When the people of Earth were petrified Senku’s dad was up in space. Senku the main character of the current popular anime “Dr. Stone” was turned to stone like everyone else. The only difference was that he was smart enough, cunning enough to figure out how to keep his mind alive for centuries. Byakuya Ishigami never lost hope that his son would revive the world’s population. And though Byakuya was in space at the time, he came up with a plan to save the world.
Dr. Stone Reboot: Byakuya is a manga that tells the story of how Byakuya and the rest of the crew were able to set up on Earth after the petrification. More than that though is it the story of what humanity had to leave behind to move forward.
Before the petrification the crew has the initial introductions. You get to see how the crew relates to current day Earth. And you get a glimpse into Byakuya and Lillian’s relationship that was partially responsible for creating the current population of villagers. It’s not so much a love story however than something they did out of necessity, though it does show that they had admiration for each other that could have grown into something deeper.
Byakuya and the crew calculate what they need to descend to Earth. Rei a robot that Byakuya made on Earth for their outer space trip ends up being the key to all of this. A super computer that has all of the answers and the capability to interpret the raw data.
When they left the space station they had to abandon all of humanities achievements to get there in the first place. Byakuya insists that he knows that someday humanity will make their way back to space but it’s a bitter sweet parting none-the-less. Part of the story is how when the crew leaves, Rei the super computing robot is left behind to man the International Space Station.
There are trials and tribulations all of which need to be fixed for the station to operate. Somehow even thousands of years later Rei keeps the station in space. Just waiting for the day that Byakuya would come back for him. It’s quite the melancholic tale of someone waiting for their loved one to return only to never be reunited with them. But it’s a little more tolerable because it’s a robot that’s waiting. Still sad and you still feel bad for the little guy.
A huge tone of the book can be read in Byakuya’s relationship with Senku. Though they are parted through space and eventually time they have a connection that lasted throughout it all. If there’s a way to describe something closer than father and son, perhaps it’s that they are kindred spirits. Byakuya does all of this in order to help Senku who he knows will revive humanity if given the chance. Though his son is essentially dead he never gives up hope that he will save the world.
The story is a really great addition for those who are all caught up on the anime. I powered through season two quickly and now am left with void that can only be filled with re-runs and manga. I recommend reading this if you have any interest in how humanity got its start after the petrification. Plus its really nice that Boici the author included tidbits about the descendants on Earth and their connections to the crew. You’ll see a lot of familiar traits with the villagers and the crewmates on the ship.
You can pick up a copy on Amazon by clicking the link here.
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