''Sanda'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by

Paru Itagaki is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known as the creator of the manga series ''Beastars'', for which she has won the 2018 Manga Taishō, a Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, a Kodansha Manga Award, and a Japan Media Arts Festival Award. She is t ...

. It has been serialized in

Akita Shoten is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Teio Akita on 10 August 1948. As of 2020, the company's president is Shigeru Higuchi. Magazines Male-oriented manga magazines ''Shōnen'' magazines * – Bimo ...

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

Weekly Shōnen Champion is a Japanese ''shōnen'' manga magazine published by Akita Shoten. History ''Shōnen Champion'' was first published on July 15, 1969. It has had numerous popular series by manga artists such as Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai, Shinji Mizushima, Masami ...

'' since July 2021, with its chapters collected in twelve volumes as of January 2024. The story takes place in the future, where the birth rate in Japan has been rapidly declining. The main character, Sanda Kazushige, is found to be the descendant of

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

by his classmate, Shiori Fuyumura. Together, they attempt to find Fuyumura's missing classmate, Ono Ichie.

Synopsis

Setting

The story is set in Japan in 2080. Affected by the declining birth rate, Japan has implemented a series of control policies for minors, including arranging marriage partners from infancy, not allowing children to sleep to slow down development, and needing to use the toilet separately from adults. Young people's social status is also higher than adults.

has been sealed for a long time because of the curse, which makes the society think that Santa Claus has disappeared, and regard

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

as an ancient custom or fictional legend.

Plot

On December 25, when it was snowing, middle school student Sanda Kazushige's body seal was broken by his classmate Fuyumura Shiori, making him look like Santa Claus. Later, Sanda discovers that he can change back into his middle school form by eating jellybeans, or change into Santa form by wearing red. The reason why Fuyumura lifted the seal was that she hoped that Sanda would help find her missing classmate Ono Ichie, and also hoped that he would remind the society of Christmas.

Production

Before the release of ''Sanda'',

published a one-shot chapter, titled , in

Nihon Bungeisha , or , is a book and magazine publisher established in 1959 and based in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Magazines *'' Weekly Manga Goraku'' *''Comic Heaven'' *''Bessatsu Manga Goraku'' *''Manga Goraku Nexter'' *''Golf Lesson Comic'' *''Manga Pachinko D ...

's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''

Weekly Manga Goraku is a Japanese weekly manga magazine published since 1968 by Nihon Bungeisha which targets a demographic of adult men. The magazine is published every Friday. Serialized works Listed alphabetically by title. *''69 Denashi'' (Yasuhito Yamamoto) *' ...

'' on September 7, 2018. The one-shot was about Santa Claus and a sex worker. Itakagi talked to her editor at ''Weekly Manga Goraku'' about wanting to make another series reusing the Santa Claus character, but targeting it towards younger readers. Her editor agreed on the condition that she would first make a one-volume manga for the publisher, which ended up being , whose collected volume was released in April 2021; ''Sanda'' started three months later in

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

'' on July 21.

Publication

''Sanda'', written and illustrated by

, started in

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

'' on July 21, 2021. Akita Shoten has collected its chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was released on December 8, 2021. As of January 5, 2024, twelve volumes have been released.

Volumes

References

External links

* * {{Weekly Shōnen Champion Akita Shoten manga Santa Claus in fiction Shōnen manga