One of the current most popular anime series is Dr. Stone, which is currently heading towards its season 3 finale. It, like many other hit anime series, is considered shōnen - meaning it targets young boys as its audience. But according to the show's creators, Dr. Stone isn't like those other shōnen projects.

At Anime NYC, Popverse recently had a chance to chat with Dr. Stone director Shuhei Matsushita, producer Shusuke Katagiri, and character designer Yuko Iwasa, and a previous interview with the Dr. Stone manga editor regarding the manga was cited. This interview 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 creative team told Popverse's Sam Stone. “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.”

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.

What do you think - is Dr. Stone a classic shōnen, or is it different from others in the genre?

Come back later this week for our full Dr. Stone interview.

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