Bandai Namco tease new project based on Toriyama’s Sand Land

Grab your bucket and spade

Bandai Namco has announced that it has begun work on a new project based on Akira Toriyama’s short-lived manga series, Sand Land. Very little was revealed about the project and its form, but the publisher offered a short teaser trailer and promised to reveal further details on December 17.

First published in the summer of 2000, Sand Land was a short manga series written and illustrated by the Dragon Ball creator that appeared in the popular Japanese manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Set in a dystopian world that has become almost entirely desert, with water in incredibly short supply. Our “heroes” are a small-town sheriff named Rao, and *checks notes* Beelzebub, prince of demons, who embark upon a quest to find the fabled Phantom Lake and return hydration to the planet. Also along for the ride is Beelzebub’s mischievous friend, Thief.

This setup could form the basis for a fun RPG or action-adventure, and given the military coup themes and tank-based weaponry of the manga, there’s much opportunity for antagonism, action, and adventure. Given Bandai Namco’s excellent treatment of Toriyama’s Dragon Ball franchise in recent years, we can assume that they have something authentic and faithful to the source material in the works.

Either way, we’ll find out more on Sand Land come December 17. Stay hydrated until then.