Akira Toriyama's SAND LAND Manga Gets Anime Film on August 18

The teaser website for the SAND LAND Project announced on Wednesday (World Water Day) that Akira Toriyama's SAND LAND manga will get an anime film adaptation that will open in theaters in Japan on August 18. Sunrise, Kamikaze Douga, and Anima are producing the animation. The website also unveiled charater visuals:

Beelzebub

©バード・スタジオ／集英社 ©SAND LAND製作委員会

Thief

©バード・スタジオ／集英社 ©SAND LAND製作委員会

Rao

©バード・スタジオ／集英社 ©SAND LAND製作委員会

The work was previously announced in December as a "screen adaptation."

The Sand Land manga is a short series that Toriyama serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from May to August 2000. Shueisha published one compiled book volume of the manga in November 2000.

Viz publishes the manga in English, and it describes the story:

In the far future, war has destroyed the entire Earth, leaving only a barren wasteland where the supply of water is controlled by the greedy king. In search of a long-lost lake, Sheriff Rao asked the king of the demons for help...and got the king's son, Beelzebub, and his assistant, Thief. Together the unlikely trio sets off across the desert, facing dragons, bandits and the deadliest foe of all... the King's army itself! It's travel adventure and tank action in this new story from Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball Z!

Toriyama began his first serialized manga, Dr. Slump, in 1980, and it inspired two television anime and multiple films. Toriyama followed it up with Dragon Ball, which ran from 1984 to 1995, and is still inspiring manga and anime sequels and spinoffs today. He is also well-known as the character designer for the Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon games.

Sources: SAND LAND film's website, Comic Natalie