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I am surprised that there have been no reviews yet, especially from the fans of Dowman Sayman. I think this manga is one of the best of Dowman Sayman's works, on the level of Voynich Hotel.

This review may contain minor spoilers, but I won't reveal anything major.

You might have heard of an English movie called 'Melancholia', which came out in 2011. In a nutshell, is the story of two sisters and their lives when they discover that Earth is going to collide with a massive planet called Melancholia. Replace the sisters with a huge cast of characters, and swap 'planet' with 'comet', and you get ... the basic setting for the manga. I haven't seen the movie, but as far as I can tell it revolves heavily around depression, which is much different from the manga.

Story: 9/10
The story is subdivided into many short stories, which all seem independent at first, but start merging together towards the end. This is kinda similar to Voynich Hotel, but the stories being intertwined is not evident from the start. I would rate the independent short stories at the beginning 8/10, but towards the end the story just gets so much better and interesting. In the climax we see each story culminating towards the ending, and it is very satisfying.

Art: 8/10
Dowman Sayman's art style is very simplistic. However, I would say that it does the job very well for such an abstract light-hearted-but-not-really story. Now, I am not someone who judges a series heavily based on art (I am more of a story and characters guy) so giving it an 8 would be appropriate.

Character: 9/10
All of Sayman's manga are heavily character driven, this one being no exception. We have got a wide ensemble of characters: child chess prodigies, guys fascinated with Rube Goldberg machines (which are pretty cool imo), hikikomoris, talking cats, tsuchinoko, aliens, hitmen, policemen, manga artists, gamers, superheroes, vampires, mermaids, eccentric people, insane people, lovesick people. There's also a guest appearance from the maids of the Voynich Hotel. This might seem overwhelming for 26 chapters, but it works out very well. All characters have a conclusively ending story arc. Also, the characters which are recurring do undergo some sort of development. I wont go into the details, as they may be spoilery, but if you enjoyed the characters from Voynich Hotel or Nickeodeon, you will certainly enjoy this manga.

Enjoyment: 10/10
Enjoyment is something I hold in high regards while rating a manga (yes I am not really a critic). And all chapters of this manga, especially the end chapters, were thoroughly enjoyable. Easily 10/10 for enjoyment.

Overall: 9/10

If you enjoyed Dowman Sayman's other works, I highly recommend giving this manga a read.

Dr. Stone is a very unique manga. Not just because of it's unique premise and setting, but also because of the unique storytelling technique.

Story: 9/10
At first glance, the story may look simple (ie, good vs bad, standard shonen) but go into a little bit of depth and you realize that the overarching plot isn't what makes Dr. Stone enjoyable. After the first arc, which is a good introductory arc, the story shifts narrative. Each of the later arcs have a definite end goal (except a few). And, to achieve each outlandish and seemingly impossible end goal, the characters work, fight, and slowly but surely, ... mature. So, I think that Dr. Stone should be viewed and enjoyed as a semi-episodic manga, where the different methods they use, paths they take and the fun they have while achieving the goal is the main focus, not the advancement towards the overarching story. or the 'deep philosophy'. And, there's also lots of foreshadowing, which is always good.

Art: 10/10
Boichi.... do I need to say anything else. Well, this is a review, so of course I do. Boichi is definitely a master artist. Sure, a weekly manga has taken its toll, and the art is not as good as what you see in, say, Sun-ken Rock. But still, it is very well done. Also, Boichi pulls of the humorous faces perfectly. But I am not really an art connoisseur, so I shouldn't say much.

Character: 7/10
This is where Dr. Stone takes a hit. The episodic narrative of Dr. Stone doesn't allow for a lot of character development. However, I still think Dr. Stone handles most of its characters in a good way. Each character is unique and provides an interesting contribution to the story. My favourite characters are Ryusui and Chrome. The first is a 'charismatic and leader-like' stereotype, and the second is, surprisingly, a 'standard shonen protagonist' stereotype: humble beginnings but a ton of character development. In that sense, I like to think of Senkuu as the 'aged master' of Chrome, and I have a feeling that Chrome is set to surpass Senkuu in the future.

Now, let's talk of a character that I don't like: Tsukasa. Tsukasa is a character that doesn't fit into the narrative of Dr. Stone. He sets a philosophical background of the story, and hence serves as a villain on a moral basis. Howewer, not only is he a bad villain (his philosophy is pretty crazy, and I doubt anyone agrees with it), but also he is an inappropriate one to the story. This is because to defeat such a morally ambiguous villain, you need the infamous 'Talk-no-Jutsu', and this really doesn't fit well with manga that are like Dr. Stone. The villain in the second major arc is much better: he is simple, and yet is mysterious and scary.

Enjoyment: 9/10
Like I said, the story is extremely enjoyable once you look past Tsukasa's bs and focus on the episodic narrative.

Overall: 9/10

This is, in my opinion the best anime of this year. The characters are excellent, the story is engrossing, and overall if you are looking for a slightly off-beat anime, this is the one for you.

Firstly, each character has a deep backstory. In each ark, the MC explores the reasons behind the strange supernatural occurrences that happen to each character and tries to resolve them. The attention to detail is also very good. Like that scene where Mai gets a phone call while in Sakuta's house and Kaede suddenly starts getting uneasy, referencing her past with the puberty syndrome.

I didn't like the music so much, ... but the story and the characters make up for it. That is why I am giving it a 9.