Getting ready to watch the anime adaptation of Akira Toriyama’s Sand Land feels bittersweet as this was one of the last animated projects that the legendary Japanese creator worked on before his untimely death that shocked the world, twice over. He died before the anime premiered on March 1, 2024. Sand Land was one of my faves when it came to the surplus of comics, graphic novels, and manga that flowed into my high school library as I took up library service as an elective. This is where I discovered the single volume of Sandland: a sort of apocalyptic setting with a ruined, wasteland Earth with desert galore and a demon’s son on an adventure with an unlikely trio. I remember really loving Toriyama’s art style (as I was already acquainted with Dragon Ball) and the appeal of this single contained story.
Hearing about the anime meant that I for sure wanted to watch it and create some coverage of the series, even partially for the site. Now that we’ve got five episodes down, I thought I’d share what makes the first chunk of episodes worth tuning in it for. What to know about the series so far? We are receiving a thirteen-episode season and “A retelling of the hit 2023 Sand Land movie, Sand Land: The Series will build upon the movie’s original universe, telling new stories and featuring new characters alongside beloved fan favorites — the Fiend Prince Beelzebub, Sheriff Rao, and Thief.”
Some minor spoilers for the first handful of episodes below
The Set Up
Sand Land is a mysterious world where demons and humans struggle to exist in a barren desert wasteland. A human named Sheriff Rao approaches fiend Prince Beelzebub and a demon named Thief in hopes of replenishing their water supply. The trio team up and embark on a journey in search of the Legendary Spring and find lots of dangers and action and revelations past and present along the way. I loved the chemistry between this duo on the page, and it is so fun to see animated, finally.
Beez is more playful but attempts to be mindful of his pride as a demon. He’s fair and begins to hold Rao in high esteem after seeing the human sheriff’s battle progress and his dedication to justice. Sheriff Rao begins to see demons like Beez and Thief in a new light as all he’s ever been told is that they are not to be trusted. Thief completes this duo and ends up being a great operator in the tank along with other surprising talents–one that will bring the audience to laughter just a few episodes in.
The Pay Off
Adapting Akira’ Toriyama’s 14-chapter manga, released back in 2000, to life, I was pleasantly surprised to see the story well-paced and not rushed in these first handful of episodes of Sand Land: The Series. I had vaguely remembered some of the story’s bigger plot points but definitely remembered that we’d be seeing lots of battle sequences in the tank that Rao, Beez, and Thief travel in throughout the desert. I also loved the little details like including more of the demon population in the beginning. Beez’s crew was included in the first episode when he led a talent show of sorts to see who was the best demon to accompany him on his quest with Rao.
Spoiler alert: none of them want to go and purposely downplay their abilities and Thief, perhaps the oldest, is chosen by the prince for his smarts and knowledge. This is a delightful scene that isn’t in the manga version (R.I.P. Slime) and adds to the charm of this animated version. It should be noted that I ADORE the opening and ending animations for the series: (especially the opening–included below) they really lean into showcasing different important items (like game systems, water bottles, hourglasses) of the characters and their personalities: Rao’s regret and Beez’s playfulness.
The Emotional Depth of Its Story
Sand Land: The Series is set on a destroyed Earth after a set of circ*mstances and human error along with a devastating war that forever changed life as its inhabitants knew. Demons, humans, and animals alike suffer for it in this age of desert and water being a precious commodity that not everyone has access to. Watching along and seeing a Human King keeping up a classist society that keeps folks, mostly folks without means, without water feels prophetic in a way in 2024. Here in the States: Flint, Michigan still doesn’t have clean water and much closer to home here in California for me, residents of LA County struggle with similar issues. Seeing characters of all different backgrounds in the series from human to demon experience problems not just with climate change but with the status quo limiting access to this precious resource feels startling and thrilling to follow along on screen. Seeing the fight against the tyranny of the King to make life better for everyone, not just a select few, in the land makes me remember that fictional rebellions can inspire too.
Another thread of the narrative in Sand Land: The Series that rang true to me while watching is personal responsibility, honesty, and attempting to right the wrongs of the past. Seeing Sheriff Rao’s backstory in the third episode that spilled out into the next two episodes built up an impressive context for the war that had been waged in a false name and the near unspeakable consequences that resulted for many.Rao talks big about being responsible for the harm one does and being sincere in wanting to right the wrongs of the past. The older man’s back and forth dialogue with Beelzebub with about being honest and being a halfway decent soul is a highlight of the episodes and a really endearing and hilarious moment between the older man and the precocious fiend prince who doesn’t want to be “good” since he’s the Fiend Prince of the demons who inhabit Sand Land’s world.
The Animation
So the elephant in the room, let’s talk about it: Sand Land: The Series is produced by anime studio Sunrise (Mobile Suit Gundam, Love Live!) and the 3D CG experts at Kamikaze Douga (POPTEPIC, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure titles) directed by Toshihisa Yokoshima and is adapted for the screen from Toriyama’s original manga by Hayashi Mori. As for the 3D animation, I’m not the biggest fan of this style of animation when it comes to anime…truth be told.
When I think back on TRIGUN STAMPEDE, I concluded after finishing the series: it certainly wasn’t terrible, I mostly enjoyed that anime remake yet still pointed out several scenes along the way when watching that just looked clunky and awkward to me that. Ultimately, that pulled me away from the story at hand but not enough to make it a dud in my opinion. (I feel like Studio Orange’s series hit or miss in the way? 2017’s Land of the Lustrous was workable in the 3-D style.
I know that anime fans are very divisive on animation–I think everyone still remembers the 2016 version of Berserk. Anyway, back to Sand Land: The Series. I thought the 3D animation worked fairly well here with well-made movements that best stood out (in a good way) in the fight sequences–especially with Prince Beelzebub. I was a little concerned about the Tank battle scenes, but I was happy with how they were animated. They were among my favorite parts of these first five episodes.
Overall, this first showing of Sand Land: The Series is worth checking out if you are a fan of Akira Toriyama’s life and his work. I also think this series could be recommended to those who look for science-fiction, comedy, and fantasy adventures via anime. Five episodes in, I’m happy with a well-paced, well-adapted series that pays tribute to the original and adds in some new characters and new plot points, as hinted and suggested, that I look forward to watching!
STAFF/CAST
MAIN STAFF
Original Story Akira Toriyama
Director Toshihisa Yokoshima
Direction Adviser Hiroshi Koujina
Script Hayashi Mori
Character Designer & Chief Animation Director Toshiyuki Kanno
Mechanical Designers Kimitoshi Yamane Takehiko Hoashi CG Director Takayuki Shigekawa Art Director Yuji Kaneko
Color Designer Nagisa Abe Digital Photography Director Yuki Kawash*ta Editor Shun Tokuda
Sound Director Yoshikazu Iwanami Sound Mixer Takayuki Yamaguchi Sound Effect Yasumasa Koyama
Music Yugo Kanno Animation Production SUNRISE , ANIMA, Kamikazedouga Production
Production Committee SAND LAND
Sand Land: The Series is currently available to stream exclusively on Disney+/Hulu.
(Distribution platforms differ depending on the region.)
See more about the anime at the official Sand Land website here!
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