Dr Stone — Japanese… Japanese Never Changes

Yes! That IS a Fallout reference.

I don’t usually devote these articles to anime, except that one time, but that wasn’t really an anime. This means that, technically, I never devoted any article to anime. There’s a lot to say about it, but at this point, it’s kind of a predominant subculture, so I won’t get into it. But this particular anime is unique because it allows me to assign a linguistic theme to my well-calculated and near-flawlessly written articles. If you haven’t heard of Dr Stone, then you’re probably not a weeb… or a scientist, for that matter.

Dr Stone is an anime that happens on a seemingly regular Earth. However, on one bright day under the majestic sun, a green flash of light turned every human on Earth to stone. 3700 years later, a 15-year-old genius (or was it 17?) by the name of Senku Ishigami mysteriously reverts to his flesh form, and his goal: to restore the human race to its original glory. How? With science, of course! And so, Senku uses his intelligence and resourcefulness to concoct all kinds of products and from Mother Nature herself no less, such as pots out of clay straight from the ground. Anyway, he goes on to befriend a primitive village, and by his side, he has friends from both the past and the future who will help him restore humanity to… whatever it was before they all became rocks (“former greatness” would be a strong term).

It’s true that from this description alone, you’re probably asking yourself, “but if all the humans turned to stone, how are there living people?” or “friends from the past? But… haven’t they turned to stone?” or something like that. The description isn’t much since the show’s premise isn’t the subject itself, but the show tries to explain the events in it with real-life science, although I don’t know how accurate the science in the show is. But there is an explanation to all of these questions; if it so much interests you, then you should probably check out the show for yourself. I was told that it’s a hit anime, which is not surprising since it’s based on a manga from Weekly Shonen Jump, which is often recognized as the most popular manga publisher. Anyone familiar with popular works such as One Piece, Naruto and, of course, Dragon Ball would know that this is, in fact, the truth.

100 generations, but still the same language

Some of you might already be guessing what I’m going to talk about… or not. Yes, this is a familiar subject, but it is in the context of Earth and Earth alone, in different phases of its planetary existence. And as much as I want to talk more about how successful all the WSJ manga are, there are more dire problems to address, one of which is the linguistic impossibility in this anime.

So I already said that the series happens 3700 years in the future, right? I might have neglected to mention that it happens in Japan, but it was implied. Anyway, the story is set in the year 5738 (and that’s not even on the Jewish calendar). There are characters from both the past and the future (or present, more accurately). Yet, somehow, they all speak the same version of Japanese.

Any linguist would know that no language can remain the same for that long. Even if it doesn’t evolve into a new language, the dialect itself will change. But considering that this is millennia and not centuries and that the “new-world” characters descend from both English speakers and Japanese speakers (long story…), it’s safe to say that the Japanese couldn’t have lasted that long.

Real-life science? Probably not

Aside from the usual trope of production convenience, where some show elements exist only because it’s within the budget, there isn’t any solution. The subject of language is interesting in Dr Stone, which is why I chose to talk about it.

For a show that prides itself on incorporating real-life science into its plot scenarios, not much can be said about the science of languages, that is, linguistics. Senku excels in biology, physics, chemistry, astrology, medicine, and probably all the other forms of science because he likes it that much. But when it comes to English, the show doesn’t really convince you that the American character is speaking in an authentic accent, especially when you know that the voice actor for the said character is Japanese. But “Engrish” aside, Japanese remaining the same across 100 generations is not scientifically accurate.

Sure, I could come up with all the solutions possible; say that it’s a design choice and only the people responsible for the story/animation can do something about it. Or maybe… actually, that’s it. It’s a story issue, in that if Senku and the primitive village whom he befriended (and remember that they are technically from the future) can understand each other, then the whole “science” shtick that the author was going for already falls apart. So yes, it’s a plot-hole, and all I have to say is that in the next anime that incorporates actual science, just don’t leave out linguistics.

But if you think it isn’t a plot-hole…

Then you’re free to tell me what it is instead. It doesn’t matter if you’re a linguist, a scientist, a weeb, or just a random person looking for an excuse to talk about Dr Stone because it’s a cool anime that non-weebs can relate to… presumably. Anyway, be sure to tell me your opinion.

In Conclusion…

So Dr Stone is a neat anime, although I’m not sure about the “non-weebs can like it too” part. One thing that works in the show, even better than the theme of science, is the characters, and nowadays, I don’t see a lot of anime characters that don’t piss me off, so I very much like it.

And yes, the Japanese language that is showcased in the show is eternal. It’s scientifically inaccurate since linguistics is also a science, albeit more social in aspect. It’s slightly aggravating, but I guess production values outrank artistic ones, so that’s an even bigger problem.

By the way, aside from a post-apocalyptic setting, Dr Stone and Fallout have nothing in common. I just thought the reference would make for a nice subtitle.