Christmas has come early, as Science SARU, the animation studio behind the 2024 mega-hit Dandadan (which returns for Season 2 this Summer), has unveiled the newest trailer for its upcoming supernatural Christmas action anime, Sanda. Science SARU is renowned for leaning into the weird and wonderful aspects of anime, bringing them to life in unique and breathtaking animation. Sanda appears to be no different, as the usual Yuletide joy is given a kick-ass spin in this eagerly anticipated show. The new anime has been in the works for almost a year, and fans of the titular manga only have a few months to wait before Sanda is unleashed.
Sanda is based on the manga by Beastars creator, Paru Itagaki, and blends Christmas spirit with dark magic and epic action to create one of the most unique anime releases this Fall season. The manga was published in Akita Shoten’s Weekly Shonen Champion between 2021 and 2024, with the anime being announced on the day of the manga’s completion.
The new trailer for Sanda highlights the unique animation style, which has been pulled directly from Paru Itagaki’s manga. The anime blends Itagaki’s style with the gorgeous animation quality that Science SARU has become known for. The series is directed by Shimoyama Tomohisa (Yurei Deco), with Kimiko Ueno (Delicious in Dungeon) overseeing series composition and scripts. Masamichi Ishiyama (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) is in charge of character design and chief animation direction, and Tomoyuki Tanaka is composing the scores.
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What Is Sanda About?
Despite its winter setting and close mythological ties to Christmas, Sanda is far from your average happy holiday story. The series is set in the near future, where the world’s birth rate is declining rapidly, and, as a result, children have a much higher social status than adults. Christmas has also been forgotten as a legend, after Santa Claus was captured and sealed away by a curse. The show follows Sanda Kazushige, whose classmate wants to kill him because of his connection to Santa and the curse that traps him.
If you hadn’t guessed from the above description, Sanda is absolutely bonkers, and it perfectly fits Science SARU’s eclectic filmography. The trailer also unveiled some new additions to the cast. Hiroki Tochi voices Santa Claus, Ayumu Murase is Sanda, Umeka Shoji is Shiori Fuyumura, Anna Nagase voices Ichie Ono, Yuki Shin is Hitoshi Amaya, and Misato Matsuoka is Niko Kazao.
Sanda premieres on October 3 as part of the Fall anime season. The full episode count hasn’t been revealed yet.
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