Sand Land: What to Expect from the Movie Adaptation

Ever wondered about the other projects of the OG Akira Toriyama? Well, what if we tell you that Akira created a lesser-known work named Sand Land? Although Sandland has made its debut previously as a game. This time, the Sunrise Studio is releasing this story as a movie set in the same Dargon Ball Z universe.

If you don’t know much about Sand Land, or you want to give this epic artwork a chance, then read this article till the end. We will be breaking down all the juiciest details about Sand Land and its amazing characters.

Sand Land’s Journey from Manga to Graphic Novel

After making our childhood epic with his amazing Dragon Ball Universe, Akira created Sand Land which is a post-apocalyptic Shonen-jump story. The main characters are crafted in a strangely similar manner to that of Dragon Ball (which is a bummer)!

The series was created in a spawn of 14 chapters only. But later it became a graphic novel for the masses in 2003. With character design the studio Sunrise is not doing anything crazy. It is sticking with the original character design and how they are depicted in Akira’s work. The recent Sand Land trailer also revealed that Akira is a master when it comes to storytelling and igniting excitement and interest among his fans.

Sand Land & Its Post-Apocalyptic Setting for Dummies!

The tale of Sand Land is set in a distant future and depicts a world that is filled with war and chaos. These circumstances cause the natural resources of Earth to go completely extinct. Due to this grave condition, life in Sand Land is beyond miserable.

Now our protagonist and his loyal companions come into play when we as viewers get to see a dystopian ruler who is not only power-hungry but also extremely fascist, tightens his grip on the whole resources available on the planet.

Rather than fighting this injustice, Sherif Rao embarks on a journey to find out a sustainable source of water for his people. But a major twist in this story is Sherif Rao’s quest for a legendary lake that can save his people not only from droughts but also from the tyranny of the ruler.

BUT WAIT! You might be wondering what can an old Sherif do. Probably nothing! But let us break this for you. Sherif Rao prays to a demon king before setting off on his quest. In his prayer, he requested the demon king to lend him assistance, and because of this, he gets a demon son Beelzebub!

With Beelzebub (quite a cool name though) and his assistant thief, Sherif Rao starts his journey to seek justice for his hometown and for his people. They fight dragons, aliens, and King’s army only to get to the lake and get their share in the bounties of Mother Nature.

Thoughts Behind Sand Land

If you are someone who enjoys more gory and violent Shonen Jump anime, then you might find Sand Land silly. You might think that it is nothing but Akira’s work for the younger audience and he created this light-hearted manga for children.

But that’s nothing but a half-truth, Akira created this manga after delivering a massive worldwide hit, Dragon Ball Z. He then aimed to deliver something deep and meaningful to his audience.

Imagine living in a war-torn world where you have no access to essential natural resources. Resources that are crucial not only for you but also for your loved ones. Imagine privileged and powerful people gaining control over these resources, while you are left with nothing.

The post-apocalyptic setting of this manga serves as a metaphor for the real world. Just like in our world, everyday natural resources are being polluted by multinational tycoons. Their blunt greed is causing the rest of humanity to suffer in silence.

Our Final Verdict

We rate Akira’s fun and lighthearted saga a solid 6.5 out of 10. Taking into account that anime fans are now into more mature themes and this one just kind of misses the in that category. Despite this, Akira’s work still manages to shine due to its compelling storyline and unique characters.

If you are a fan of more mature anime themes and love to watch your favorite Shonen Character spilling the blood of their foes with killer moves, make sure to read our take on Zom 100!