Paru Itagaki is a popular manga creator best known for the series Beastars. One of her most recent titles, Sanda, received an anime adaptation, which held its world premiere at Anime Expo 2025.
The series takes place in a world where birth rates have declined to the point where children become highly protected. When a girl named Ono goes missing, her friend enlists the help of her classmate Sanda, who has a peculiar family tree, to help track Ono down. Sanda happens to be a descendant of Santa Claus and has the ability to morph into a super powered version. Who better than the Christmas figure should be the protector of kids?
Itagaki shared some of her creative process when developing the source material. Since she has spent so much time illustrating animal characters in her earlier manga, she found it “refreshing” to draw people. Itagaki drew inspiration from unlikely sources. When it came to Santa Claus, she joked that as a child she had a crush on the holiday character. She also cited the 2010 film The Wolfman starring Benicio del Toro. There is no direct connection between the two works, but maybe watching del Toro’s transformation helped influence Sanda’s own change into a super Santa.
Like those in the audience, the world premiere was also Itagaki’s first time watching the adaptation, and she definitely had thoughts. She remembered when she drew the original scenes in the manga and took it very seriously, but seeing it in action it looks a bit ridiculous. That’s just the power of the humor behind it.
Still, Itagaki found Sanda exciting and thought the effects were amazing. She also appreciated the artists who worked on the show and felt it was heartwarming to see someone else draw in her style. In addition, she is accustomed to working with black and white and tones so to see her creations in color was more than she could imagine.
Sanda arrives in October 2025.
