The following contains spoilers for Dr. Stone New World's episode 1 titled "New World Map", now airing on Crunchyroll.
One of the most anticipated shows of the Spring Season, Dr. Stone New World is finally here and available to stream on Crunchyroll worldwide. This comes after an hour-long special episode that aired last summer serving as a bridge between seasons 2 and 3.
The third season is expected to cover the Age of Exploration Arc and the Treasure Island Arc. The first episode though, was far from being flashy or shocking and felt more like a preface, still settling the necessary elements for the main cast's voyage across the Pacific Ocean.
Recap And Build-Up
For a few minutes before the opening, a few recaps tell the story of the people of the village, how Senku freed from the petrification and the war with Tsukasa. They give Ryusui a little tour around the village, as they discuss their past and their next steps now that Tsukasa has been finally defeated. Let it be noted that Ryusui snapping his fingers constantly might become a very annoying mannerism. After successfully completing the trial flight, Senku's goal shifts to finding oil, however, this is just one of the many things they are going to need before even thinking to sail toward the petrifications' beam source.
They all gather for a dinner, based on their only means of survival, fish. The Ishigami village has been relying on fishing for way too long. When they had a bad year fishing, plenty of starvation deaths would follow. Now that their numbers have increased greatly they need to find a better source of food, hopefully more reliable. Ryusui's greedy nature pushes him to want this change more than anyone, offering to work day and night until they don't need to worry about hunger. Also, so he can open a market and benefit from it.
Maps and... Minecraft?
Back flying in the air balloon, Senku manages to elaborate a detailed map of the region with the help of Kohaku's amazing sight and Chrome's ground search. They also bumped into a group of goats, which was enough for a different and tasty meal after decades of eating fish in Ishigami. Here, the animators decided to include a reference to Minecraft which continued throughout the episode. It did feel a bit of an interruption in the flow of the episode, but still likable for Minecraft fans.
In the big picture, hunting is no different from fishing, besides, they need food they can preserve for a long time to survive the trip to South America. So what they now need is to develop agriculture. Inspecting the air balloon, they find a wheat field, perfect to start a crop, and start making bread and biscuits, products that can last long enough to bring with them in the boat.
Taiju, the Food King
Taiju's group had been recollecting more petrified people, even finding some relatives, until they were assigned their new mission, the harvest. They needed physical prowess to go through the whole process, and maybe a little extra motivation. Gen surprised us again with one of his mischievous tricks. Yuzuriha made a hat with the leftover straw, which Gen quickly turned into a competition. The one that gets the best wheat will gain the King title and wear the hat she made. A weak trick for most, but a very effective one for the likes of Yo and Magma.
After a couple of time-skips, and Taiju's wit using ground-up seashells to help the wheat grow, an aesthetic-looking wheat field was completed. Taiju rightfully earned the title of food King and was granted permission to wear the straw hat. They now have enough to start baking bread, and hopefully, solve some of their supply problems. It would have been nice if they specified how long it passed or what were the others doing in the meantime.
Coming Next: A Chef
After the episode's ending, they added a short scene in which Senku tries to make the first batch of bread. The result is a complete disaster. He burned it all. Ishigama's people seemed to like it despite it, but the ones that had tried actual bread before were completely disgusted by it. Both Senku and Ryusui scream at the same time what they desperately need now, a chef.
The last thing we know is that they ran out of revival fluid, but since there was a time skip for the wheat they might have some now. What is clear is that they need someone who can put the wheat to good use if they want to have any chance at sailing. As Gen pointed out, the refined taste is also a way to die from starvation. Fans will have a chance to find out who is brought back to life in Dr. Stone New World episode 2, coming next week.