Dr. Stone is an adventure/sci-fi anime series set in a post-apocalyptic world. Although we call it an anime series, it is because it is known for its anime worldwide. In fact, it was adapted from a famous manga series like its anime. The manga, written by Riichiro Inagaki, has more than 10 million copies in circulation at the time of writing. The anime is created by TMS Entertainment, the first studio that comes to mind when it comes to sequels. We say this because the studio’s current productions, such as Rent-A-Girlfriend, Megalo Box, and Fruits Basket, have managed to get approval for the new season. In this respect, Why wouldn’t it be the same for Dr. Stone? The second season, called Stone Wars, was broadcast on Tokyo MX and many local channels between January 14, 2021 – March 25, 2021. However, the factor that makes it popular worldwide is that it is a product licensed by Crunchyroll and Funimation. So what do we know about the third season of the anime? When will it be released?
What was the plotline of the anime and what is next?
Before we go into details about the third season of the anime, we wanted to review the season we watched. First of all, we can say that reducing the number of episodes of the anime to 11 seems to be the right decision to achieve a more refined season. We can say that the manga is better adapted, and the animations have had consistent success throughout the season.
We had an exciting season focused on the competition between Senku and Tsukasa. As the name suggests, there is a war in the 2nd season. The war between the Kingdom of Science and the Tsukasa Empire is about to begin. As you know, in the vast majority of the first season, expectations for this war were raised. Inventions and necessary preparations have been made, and it begins! However, the war ended in 2 episodes, contrary to expectations. Still, Senku’s genius, fine craftsmanship, and the rest of the team were enjoyable to watch.
The initial cell phone plot was fantastic, and the numbers problem was handled nicely. Tsukasa has managed to enliven many more people thanks to her access to the revival fluid, but Senku has been stuck with the people of Ishigami Village the entire time. By the end of the season, Tsukasa finally realizes his mistake and establishes a strong bond with the technology he once tried to destroy. Stone Wars was, in a way, an intermediate season. In the last episode, we can easily see that a new plot has been set out. We saw new characters in the second season, but we are sure that the real event will begin with the third season. There are many materials to adapt for the third season of the anime, the stone wars may be over, but the age of exploration is just beginning.
When is the third season of Dr. Stone?
On March 25, 2021, just after the anime’s second season, news that please the fans were shared. It has been announced that the series will have a sequel. When the sequel announcement was shared, it was unclear whether the anime would have a new season or a movie, but it was later learned that the renewal pointed to a new season as the fans wanted. This is how things have worked for Dr. Stone for the last two seasons. A new season was announced in the previous final episode, and the creators didn’t need time for evaluation. This also shows the producers’ confidence in anime and its community.
This is exhilarating! ? Dr. STONE Special Episode – RYUSUI airs in 2022 and Dr. STONE Season 3 comes to Crunchyroll in 2023! ? pic.twitter.com/w3nc1JgAeb
— Dr. STONE (@DrStone_EN) December 19, 2021
Dr. Stone was renewed for a new season in March 2021, but no details about the release date were shared. More and more information about the new season is coming to light day by day. On December 19, 2021, during the Jump Festa 2022 event, it was announced that the anime will air in 2023. During the event, it was also announced that the series will have an anime special titled “Dr. Stone: Ryusui“. The special anime film would meet the audience earlier than the third season.
The film’s release date was announced in this year’s 28th issue of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and “Dr. Stone: Ryusui” is aired on July 10, 2022.
Shūhei Matsushita directed the 1-Hour anime special, and most of the cast from previous seasons of Dr. Stone returned for the film. The film was animated by TMS Entertainment, as were the anime seasons. The anime special focusing on Ryusui Nanami was rated as high as 8.41 by Myanimelist users. If you haven’t watched the episode yet, we highly recommend it.
Dr. Stone: Ryusui also had news for the new season. The announcement made with the anime movie announced that the new season was titled “Dr. Stone: New World”. A commercial video with the title of the anime’s third season has been released. Fans expect a more exact release date and a trailer. For now, these are on hold, but we will share them with you when they are officially shared.
Manga Status
As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, the manga is written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Boichi. The manga, which reaches 25 volumes in total, is also published in English by Viz Media. In the first and second seasons of the anime, 83 chapters were adapted, coinciding with the middle of the 10th volume. Considering the remaining source material, we can see two or three more seasons, plus the manga is still ongoing and we can see more seasons ahead.
The popularity of the anime
Disc sales are a valuable source of income for anime. Although it has not been a determining factor in recent years, it is important to see its popularity in Japan and compare it with the other animes that sell discs in the same period. Dr. Stone failed to sell discs in the first season, but it was listed on Crunchyroll’s “Top 25 best anime of the 2010s” and was among the most-watched animes on many platforms. According to Myanimelist, it is the 60th most popular anime of all time.
Google searches generally show the actual popularity of anime, and it isn’t easy to manipulate. When we look at the search volume on Google, we see that the anime is among the 15 most searched anime, and it is just as popular as other highly beloved anime like Re:Zero and KonoSuba.
On the other hand, the anime’s official Twitter page is followed by 169k people in Japan. Generally, we see that animes with over 100k followers do not have problems with new season approvals. If all goes well for Dr. Stone, we are sure we will see more seasons in the future.
[letsreview]