Dragon Ball creator's upcoming Sand Land anime set for release in Spring 2024

Disney+ Star Japan announced on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 that Akira Toriyama's Sand Land will be adapted into an anime series titled SAND LAND: THE SERIES. The anime will be exclusively available for streaming worldwide on Disney+ Star's "STAR Anime Series" programming in Spring 2024.

In 2000, renowned Dragon Ball Manga creator Akira Toriyama released a short manga called Sand Land. The series was published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from May to August 2000. Shueisha subsequently compiled the series into one volume, which was released in November 2000.

Sand Land anime uses key visual to confirm Spring 2024 release

Disney+ Star Japan revealed on November 14th that they will adapt Akira Toriyama's manga series, Sand Land, into an anime called SAND LAND: THE SERIES. The official website also unveiled a key visual showcasing the main characters, Beelzebub, Thief, and Sheriff Rao, navigating through the desert.

Viewers can enjoy the anime exclusively on Disney+ Star's "STAR Anime Series" programming block starting Spring 2024.

Image of Sheriff Rao from the movie (Image via Sunrise, Anima, Kamikaze Douga)

The upcoming series will showcase exclusive footage from the already released anime film and iconic moments from the original manga. Alongside this, it will introduce a brand new narrative crafted by the creator himself, Akira Toriyama. This fresh storyline will seamlessly carry on from the events of the film.

The anime plans to maintain the same voice cast and staff members from the film.

Thief and Beelzebub as seen in the movie (Image via Sunrise, Anima, Kamikaze Douga)

Beelzebub will be voiced by Mutsumi Tamura, who has previously lent his voice to young Kakashi Hatake in Naruto Shippuden and Ninya in Overlord.

On the other hand, Kazuhiro Yamaji will take on the role of Sheriff Rao. He has previously provided his voice for characters such as Kenny Ackerman in Attack on Titan, Kojiro Sasaki in Record of Ragnarok, and Silver Fang in One Punch Man.

As for his role in the upcoming movie, Chō will once again lend his voice to Thief. He has previously showcased his vocal talents by portraying characters such as Matal Mogamett in Magi: The Kingdom of Magic, Regro Burnedead in Mashle: Magic and Muscles, and Brook in One Piece.

General Are as seen in the Sand Land movie (Image via Sunrise, Anima, Kamikaze Douga)

Satoshi Tsuruoka will reprise his role as General Are, while Nobuo Tobita will return as General Zau. Tsuruoka previously voiced Gilles de Rais in Fate and Zanoba Shirone in Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. Tobita, on the other hand, previously voiced Ken Wakashimazu in Captain Tsubasa and Adelheid von Schugel in Saga of Tanya the Evil.

The returning staff members include Toshihisa Yokoshima, who will direct the anime series. Hiroshi Koujina will serve as the direction adviser again, and Hayashi Mori will be responsible for writing the anime series' script.

Lastly, Yoshikazu Iwanami and Yūgo Kanno will return to direct the sound and compose the series' music, respectively.

Editor's P/S

As a Dragon Ball fan, I am thrilled to hear about the upcoming anime adaptation of Akira Toriyama's Sand Land. The original manga was a short but sweet read, and I'm excited to see how it will be expanded into a full-fledged series. The key visual that was released looks promising, and I can't wait to see more of the animation.

One thing that I'm particularly looking forward to is the new storyline that Toriyama has created for the anime. The film only covered the first half of the manga, so there's still a lot of material that can be adapted. I'm curious to see where Toriyama takes the story and what new characters he introduces.

Overall, I'm very optimistic about the Sand Land anime. I think it has the potential to be a great addition to the Dragon Ball franchise and I can't wait to see it when it premieres in Spring 2024.