Summary
The Forest Land arc lacks depth and character development compared to the original Sand Land manga. Angel Muniel plays a compelling villain, but other characters like Ann feel underdeveloped. Compared to Sand Land, the Forest Land setting lacks charm and personality, with a predictable story line.
The second half of Akira Toriyama sandy land anime has plot, characters and Forest slot in a fun but lighter sequel to the original manga. Toriyama's sequel to the world-famous Dragon Ball manga, Sand Land, focuses on an unlucky demon and his friends going on an adventure in a post-apocalyptic desert. A journey filled with exciting battles and deep characters, unfortunately, feels shallower in the new material.
In 2000, the Sand Land manga showed how much Dragon Ball had honed Toriyama's talent with its layered world-building and excellent balance of humor, adventure, and drama. The anime adaptation of the manga story is part one of the Sand Land anime that Toriyama fans won't want to miss.
The last half of the 13-episode anime series features the Forest Land arc, which was not originally part of the manga story. Before the tragic passing of the legendary writer Akira Toriyama, he contributed new designs and story details for the Sand Land sequel. While the new material has some of Toriyama's iconic touches and interesting world-building opportunities, it doesn't come together as well as the source material did 24 years ago.
Manga's source material is an unattainable sand dune
Manga Sand Land by Akira Toriyama, Anime directed by Toshihisa Yokoshima
Toryiama's origin story follows the Demon King's son, Beelzebub, his terrifying friend the Thief, and the mysterious but extremely capable older man who follows Roa. Throughout the first half of the anime, the trio traverse the Sand Land while searching for a legendary body of water. During that time, their relationship develops and the characters grow by learning to shed preconceived patterns and begin to rely on each other in the face of increasingly dramatic hardships. It's disappointing because of the attraction Character development and world-building don't reach the same heights in the new Forest Land installment.
The new Sand Land story begins not long after the events that saw the land's evil general Zeu dispatched and his longstanding abuse of power come to an end. Roa stops by Beelzebub's home, the Demon camp, to see if he will be involved in delivering supplies to the Picchi. The least explored character in the story, the Thief, once again joins them but is given even less time to shine, which feels like a missed opportunity to explore a character Another exuberant devil. However, the opening of The Story of the Angel Hero does not begin without introducing new characters.
As the trio sweeps through Trash Town, Roa mentions that the two demons should be welcomed for their help in freeing the Kingdom from General Zeu and providing water to the struggling desert land. However, they are still viewed with apprehension and even fear by the people of Sand Land, which feels like another missed opportunity to advance the series by exploring the impact of the positive things that Beelzebub did for the people of the earth. Things get interesting when Beelzebub encounters an angel named Muriel, is arguably the best addition to Toriyama's colorful cast.
The angelic hero Muniel is one of Toriyama's best and most unlikeable villains
Muniel is a new character Toriyama created before his death
The main antagonist of the Forest Land arc is a short and selfish angel named Muriel. Since the first season of Sand Land effectively introduced demons like Beelzebub, Thief, and even the Demon King Lucifer, the inclusion of Muriel is a tease to explore the world's angels and kingdom. the divine kingdom in which they reside, which is another disappointing aspect that the Forest Land arc fails to cover effectively. Still, Muriel provides suitable foil for Beelzebub and possibly one of the easiest characters Toriyama has created, who eats up nearly every scene they're in.
While Muriel is a suitable enemy that viewers will anxiously wait to see smashed to the ground, another important character who joins Beelzebub's crew is the mysterious and mechanically skilled Ann. While her origin does ultimately provide some interesting connections to Beelzebub, compared to more layered characters like Roa, Ann's character is more of a device to move the Forest Land plot forward instead of a fully fleshed out character. Unfortunately, the same can be said about the Forest Land location, which lacks the personality and desert-like charm of Sand Land.
Forests are less vibrant than sand-covered lands
Spend too little time exploring Forest Land to make it a memorable and unique place
As the mysteries begin to unravel and the threat of war between the Jungle and the Sandlands begins to emerge, the vast differences between the two places become increasingly clear. Each group of characters that appear in the original Sand Land story have their own arcs and effects on the story that will pay off in the end. Forest Land introduces revolutionaries, royals, and even another prominent demon character that all feel the same compared to the developments that the first half of the story displays.
It takes very little time in Forest Land before the cast finds themselves in a village where Muriel and the formidable robot General Bred have successfully staged a coup. Thanks to Muriel's manipulations, the people seem eager to rebel against their good king, Ann's father. While some interesting plot twists appear throughout this arc, most of the story beats are predictable and don't create moments of doubt that the heroes will find a way to succeed. However, more than a few Interesting battles in the second half of the Sand Land anime worth watching.
Final Thoughts and Review Score
2.5/5
While much of the world-building and character writing of the Forest Land arc is lacking compared to the first half of the anime, the new arc has some satisfying skirmishes and encounters to enjoy. Thanks to Muniel's personality and intelligent actions, it it's fun to watch him and Beelzebub fightespecially at the climax of the series, the film manages to pull off some well-constructed action sequences despite its consistent plot being convincing.
The Forest Land arc is seven of the thirteen episodes of the Sand Land anime that could have been more successful in developing its world or characters. Fans of the first part may enjoy the continuation of the story, but the new content does not leave the audience excited and curious to explore more of the world of Sand Land, as the ending of the first part did. . However, there is still enough excitement in SandIts second half does not follow up on the achievements of the first. It's just less revolutionary than fans might expect.
Source: Hulu/YouTube
