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.
Characters
;Beelzebub ;Rao ;Thief ;General Are ;General Zeu ;King
Creation and conception
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.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama, Sand Land was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from issue #23 published on May 22, 2000 to #36–37 on August 28, 2000. The fourteen chapters were collected into one tankōbon volume that was released on November 2, 2000. 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, and digitally as an E-book on June 4, 2013. It was also published in many other countries, such as France by Glenat, Spain by Planeta DeAgostini, Germany by Carlsen Comics and in their Banzai! magazine, Denmark by Rasmus Klump, Brazil by Conrad, Finland by Sangatsu Manga, Sweden by Bonnier Carlsen, and in Mexico by Grupo Editorial Vid.
Chapter list
Reception
Greg McElhatton called Sand Land "the ultimate disposable comic, executed perfectly". His review 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 works. John Jakala of Anime News Network also called the artwork, and story, superior to Dragon Ball. 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.
