Highlights
- Senku’s failures make him a relatable and refreshing character in the anime world of geniuses.
- Despite his genius, Senku’s caring nature for others adds depth to his character.
- Senku’s occasional blunders make the series unpredictable and raise the stakes in conflicts.
Senku Ishigami from Dr. Stone is arguably anime’s favorite genius. He hatches incredibly clever plans and creates remarkable inventions in a world that’s been sent back to the Stone Age, but what makes him such a likable character is the fact that he isn’t immune to failure like most anime geniuses.
The anime world is filled with geniuses who break the meta of their universe by simply being hundreds of moves ahead on the chess board. What sets Dr. Stone and Senku apart from the rest is the fact that he can and has been outplayed by characters who thought out their plans well enough to get the upper hand. Senku’s failures bring a sense of humanity to both his character and the series, which is a breath of fresh air for the anime community.
Dr. Stone New World: Joker And The Thief
The Kingdom of Science is in a full-on war with the Petrification Kingdom, with the violence hitting full sail.
Sunku Has Had Plenty of Failures and Dealt With the Consequences
Senku has made more than one wrong move since he was revived in the miracle cave. His first one was reviving the ridiculously powerful Tsukasa. This decision worked well at first, as Tsukasa had incredible strength and skill to help out with hunting and lifting heavy items alongside Kaiju. Senku failed to get a handle on Tsukasa’s ideals, and he nearly paid the price for it with his life. His misstep led to a war that would risk humanity’s return to the modern way of life.
Ibara was another character who managed to gain the upper hand on Senku thanks to another one of his failures. In the Treasure Island arc, Senku grossly underestimates the old man when he plans to take the petrification device, Medusa. He concocts a plan to get the device in the air with a drone. Little did he know Ibara had Kirisame switch out the real one with a fake to draw out Senku’s move. Senku only realized this at the last minute and ordered an immediate retreat. As if this wasn’t bad enough, Ibara was still one step ahead of Senku.
While Senku was saving himself and his allies from his error in the plan to steal the Medusa, Ibara put his next plan swiftly into motion. Ibara had already planned to petrify the kingdom of science and most of Treasure Island’s inhabitants to rid himself of any obstacles to his power. Ibara completely outmaneuvered Senku. If it wasn’t for his quick thinking and his amazing supporting cast, there is no doubt that this would have been the end of Senku and his vision for an escape from the Stone Age.
Senku is not immune to failure, and that’s surprisingly alright. Senku can be outsmarted and outmaneuvered, but it’s not something that takes away from his character. In fact, his flaws add more to his character than his moments of brilliance. It is his imperfections that make his genius that much more impressive when he is successful.
There’s More to Senku’s Personality Than Just “Cold-Hearted Genius”
Another part of Senku’s character that has made him more human than the typical anime genius is the fact that he cares for those around him. Save for Lelouch, the majority of anime geniuses are self-serving to the point of being extremely self-centered and even narcissistic in a lot of cases. While Senku has plenty of confidence in himself and his ability to change the world, he is someone who has faith in others and wants the best for his companions.
The best example of this is when he sets out to rescue Chrome from Tsukasa’s clutches. When Tsukasa imprisons Chrome, Senku immediately goes to work building his Stone Age tank to rescue him. However, where there are pros, there are also cons, and one obvious downside to his empathetic nature is that it makes him predictable. His rescue mission for Chrome was so easy to see coming that Tsukasa saw right through it and booby-trapped Chrome’s underground prison with sinkholes and ditches to prevent Senku from being able to rescue him. Senku and Chrome both ended up getting extremely lucky because one of the guards tripped the traps and Chrome jumped on the chance to escape and rescue his friends from what would have been a catastrophic failure.
If Senku were simply a cold-blooded genius, he would likely never have made that mistake. But it is precisely those kinds of mistakes that make Senku’s character so refreshing. Senku, despite all of his genius, is still just human. There is something about watching a genius make the occasional blunder that adds a different layer to a show. It adds a layer of relatability as well as unpredictability. It’s not always a guarantee that Senku and the Kingdom of Science will make it out of a conflict unscathed, and that ups the ante significantly.
Dr. Stone is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
