Sanda

In a future where children are few and regarded as Japan's most valuable assets, Christmas has become a mere legend of the past. For the students of Daikoku Welfare Academy—a boarding school where they are educated, protected, and monitored—the mythical Santa Claus is a forgotten character of fiction. For the adults, Santa Claus is a very real menace that needs to be neutralized by the Saint Nick Pursuit Unit in case he makes an appearance.

Shiori Fuyumura, a student of Daikoku Welfare Academy, is determined to find her best friend, Ichie Ono, who has been declared dead after being missing for six months. One morning, Fuyumura summons her fellow class representative, Kazushige Sanda, only to attack the unknowing boy. She is convinced that Sanda is the descendant of the infamous Santa Claus—the only person who can make her wish of finding Ono come true—and is determined to force out his dormant true self by any means necessary.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Fuyumura, Shiori Main

Shouji, Umeka Japanese

Sanda, Kazushige Main

Murase, Ayumu Japanese

Amaya, Hitoshi Main

Shin, Yuuki Japanese

Kazao, Niko Supporting

Matsuoka, Misato Japanese

Yagiuda, Saburou Supporting

Hirata, Hiroaki Japanese

Ooshibu, Hifumi Supporting

Seki, Toshihiko Japanese

Tetsudome, Toyo Supporting

Nozawa, Masako Japanese

Ono, Ichie Supporting

Nagase, Anna Japanese

Musician Supporting

Hatori, Yuu Japanese

Itagaki Supporting

Itagaki, Paru Japanese

Kanbe, Shuuta Producer

Hyuuga, Yasutaka Producer

Adaniya, Yuuma Producer

Shimoyama, Tomohisa Director

Reviews

Mar 22, 2026

Turtezin

Recommended

Story
I was actually surprised by how well the side stories were handled here. Instead of pausing the main plot for a random filler episode, multiple character arcs run simultaneously. It feels incredibly natural and shows some genuinely good writing. The problem? The payoff falls completely flat. Because of the strict 12-episode limit, we don't get true resolutions to these arcs—you're just left guessing how things might wrap up. If they had just given us 3 or 4 more episodes, we could have had a satisfying finale instead of a half-baked one. The main plot is still good, but I really wish they had explored Sanda's ... actual magic powers a bit more.

Visuals
I always appreciate a show that dares to have its own unique art style. It’s definitely a risky move compared to churning out your typical, generic "2025 seasonal slop," but I personally really liked it. Whether it clicks with you is totally subjective, but you can actually feel the passion behind the animation in certain scenes. It doesn't feel like a studio just clocking in to collect a paycheck; it has real personality.

Conclusion
Is it worth watching? Sanda is a very specific type of anime, so it’s hard to guarantee it will hit the mark for everyone. Personally, I enjoyed it, even though the story felt a bit rushed and lacked a proper wrap-up at the end. If you're looking for something a little different with a unique visual flair, I’d say it's definitely worth checking out.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 12, 2026

Krohanar

Mixed Feelings

In short:
If you don't mind a somewhat melancholic and goofy anime, but one that also brings some fun and weird situations involving Santa Claus, this is for you!

Intro:
This anime is weird. I think the author tried to innovate, exploring something I've really never seen in anime before: the idea of an overpowered Santa Claus.
Without giving any spoilers, the story takes place in a school where getting old is seen as extremely bad. Because of a low birth rate and people living a long time, kids are treated almost like "demigods."
The author's attempt to innovate is really interesting, putting the MC in a lot of unusual ... scenarios and exploring themes like puberty.

Art: 5
It didn't really click with me. The art has a unique style, but I just didn't find it good-looking.

Story: 7
Look, the story is interesting, but honestly, I'm kinda sick of the standard weak MC who "gets strong through a power up" but is still naive, and the plot just happens to mature him in weird ways.
There were several parts that explored slightly more sexual themes, but it's kind of a double-edged sword because it just didn't hook me.

Characters: 6
Meh, average. It has everything a shonen has. A group of 3 friends where the protagonist has a burden to carry, and his friends are sidekicks with sad backstories that the MC tries to carry too. Besides that, the character development isn't that good.

Enjoyment: 5
Honestly, meh. It is bearable to watch because it entertains you more or less. The story is kinda cool, but honestly, it doesn't make you want to keep watching for a long time, and it didn't bring anything special. Maybe the next seasons will be better.

Overall: 6 (Average)
Nothing much to add here. Watch it for the experience of the author trying to do something different, but don't expect too much from this anime. It is really average, but okay to watch.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Feb 8, 2026

MonteMonte

Not Recommended

Sanda is an anime that tries too hard to be something it isn’t. It attempts to explore deep themes of adolescence through an interesting near-future setting, while simultaneously presenting itself as a shounen action series whose protagonist is a 14-year-old boy who can transform into Santa Claus with superpowers. Originality isn’t the problem here, but the execution absolutely is. The concept doesn’t come together, and you’d honestly be better off watching something else.

Before watching the show, I struggled to understand what it was even about. Santa? A murder mystery? A dystopian future? After finishing it, I understand why the premise was so unclear: the plot ... itself is a jumbled mess. The anime starts in one direction, then introduces new characters, factions, and goals, only to change direction again and again. As a result, it leaves behind countless loose ends. Many of these abandoned ideas could have been interesting if they had been explored properly and used to enrich the world-building. Instead, the series feels rushed and incomplete. Perhaps a 24-episode season would have helped.

Additionally, the contrast between the anime’s ambitious themes and its utterly ridiculous core concept is jarring. The clash between thoughtful world-building and an absurd plot contributes heavily to the show’s messy identity. The central theme of “growing up” is also handled poorly in my view; it comes across less as introspective and more as a fetishization of children and their “beauty,” which made the experience uncomfortable and, frankly, off-putting.

The main characters themselves are not terrible. Sanda is a fun protagonist, and there’s some entertainment to be found in watching his thought processes as a child forced into the role of Santa, and Santa forced into the body and mind of a child. While he isn’t particularly deep, he does effectively represent the idea of being caught between adulthood and childhood, which ties neatly into the anime’s themes.

Fuyumura, however, is by far the strongest character in the series. She’s the only one whose thoughts, actions, and internal conflicts feel grounded and believable. Like Sanda, she embodies the burden of existing between childhood and adulthood, but does so in a far more compelling way. Unfortunately, many viewers on this site seem to dislike her, or even the anime itself, because of her character. This is largely due to her gender dysphoria and gayness, which some dismiss as the show being “too westernized.” I strongly disagree. These traits, unlike in western media, aren’t forced onto the viewer, instead they serve a clear narrative purpose. Fuyumura exists between identities: male and female, child and adult, which mirrors the show’s core themes remarkably well.

The main antagonist, Ooshibu, is entertaining but shallow. He’s amusing, but completely underdeveloped. The rest of the cast fares worse: characters are either introduced as if they’ll be important, only to become irrelevant almost immediately, or they fall into the category of irritating, unhinged psycho-kids.

The anime’s single saving grace, and the only reason I can justify giving it even a passable score, is its art. From the very first episode, the visuals are striking and consistently impressive. Character designs, facial expressions, backgrounds, framing, color usage, and animation quality are all excellent. The art perfectly establishes the dark, unsettling tone the series is aiming for and does a fantastic job of reinforcing each character’s personality and mood. It’s unique, stylish, and genuinely fantastic.

Unfortunately, the sound design doesn’t live up to the same standard. The voice acting is serviceable but occasionally undermined by poor audio mixing. The OST has a few strong moments, mainly during action scenes, but is otherwise forgettable. I can’t recall noticing it outside of fights, which suggests either a lack of presence or poor implementation, neither of which is good. The soundtrack in episode one stood out to me initially, but it failed to maintain that level of impact later on. Ambient sounds and background audio were also unremarkable. One bright spot, however, is that both the OP and ED are bangers.

Despite all of this criticism, I really enjoyed the beginning of the show. The first episode left me excited to see the rest, and the series maintained a decent standard for a short while before collapsing into the rushed, child-loving, and thematically confused mess it ultimately became. Finishing it left me with a sour taste, largely because the potential was clearly there.

So, would I recommend Sanda? No. Unless you’re specifically interested in its art style, your time is better spent elsewhere. I won’t be watching a second season or picking up the manga. In the end, this anime is not more than a hard-to-follow, ridiculous story that takes itself far too seriously.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	Poll: Sanda Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Dec 5, 2025	69 replies	by YoAraragi »» Yesterday, 9:26 PM
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