Sand Land Anime Review Part 2 - "Forest Land Feels Less Lively Than The Desert"

Summary The Forest Land arc lacks depth & character development compared to the original Sand Land manga.

The angel Muniel serves as a compelling villain, but other characters like Ann feel underdeveloped.

Compared to Sand Land, the Forest Land location lacks charm & personality, with predictable story beats in the arc.

The last half of Akira Toriyama's Sand Land anime featured an entirely new storyline, characters, and Forest Land location in a fun but lighter sequel arc to the original manga. Toriyama's follow-up to the world-renowned Dragon Ball manga, Sand Land, centers on a plucky demon and his friends going on an adventure in a post-apocalyptic desert. A journey rife with exciting battles and deep characters that, unfortunately, feel more shallow in the new material.

In 2000, the Sand Land manga showcased how much Dragon Ball honed Toriyama's talents with its layered world-building and superb balancing of humor, adventure, and drama. The anime adaptation of the manga's story was part one of Sand Land's anime that Toriyama fans won't want to miss.

The last half of the anime's 13-episode run features the Forest Land arc, which wasn't originally part of manga's story. Before the tragic passing of the legendary author Akira Toriyama, he'd contributed new designs and story details for Sand Land's continuation. While the new material has some iconic Toriyama flare and exciting world-building opportunities, it fails to come together satisfactorily as the source material did 24 years ago.

The Manga's Source Material Is A Tough Dune To Top

Sand Land manga by Akira Toriyama, Anime directed by Toshihisa Yokoshima

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Toryiama's original story featured the King of Demons' son, Beelzebub, his apprehensive friend Thief, and the mysterious but extremely capable elderly man who goes by Roa. Throughout the anime's first half, the trio traverses Sand Land while looking for a fabled body of water. During that time, their bonds grow, and the characters develop by learning to shake off preconceived stereotypes and start to rely on one another against increasingly dramatic odds. It's disappointing that the compelling character development and world-building do not reach the same heights in the new Forest Land arc.

The new Sand Land story begins not long after the events that saw the land's evil General Zeu dispatched and his long-time abuses of power ceased. Roa stops by Beelzebub's home, the Demon camp, to see if he'd join him in delivering supplies to the Picchi people. The story's least explored character, Thief, again joins them but gets even less time to shine, which feels like a missed opportunity to explore another exuberant Demon personality. Still, the beginning of The Story of the Angel Hero does not start without introducing new characters.

As the trio scans a Junk Town, Roa mentions that the two demons should be welcomed thanks to their help in freeing the Kingdom from General Zeu and providing water to the struggling desert land. However, they are still looked at with apprehension and even fear by Sand Land's citizens, which felt like another missed opportunity to evolve the series by exploring the effects of the positive things Beelzebub has done for the land's people. Things take an exciting turn when Beelzebub is confronted by an angel named Muriel, arguably the best addition to Toriyama's colorful cast.

The Angel Hero Muniel Is One Of Toriyama's Best and Most Unlikable Villains

Muniel is a new Toriyama character he created before his passing

The primary antagonist of the Forest Land arc is a short and selfish angel named Muriel. Since the first part of Sand Land effectively introduced demons like Beelzebub, Thief, and even the Demon King Lucifer, the inclusion of Muriel was a tease to explore the world's angels and the divine realm from which they reside, which is another disappointing aspect that the Forest Land arc fails to expound on effectively. Still, Muriel provides a proper foil to Beelzebub and might be one of the easiest-to-hate characters that Toriyama has created, who eats up almost every scene they take part in.

While Muriel is a fitting foe that viewers will anxiously await to see pounded into the dirt, another important character who joins Beelzebub's crew is the mysterious and mechanically skilled Ann. While her origins eventually provide some interesting connections to Beelzebub, compared to layered characters like Roa, Ann's character feels more like a tool to move the Forest Land storyline forward instead of a fully fleshed-out character. Unfortunately, the same can be said about the Forest Land location, which lacked the personalities and charm found in Sand Land's deserts.

The Forest Feels Less Alive Than The Lands Covered In Sand

Too little time is spent exploring Forest Land to make it a memorable & unique location

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As mysteries begin to unravel and the potential of war between Forest Land and Sand Land begins to loom, the drastic differences between the two places grow more apparent. Each group of characters featured in the original Sand Land story has their own arcs and influence on the story that ends up paying off by the end. Forest Land introduces revolutionaries, royalty, and even another prominent demon character that all feel one-note compared to the progression the first half of the story displayed.

Very little time is spent in Forest Land before the cast finds themselves in a village where Muriel and the formidable cyborg General Bred have successfully orchestrated a coup d'état. Thanks to Muriel's manipulations, the citizens seem more than eager to turn against their kind King, Ann's father. While a few interesting twists present themselves throughout the arc, most of its story beats are predictable and fail to provide moments of doubt that the heroes will find a way to succeed. Still, more than a few exciting battles in Sand Land's second half of the anime worth watching.

Final Thoughts & Review Score

2.5/5

Although much of the world-building and character writing of the Forest Land arc is lacking compared to the first half of the anime series, the new arc features a few satisfying clashes and encounters to enjoy. Thanks to Muniel's conniving personality and actions, it's an absolute joy to watch him and Beelzebub battle it out, especially in the series climax, which successfully delivers some well-built-up action despite its consistent plot convinces.

The Forest Land arc is seven of the thirteen episodes of the Sand Land anime that could be more successful in growing its world or its characters. Fans of the first arc should be able to enjoy the continuation of the story, but the new material fails to leave audiences excited and curious to explore the world of Sand Land further, as the ending of its first arc did. Still, there is a sufficient amount of excitement in Sand Land's second half that doesn't drag the accomplishments of its first. It's just less revolutionary than fans may have hoped.

Source: Hulu/YouTube