When Paru Itagaki’s manga SANDA came to a close in July 2024, an anime adaptation produced by studio Science SARU was also announced.
If the names “Paru Itagaki” and “Science SARU” sound familiar, it’s not your imagination. Itagaki’s previous work, Beastars, is both highly-rated and the 120th most popular manga on MyAnimeList. Likewise, Science SARU garnered anime fans’ attention with its first full-length TV anime, Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!, and the studio is currently animating the second season of the hit series, Dandadan.
One year after it was first announced, SANDA‘s mangaka and anime staff took the stage on Day 2 of Anime Expo 2025, to show eager fans the world premiere of the first episode, and talk a bit about the upcoming Fall 2025 TV anime.
Guests:
- Paru Itagaki (Mangaka)
- Tomohisa Shimoyama (Director)
- Kouhei Sakita (Science SARU Producer)
Video Message:
- Ayumu Murase (Voice of Sanda)
What is SANDA?
“In a world where the descendants of mythical beings are looked at with disdain, and youth is prized above all else, we follow Sanda who is at a peculiar crossroads. Join his journey to discover dark truths and the changes that come with the shift from childhood to adolescence, while trying to hold on to some of the childlike wonder and positivity we all strive to maintain.”
“Unique concept and beautiful scenes, with depth reflections.”
“Weird, intriguing, and emotional manga that’s severely underlooked.”
―Nominations for You Should Read This Manga 2025
After a brief introduction from each guest, the panel screen shifted to a video message from the voice actor of Sanda, Ayumu Murase, before the audience dived into the world premiere of the first episode.
Actor Murase: In SANDA, Sanda-kun (the character I play) transforms into Santa Claus for his friend Fuyumura, and fights adults while searching for Fuyumura’s best friend Ono. It’s a story that depicts the friendship between children, and the relationship between adults and children.
For scenes I’d like you to pay attention to, the first episode is really turbulent, with an incredible flow of events, the conflict that Sanda gets caught up in, and the strength of Fuyumura’s feelings. All of these aspects are expressed with incredible realism through Science SARU’s direction and visuals, so I hope you will look forward to it.
As for characters, it’s definitely Fuyumura’s strong personality. When I read the manga version by Paru-sensei, I was surprised at her actions. I also felt the passion and calmness that Fuyumura possesses, as well as the incredible energy she exerts, all of which are expressed in the animation, so I hope you will pay attention to it.
© Paru Itagaki (Akita Shoten) / SANDA Project
Episode 1 Impressions
You’re thrown straight into the story with no setup, but the pacing and tone make that work. The character designs are super distinct and Science SARU’s animation is excellent as always. The sakuga moments are great, and you can tell the studio gives animators room to bring their own styles. The thick linework from the manga carries over really well and gives the characters a strong presence. The voice acting for the leads fits perfectly and really sells their personalities. Sanda thinking a death threat is a love confession is such a good bit. Great first episode and looking forward to the next!
After the world premiere, the guests came back on stage to discuss the anime and answer a few audience questions while Paru-sensei did a live drawing for the audience.
───Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like during the voice recording process?
Director Shimoyama: During the dubbing, Murase-san really hyped everyone up, and there was a fun and friendly atmosphere. Also, when we first heard the character voices for the episode you saw today, I remember feeling convinced at that moment that we would create a wonderful world with these voices.
Producer Sakita: The sound director’s understanding of the work was comprehensive and deep, which made for wonderful direction of the recording sessions. When we first heard the voices for Sanda and Fuyumura, it was like the world of SANDA was built just then. Also today, when I heard Touchi-san’s voice as Santa Claus again, I thought it sounded great on the loud speaker.
© Paru Itagaki (Akita Shoten) / SANDA Project
───Could you describe your thoughts behind the scene where Sanda transforms into Santa Claus?
Shimoyama: The transformation is designed so that it gradually gets completed from the top left of the screen. Since the original work is a manga, there’s no movement, but the big appeal of animation is that it moves, so we’ve created it while making sure that it’s not too flashy. It’s also a matter of personal preference, but I think it’s good to have the camera spinning when the story gets exciting, so I kept the camera moving.
Mangaka Itagaki: When I was writing the manga, I was drawing this scene very seriously, but now that I see it animated, I can’t help but laugh at it. (audience laughs) I also wrote this scene as the highlight of the first chapter, so when I heard everyone getting excited about it from backstage, it made me very happy.
───The anime has a very bold striking style, and the lighting that was used seems to make a big difference. Itagaki-sensei, how do you feel about the stylization from the manga to the anime?
Itagaki: With Beastars, the characters were created in CG and that’s how they gave movement to the characters. So this was my first experience with someone else drawing my illustrations like this, but they matched it to my style. It was a moving experience.
© Paru Itagaki (Akita Shoten) / SANDA Project
───How is drawing characters from SANDA different from your other works?
Itagaki: I had drawn a lot of animal characters before beginning SANDA. So this was my first attempt at creating a manga with human characters, and it was very refreshing.
───The anime seems to be very moody. Where do you take those inspirations from to create that kind of setting for the anime?
Sakita: The original work is very powerful, so as expected, the biggest influence comes from the original work. Aside from that, there was an anime that I watched and liked a long time ago, which also took place in a school setting. It was called Shoujo Kakumei Utena (Revolutionary Girl Utena) and I used that as a reference.
Shimoyama: We’ve incorporated references from many styles. One good example is the scene where Santa Claus is burning; using very distinctive effects, we tried to recreate the style of the super animator Kanada-san. There are elements like that in many places, so I hope people will look forward to it.
Translator note: This is likely referring to the animator Yoshinori Kanada whose work during the 1980s and 90s was a major influence on the next generation of animators in Japan.
Itagaki: I had some inspiration from the film Wolfman, where the actor Benicio del Toro transforms in response to various suggestions.
© Paru Itagaki (Akita Shoten) / SANDA Project
───Paru-sensei, in your autobiography you wrote that your ideal man is a hard-working, older, burly man, and that you had a thing for Santa Claus. Did you decide to create the manga SANDA before or after writing this?
Itagaki: First of all, thank you for reading the autobiography! I wasn’t thinking about it at the time, but what led to the subject of this work might have been the childish crush I had on Santa Claus. (audience laughs)
───When you’re animating the characters, how do you determine what their mannerisms or body language should be like?
Shimoyama: Although animation involves drawing pictures, it is a performance by humans, so when we animate Santa Claus, we draw while referencing the movement of a muscular man.
Sakita: Like the director said, we take many different photos. While moving the characters, we try to act out their movements and take videos to use as reference.
───Please leave a closing comment for the audience.
Sakita: Thank you very much for coming to today’s SANDA panel. The broadcast will start in October and everyone will be able to watch it, so I hope you will look forward to it.
Shimoyama: From the second episode onwards, many more interesting characters other than Fuyumura will appear, and the story will get more and more exciting, so please look forward to it. Thank you for today.
Itagaki: Thank you all for coming today. I’m really happy to have had the opportunity to meet so many overseas fans. Thank you very much.
And a final message to everyone at MAL!
This panel was conducted through an interpreter and has been edited for clarity.
Follow the Official X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/sanda_anime
See the official site: https://sanda.red/
Add the anime to your list: https://myanimelist.net/anime/59267/
