Dr. Stone anime creators discuss upcoming season 3 finale and "foreshadowing" the end of the entire series

The best-selling manga series Dr. Stone, created by Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi, has spawned a popular anime adaptation of the same name, which is in the midst of wrapping its third season. Carrying the subtitle New World after the manga story arc of the same name, the characters discover the source of the global petrification that kicked off the series. Split into two cours, Dr Stone: New World expands to a global scope as its characters cross the ocean to learn more about the cataclysmic event that impacted humanity.

Dr. Stone is set in a far-future where humanity was mysteriously petrified into stone for over three millennia, with teenager Senku Ishigami suddenly revived in the year 5738. Navigating a world where all major traces of civilization have since become overwhelmed by nature, Senku begins studying the petrified humans to learn what occurred over 3000 years ago and develop a cure to save the human race. However, as Senku begins to revive humans, some people act less than nobly as humanity attempts to rebuild in the face of this extended ordeal and collapse of modern society.

In a roundtable interview at Anime NYC 2023 attended by Popverse, Dr. Stone director Shuhei Matsushita, producer Shusuke Katagiri, and character designer Yuko Iwasa reflected on twists and turns throughout Dr. Stone: New World. The creative team talks about the characters introduced in Season 3, explain how they brought the manga story to life for the anime series, and reflect on the big moments concluding the season.

A previous interview with the manga’s editor regarding the manga was cited, which noted that Dr. Stone reflects evolving audience sensibilities in terms of shonen stories popular worldwide. For the creative team behind the anime, that distinction isn't that clearly defined, though it's something they keep in mind during production.

“Personally, I don’t know if the trend has actually changed but, since it’s a long-living title, because of that, the target audience has expanded,” the team observed. “With something like this, that means a difference in taste a little bit. We’re handling slightly different themes and tastes than other shonen manga styles – there is no magic or things like that – but the genre is also celebrated. We’re able to offer a bit more options for shonen manga.”

Matsushita comes from a boating background prior to directing Dr. Stone Season 3 and, with a significant portion of Season 3 set on a boat, he pointed out that environments are very important to creating anime. “If an audience detects a little untruthfulness, that gets caught and you can’t fully dive into the narrative, story, and characters,” he explained. “Especially with Dr. Stone, we want to be truthful with the scientific elements and things like that. We pay attention to make what you see on-screen as authentic as possible.”