In Dr. Stone, a mysterious energy wave turned every last human being on Earth to stone for 3,700 years, and it's up to the brilliant Senku Ishigami to bring back the humanity he once knew. There is no doubt that Senku is the anime's most brilliant and innovative character (and he teaches the audience a lot), but there's another scientist who's worth mentioning: Chrome.
Unlike Senku, who's experiencing a time-based isekai adventure, Chrome is a native to this futuristic stone age. He is a member of the reclusive Ishigami village, and for a time, he fancied himself the greatest "sorcerer" in the land, what with his simple science tricks. Then he met Senku, and his career took off like a rocket.
How Chrome Helped Build The Kingdom Of Science
The people of Ishigami village lived a humble and hardworking lifestyle, one in which everyone had to earn their keep via making pottery, going fishing, guarding the village with spears, and other primitive activities. Chrome was an outlier, having an unusually curious and resourceful mind, and the other Ishigami villagers largely stayed out of his way.
Known as a sorcerer, Chrome made it his mission to tinker with different rocks, plants and powders to see what would happen when he combined them, and he discovered that he could change the color of fire by adding different elements to it. He also explored the nearby countryside and assembled an impressive collection of rocks, minerals, and other materials that would become very helpful later on. That was when Chrome met Senku, who easily beat him at his own game.
Chrome envied Senku's incredible intelligence and encyclopedic knowledge of science, but Chrome's envious spite turned to awe when Senku explained the truth of the human civilization of centuries past. Moved to tears, Chrome swore to become Senku's ally and apprentice and do everything in his power as a sorcerer and trainee scientist to help resurrect the incredible lost world and expand the Kingdom of science's population.
Chrome was there when Senku developed some of his earliest and most brilliant innovations, such as magnets and working light bulbs, and Chrome and the elderly Kaseki built a working watermill to generate extra power, without any aid from Senku at all. Chrome also took part in the tournament to determine the next village chief -- using his resourceful science together with Gen Asagiri's mind tricks to defeat the brawny Magma. But Chrome's journey was just beginning.
Chrome In The Stone Wars: Facing Tsukasa Head-On
Chrome, Kaseki, Kohaku and the others were ready to help Senku take the fight to Tsuksasa's Empire of Might in Season 2 of the anime, which included setting up the telephone system to communicate with Taiju and Yuzuriha in Tsukasa's territory. Chrome and the warrior Magma both ran afoul of Ukyo, the archer with incredible hearing, and Chrome allowed himself to be taken prisoner before any blood could be drawn. Tsukasa tried in vain to win over Chrome, and even with the threat of death, Chrome refused to yield. Impressed, Tsukasa spared Chrome's life and tossed him into a makeshift jail cell, underestimating Chrome's resourcefulness in the process.
By now, Chrome had learned a great deal about science from Senku, even if he never held an encyclopedia or textbook in his own hands. Chrome used some of Senku's basic teachings to dissolve the bamboo bars of his jail cell, and his insider knowledge of the Empire of Might's traps to help Senku coordinate an effective assault on the Empire and score victory.
If it weren't for Chrome, Senku's assault might have been stopped cold, and a Tsukasa victory would have spelled doom for the entire world. Once Tsukasa stood down and Hyoga was narrowly defeated, Chrome welcomed the former Empire's members into the Kingdom of Science, along with Senku, and Chrome was eager to launch the next adventure with Senku at the lead. The next stop is South America, the source of the certification beam, and Chrome will finally get to see the vast world beyond the familiar confines of Ishigami village.
Future episodes of Dr. Stone will, without a doubt, showcase even more of Chrome's resourceful innovations and tricks, proving himself an indefensible member of Senku's burgeoning technocracy.
