#DrSTONE#DrSTONE最終回
“Finally, Dr. STONE Anime Comes to an End”
As I watched the final episode of the Dr. STONE anime, I was overwhelmed by emotions beyond words.
"Ah... finally, it's really the end."
The realization that Dr. STONE had come to an end shook my very soul.
Strangely, I didn't feel this way when I finished the last page of the original manga serialization ended.
At the time, many things were happening, and I already knew that we would publish another volume's worth of material the following year to give the story its true conclusion.
I even celebrated the end of the serialization with a trip to an onsen, but even there I was still drawing Dr. STONE illustrations.
One thing I truly loved was the anime's original additions created to complete the story.
I've always hoped that anime adaptations would include plenty of original material.
People often talk about "respecting the original work."
I love the idea of respecting the original.
What I don't like is making it exactly the same.
To me, anime belongs to the animators.
It should be their creation—the result of their own creativity.
It should contain their ideas, their talent, and their hearts.
Because a creative work should belong to its creators.
After all, the people who make the anime are not the mangaka.
Whenever I receive an offer for an adaptation, I always ask for one thing:
"Please make it into a work that reflects the director's own vision."
To me, that is what truly respecting the original work means.
And it is also how I show my respect to fellow creators.
As I heard from my editor at the time, there were proposals from four different studios to animate Dr. STONE.
When I was asked which one I preferred, I simply replied that I trusted Weekly Shonen Jump and Inagaki-sensei to make the right decision.
The only things I requested from the anime staff were these:
1. I hoped it would be a work with beautiful music and beautiful natural scenery.
2. I hoped it would have a real "wow factor."
3. I hoped it would be different from the manga—even the artwork.
I wanted people to watch the anime and I learn from its drawings.
Other than making those requests, I stayed completely uninvolved in the production.
I was invited to attend the voice actor auditions, but I declined.
I wanted the anime director to make those decisions.
I believed my own job was simply to keep drawing as much as I could.
And that's exactly what I did.
Perhaps that is why this final episode touched me so deeply.
I truly loved all of the original scenes, direction, and dialogue created to bring the story to its conclusion.
I could feel how much love the animation team had for Dr. STONE.
And that made me so happy and tear.
That's what I love.
Creation is about putting your heart and soul into your work.
Because the hearts of the creators were present in every scene, every moment moved me.
To everyone who worked on this final episode—and to everyone who helped bring the Dr. STONE anime to life—
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
And there is one thing I would like to say to every single one of you: "Each and every one of you is Dr. STONE."
#DrSTONE#NASA
This is a photo of “moon footprint” I made with my slippers on the beach—also included in vol. 18 of Dr. STONE.
The final season of the Dr. STONE anime, which tells the story of humanity’s journey to the Moon, has begun.
And what an incredible coincidence this is.
On the very day the anime began, humanity returned to the Moon for the first time in 50 years.
Dr. STONE has become the only anime celebrating humanity’s journey to the Moon.
A similar moment happened once before, in 1968.
Just one year before humanity first set foot on the Moon in 1969,
a film about humanity reaching the Moon and encountering something great was released.
That film was the masterpiece in the history, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Unlike us, it wasn’t coincidence but planned timing—
and yet, the resemblance is astonishing.
This film also holds a special place in my life.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of me becoming a mangaka, my wife gifted me the experience of watching it in a theater in South Korea.
It had a theatrical re-release there at just the right time—by pure coincidence.
So I traveled to Korea and watched it on the big screen.
Even though I had seen it countless times on DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming,
it felt unbelievably fresh.
In a theater, this film becomes something entirely different.
It was truely amazing experience!
And now, on the very day Dr. STONE’s Moon Mission arc begins, humanity has once again reached for the Moon.
I believe there is a reason behind all these coincidences.
To me, that reason is simple:
Humanity must go to the Moon.
Everything about this fills me with joy.
As one of the creators of Dr. STONE,
I wholeheartedly support humanity’s journey to the Moon.