The staff for the upcoming anime adaptation of Paru Itagaki’s Sanda manga revealed that the anime will premiere on October 3, 2025. A new promotional video, additional cast members, and information regarding Anime Expo 2025 were released on the official website.
It was revealed that Anime Expo will hold a world premiere event for the Sanda anime on July 4. In attendance will be manga author Paru Itagaki, director Tomohisa Shimoyama, and Science SARU producer Kōhei Sakita.
Check out the promotional video below:
The cast includes:
- Ayumu Murase as Kazushige Sanda
- Hiroki Tōchi as Santa Claus
- Anna Nagase as Ichie Ono
- Umeka Shōji as Shiori Fuyumura
- Misato Matsuoka as Nico Kazao
- Yūki Shin as Hitoshi Amaya
Tomohisa Shimoyama is directing the anime at Science Saru, with Kimiko Ueno supervising and writing the series scripts. Masamichi Ishiyama will handle the character design, and Tomoyuki Tanaka composes the music for the anime.
Paru Itagaki first released the manga in Akita Shoten’s Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine in July 2021 and concluded it in July 2024. Lastly, here’s an overview of the manga’s story via Titan Manga:
About Sanda
In a near-future Japan, Christmas has faded into myth, and the birth rate has dropped so dramatically that children are now the most precious commodity. Society has artificially extended adolescence to preserve their youth, and traditional holidays, like Christmas, are a mere legend of the past.
Volume 1 of Sanda introduces Sanda Kazushige, a middle-school student who unexpectedly becomes entangled in a strange and dangerous mystery. When his classmate, Fuyumura Shiori, accuses him of carrying a curse that could help find her missing friend, Ono Ichie, Sanda’s life takes a dramatic turn. Together, they embark on an incredible adventure to unravel the truth behind Ichie’s disappearance and uncover the hidden magic of Christmas itself.
As they delve deeper into the mystery, the duo faces external threats and internal challenges—questions about loyalty, courage, and the power of belief. Along the way, they confront the true meaning of friendship, trust, and the possibility of magic in a world that has all but forgotten it.
