Sand Land

''Sand Land'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from May to August 2000, and was collected into a single volume in November of that same year. ''Sand Land'' was first serialized in North America by Viz Media in their English '' Shonen Jump'' magazine in 2003, then later released in one graphic novel in December of that same year.

A CGI anime film adaptation co-produced by Sunrise, Kamikaze Douga, and Anima was released in August 2023, while an original net animation (ONA) series was released worldwide on Disney+ and Hulu from March to May 2024. An action role-playing video game adaptation, also titled '' Sand Land'', was released in April 2024.

Plot

After enduring years of natural disaster and war, the world is left without its main supply of water; the river that provided water to the country dried up long ago. With the greedy king of the land's personal water supply becoming increasingly more expensive for the citizens of Sand Land to buy, the people begin robbing one another for water and money. Sheriff Rao, tired of the king's greed, approaches the demons of Sand Land for help in searching for a new water supply. Demon prince Beelzebub and his friend Thief agree to join Rao.

Soon after their quest begins, their car breaks down and they are forced to steal a tank from the king's army. This attracts the anger of the king and he mobilizes his forces to stop them. Sheriff Rao, a former legendary general of the king's army, is able to quickly deal with all of the current army's attempts to hinder their progress. Once they reach the supposed water supply at the end of the now dried up river bed, they find a lake that now acts as the king's private reserves. With the water sealed away behind a dam to give the king a monopoly over water, Rao, the demons, and those sympathetic to their cause tear it down. With the water returned to the world as a result, the king's oppressive rule is brought to an end.

Characters

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:Beelzebub, named after the biblical demon of the same name, is the son of Lucifer and the prince of demons. Generally referred to only as "Prince" by his fellow demons and nicknamed "Beelz" by Rao, Beelzebub tries to live in relative harmony with the humans. Although he regularly steals water from them, he only takes as much as he and the demons need to survive. Simply joining Sheriff Rao out of boredom, Beelzebub lends his enhanced sight and demonic strength to fight against the tyrannous king. By basking in moonlight, Beelzebub can absorb the "power of darkness," which he can unleash to temporarily boost his strength and demonic powers.
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:An elderly man and sheriff of a small village, Rao seeks to free the people of Sand Land from the king's pocket. Formerly known as , he is in truth a legendary tank commander believed to have died 30 years ago along with his forces while destroying a mysterious weapon produced by the Picchi on the King's orders. Rao learns from Beelzebub and Thief that it was not a weapon, but a machine to produce water. This information prompts Rao to right his wrong by bringing down the king and help those whose families died due to his actions. He is a skilled tonfa fighter.
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:Thief is reluctantly recruited by Beelzebub for his expertise at stealing and his great wisdom. He often fights with Beelzebub for turns to drive the tank and frequently complains about the constant danger the group faces. He dresses in a Santa Claus costume when thieving. Despite looking and acting like an old man, Thief claims he is not that much older than Beelzebub.
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:Rao's replacement in the king's army, Are's father died during the raid against the mysterious weapon. Initially, he actively pursues Rao in order to avenge his father. However, once he learns the truth about the mysterious weapon, he joins Rao in bringing down the king. His tank is unique compared to others in the tank brigade, as it is equipped with a more powerful artillery cannon.
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:The true antagonist of Sand Land, Zeu is the aging commander of the king's forces. Due to his failing body, Zeu is confined to a floating robotic lift. He ordered the attack on the Picchi people, the creators of the water-producing machine, to both rid himself of Shiba's disobedient tank brigade and the threat to the king's monopoly. He uses the king as a figurehead to rule Sand Land. Ultimately, Are shoots and kills him with a tank cannon blast.
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:As the current ruler of Sand Land, the king makes enormous profit by selling bottled water at high prices. He tries to eliminate Rao to make sure nobody finds out about his personal water supply or the water-creating machine he had destroyed. After water is returned to Sand Land, he is forced by Rao to give his wealth to the people. A cowardly hedonist, the king cares only about maintaining his power and profits and is quick to abandon his people when Sand Land is threatened by the flying fortress Garam.
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:King of the demons and Beelzebub's father. Cold and strict, he does not concern himself with the affairs of humans and possesses immense power. Despite his attitude, he cares for his people and agrees to let Beelzebub journey with Rao because of the potential benefit to demonkind.
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:The muscular leader of the , the self-proclaimed "greatest criminals in Sand Land", and father of the other members.
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:A skinny member of the Swimmers who wears a necktie with no shirt and a cooking pot as a helmet. He has superhuman eyesight and can draw incredibly detailed and accurate sketches from memory.
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:A skinny member of the Swimmers who wears a blazer with no shirt and a wide-brimmed hat. He can run at superhuman speed.
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:An extremely large and fat member of the Swimmers. He carries a large hand cannon.
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:A character from ''Sand Land: The Series'' and the ''Sand Land'' video game. She is a mechanically-savvy girl from Forest Land who recruits Beelzebub and company to help save Forest Land from Muniel and Bred. She is later revealed to be Forest Land's princess and a half-demon as her mother, Queen Lilith, is Beelzebub's older sister, making Beelzebub her uncle.
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:A character from ''Sand Land: The Series'' and the ''Sand Land'' video game. He is the main antagonist of the game and the second half of the series. He is an angel who proclaims to be the hero of Forest Land. Originally a low-ranked archive clerk, Muniel steals a staff that creates lightning clouds and a demon-sealing urn and descends to the mortal realm without permission, intending to purge the world of demons. His hatred of demons is intensified when he confronts Lucifer, who effortlessly tears off his wings and flicks him into Forest Land.
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:A character from ''Sand Land: The Series'' and the ''Sand Land'' video game. He is a general for Forest Land who serves Muniel despite skepticism of his actions.
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:A character from ''Sand Land: The Series'' and the ''Sand Land'' video game. The Queen of Forest Land and Ann's mother. Lilith is Lucifer's eldest daughter and Beelzebub's older sister. She has the same demonic powers as her father and brother and usually disguises herself as a human.

Production

Following the conclusion of ''Dragon Ball'' in 1995, Akira Toriyama created short stories and one-offs. However, he decided to write one more work that would be his last, and in which he would put everything he had. He intended for ''Sand Land'' to be a short story about an old man and a tank that he wrote for his own enjoyment. However, he had difficulty drawing the tank and, as he insisted on drawing everything himself, soon regretted it. Although he became frustrated, Toriyama had already devised the plot to involve the tank and thus grudgingly went through with it. While he personally preferred lighthearted content, he was aware most readers did not, and therefore tried his best to tone down the light parts and make it a serious story. However, Toriyama said he ultimately ended up prioritizing his personal preferences and should have thought about the readers more. He inked the manuscripts on paper before scanning them into a computer and using software to paint in solid colors and apply tones. After drawing the pages for ''Sand Land'', he lost the pen holder that he had used since before his debut. Toriyama later quipped that this was the reason he hardly drew any more manga. Looking back on the series 23 years later, he found that his drawing ability and energy were incredible at the time it was made.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama, ''Sand Land'' was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from May 9 to August 8, 2000. Its 14 chapters were collected into a single volume that was released on November 2, 2000. A edition was published on August 4, 2023. That same day, a "full color" version of the manga began serialization in Shueisha's monthly '' Saikyō Jump'' magazine. It ended in the October 2024 issue on September 4, 2024.

In 2003, Viz Media licensed ''Sand Land'' for English release in North America. It was first serialized in their manga anthology magazine '' Shonen Jump'' for eleven issues, from the January to the November 2003 issues. The collected graphic novel was released later in paperback on December 24, 2003, and digitally as an ebook on June 4, 2013.

Chapters

Anime

On December 8, 2022, Bandai Namco opened a website for "Sand Land Project" and uploaded a teaser video featuring Toriyama's art from the manga. The website featured a countdown that ended on December 17. On that date, it was announced that the series would receive a CGI anime film adaptation co-produced by Sunrise, Kamikaze Douga, and Anima. The film was directed by Toshihisa Yokoshima, with Hiroshi Kōjina serving as directing advisor, Hayashi Mori writing the screenplay, Yoshikazu Iwanami directing the sound, and Yugo Kanno composing the music. Imase performed the film's theme song . The film had its world premiere screening at San Diego Comic-Con on July 22, 2023. It was then officially released in Japanese theaters on August 18, 2023, by Toho, with a North American release following in 2024.

An original net animation (ONA) series was announced on November 14, 2023. The cast and staff members from the film reprised their roles. The opening theme is "Water Carrier" by Kroi, while the ending theme is by Tempalay. The first seven episodes of the series began streaming worldwide on Disney+ and in the United States on Hulu on March 20, 2024. The remaining episodes were released once a week. The first six episodes comprise arc and retell the story of the film with some new scenes, while the final seven episodes comprise arc, which Toriyama newly wrote for the ONA. Toriyama also named the two arcs and designed the new characters such as Ann and Muniel. However, he died before the ONA premiered on March 1, 2024.

The series is set to air in Japan on NHK General TV starting on June 28, 2025.

Episodes

Video game

An action role-playing video game based on the series was announced during Summer Game Fest on June 8, 2023. It was developed by ILCA and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, and uses Unreal Engine 5. The game was released in Japan for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows on April 25, 2024, and the following day worldwide.

Reception

Manga

Greg McElhatton called ''Sand Land'' "the ultimate disposable comic, executed perfectly". His review for ''Read About Comics'' summarized, refers to it as a fun light story that, while not necessarily deep or memorable, does well to explore the fictional world and the unique characters that inhabit it. Despite Toriyama's complaints about designing the tank, McElhatton praised the art, declaring it more consistent than his previous work ''Dragon Ball''. John Jakala of Anime News Network also called the artwork, and story, superior to ''Dragon Ball''. Jakala said the characters are a big part of the series' charm, claiming Toriyama did a "masterful job" establishing the look and personality of each character in the first chapter.

Anime

At the 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival, the film adaptation of ''Sand Land'' won a Special Jury Mention in the Excellence in Animation category. The film opened at number six at the Japanese box office, and grossed US$2.98 million by its third week. Evan Mullicane of ''Screen Rant'' strongly praised the film, writing that it "proves that the original ''Sand Land'' manga is Toriyama's true opus." He found the "seamless" blend of 3D and 2D animation creates a distinctive look that captures Toriyama's artwork "beautifully", and noted that the film's best moments are all based on developing the three central characters. Writing for Anime News Network, Kalai Chik called the film a "feel good popcorn movie" and gave it a B+ rating. They cited the script as its strongest feature; "For a story that touches on the impacts of war, global warming, and corporate greed, it never overcomplicates the message, nor does it talk down to the audience." Although they praised the music, Chik noted it also exposes the "underutilized animation". Giving the film three out of five stars, Matt Schley of ''The Japan Times'' called it a straightforward romp that is "fun first and foremost", but leaves the audience with deeper themes to contemplate. He praised the banter between the three main characters as entertaining, with Mutsumi Tamura's Beelzebub being "especially endearing", and the supporting characters for highlighting Toriyama's skill for visual gags. Although Schley wrote that the story and CG animation in ''Sand Land'' are not likely to disappoint audiences, he noted that there is "nothing particularly revolutionary" about it and suggested it could have been slightly shorter in length.

Notes

References

External links

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* (2023 anime film)
* (2024 animated series)

{{Sunrise films

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