Where to start the Dr. Stone manga after season 4 part 1, explained

Following the conclusion of the first part of the anime’s fourth and final season last week, fans are desperate to learn where to start the Dr. Stone manga series following this point. Although the series will quickly return in July 2025 with the second cour of its final season, some don’t want to wait that long and would rather finish the series before then.

However, some are apprehensive about making this switch due to the act of figuring out exactly where to start the manga being understandably overwhelming. Thankfully, the answer to where to start the manga following the end of season 4 part 1 is very simple and straightforward. After watching season 4 part 1, fans can begin the original Dr. Stone manga series at chapter 170, which marks the start of the South America Arc.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the manga/anime.

Dr. Stone manga neatly begins a new arc immediately after the point season 4 part 1 ended at

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As mentioned above, fans looking to start the Dr. Stone manga series after fully watching season 4 part 1 can begin with chapter 170. This is also the start of the South America Arc, which fans saw season 4 episode 12 tease via protagonist Senku Ishigami’s ending dialogue about his group’s next moves. As Senku also specified in the anime, Stanley Snyder and his forces will be chasing Senku and co to rescue Dr. Xeno Houston Wingfield from them.

Thankfully, fans also have no reason to reread the New America City Arc outside of simply wanting to experience its manga version. This is due to the fact that TMS Entertainment fully adapted the arc throughout the last few episodes of season 3 and the entirety of season 4. In other words, fans have all the information they need to dive right into the South America Arc, with rereading of events the anime already covered not being necessary here.

However, fans would be remiss in not knowing how much of the Dr. Stone manga they’ll have left once they begin the South America Arc. In terms of the mainline series alone, author Riichiro Inagaki and illustrator Boichi’s original manga series has 232 total chapters. As mentioned above, the South America Arc begins at chapter 170, giving fans just 63 chapters total to read including 170 itself.

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The South America Arc is also the longest of the manga’s remaining story arcs from chapter 170, numbering 24 chapters in total. This is significant as some fans looking to switch to the original manga series may have a desire to do so out of assuming there’s much more left than there actually is. While the anime has marketed its fourth season as its last, the clarification of it being three cours may have misled fans on how much source material is left.

As for where to read the original manga series, there are two options that stand out as the best paths to take. The first is signing up for Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ platform, which has all 232 chapters of the mainline series, plus its bonus epilogue chapters and the spinoff focused on Byakuya Ishigami. The other option is to purchase the physical manga compilation volumes, with the full mainline series available in English and its epilogue chapters coming in June 2025.

In summation

Senku and co head to South America in hopes of finding the answers behind the Petrification to start the beginning of the Dr. Stone manga's end (Image via TMS Entertainment)

Fans looking to start the Dr. Stone manga series after watching the first 12 episodes of the fourth and final season can begin with chapter 170. This is the start of the South America Arc, which is the arc that quickly begins pushing the series towards its end by nature of what Senku and co discover on the titular continent.

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About the author

Joseph has been working as an anime content specialist for Sportskeeda since the past 2.5 years. Primarily covering his core genre, he also contributes to popular culture writing news stories and cult classic features on older series.

Joseph holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Delaware, United States. His love of anime, combined with his background in literature, influenced his interest in engaging readers through the written word. He maintains complete accuracy in his content by verifying each and every piece of information regardless of how long it takes, and ensure that the output is impartial and free of bias.

Chainsaw Man, One Piece, Berserk, Undead Unluck, Re:ZERO, Tower of God, Jujutsu Kaisen, Inuyasha, and Fire Punch are some of Joseph’s favorite animanga. His exposure to 4kids' Sonic X series, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Dragon Ball Z on Toonami fueled his enthusiasm for the medium.

When not dissecting anime plots, Joseph likes to cook, play games, work on cars, browse new music, and watch pro wrestling, especially AEW. He also enjoys ocean-based activities - beach trips, fishing, swimming and watersports.

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Edited by Joseph Brogan