You can’t go wrong with an Akira Toriyama project – though they’re not all going to be as massive as the Dragon Ball property. March 2023 saw the reveal of a new project that’s coming from a fun older work with the theatrical anime adaptation of the Sand Land manga. The film saw an August 18th, 2023 debut and is going to get a 2024 North American release.
We learned last fall that the manga is also going to get a TV series adaptation with Disney+ Star Japan with Sand Land: The Series. It’s being set for a spring 2024 debut and will end up on Hulu in North America. The project looks is utilizing and expanding the film itself as the project with the same staff and cast for it. It’ll utilize material that wasn’t included in the film and it looks like Toriyama is providing an expansion point for the series with new original material as well.
The structure of the show was recently set with the first seven episodes, essentially the film side of it plus one post-film episode, which saw a March 20th, 2024 premiere. After that, episodes eight through thirteen will come out weekly after that. The show is also going to debut the English dub with the first two episodes on April 10th, 2024.
With that in mind, Sunrise has recently brought out episode previews for the second through seventh episode versions. Now, with the eighth episode coming out today, Sunrise has brought out a preview for that episode as well.
Previous episode previews:
Toshihisa Yokoshima is directing it from the screenplay by Hayashi Mori. The production is set from Sunrise, Kamikaze Douga, and Anima.
The Japanese cast includes Mutsumi Tamura as Beelzebub, Kazuhiro Yamaji as Rao, Chō as Thief, Satoshi Tsuruoka as General Are, Nobuo Tobita as General Zau, Akio Ōtsuka as Satan, Chafurin as the King, Tomokazu Sugita as Swimmer’s Papa, Koji Yusa as Pike, Hiroyuki Yoshino as Shark, and Masafumi Kobatake as Guppy.
The manga from Akira Toriyama was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump back in 2000 for a single volume total.
Plot Concept: In the far future, war has destroyed the entire Earth, leaving only a barren wasteland where the supply of water is controlled by the greedy king. In search of a long-lost lake, Sheriff Rao asked the king of the demons for help…and got the king’s son, Beelzebub, and his assistant, Thief. Together the unlikely trio sets off across the desert, facing dragons, bandits, and the deadliest foe of all… the King’s army itself! It’s travel adventure and tank action in this new story from Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball Z!
Previous TV promos and visuals:
