mención especial a como Ryusui y Senku le arruinaron la avioneta a Stanley, los amo y amé este tomo con todas mis fuerzas.

[Yoshiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

POPKulturowy Kociołek:
Seria powoli, ale konsekwentnie zbliża się do swojego końca. Dla czytelnika oznacza to nic innego jak jeszcze większą dawkę humoru, akcji, szaleństwa i nauki. Tych elementów zdecydowanie nie brakuje w Dr. Stone tom 20, który przybliża nas do rozwiązania zagadki zagłady świata.

Senku i jego grupa od momentu zatrzymania profesora Xeno poczyniła znaczący postęp w odkryciu genezy apokalipsy. Nic w tym zaskakującego w końcu siły połączyły dwa najznamienitsze umysły na świecie, a uboczną konsekwencją tego będą nowe wynalazki. Poszukiwanie prawdy o promieniach, nie jest jednak jedynym kłopotem, z którym muszą się oni mierzyć w tomiku dwudziestym. Ich tropem nieustępliwie podąża bowiem Stanley, mający również niezwykłych i skutecznych pomocników, na dodatek są oni bardzo zdeterminowani, aby uwolnić Xeno.

Manga wypchana jest więc po brzegi mocną akcją. Trwający wielki wyścig do Ameryki Południowej trzyma czytelnika w napięciu od pierwszej do ostatniej strony, zapewniając mu przy tym doskonałą dawkę rozrywki. Emocje związane z trwającym pościgiem są tu oczywiście dobrze zbalansowane przez wątki „naukowe”, prezentację kolejnych szalonych pomysłów i masę charakterystycznego dla serii zwariowanego humoru.

Pomimo tego, że seria zbliża się do swojego końca, twórca nadal pozwala sobie na dalsze rozwijanie bohaterów, a nawet na dołączenie do obsady kogoś nowego. Tym sposobem szalona grupa powiększa się o jeszcze jeden nietuzinkowy umysł, który zdecydowanie powinien rozbawić fanów cyklu....

https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/dr-st...

[Vail Chester · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot less action this time around and a lot more of going into the unknown.
EXPLORATION!
WHILE EVADING BAD GUYS!
And what's funny is that even tho the mad scientist of America they have hostage is still intent on taking over the world, he and our resident science nerd continue to get along like peas & carrots! So even tho it would be in his best interest to be rescued by his gay lover deadly childhood friend to return to their little kingdom of bullets & brawn, he knows that if anybody can discover the source of the mysterious medusa wave, it's these ragtag group of weirdos from Japan, and he'll do all he can to help them with his science!
I had to knock it down a star of enjoyability since Chelsea is THAT annoying, despite being introduced in a completely wacky & unhinged way. It all went downhill from there...
Also, yeah. Mobile-lab-kun was no Going Merry so no reason to get that upset about it. (WE SEE YOU BACK THERE TAIJU! THE X MEANS WE'RE NAKAMA!)

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 Clipping right along our team is already in South America. We see some weird bonding between Senku and Dr. Xeno which is off since Stanley is still out to rescue Xeno and kill Senku. We also see the revival of an all too convenient geographer Dr. Chelsea and a watch maker tasked with figuring out the Petrification device. Really the plot is going so quick it’s crazy. Maybe that’s just compared to other Shonen I’ve read.

Senku, Kohaku, Kaseki, & Ukyo on the cover of volume 20.

Read 10/3/2024

[Mert · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 Stars (%77/100)

It was a pretty good volume overall. The crew continues their journey towards the origin of the petrification while escaping Stanley and his crew. Throughout the journey, Senku continues to make scientific tools and machines such as a motorcycle. Chelsea is a new interesting character and there are more new characters like her. The highlight of this volume is the fact that the crew starts to work on the Medusa mechanism itself. I liked the book in general.

[Brandon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Actual adventuring this time around as we get to see the characters go on boats and land and stuff. We also get a new EPIC LOL FUN HYPE FUN YAY character who I am already sick of. They made a One Piece reference, though, so it's not entirely terrible. I don't know how anyone can see them talk about 'cool science wheels' and still take this stuff seriously.

[Rachel S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still liking the series, but all the inventions, including the one mentioned at the end, are far fetched to me. This volume is tedious since its all cat and mouse chase. The plot doesn't move forward very much. So much travelling. I hope Xeno ends up on Senku's side, but an adult following a child is unlikely. I can't wait until they reveal more about the petrification device.

[Gabriel Quintana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unos capítulos de acción muy emocionantes, el escape del equipo de Stanley es genial, se siente la presión de que estén tan cerca y como siempre la forma en que se consiguen soluciones científicas es muy interesante y la explicación acerca del cambio de los ecosistemas luego de que no haya humanos tantos años.
En general un gran tomo, entretenido como nos tiene acostumbrados.

[Sedna Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this one, I loved how the two scientists worked together, how they were able to bring back both rubber and motorbikes! I also like how they were able to explain things in a way that anyone can understand too!

[Sheepy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many cool creations that just blow one's mind given the world they find themselves in!
Each moment has been so fun to read and with the destination set I'm so curious at what is going to happen when they get there!

[Đức Nhật · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cuộc rượt đuổi căng thẳng khi Stanley tìm cách đuổi theo Senku để giật lại Xeno. Vẫn phong cách khám phá khoa học như những tập trước. Tìm ra được điểm nguồn sáng hoá đá cả nhân loại và tìm cách đến đó. Sáng tạo ra cao su, lốp xe, xe máy và sắp tới là dây cáp treo. Senku quả là gì cũng có thể làm.

[Alizée · Rating 5 out of 5]

La guerre entre Senku et Stanley s'annonce épique. J'espère que l'auteur aura pitié de nos personnages 🙏🏼🥲 En tout cas j'ai hâte de lire la suite! Et hâte de voir comment l'équipe de senku va se débrouiller et surtout si ils vont réussir à réparer le médusa pour arrêter Stanley à temps. 🫣

[Natsume Natsuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still hope this manga is published in Indonesia :")

[Aswath]

Best apocalyptic series I have ever read, seen. Best part abt it? It's scientifically accurate too.

[Melat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Xeno and Senku team up is adorable. Joel the watch guy is cool🥰

[ReadingFrog · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Adam Sunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter 170-178