In manga circles, Paru Itagaki is affectionately revered as a certified weirdo. Since her debut, the Beastars creator has built a reputation for crafting fearless, genre-bending stories that are unapologetically offbeat, exerting a magnetic pull that is bold and bizarre, yet impossible to tap the glass and see what wonders will never cease.
Science Saru, meanwhile, has quickly become an anime darling thanks to its own brand of visual chaos and thematic daring, with titles like Devilman Crybaby, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, and Dan Da Dan on its glittering resume. So when these two creative forces collided for the newly released anime adaptation of Itagaki’s manga, Sanda, it was less a question of “Will it be weird?” and more “How weird are we talking?”
Turns out: very. Sanda doesn’t just flirt with the bizarre—it attempts to out-freak Nightmare Before Christmas by pile-driving into a snowbank and daring to declare itself the new cross-holiday anomaly.
A chaotic blend of Christmas cheer, slasher horror, and gag comedy, Sanda delivers all of the above at a breakneck pace that feels like opening every door of an advent calendar at once, revealing a fresh, unhinged surprise with every scene packed into its premiere episode.
Sanda centers on a baby-faced middle schooler named Sanda Kazushige (Ayumu Murase), whose hapless, ordinary life takes a sharp turn when his crush, Shiori Fuyumura (Umeka Shoji) discovers his bizarre secret: he can transform into a burly Santa Claus whenever he gets “red on him”—a loophole she gleefully exploits by stabbing him.
What unfolds is a chaotic blend of Shazam and The Santa Clause, revealing Sanda bears a hereditary curse as a descendant of Saint Nick, magically compelled to grant children’s wishes whenever snow begins to fall (and the conditions above are met).
Shiroi’s wish isn’t some twisted, yandere-coded romance with Sanda—it’s a heartfelt plea to help her find her missing friend, Ichie Ono (Anna Nagase), who has been presumed dead. With Sanda’s help, Shiori hopes to reunite with Ichie in time for Christmas, honoring a promise they once made.
To test Sanda’s resolve as Shiori’s reluctant, underwear-clad Santa superhero, their first outing involves thwarting a school bombing (that she’s the mastermind behind). All of which is delightfully underscored with the soft, menacing hum of holiday carols.
Visually, Sanda stands out as one of the fall season’s most striking oddities, equal parts bizarre and magnetic. Itagaki’s flair for offbeat rom-coms and instantly legible character designs shines through, with each figure telegraphing their personality from the moment their faces appear on screen (which is especially helpful given the brisk pace of its premiere episode!).
From oversized saucer eyes and twitchy beady pupils to jagged silhouettes and wildly varied body types, every design—brilliantly realized by Science Saru’s Masamichi Ishiyama—seamlessly reinforces the show’s razor-thin tightrope walk between horror and slapstick, where every thrown glare could be a threat or a punchline.
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