The anime adaptation of Boichi and Riichiro Inagaki's post-apocalyptic science fiction manga series will return, as Dr. Stone announces a third season and a TV special.
The new season and special were announced at Shueisha's Jump Festa '22 event with a new trailer, which is available on Toho Animation's YouTube channel. The special's story will bridge Seasons 2 and 3, and focuses on the character of Ryusui, the youngest son of the Nanami Conglomerate's owner and the captain of the ship, Perseus. Dr. Stone: Ryusui is set to debut next summer. Season 3 is scheduled to premiere sometime in 2023.
Boichi and Inagaki's manga was first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump in March 2017 and has been ongoing ever since, making it the fourth longest-running series currently in the magazine. Dr. Stone is set in a post-apocalyptic world where all of humanity was mysteriously petrified thousands of years ago. However, one day Senku Ishigami, a teenage scientific genius, awakens and finds himself lost in a world of stone statues, but instead of falling into despair, he endeavors to rebuild civilation. The story is currently in its final arc, which sees Senku face off against a cosmic threat.
As of April, the Dr. Stone manga has sold over 10 million copies and received widespread critical acclaim. It won the shōnen category at the 64th Shogakukan Manga Awards and was featured on TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo's list of top 100 manga in 2021. Barnes & Nobles listed the series as one of the bookseller's favorite manga of 2018.
In 2019, the anime adaptation of Dr. Stone premiered. Produced by TMS Entertainment (Lupin the Third Part 6) and directed by Shinya Iino (Made in the Abyss), the anime stars Yūsuke Kobayashi (The Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime) as Senku, Makoto Furukawa (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba) as Taiju Oki, Kana Ichinose (Carole & Tuesday) as Yuzuriha Ogawa, Yuichi Nakamura (My Hero Academia) as Tsukasa Shishio and Kengo Kawanishi (The Case Study of Vanitas) as Gen Asagiri.
While it has been reported that Ryōta Suzuki (Pretty Boy Detective Club) will reprise his role as Ryusui in the upcoming special, it has yet to be announced if the series' current cast and crew will reprise their roles for the third season of Dr. Stone.
Seasons 1 and 2 of Dr. Stone are available to stream on both Funimation and Crunchryoll.
Source: YouTube, via Anime News Network
