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A review by cyanide_latte
Sand Land by Akira Toriyama
5.0
Originally, I read the chapters of this oneshot manga when they were printed in US copies of the Shonen Jump magazine. For a long time, I didn't think I'd actually read all of the chapters, but after buying and reading through the manga itself, I'm both surprised and happy to say that I did in fact, get the entire story before. And make no mistake, there's arguably a lot of positive bias here on my part behind that 5-star rating. The story was so positive and stuck with me so long, it's definitely colored my opinion, in spite of the choppy writing and non-existent worldbuilding.
To that end, I should say that despite how fast-paced this oneshot is and the fact that this is clearly an interesting world that Toriyama didn't really explore, it's still a very fun setting and the overall themes and messages behind the story itself really help to make it memorable. I'm not sure who all outside of Toriyama's existing fanbase might enjoy this story or click with his particular style of story-telling, but please take my word for it when I say that this is good, in its own silly, haphazard sort of way. Half-baked for sure, but in the way a gooey cookie is still delicious.
To that end, I should say that despite how fast-paced this oneshot is and the fact that this is clearly an interesting world that Toriyama didn't really explore, it's still a very fun setting and the overall themes and messages behind the story itself really help to make it memorable. I'm not sure who all outside of Toriyama's existing fanbase might enjoy this story or click with his particular style of story-telling, but please take my word for it when I say that this is good, in its own silly, haphazard sort of way. Half-baked for sure, but in the way a gooey cookie is still delicious.