Dr. Stone gets a Terraforming sequel anime less than four months after its final season ended

Dr. Stone's anime ended its fourth and final season on June 25, 2026. At the STONE FES. 2026 event, reported by Anime Corner on October 10, a sequel was announced: Dr. STONE TERRAFORMING. The final season stayed final for three and a half months.

Original author Riichiro Inagaki got there first. In a comment for the event, he wrote that the anime had made it all the way to the last chapter of the manga, that he had been deeply moved, and yet there was still more. Then he added that this finale event being the finale was a lie too, and that that kind of lie was more than welcome.

A sequel built on one chapter

Anime Corner describes Terraforming as a sequel story included in volume 27 of the manga. Wikipedia gives its size. It is a single additional chapter, "Dr. Stone: Terraforming", published on July 4, 2022, the same day as the 26th volume, four months after the main series ended.

• The main manga: 232 chapters in Weekly Shōnen Jump, March 6, 2017 to March 7, 2022, collected in 26 volumes.
• Terraforming: one chapter, July 4, 2022.
• Dr. Stone: 4D Science: a three-chapter spin-off set after the finale, November 6 to December 25, 2023.
• Volume 27: released April 4, 2024, collecting Terraforming and 4D Science.
• Reboot: Byakuya: a separate nine-chapter spin-off from 2019, collected in one volume.

The new anime is described as adapting Terraforming. A whole production from one chapter means either a short project or a lot of new material. Neither the format nor the length has been announced.

How long the anime took to finish

The TV adaptation by TMS Entertainment ran for almost seven years:

• Season 1 (2019): 24 episodes, from July 2019.
• Stone Wars (2021): 11 episodes, focused on the conflict between the Kingdom of Science and Tsukasa's Empire of Might.
• Ryusui (2022): a special introducing Ryusui Nanami.
• New World (2023): 22 episodes in two cours, covering the Treasure Island arc.
• Science Future (2025 to 2026): 37 episodes in three cours, January to March 2025, July to September 2025 and April to June 2026.

That is 94 regular episodes plus one special, 95 in total. Science Future was announced as the fourth and final season immediately after New World ended, and it did close out the manga's story. The word "final" applied to the main plot, not to the franchise.

Where it started

The premise is simple. In June 2019, a mysterious green flash turns apparently all of humanity to stone. In April 5738, 3,719 years later, 15-year-old prodigy Senku Ishigami wakes into a world where every trace of civilization has eroded away, and sets out to rebuild it with science, starting with the nitric acid that turns out to make revival possible.

The first season, directed by Shinya Iino with scripts by Yuichiro Kido and character designs by Yuko Iwasa, aired from July 5 to December 13, 2019, on Tokyo MX. The story begins in June 2019; the anime premiered a month later.

The franchise has a habit of announcing the next season at the end of the last one. Season 2 was announced after the season 1 finale, and Science Future straight after New World. Terraforming broke the pattern: it was announced three and a half months after the finale, at a separate event.

What the creators said

Artist Boichi thanked everyone at the event and watching the stream, and said he was truly happy to share the news. TV character designer Yuko Iwasa drew a commemorative illustration. An announcement trailer features newly recorded dialogue from Senku.

Inagaki's comment ended with a request: to watch over Senku and the others' science for just a little while longer. "Just a little while" fits a sequel based on one chapter.

Why the franchise keeps going

• Circulation: over 20 million copies by March 2026, per Wikipedia.
• Awards: the manga won the 64th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category.
• English edition: Viz Media published all 26 main volumes by July 2023 and the 27th on June 3, 2025.
• Studio: TMS Entertainment made all four seasons. Who is making Terraforming has not been confirmed.

What is still unknown

• The format. TV series, special or film: nothing has been said.
• The length, and whether 4D Science, collected in the same volume, is included.
• The studio and staff, beyond Iwasa's illustration and the new Senku dialogue in the trailer.
• A release date. There is none yet.

Science Future was announced as Dr. Stone's final season and finished the manga's story in June. In October, the author called that a welcome lie, and the next anime will be built on a single chapter.