Sand Land (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from May to August 2000, and was collected into one tankōbon volume in November 2000. Sand Land was serialized in North America by Viz Media in their English Shonen Jump magazine in 2003. It was later released in one graphic novel in December 2003. A CGI anime film adaptation co-produced by Sunrise, Kamikaze Douga, and Anima was released in August 2023, and an original net animation (ONA) series will be streamed worldwide on Disney+ and Hulu in Q2 2024. An action role-playing video game developed by ILCA and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment is set to be 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.
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, 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.
An elderly man, Rao seeks to free the people of Sand Land from the king's pocket. Formerly known as General Shiba (シバ将軍, Shiba Shōgun), he is believed to have died 30 years ago along with his forces while destroying a mysterious weapon on the king's orders. As he travels with Beelzebub and Thief, Rao learns that the weapon was not actually a weapon at all, but instead a machine to artificially create water. Rao sets to right his wrong by bringing down the king and helping those whose family died due to his actions.
Thief is recruited by Beelzebub for his expertise at stealing and his great wisdom. He often fights with Beelzebub for turns to drive the tank.
General Are (アレ将軍, Are Shōgun)
Voiced by: Satoshi Tsuruoka[3] (Japanese); Andrew Lander[4] (English)
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.
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.
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.
An extremely large and fat member of the Swimmers. He carries a large hand cannon.
Production
Toriyama intended for Sand Land to be a short story about a man and a tank that he wrote for his own enjoyment. However, he had difficulty drawing the tank and, as Toriyama insisted on drawing everything himself, soon regretted it. Although he became frustrated, he had already devised the plot and thus was forced to go through with it.[6]
Publication
Written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama, Sand Land was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from May 9 to August 8, 2000.[a][b] Its 14 chapters were collected into one tankōbon volume that was released on November 2, 2000.[11] A kanzenban edition was published on August 4, 2023.[12] That same day, a "full color" version of the manga began serialization in Shueisha's monthly Saikyō Jump magazine.[13]
Viz Media licensed Sand Land for English release in North America. It was serialized in their manga anthology magazine Shonen Jump for eleven issues, from its debut January 2003 issue to November 2003. The collected graphic novel was released in paperback on December 24, 2003,[14] and digitally as an ebook on June 4, 2013.[15]
Chapter 02 : "The Gang of Thieves" (盗賊団, Dōzokudan)
Chapter 03 : "The Tank" (戦車, Sensha)
Chapter 04 : "The Flying Tank" (飛行タンク, Hikō no Tanku)
Chapter 05 : "Night Truths" (闇の真相, Yami no Shinzō)
Chapter 06 : "Rao's Lucky Charm" (ラオのお守り, Rao no Omamori)
Chapter 07 : "Tank Battle" (戦車戦, Sensha Sen)
Chapter 08 : "General vs. General" (シバ将軍とアレ将軍, Shiba Shōgun to Are Shōgun)
Chapter 09 : "The Thing in the Sandstorm" (砂嵐のみつけたもの, Sunarashi no Mitsuketa Mono)
Chapter 10 : "The Phantom Lake" (幻の泉, Maboroshi no Izumi)
Chapter 11 : "The Secret of the Reservoir" (水源の秘密, Suigen no Himitsu)
Chapter 12 : "The Demon Beelzebub" (悪魔のベルゼブブ, Akuma no Beruzebubu)
Chapter 13 : "The End of the Path" (決戦の行方, Kessen no Yukue)
Chapter 14 : "The River" (川, Kawa)
Media
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.[16] On that date, it was announced that it would receive a CGI anime adaptation co-produced by Sunrise, Kamikaze Douga, and Anima.[17] The film is 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.[3]Imase performs the film's theme song "Utopia" (ユートピア).[18] The Sand Land film had its world premiere at San Diego Comic-Con on July 22, 2023, in San Diego, California.[19] It was released in Japanese theaters on August 18, 2023, by Toho, with a North American release following in 2024.[19]
An original net animation (ONA) series was announced on November 14, 2023. The cast and staff members from the film are reprising their roles. The series will be streamed worldwide on Disney+ in Q2 2024. It will include new scenes that were not featured in the film, famous scenes from the original manga, and a new story written by Toriyama that continues after the film.[20]
Greg McElhatton called Sand Land "the ultimate disposable comic, executed perfectly".[25] 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.[25] John Jakala of Anime News Network also called the artwork, and story, superior to Dragon Ball.[26] 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.[26]
At the 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival, the anime adaptation of Sand Land won a Special Jury Mention in the Excellence in Animation category.[19] 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.[27] 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".[28] 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 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.[29]
Notes
^It started in the magazine's 23nd issue of 2000 (cover date May 22),[7] released on May 9 of that same year.[8]
^It finished in the magazine's combined 36th–37th issue (cover date August 21),[9] released on August 8 of that same year.[10]
^"Contents". Weekly Shōnen Jump (in Japanese). No. 35. Shueisha. 2000. Table of contents. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023. 次号、36-37合併号味8月8日発売!!
