Akira Toriyama's legendary masterpiece "SAND LAND" will be released in theaters on Friday, August 18! The animation production team consists of Sunrise, Kamikaze Animation, and ANIMA!

Akira Toriyama's comic "SAND LAND " will be made into a movie, which will be released in theaters nationwide by Toho on Friday, August 18, 2023.

Akira Toriyama is a manga artist who has created numerous nationally popular works and characters, including the phenomenally popular "Dragon Ball" manga, which has sold 260 million copies worldwide; "Dr. Slump," which has taken the world by storm; and character designs for the popular "Dragon Quest" video game series. Akira Toriyama. The manga "SAND LAND," which has been called "a masterpiece of overwhelming perfection" among Akira Toriyama's works, will be released in theaters nationwide on August 18 (Fri.) in Toho theaters.

⇒Akira Toriyama's "SAND LAND" will be made into a movie! Namco Bandai Group and Shueisha's "SAND LAND project" has started.

⇒Click here for the screening schedule of the anime film.

SAND LAND" was serialized in "Weekly Shonen Jump" from the 23rd issue to the 36th and 37th issues in 2000, after the "Dragon Ball" series ended. The story is set in a mysterious desert world where demons and humans coexist and have lost water. Beelzebub, a demon prince, forms a strange trio with Sifu, a demon, and Rao, a human sheriff, and embarks on a dangerous journey to find a "fantastic spring" somewhere in the desert. Although it is a read-aloud manga, it is "a perfect balance of adventure, action, and humor. It contains all of Akira Toriyama's charms." "A tank, an old man, and adventure, which is the essence of Mr. Toriyama. A masterpiece that lets you fully enjoy the story and the quality of the pictures.

The film project was announced at "Jump Festa 2022" held at Makuhari Messe on December 17, 2010, and a 55-second video was released in conjunction with the announcement.

The animation production will be handled by "Mobile Suit Gundam," "Love Live! series and many other blockbuster anime. In addition, Sunrise is joined by Kamikaze Animation, an animation studio that has garnered the most attention for its unique technique of using 3DCG to create a style that resembles 2D celluloid animation, and ANIMA, which specializes in high-quality 3DCG animation. The team has already received a great deal of anticipation from fans.

Akira Toriyama, who has created many historical works since his debut as a manga artist in 1978, is the only person to have created this work without an assistant from the beginning to the end, even though it is a weekly serial, and he has devoted his artistic ability and energy to every detail.
Toriyama also commented on "SAND LAND," which he says is his "favorite.

In his comment, he said, "I should have thought more about the readers, but I think I gave priority to my taste. Maybe I am unprofessional. People who say they enjoy this are, to me, exactly the kind of God fans who know what they're doing! I guess that's what I feel like. I never thought it would be made into a movie, and with this quality, it's like a dream at this point," he said.

Today, March 22, the day the film adaptation was announced, is the World Water Day designated by the United Nations. The story of the film is about the search for a water source that must exist somewhere in a vast world that has turned into a desert, and information was finally released on this important day for people around the world to think about the importance of water.

In addition, three character visuals were also unveiled for the first time!
Beelzebub, the badass but pure, all-pink demon prince who is the main character of the film. Beelzebub is depicted against a pink background, his image color, in these high-impact visuals.
As the self-proclaimed diabolical devil, he has a grin on his face, but what is he really like...? The visuals also include Rao, who gazes at the destination of his journey with a dignified look in his eyes, and Sifu, whose comical expression is adorable. The visuals, depicted with the "Toriyama touch," invite expectations of the "Toriyama movie" that will be vividly displayed on the big screen of movie theaters.

Akira Toriyama (original author) comment

─ When and how did "SAND LAND" come into being?
After "Dragon Ball" came to an end, and I had tried out various short stories and short read-aloud comics, I decided to draw a work that would be the last of its kind, a work in which I could fully express myself at the present time.
Looking back now, I am amazed at how I managed to draw everything by myself without any assistants, even though it was a weekly serialization limited to one volume of comics. I am surprised at myself.

─ ─ (Knowing that "COWA" is the best, is there any part of "SAND LAND" that you can say is your favorite work?
When I draw my own manga, I like to keep the content light and sober. I like light and sober content, which is not easy to be accepted.
I actually did my best to make a serious story, while keeping the "light" part in check.

Theoretically speaking, I should like my latest manga the best.
However, looking back, I feel that at least my drawing ability and energy were great when I drew this "SAND LAND".

─ ─ What are the unique charms and characteristics of this work that only Mr. Toriyama himself feels?
For "SAND LAND," I scanned the penned paper manuscript into my PC and used software to apply solid colors and my own tones to finish the work.
I probably slept very little...
After I finished drawing all the stories, I lost my favorite wooden pen barrel that I had been using since before my debut.
It was a pen nib that had become familiar to my hand over a long period of time, having been shaved this way and that with a knife and sandpaper, and worn away with use.
I bought a new pen nib and tried sharpening it this way and that, but it just didn't feel right.
Since then, I have used it as an excuse for hardly drawing any manga (laughs).

─ What do you think about the fact that the characters, mechanisms, world view, and story are condensed into a work with a very strong "Toriyama-sensei color"?
Yes, that may be true. I feel that I gave priority to taste, when I should have been thinking more about the readers. It may be unprofessional.

─ ─ What do you think about the fact that the film is being made into a movie 23 years later?
I think that people who say they enjoy this are, to me, God fans who know what they are talking about! I guess that's what I feel.

───How do you feel when you see the current footage of the film in production?
The video I saw had many parts that were still incomplete, but I could still sense the very high quality of the video.
I never thought it would be made into a video, and with this quality, it seems like a dream at this point.

Film Information

■Film "SAND LAND
Animation Production: Sunrise, Kamikaze Animation, ANIMA
Distributor: Toho
Official website: #
Official Twitter (Japanese version): #
（Official Twitter (International version): #
Official film Instagram: #
Release: August 18, 2023 (Fri) in Toho theaters nationwide

<Story
In the desert world of Sandland, both demons and humans suffer from a lack of water.
Beelzebub, the prince of demons, forms a strange trio with Sifu, a demon, and Rao, a human sheriff.
and the human sheriff Rao, and set out on a journey to find the "Phantom Fountain" somewhere in the desert.

(C) Bird Studio/Shueisha (C) SAND LAND Production Committee