Dr. STONE, Vol. 1

Dr. Stone #1

by Riichiro Inagaki, Boichi (Illustrator)

Imagine waking to a world where every last human has been mysteriously turned to stone...

One fateful day, all of humanity turned to stone. Many millennia later, Taiju frees himself from the petrification and finds himself surrounded by statues. The situation looks grim—until he runs into his science-loving friend Senku! Together they plan to restart civilization with the power of science!

When every human on Earth is turned to stone by a mysterious phenomenon, high-schooler Taiju is also petrified the moment he’s about to confess to his high-school crush. Flash forward several thousands of years later, Taiju awakens and joins up with his friend Senku, who has ambitious dreams. His plan: to restart civilization from square one with the power of science!

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction, Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Shonen

200 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2017

About the author

He is a mangaka from Tokyo, Japan. He debuted in October 2001 with Nandodemo Roku Gatsu Jū San Hi, and also wrote for the magazine Square Freeze and Love Love Santa, published in November 2001 and in February 2002 respectively. He later moved to Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump, in wich he won the 7th "Story King" section in the same year.

Reviews

[Meherin ST · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never got so excited while watching an anime. I still remember that day when luffy finally won against doflamingo. I was so happy and excited that he won. But after that i didn't felt that much excitement no matter what anime i watch. After long time I watched Dr. Stone in 2019. A story of a stone world, that humanity was petrified by a mysterious light. After thousands of years a little scientist woke up and started inventing things in that stone world to save all 7.8 billion people. After watching the anime I started reading the manga. This story will make you understand that science is the best.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I think manga just might not be for me. I hated the over exaggerated emotions and outsized caricatures of actual people. The scientist guy was a pompous ass. Then there's the average kid who's OK with just being called the labor force and being sort of dumb. Eh. Moving on.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 5 out of 5]

ONE OF THE BEST MANGA OF 2020. If you haven't read this what are you waiting for?

Dr. Stone was an unexpected surprise for me this year. I picked it up randomly and I loved it. It focuses on a society where everyone turns into stone and the main characters Taiju and Senku find themselves tasked with restoring civilization. This manga is OVER THE TOP but it's what I loved about it. I think there is something to be said about a post apocalyptic book where characters are responsible for recreating the world as they once knew it. Senku is a briliant high school scientist so while surviving 3000+ years post their original time they sort of have an advantage. Because of this, the series seems to have a strong scientific element. I wouldn't be intimidated by this simply because even as a person that doesn't particularly like or follow science very well I found it to be engaging. The artwork was great and there were a few funny moments. There is also the introduction of a morally grey character which I'm loving. It makes you think: "if you had the ability to save the world would you save everyone? Or would you only save those who you deem to go 'good?'" I loveeeeee when books regardless of target audience or format challenge readers to answer such questions. There are no easy answers and it's interesting to see how the cast of characters handles these scenarios. Definitely check out this manga!

[Elizabeth (Elzburg) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

In a nutshell, Dr. Stone is a story about how two high school boys deal with the entirety of the human race being miraculously turned into stone. The phenomenon happens one day just as one of them is on the cusp of confessing to the girl they like. In this first volume the cause of the new stone age is not yet revealed, so if you’re not someone who can just go with the flow and not question too many things, this story might not gel with you too well. That being said, one of the characters is a scientific savant and says a lot of things that have actual scientific backup, so that might be enough to quell your worries.

This was an overall enjoyable read, but there isn’t much that’s special about it. I could see how one of the lead boys and the antagonist could be seen as interesting characters to some people, but I myself don’t think too much of them. The only remarkable thing about the manga is the art. It is quite nice, and to my fancy. You can see a bit of it in this review’s banner. This manga is full of super detailed backgrounds, and the characters are also drawn very nicely. If you’re going to read this I’d recommend picking up the physical copy rather than the e-book because there are a lot of double page spreads. Like, at least (but sometimes more than) one per chapter.

I’m hoping more interesting things happen in the future. There’s a definite conflict set up with the antagonist, so it’s not like what’s going to happen next is in the dark or anything, it’s just that I don’t care about said conflict with said antagonist. I really just don’t. This is still kind of fun to read though, for some reason. I also want there to be either A) more prominent female characters who actually do things, or, B) for the current girl to stop being the equivalent of a potato sack.

Please give this review a "Like" if you've made it this far, and follow me if you want more!

[Starlah · Rating 4 out of 5]

i watched the entire first season on the anime first and i think because i did, i came into this manga already knowing the tone and vibe of it. this story is very over-the-top, almost like a caricature of characters, and i think if you lean into that and understand that's what this is doing - that there is a plot but it's very exaggerated for comedy - you could enjoy it more. i very much did. i loved all the science in it. i love the characters. very excited to continue with the manga and for season two of the anime coming in 2021.

[Mr. Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the art. Love the crazy expressions. Love the humor. Love the pacing. Love the science. Love the action. Love the morality. Book 2, where are you?

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was so good!

Re-reading one of my fav mangas now that its over finally, so we pick up with Senku rising in this post apocalyptic nightmare when all the world is petrified aka turned to stone and we don't know the reasons behind it, but we see the state of the world and the events leading upto it and how Senku and his friend Taiju go on to save the world, their crazy inventions and all and how they save the world one step at a time but what happens when they revive another person Tsukasa and what are his ulterior motives in this stone age? Plus Taiju's love Yuzuriha and all of their crazy antics and what they lead to!

Its a crazy good volume and I love the sequence of events and its very fun and out there and does well to show the drama and tension but how calm the lead is and using the power of science to restore civilization and does well to give him an enemy in this brawn guy so yeah its pure fun, plus you get to learn so much stuff! Plus the art by Boichi is super good!

[Victor The Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting apocalyptic story that starts out of nowhere as for unknown reasons, the whole population of the Earth is turned into stone. However, two survivors manage to escape their petrified states a few millenniums later: Self proclaimed science genius Senku and his hopeless romantic buddy Taiju whose true love is also one of the stoned. Together, they must try to survive their new home and find other survivors. Slow start, but the two main characters keep it exciting as I wait to see how their adventure will grow. A- (91%/Excellent)

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting... not at all what I was expecting.

[Mahdiye HajiHosseini · Rating 3 out of 5]

سخت‌گیر بودم میتونست چهار ستاره هم باشه.

یه مقداری ارتباط گرفتن باهاش سخته در ابتدا ولی توی جلد کاملا روند صعودیش واضحه. و تا وقتی به انتها رسید کامل طنزشو درک کردم هر چند هنوز یه کم دیگه جا داره تا واقعا عالی بدونم فرم طنزشو اما لذت بخش بود حتی با اینکه یه کم زیادی کمیکاله اتفاقات و روابط و این خیلی پسند من نیست.
حماقت تاجو واقعا ستودنی و کیوته XD
انیمه رو ندیدم و احتمالا تو مدیای انیمه راحت تر بشه باهاش ارتباط گرفت.
طراحی شخصیت‌هارو هم دوست ندارم و توی این جلد هم بهشون عادت نکردم. امیدوارم برای جلدهای بعدی بهتر شه.

[Mhari Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good! I am reading it with my oldest daughter and she loves it also. I love the setting, the plot, and the characters are interesting and relatable. I love all the science references! This may end up being one of my favorite mangas.

[Rereader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, here's the deal.

I originally read this when it was released in the US in 2018, and I gave it a pretty scathing review. I decided to give this series a second chance, just to see if my feelings have changed. The short answer is, yes they have for the better.

In hindsight, while some of my original complaints still stand (we'll discuss those in a bit), I do think I was too critical of this first volume. Is it perfect? No. Is it entertaining? Yes. With those simple questions out of the way, here are my thoughts on this volume.

The artwork is stunning and the art style is funny and engaging. Boichi really puts his all in making detailed scenery and character traits and it shows. For a science manga, this artwork is incredible and I look forward to seeing more of it. The story is also interesting and the science facts are so complex that you feel lost and I'm amazed that I didn't feel like the exposition dumps were intrusive. Inagaki struck a good balance between story-telling and exposition and I hope it continues as the series goes on.

When I first reviewed this series, I said that the weakest element was the characters. Upon reread, the biggest change in my opinion is that I ADORE Senku. He's a science nerd, but isn't the stereotypical "nerd with glasses who speaks in complex sentences to reinforce how smart he is". He's just a really fucking smart kid who's also funny, energetic, and slightly charismatic. That being said, Senku's is obviously the best out of the three, which isn't difficult because Taiju and Yuzuriha barely count as characters. Taiju, I swear, repeats the same phrases OVER AND OVER as if readers couldn't figure out how stupid he is from the second chapter. Yuzuriha is slightly better, but she's also not that smart and is just nice. It actually makes me wonder why these three are friends because they seem to have zero common interests. Not that you have to have common interests to be friends, but their friendship just doesn't seem natural.

I feel bad for being so harsh on this first volume the first time I read it, so I'm rectifying that now. I had a lot of fun rereading this and am pumped to continue with the series!

[Nerdy Werewolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We're in the realm of the fantastic, here. Are they stone through-and-through, or are their cells intact?"

What a fun read!! It read just like an anime (shocker, I know)!

The characters were hilarious exaggerations of everything. Of the people we meet, we have a snarky science-y whiz kid, a dumb jock and a teenager made for smashing things. Take those concepts and turn them up to 11, and that's closer to what you get here.

The premise is great and even though they immediately used the tried-and-true friend-turned-mortal-enemy trope, it was definitely a lovely experience. Also, I felt a lot like I was being shouted at...a lot. I didn't mind, though. Think Naruto's energy. It's kind of like that.

I might read more of these. I haven't decided yet.

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm here for Senku's facial expressions!

I've been on a reading slump for 2 days now and I've been itching to binge-read series. I've tried so many titles only to stop after a few pages because I can't feel it! And then finally! I remembered that it's on my currently-reading shelf! I forgot to finish it because I was so high on JJK that time! Augh! Finally, I'm so excited to finish this series! I miss Senku and the gang! I didn't finish the animated series because I want to see the manga first—and here I am now!!

Part of me felt sad for Tsukasa, but it is indeed wrong to wipe out all of the old population because of one adult's mistake. Tsukasa's character reminded me of Thanos. And some debate in years back in my first-year college, about a car (unstoppable), crashing, and choosing whether to kill off your loved one (left) or killing a bunch of people (right) or something like that, also from a Harvard debate we watched in class. There are a bunch of examples. Augh, to go back to good ol' days. I know kind of ridiculous to choose as a parallel of, but the point is—the license to kill and the morality in murder. Which is outrageous but an idea to ponder on, I think, but yes, I can see Thanos and Tsukasa's perspective. We gotta respect that even though we disagree with them at all.

And thinking about that, I realized that Senku's personality is also familiar, I just couldn't point out before which is it. Now, I recognized it. It was Tony Stark!! Man, now I'm really in for the series. I love the characters here so dearly, so I'm definitely binging it.

I dunno about people saying it isn't accessible or relatable or something, but for me, it is indeed a fun read. I don't know about science but I'm amazed at Senku's brain and how he just lay out all the fricken possibilities like he's simply chopping garlic. The hell with that brain! I want that. (Yea, he was too harsh on Taiju, but it's their character and it's only beginning people. That's why there are character arcs. Hello, anybody home? But, let's see how it will turn out in the later volumes tho...) DON'T YOU FREAKING SPOIL ME, OKAY? THANK YOU.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had nothing other than a bias against anime/manga going into this book, but i was very pleasantly surprised. (For whatever reason the art styles set me on edge...) While I could do without all the over the top reactions, I thought the story well told and the characters engaging. The artwork, detailed black and white, and seems to fit the rustic new world setting. I am interested seeing how things play out in the next volume, but can wait for a sale.

3.5 stars rounded to 4.

[Jessica {Litnoob} · Rating 4 out of 5]

On my brothers recommendation of this anime I decided I would pick up this manga and damn I’m glad I did. This was equal parts funny and serious, science and fantasy, and really interesting over all. Humanity was wiped out in a blink and two guys who clearly should not be in charge of revival are still up to the task. Would totally recommend and will be continuing myself as well.

[kaitlphere · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enthusiastic survival story about basic scientific ingredients and friendship. Some of the illustrations made me laugh out loud and I learned a few things about calcium carbonate (seashells!) and preserving meat.

[Muffinsandbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

J’ai trouvé l’histoire originale et addictive, vraiment intéressante ! J’ai aussi beaucoup ri et j’ai adoré les personnages ! Bref, une bonne lecture 😊

[IzamaRi H. Fabela · Rating 5 out of 5]

RESEÑA EN EL BLOG ➜ http://bit.ly/2ZhDier

Taiju no es el chico más listo de la escuela pero es sin duda uno de los más fuertes y poseedor de un enorme e inocente corazón que ha estado latiendo por cinco años por Yuzuriha, una bella y tierna chica con la que asiste al colegio y a la cual por fin ha decidido declararse. Pero justo cuando Taiju está apunto de confesar su amor, un destello aparece de la nada. Un destello que convierte inmediatamente a todos los humanos en piedra.

Así, con los humanos convertidos en estatuas pasan milenios de años en los cuales Taiju ha estado batallando para no perder la conciencia pues está decidido a declarar su amor, y es así cuando de pronto emerge de la piedra solo para descubrir que la humanidad sigue convertida en piedra. Pero él no está solo pues Senku, su extraño y muy inteligente amigo también ha despertado y juntos tendrán que averiguar la formulara para despertar a la humanidad de su prisión de piedra.
Aquel día todas las personas del mundo... ¡se transformaron en piedra!
Si fuera por mí, para esta reseña sólo escribiría una palabra: asombroso.
Y es que al terminar este primer tomo sólo podía pensar eso una y otra vez mientras me volvía loca y buscaba información sobre el manga en internet. Debo decirles que ya no estoy tan actualizada con los animes y mangas que están de moda en Japón (porque me hago vieja y de algo debo de vivir xD) así que no sabía nada, pero absolutamente nada de este manga, de hecho solicité el ejemplar a Panini únicamente por mera curiosidad y no saben lo feliz que estoy de haberlo hecho porque he encontrado en él una historia INCREIBLE con dos personajes de verdad asombrosos.

Dejando mi fangirleo aparte, Dr. Stone comienza con una premisa demasiado fuerte, donde vemos el fin de la humanidad tras un extraño destello que ahora sí que deja a todos de piedra (inserte aquí redoble de tambores, por favor). Ya que esto pasa prácticamente en el primer capítulo primero pensé que todo era muy precipitado pero al seguir leyendo comprendí que esto es solo el inicio y que la verdadera historia radica en nuestros personajes tratando de salvar a la humanidad y tratando de comenzar desde cero a ser lo que una vez fue la tierra.
Soy bastante fan de los mundos apocalípticos así que al ver uno muy bien construido que además tiene una base un tanto científica me ha encantado y sin lugar a duda espero que en los próximos tomos podamos explorar más de este nuevo mundo.


De los protagonistas principales solo puedo decir cosas buenas. Tenemos por un lado a Taiju, un chico bastante fuerte pero no muy inteligente. Pero eso sí, lo que le falta de seso lo compensa con su generosidad y es que el chico es pura inocencia. Por el otro lado está Senku, un chico más bien bastante cínico pero poseedor de una inteligencia asombrosa. La mezcla entre ambos protagonistas es perfecta pues entre ellos se complementan a la perfección.

Creo que dejaré la reseña por aquí, pero estén seguros que regresaré con la reseña de los siguientes tomos.

[Abdollah zarei · Rating 3 out of 5]

بخاطر کیفیت طراحی و کادربندی بهش 3 می دم وگرنه داستان اونقدرا پیش نرفت و هدف خاصی رو دنبال نمی کرد

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

super addictive, if you like the question 'WHATS HE GONNA MAKE NEXT IN THE STONE AGE?' and the answer sometimes being something like 'hes bringing ramen back'. I read the whole thing in a week. senku is like a nicer hiruma from es21 but he's so perfect he has nowhere to grow which is why eyeshield remains my fav of inagaki's writing. this one's p funny tho

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I thought the manga hair was great in this, the characters were so beyond annoying - I couldn't deal with the "I'm the science one" "I'm the murder one" etc., and the endurance guy... jfc I don't think he stopped screaming the entire book! It was like if you were hanging out with your friends, and someone said they were hungry, so you launch into "YOU'RE HUNGRY?! HOW CAN THIS BE?! I WILL SOLVE THIS - I WILL COOK FOR YOU!! I AM THE COOKING FRIEND!! YOU WILL NEVER BE MALNOURISHED FOR WITH MY PANS AND POTS I WILL COOK FOR YOU ALL OF MY DAYS!! I PLEDGE THIS TO YOU, BECAUSE I AM THE COOKING FRIEND!!!" it was just so, SO annoying that I really don't care about the rest of the story.

[Mert · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 Stars (%80/100)

Everyone on the Earth is turned into stone by a mysterious light. The story revolves around our protagonist called Senku İshigami who is a genius and very knowledgable about science. When he is unpetrified, he tries to survive in order to unpetrify every human being on the Earth. What Dr. Stone does best is to present very complex science stuff in a very a fun way so even if you are not fan of science, you still remember many things. Senku's character is brilliant and also his conflict between Tsukasa is very interesting. Definitely a good read, and also the anime is brilliant.

Manga chapters 1-7

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dr. STONE, Vol. 1 has a creative premise and some fun science elements, but it didn’t really click with me. The characters felt a bit one-dimensional, though I get that the exaggerated personalities are part of the genre’s charm.

I can see the appeal for others, especially younger readers or fans of fast-paced adventure, but it wasn’t quite what I’m looking for in a story. I wasn’t drawn in by the artwork either. While it’s certainly energetic, the style felt overly intense and not to my taste.

[Shae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is definitely one that has a new angle to it.
Each character is thoughtfully planned out, and plays their role in the story. They are all individual, and unique in the roll that they play. (Though some of these traits fall into other manga tropes.)
I am now very invested in what is going to happen to these teens. You can expect me to pick up more of this story soon.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I watched the anime till episode 10 then moved quickly to mangas and start reading them from the very first one.
I really didn't expect it to be this good.

I felt I'm a student at our amazing physics lab again. (though most of them are related to chem lab!) :))

[Jose · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun story with a lot of science. The art is weird in some aspects, but it also has its fun moments.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

The anime follows this almost exactly so I wish I had read this first.

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume lays the groundwork nicely. The art in this book is magnificent. While I enjoyed the story, I’m hopeful that it will improve with time. I’m looking forward to reading the next volume.

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taiju is a high school student on his way to confess his feelings to Yuzuriha. However, just before he does it, there's a huge flash of light and a wave of something that transforms every person and animal it hits into stone. Most lose consciousness during this transformation, but Taiju stubbornly clings to his desire to protect Yuzuriha and finally tell her how he feels. Approximately 3,690 years later, he somehow breaks free only to find the whole world overgrown and filled with statues rather than people. Some were broken over time, but luckily Yuzuriha is still whole.

Taiju soon encounters Senku, his best friend and the smartest person he knows. Senku broke free several months earlier and has begun his plans to rebuild civilization from scratch. He's limited in what he can do on his own, though, and Taiju happily becomes the brawn to his brains. After Senku discovers a way to revive petrified people (but only those who haven't been broken to pieces over time), he and Taiju use their new knowledge to revive a couple people. Unfortunately, one of them, Tsukasa Shishio, believes that only some people deserve to be revived. He's more than strong enough to force Senku and the others to follow his lead, but Senku has science on his side.

Even before Taiju was revived, Senku managed to create a few basic tools, build a tree house, create pottery, find food that's safe to eat, and extract salt from seawater (for flavoring and preserving food). With Taiju taking over all the most physical work, Senku had time to concentrate on testing different methods for reviving people (starting with petrified birds as test subjects). After that, it's time to get some calcium carbonate, something that will help with several parts of Senku's ultimate plan to rebuild civilization.

While reading this, I couldn't help but think of isekai with female protagonists. Granted, this had way more shouting, muscles, and nudity (with strategically-placed greenery) than a lot of those series, but Senku's plans to recreate the world he used to live in reminded me a lot of the ways those heroines would try to recreate foods and personal hygiene products from their worlds. In Senku's case, it's looking like the first big thing he's going to work on, now that he's able to revive people, is weaponry. To be fair, he has a good reason, but I couldn't help but laugh that the cooking aspect of "rebuilding civilization" was (so far) limited to smoking meats/fish and seasoning them with salt extracted from seawater.

My library has volume 2 as well, so I'll be seeing at least a bit of where this goes now that the basic premise has been established. At this point, I have lots of questions I'm not sure will ever get answered like: Did this affect the whole world? If so, how did some of the animals keep from getting petrified? Maybe I'm thinking too much, but I've heard a bunch of positive things about the science in this series, so I don't think it's out of line to ask questions.

Extras:

Brief notes from both the author and illustrator, and a short side story in which Taiju attempts to make pottery and ends up with something that looks like a pile of poop instead.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)