Dr. Stone, reboot: Byakuya

by Boichi, Riichiro Inagaki (original creator), Cecilia Serrano (translator)

¡¡La humanidad entera ha sido petrificada!! Los únicos supervivientes son los seis astronautas que en ese momento se encontraban en órbita, por lo que uno de ellos, Byakuya, se embarca en una misión para regresar a Japón y salvar a la humanidad. ¡¡El spin-off de Dr. Stone que relata la historia de Byakuya, el padre de Senku!!

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction, Shonen, Comics, Graphic Novels, Sequential Art, Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2020

About the author

Intending to be a manga artist from his childhood days, majored in physics in college as preparation to draw science fiction works, and also to learn the technology of performance and imaging, went on to graduate school to major in image technology.

In 1993, while still enrolled, debuted in a Korean shoujo manga magazine. Since then, he gained popularity releasing a number of works and publishing books on how to draw manga targeting a wide range of reader.

In 2004 he stepped into the world of Japanese manga. His “Ultimate Space Emperor Caesar”, serialized in Monthly “Comic Gum”, was his first tankōbon in Japan.

In 2005, 9 out of Boichi’s 11 hentai one-shot serialized in Comic Aun were reunited under the volume titled “Lover in Winter”.

In 2006, he released two science fiction one-shot, “Hotel” and “Present” which, in 2008, were compiled in a volume titled Hotel along the other one-shots “It was all for the tuna”, “Stephanos” and “Diadem”.

2006 is the year of Boichi’s first serialized manga: “Sun Ken Rock” in the bi-weekly magazine Young King. This manga will also have a side-story based on Yumin in 2011 and one based on Pickaxe in 2012. 2012 will also see the serialization of “I want to feed Yumin”, another spin-off of Sun Ken Rock based on Yumin and serialized in “Monthly Young King”.

Boichi also worked on a 5 volume long manga titled Raqiya and written by Masao Yajima where he was in charge of the art and published in 2009. He also only did the art of the Brutality one-shot by Takeda Yuusuke in 2007.

In later 2011, he started the serialization of another manga titled “H.E the hunt for energy” in a new monthly magazine: Jump X. In this year, he won the Gran Guinigi prize for “It was all for the Tuna”.

To express his sentiment towards Vietnam and apologize for Korea’s action during the war, Sun Ken Rock volume 2′s royalties were donated to the humanitarian organization “Child of Viet Nam”. He asked Korean manga artists to contribute towards drawing a support page for Japan in regards to 2011′s big earthquake, and giving the royalties from the proceeding to the Red Cross. He also donated the money he planned to use to buy a new car towards helping tsunami victims.

Reviews

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was phenomenal! Astounding writing and art by Boichi!!! 😭 This is edited by Inagaki Riichiro even though the story and art are by Boichi! But this side-story is still compelling!!! 😭

[Geoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way too overly dramatic in the Dragon Ball / yu-gi-oh way, and treats science as a motivation rather than an experimental process, but it's got some entertaining engineering and a robot you can really root for. Not gripping enough for me to want to explore the main series.

**Thanks to the artist, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Agnese Rosengren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Questo spin-off mi è piaciuto molto e non nego che stessi per scoppiare in lacrime non appena ho terminato la lettura, quindi direi che mi ha davvero emozionata.
Ho però tolto una stella perché non mi aspettavo una storia del genere (molto bella, assolutamente, ma mi ha un po' spiazzata) e soprattutto il fatto che le aleggi intorno questo alone di mistero del tipo “ma è successa davvero questa cosa oppure no?”. Diciamo che se avessero canonizzato il tutto avrei dato cinque stelle, non lo nego. Il fatto che questo reboot rimanga tale, e che quindi non aggiunga effettivamente qualcosa (di canonico) alla serie principale mi fa fare un piccolissimo passo indietro, ecco.
Ma in generale l'ho apprezzato tantissimo, infatti la mia valutazione rimane comunque alta. E Rei ha tutto il mio cuore.

[agajae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rei is so cute aw

[Fernanda Díaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A robot made me cry, 10/10 would recommend

[sylvya_from_asgard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emozionante, ha il perfetto spirito di un'opera sci-fi ed i disegni del maestro Boichi sono spettacolari come sempre.

[fer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realmente me gustó mucho este tomo. Sinceramente, al principio pensé que solo iba a tratarse de Byakuya y su plan para volver a la Tierra, pero luego crean una trama en la que Rei (el robot construido por Byakuya) se queda en la Estación Internacional para cuidarla. Nunca imaginé que iba a sentir triste por un “robot”. EN FIN, ¡LO AMÉ MUCHO! 😭😭🛰️

[Sol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boichi really, really loves that Hotel story of his huh? He drew it twice with slightly different details, now he does a similar sort of concept for Dr. Stone, with an experimental AI, Rei, left behind in the ISS when its crew returned to Earth. Believing that Byakuya entrusted the ISS to her so that he can one day return, Rei goes to extraordinary lengths to keep the station functioning, and extends herself far beyond her original parameters.



It's a moving enough story, especially since in this iteration of the concept, we have some emotional connection to Byakuya and Senku, the two people Rei wishes to meet. There's also some pathos in that we know Byakuya never intended to return to Rei at all, and Senku doesn't believe she still exists. Rei was willing to die waiting for Byakuya, but what will she think if she finds out he gave up on her from the start? I don't think there's any chance she's the Whyman, mostly because she'd have no need to relocate to the moon, and she could already speak even before she started transforming herself.



It's not even entirely clear if this'll end up being canon to the main series. The fact that it called back to the moment where Byakuya saw the ISS while dying in the river suggests it might, and the main story introducing AI with Whyman on the moon also lends it some weight. The idea that Chrome would completely forget to ever mention that chart of light pulses he made is just a little too convenient, though. Is this specifically why they haven't had Chrome learn how to read yet?



That's not even taking the frozen space dragon into account. Still, with the main series leaning more into the fiction part of science fiction, there's a decent chance.

2021 edit: lol

[Marta Montell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sospechaba que lloraría y... no me equivoqué.

Este "historieta" nos cuenta el punto de vista de Byakuya y la tripulación, que a pesar que ya sabemos detalles gracias a la historia original, aquí nos amplia al detalle y nos presenta un personaje nuevo: Rei, un robot la mar de entrañable.

Me gusta mucho como está hilvanado todo para que concuerde con la historia original, desconozco si más adelante volverá a conectarse (para saber más sobre Rei) yo espero que sí, al menos, ni que sea un cameo ;__;


Y que decir de Byakuya, no puedo quererle más T__T Menudas puñaladas tiene este manga (aunque muchas de las escenas son muy épicas <3)

PD: SENKU T____T

[Ian Morando · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10 porque los primeros capítulos son un poco lentos. Más allá de eso, me pareció excelente, sobre todo por el nivel de detalle en la información utilizada, la cual es muy compleja. Además, a nivel emocional, hubo momentos donde casi se me cae una lagrimita por el último gran robot, Rei.
No voy a entrar en detalle para no ¨spoilear¨, pero coincido completamente con las palabras del Dr. Soyeon Li (consultante al que acudió Boichi).
No esperaba mucho del tomo por ser un spin-off, pero me terminó gustando más que algunos volúmenes de la serie original.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 This was a cute little spin off volume about Senku's dad Byakuya and a robot that he made named Rei. The first few chapters are slow and rehash how Byakuya and his crew made it back to earth. Not bad but nothing new. The remainder of the volume is a bittersweet story about how Rei the robot was left in space and told to wait for Byakuya to return. Which we all knew was never going to happen after humanity turned to stone. It was a fun little spin off written by Boichi (the illustrater for the series). I enjoyed it.

Byakuya and Rei on the cover of this one shot.

Read 10/9/2024

[Ren B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did I think I was going to get that emotional over an AU prequel robot? No. But did I cry everytime we got the year count and REI wondered when Byakuya was coming back? Absolutely. Ugly crying.
I very much need to know that Senku and REI can eventually find each other, otherwise I'm going to be inconsolably sad.
Long story short, I very much loved this volume, and AU or not, it was a great addition to the main series. I would very much love more. Please.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boichi is one of the best writer-artists in manga right now. I love how hard sci-fi it is, and I'm specific about my sci-fi. Long live Rei! <3

[Marianna Rainolter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un piccolo volume unico prequel della serie Dr. Stone che io adoro e mi prende sempre di più ad ogni volume. Qui il protagonista è Byakuya, il padre di Senku andato sulla ISS e a seguito della pietrificazione è sceso sulla terra con i suoi compagni di missione, ripopolandola e lasciando dei messaggi che sapeva che il figlio avrebbe letto nel futuro. Un volume molto bello, anche se la prima parte ripete momenti già raccontati nella serie principale, anche se un po' approfonditi; qui vediamo maggiormente la malinconia e la fiducia che Byakuya pone in Senku e nelle sue capacità. E poi conosciamo Rei, un piccolo robot creato da Byakuya stesso e che lo aiuterà nella missione di ritorno sulla terra e non solo. Rei rimarrà solo nella ISS e combinerà delle belle, nella speranza vana che Byakuya ritorni nello spazio, a riprenderlo... Rei sta simpatico al lettore ed è tenero vederlo mettersi d'impegno per rimanere attivo e mantenere la stazione in funzione. Certo, avrei voluto un maggior focus su Byakuya che dovrebbe essere il vero protagonista di questo spin-off ma viene un po' lasciato da parte nel corso del volume. Ma vediamo i rapporti che l'uomo crea, quello con Senku e poi con Rei. Pur essendo una storia a parte e che quindi si legge tranquillamente a sé stante, si ricollega bene a quello che abbiamo visto nella storia principale aggiungendo particolari e momenti inediti. In questo senso se siete fan di Dr. Stone e del best manga daddy ever Byakuya fa per voi, anche solo per le tavole stupende con il suo viso <3

[Shani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A space epic featuring one lonely robot.

In an alternative world from the Dr.Stone universe, as described by the author, Byakuya Ishigami has created an intelligent A.I. who accompanies him on his mission in space. However, after the petrification beam goes off on earth, the astronauts prepare to return home. Byakuya enlists the help of his robotic A.I. Rei to help them get home and wait on the space station for his return. Thus Rei spends many millennia maintaining the space station and protecting the earth!

A fun and creative story with a touch of humanity and humor. Rei is a creative character who will appeal to fans of the Dr. Stone universe with her many inventions and daring calculations. There is the blend of the story readers are familiar with focusing on the astronauts with a twist from Rei's perspective. The illustrations are what readers should expect from the series, full of emotion and dynamic. The text is balanced with the illustrations and descriptive.

I really enjoyed this reboot and hope the manga gets an OVA!

[Kulwinder Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basically, the story of Dr. STONE REBOOT: Byakuya revolves around a robot named Rei who was left behind in space by his creator Byakuya. Boichi did an amazing job of showing various ups and downs in Rei's path.

"𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲."

The thing I liked most of all in this volume is that even after being left all alone Rei never lost his can-do attitude and overcame every hurdle that came his way with vigor. He remained positive and energetic while performing impossible missions on his own since Byakuya's departure. I think it was a pretty big achievement even for a robot. The story was so intense and emotional that it broke my heart. I felt really bad for Rei throughout this manga, but I adored his positivity and liveliness. I can't wait for Rei to meet Senku! I hope it'll happen soon enough. That'd make me and Rei so happy! 😀

P.S. - I loved the appearance of Vegeta. It was spot on! 😹

[Vail Chester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even tho the book is labeled as the story of the main series' protagonist's father, the 2nd half of the book is focused on the robot buddy he left in the ISS after canon took over and he returned to Earth. So the 2nd half of the book is the increasingly wild tales of how she has to maintain the orbital home despite the sad lie the man told her that he'll be back for her. The situations of how far she'll go to make this sinking ship stay afloat despite the fact the vast void of space is unkind to anything manmade get pretty wacky. However in classic "Dr. Stone" & Macgyver fashion, sometimes things just align perfectly for the scientifically PROBABLE to become engineering/scientific miracles.

Also, weird ending as it opened up so many possibilities, but it just...ends. Not unsatisfactory, but even after reading through the whole series and no mention of the patiently waiting robot buddy, it's a little bit of a downer, firmly cementing how non-essential this was to the series.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I was getting a bit of deja vu while reading this but I think thats only because I had read the Dr.Stone books and this really is the father, Byakuya, side of everything from when the petrification took place to trying to see his son and getting things in order because its now a new world they are living in. But I did like getting this story but the real star is that robot he created. I loved that little robot so much seeing that care he had and missing Byakuya wondering when he'll be back. Until the day he'd see Byakuya he would do everything he can to make sure that space station was in tip top shape. Overall this was such a cute addition I enjoyed it.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un spin-off de Dr. Stone que definitivamente le hace justicia.
La historia se desarrolla en los últimos seis humanos que no fueron petrificados, entre ellos el padre de Senku. Entre el deseo de Byakuya en regresar a la tierra por su hijo, los demás astronautas y el robot REI... me han dejado sin estabilidad emocional, ha sido un viaje bastante emotivo.
No puedo dar muchos detalles sin llegar al spoiler pero he de decir que la persistencia de cierto personaje y su espera me hacía sentir pena de que no volviera y una enorme lealtad que pocas veces se encuentra.

[Kayuri · Rating 3 out of 5]

In diesem Band geht es nicht um Byakuya wie er mit den anderen Astronauten eine neue Zivilisation aufbaut. Der Anfang hat zwar klar den Fokus auf den Astronauten aber sobald diese die ISS verlassen liegt der Fokus auf einem ganz anderen Protagonisten. Dabei hatte ich mir da doch was anderes erhofft. Vor allem da die Geschichte nicht ganz zu der von Senku passt. Nettes Beiwerk und schnelle Kost aber mehr nicht.

[Sheepy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very nice Volume, as must as the main series is fantastical this take it up a few notches, for me in a good way!
Rei is a really sweet character, and all I did was root for them. It will be really interesting is the ending if this volume will have an impact on the main series at some point, especially with their aims as of Volume 17.

[Constanza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Que buen manga, igual tuve que parar un ratito para descansar mi cerebro jajaja, pues tiene mucha ciencia, pero es lo que me encanta de Dr. Stone, y por supuesto al ser sobre Byakuya (el papá de Senku) no podía quedarse atrás con la ciencia.
Espero poder juntar y leer pronto Dr. Stone sólo me vi el anime y es buenisimo a mi gusto

[Leandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta es una historia "complementaria" del universo de Dr. Stone.
Nos muestra la historia de los Astronautas que no fueron petrificados, y únicos sobrevivientes de la humanidad. Entre ellos se encuentra el padre adoptivo de Senku.
Un poquito mas dramatica que la historia principal pero conserva el humor y excelente comedia.
Solo es un libro, ojala lo expandan aún más.

[Pierre Lab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super spin-off de la série "Dr Stone". Sans spoile je pensais que l'histoire s'attarderait sur le père de Senku mais non. Ce one shot se focalise essentiellement sur un autre, surprenant mais qui aura un rôle très important. C'est super bien écrit et le dessin est encore très beau.
À lire pour les fans de la série.

[Qothrunnada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is being lonely a bad thing?

5/5 ⭐️
Not me cryin over a robot😭 awalnya aku kira ceritanya fokus ke Byakuya dkk nyampe ke Jepang gmn caranya, turns out mostly nyeritain ttg perjalanan si robotnya Byakuya survive di outspace. Bagus bgt!! Must read for those dr. Stone fans!

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't expect the feels

Off reading the OG Dr.Stone I expected a fun little romp in space and I'd finish reading and move on...NOPE kicked in the feels because a little robot just wanted to say...don't forget I'm here.

[Sude · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

The thought of this little robot patiently waiting thousands of years for its owner simply because it doesn't understand the concept of old age and death is unusually dark for this series and that's why I liked it a lot.
It wasn't phenomenal by any means but it was very beautiful to read.

[Auxh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duración = nada, lo inhalas, es manga así que te lo terminas el mismo día que lo empiezas.
Continuación = es un reboot del manga, tómalo como un one-shot extra.
Género = ciencia ficción (?
Recomiendo = solo a quien ha visto/ leído Dr Stone.

Para mayor comprensión: el artista del manga Dr. Stone (Boichi) crea esta obra con la ayuda del mangaka de Dr. Stone.

En la línea del tiempo, esto va un poco antes del inicio del manga, este extra te aporta más profundidad con respecto al personaje del padre de Senku (el protagonista) y cuenta aspectos de la historia que no aparecen en el manga. Creo que no cataloga como algo 100% canon pero es muy bueno 👌.

[Jacynthe · Rating 5 out of 5]

J’ai failli verser une larme à la fin. Un beau complément à la série Dr Stone que j’ai adorée. Lecture fortement recommandée. Il n’y a pas de spoiler pour la série Dr Stone, donc peut se lire avant, mais s’apprécie plus si on lit les mangas ou écouter l’anime préalablement.

[Caledonia Valley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Byakuya! One of my favourite character. Great story, I cried all the way through. A tiny, cute robot who is still waiting for its creator... Ahwww! Heart-breaking...