- Sand Land
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Not to be confused with Sandland.
Sand Land 
サンドランド
(Sando Rando)Genre Action; Adventure supernatural fiction Manga Written by Akira Toriyama Published by Shueisha English publisher 
Viz MediaDemographic Shōnen Magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump Published November 11, 2000 Volumes 1 Sand Land (サンドランド Sando Rando) is a short manga series authored by Akira Toriyama that appeared in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine during the summer of 2000.
After Sand Land completed its run, all fourteen chapters were collected into a single tankōbon that was released on November 11, 2000.[1] Sand Land was later serialized in North America by Viz Media in the United States Shonen Jump magazine, spanning twelve issues in 2003. Viz released a graphic novel of the series on January 21, 2004.[2]
Contents
Creation and conception
Toriyama, the series creator, intended for Sand Land to be a short story about a man and a tank that he wrote for his own enjoyment. Once it came time to draw the tank, however, Toriyama had difficulty getting it to look as he had envisioned it. Although he became frustrated to the point of wanting to remove the tank from the story, he had already devised the plot and thus was forced to put up with it.[3]
Plot
After enduring years of natural disaster and war, the world of Sand Land 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
- Beelzebub (ベルゼブブ Beruzebubu) - Beelzebub, named after the biblical demon of the same name, is the son of Lucifer. He is renowned as the "Prince of the Underworld," but 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 his fellow 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.
- Sheriff Rao - An elderly man, Rao seeks to free the people of Sand Land from the king's pocket. Formerly known as General Shiba, Rao disappeared after his forces died years earlier trying to destroy a mysterious weapon on the king's orders. As he travels with Beelzebub and Thief, he learns that the weapon was not actually a weapon at all, 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 - 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 - 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.
- General Zeu - 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 shot him with a tank cannon blast, killing Zeu.
- King of Sand Land - 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.
Reception
Sand Land has been called a 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, the art style is praised as being highly detailed, imaginative, and of more consistent quality than Toriyama's previous works (Dragon Ball).[4]
References
- ^ "SAND LAND" (in Japanese). Shueisha. http://www.s-book.com/plsql/com2_detail?isbn=4088730399. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
- ^ "Amazon.com: Sand Land (Sand Land Series): Books: Akira Toriyama". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1591161819/. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
- ^ Toriyama, Akira (2003). Sand Land. Viz Media. pp. 1. ISBN 1-59116-181-9.
- ^ McElhatton, Greg (2004-04-05). "Sand Land". Read About Comics. http://www.readaboutcomics.com/2004/04/05/sand-land/. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
External links
- Sand Land (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
- Jakala, John (January 2, 2003). "Shonen Jump Volume 1". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/shonen-jump-1.
- Jakala, John (February 2, 2003). "Shonen Jump Volume 2". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/shonen-jump-2.
- Jakala, John (February 13, 2003). "Shonen Jump Volume 3". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/shonen-jump-3.
Akira Toriyama Works Wonder Island • Dr. Slump • Pink • The Adventures of Tongpoo • Dragon Ball • Mr. Ho • Go! Go! Ackman • Cowa! • Kajika • Neko Majin • Sand Land • Toccio the Angel • KintokiCharacter designer Weekly Shōnen Jump: 2000–2009 2000 Sand Land • Black Cat • Pyu to Fuku! Jaguar2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Ral Grad • Samurai Usagi • First Love Limited • Sket Dance2008 2009 Beelzebub • Super Dog Rilienthal • Akaboshi: Ibun Suikoden • Medaka Box • AnedokiCategories:- Manga series
- Action anime and manga
- Adventure anime and manga
- Manga of 2000
- Shōnen manga
- Supernatural anime and manga
- Viz Media manga
- Akira Toriyama
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