After watching the first story of Sand Land: The Series, then running through that story in the game, I felt the adaptation of that first story had less of an impact in the game. I was expecting the same with the second story. This time, things were reversed. The story was first experienced in the game, then I returned to the series to watch those episodes detailing The Story of the Angel Hero. However, it wasn’t the case.
This second story being completely new to the world of Sand Land meant that each media could take a different route with the basic premise. With the series, The Story of the Angel Hero starts off the rivalry between Beelzebub and the self-proclaimed Angel Hero, Muniel, right from the first episode. The character of Muniel is an interesting one, that I feel gets a bit more developed here in the series than the game.
An angel who chases power, wanting to become the ultimate being. A stark contrast to the demons who have ultimate power but restrain themselves from using it except in extreme circumstances. The story explores that and further explores the discrimination that demons face. To fuel that exploration is Ann and her family. Ann is introduced in the first episode, being part of a resistance in Forest Land coming into Sand Land to find help.
Forest Land makes for a great new environment to see in action. Plenty of greenery and the blues of the water. A more mountainous terrain than Sand Land, too. A pity that there’s less exploration of it than found in the game version of events. Not even half of the run time of the second story takes place in Forest Land, and about half of that is within the capital city. I would have liked to see more, but I guess that would interrupt the flow of the story. Or at least increase the number of episodes needed to tell it.
That flow keeps the pace strong and the tense moments high. It starts events small and quickly builds them to world-ending. Creating a finale that feels personal to the characters. Whether that be the rivalry between Beelzebub and Muniel or what Ann represents to the people of Forest Land. The action is as great as in the first story, with some pretty fun set pieces that come from all the new robots introduced.
Both story one and story two combined make Sand Land: The Series a great watch. A fun premise across both stories. Plenty of great action and character moments. An interesting slice of world building where the past and present relate to each other. As I said at the end of my review of The Story of the Fiend Prince, this series is a worthwhile watch. With all the episodes now on Disney+, I can easily recommend giving them a watch.
Images Taken From:
Sand Land: The Series | S1.09 [Disney+]
