Dr. Stone started out as a manga in Weekly Shonen Jump in March of 2017. It is a bit unusual in that it has a Japanese writer Inagaki Riichiro and a South Korean artist Mu-jik Park, which seems to be a very successful team-up. After all, Dr. Stone has been successful enough to sell more than 10 million copies and counting. Naturally, it has received an animated adaptation. So far, the Dr. Stone has had two seasons. However, it is important to note that a Season 3 has been confirmed for the future as well.
Story-wise, Dr. Stone is rather unusual and thus rather memorable. For those who are curious, it envisions a world in which it has been more than 3,700 years since a mysterious incident petrified the overwhelming majority of the human species. There, a boy genius named Ishigami Senku is revived all of a sudden before being followed by his friend Oki Taiju shortly afterwards. It turns out that their revivals happened because of nitric acid, thus enabling Senku to come up with a cure. Something that is soon used to revive more characters such as their classmate Ogawa Yuzuriha and a well-known martial artist named Shishio Tsukasa.
Senku desires to establish a new human civilization that will be based upon science. However, he is opposed in this by Tsukasa, who desires to establish a new human civilization that will be based upon power. Furthermore, Tsukasa believes that the old world was tainted, so much so that he actually destroys petrified adults for the purpose of preventing them from potentially interfering with his self-assigned mission. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this results in a clash between the two. Initially, Senku comes worse off. However, he is able to survive. More importantly, Senku eventually comes upon a tribe of people who are descended from survivors of the mysterious incident, which makes it clear that the world isn’t limited to just who can be revived.
Why Did Dr. Stone Receive Another Season?
Generally speaking, the public doesn’t have very good insight into why some anime get further seasons while others do not. This is because such decisions are made on the basis of numbers that are kept within the companies rather than released to the public. If anything, the public have even less insight into such matters in the present than in the past. This is because the sales of anime volumes were once somewhat useful for figuring out whether an anime was popular or not. Nowadays, their importance in this regard has faded, not least because streaming has become more and more important while also tapping into more markets in the process.
Still, there is one thing that seems safe to say. In short, Season 3 of Dr. Stone is happening because the relevant parties think that it will be worthwhile. It could be that the anime is doing well enough on its own to warrant this; it could be that the anime is providing a big enough boost to the rest of the franchise to warrant this; it could be a mix of both things. Whatever the case, it seems safe to say that Season 3 is happening because Dr. Stone is doing well. Something that seems to be supported by the high ratings.
Here are some things that have been revealed about Season 3 of Dr. Stone so far:
Expect the Cast Members to Remain the Same
Not much information has been revealed about the cast members for the upcoming season. However, it seems safe to say that they will either remain the same or remain the same for the most part. Voice actors and actresses have their own followings in the Japanese market, meaning that replacing them without a very good reason can generate a great deal of animosity from the consumers. Similarly, changing voice actors and actresses can create confusion among the audience, which is something that animation studios tend to want to avoid. As such, interested individuals should expect Kobayashi Yusuke to return as Senku, Furukawa Makoto to return as Taiju, and so on and so forth. Having said that, new characters are expected as well, meaning that new cast members are expected as well. For now, who will be playing who remains a mystery.
Expect the Age of Exploration Arc
Currently, 21 volumes of the Dr. Stone manga have been released. Furthermore, a 22nd volume is expected to come out on August 4 of 2021. Considering that the Dr. Stone manga started up in 2017, this is a rather rapid pace, meaning that interested individuals shouldn’t be concerned about its animated adaptation running out of source material anytime soon. We don’t know exactly what to expect from the upcoming season content-wise. However, there is reason to believe that it will cover what is called the Age of Exploration arc. Essentially, this means that the main characters will be building a ship called the Perseus before setting out to search for answers. Naturally, this process will include the creation of more inventions, which provide the series with much of its charm.
The Release Date Is Unknown for Now
Season 3 of Dr. Stone has been confirmed. Unfortunately, the release date hasn’t been revealed. Some interested individuals might want to make guesses based on the release dates for the first two seasons. If so, they should know that Season 1 came out in summer of 2019 while Season 2 came out in winter of 2021, meaning that there were six anime seasons between them. Should this hold true, Season 3 will come out in fall of 2022. Of course, this is baseless speculation and nothing but baseless speculation, so interested individuals should keep a watchful eye out for further announcements about Dr. Stone.
Expect an English Release
Speaking of which, it seems safe to say that interested individuals can expect the Japanese version to be followed by an English version. Chances are good that the two won’t be released at the same time. Instead, chances are good that the Japanese version will be released first while the English version will be released second, though the wait between the two shouldn’t be too long. Anyways, interested individuals will want to check in with Toonami for more detailed information as Season 3 gets closer and closer to its eventual release.
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