Dr. Stone Season 1 Episode 16 Recap – A Tale for the Ages

Hundredth Story

Senku convenes with Ruri in her hut, claiming that he’s solved the village’s origins. Ruri admits that Senku’s name is included in the stories passed down for generations.

Ruri tells him about the 100th story passed down from her mother — Ishigami Senku.

It’s a story of a boy named Senku who had always been curious about the world since he was young. He wondered why the moon keeps following him even when it’s far away. He had a lot of similarities with his father who failed the astronaut qualifications. Senku loves space like his father and wanted to go there immediately. The fascination led him to do his own projects.

When the JAXA recruitment came around again, Senku created a suit that attempted to enhance the physical capabilities of his father to help him pass.

When the agency asked him if Senku’s inventions helped him on his exams, he said they didn’t work at all, but it was Senku’s help that gave him the determination to succeed. He even passed the clothed swimming exam which was his weakness before. In his final interview, he told the agency that he’s devoted to the pursuit of science as a way to pay his son back.

Five years later, when Byakuya Ishigami was about to board the space shuttle, he took a microphone from the media crew and told Senku he’ll be back with great science materials.

Revelation

Senku tells the villagers that the founder of the Ishigami village is his dad, Byakuya Ishigami.

Byakuya came to the International Space Station with a man named Shamil and a singer named Lilian. They met a doctor couple named Darya and Yakov, along with a NASA staffer named Connie.

Lilian performed a mini concert in space broadcasted all over the world. Later, Lilian asked her companions if they wanted to contact family, but Byakuya told her that his son was probably working on his research and preferred not to stay in touch.

Back on Earth, Senku was tracking down the numerous swallow statues seen all over the world. The data showed that the number of statues correlates to the bird’s population density, making him guess it’s a global phenomenon. He didn’t overthink it except that it’s funny.

ISS

In the space station, Lilian chatted with Byakuya about her love of music and singing. She had been at it since she was young and wanted the whole world to hear her voice. She wants to express her love and happiness to everyone with her music. Byakuya also wants Senku to hear her songs.

Byakuya is free-spirited, while Shamil is more like Senku in his seriousness. Shamil just ate the ramen Byakuya gave him when he suddenly saw a green glow surrounding the Earth from the windows. The astronauts are shocked, wondering what it could be. It was the petrification event that turned the world in stone.

The crew panicked as they lost contact with everyone on Earth. Connie wondered if it could be a nuclear war. They regained connection to Earth but didn’t see any updates from anyone. After gaining access to Earth’s live cameras, they saw the whole world turned to stone. The astronauts were shocked beyond disbelief.

Everyone was upset as they planned their next step. Byakuya decided to return to Earth, while Yakov wanted to wait for any contact. Byakuya insisted they should go and rescue the world‘s seven billion population.

Our Thoughts

This episode lays down the central mystery of the story. I’ll reserve judgment until we get some more answers, but this one has me intrigued. 3/5.