Dr. Stone Season 2 Episode 5 Recap – Steam Gorilla

Beast Machine

The villagers aren’t too familiar with the dangers of the steam engine. Magma goes in front of the car, but it throws him off. They call the machine a gorilla as it seems like a beast.

Senku thinks it’s a good idea and calls it their Steam Gorilla. They are ready to strike. Senku looks around and gives a temporary farewell to the village. He instructs them to prepare for the attack.

Tsukasa throws Chrome into a cell made of bamboo. Hyoga wonders why he’s placed the prisoner in such an obvious place.

Snow thaws, so spring has finally come. Senku lets Gen do the test runs for their car since he’s the only one with a driver’s license. The current design is too bumpy due to the lack of asphalt roads and their wooden wheels.

The villagers weave a NASA-designed pattern using bamboo for their wheels and attach it to the Steam Gorilla. The car has finally taken shape. Kaseki feels somber about their latest creation because Chrome can‘t marvel at the new beast.

Departure

Senku orders the equipment and the elderly to ride in the car, but the leader of the elders tells him they won’t join the rescue and just stay in Ishigami Village because they don’t want to pose a burden to the war effort. Ruri and the others are worried about their situation, but the elderly have faith in Senku to defeat Tsukasa’s empire.

The villagers agree, so they start mobilizing toward the empire. Gen picks a route of flat land on the starting leg of their journey, but things get challenging as they traverse through the mountain slopes.

Their current double broiler system is too heavy and lacks power. Senku gets a flash of insight and tells everyone to camp nearby.

Kohaku scouts the area with her telescope and finds Suika moving through the path to spy on the enemy. She scans around Tsukasa’s camp, finding their hunting grounds and the caves, but she can’t find Chrome. Thankfully, Chrome finds her hidden in the bushes and yells to signal his location.

With the precious intel, Senku wants to go on a head-on attack by upgrading the Steam Gorilla into a sturdy tank. He calls for everyone to make paper by gathering reeds and pressing them. Senku glues the paper into frames of wood and plans to surround the car with these shields.

New Armor

Kinro warns him that paper won’t be adequate, but Senku wants to challenge him for it. Kinro gives it a good strike. Kinro’s spear breaks against the paper shield. It wasn’t the shield that took the brunt of the attack, but Senku’s body. He reveals that the special paste he used to connect the paper was melted plastic. It‘s their version of carbon fiber — light but strong.

Steam Gorilla gets some new armor and is now ready to serve as a battering ram against Chrome’s cell.

On the other side, Tsukasa predicts Senku will build a steam engine right after gunpowder, so he commands his men to set up pit traps around the area. Chrome’s cell is positioned for a car to push through, turning him into a bait and leading Senku into a trap. Tsukasa knows Senku won’t abandon his friends. It’s his grave weakness.

Chrome panics after seeing the traps; he has to let Senku know. He resolves to escape the jail by himself using science.

Our Thoughts

Our two camps haven’t even met each other, but they’re already in a tight battle. 4/5.