{"id":132906,"date":"2025-09-02T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/?p=132906"},"modified":"2025-09-02T21:00:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T04:00:23","slug":"sanda-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2025\/09\/02\/sanda-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Science SARU&#8217;s New Series is a Feast: An Interview with the Creative Minds at the Heart of &#8220;SANDA&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Christmas comes early this year \u2013 <\/span><b>Science SARU <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">premiered the first episode of their latest anime series, <\/span><b><i>SANDA<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at Anime Expo 2025 to an impressed audience, including renowned manga artist and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SANDA<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0creator <\/span><b>Paru Itagaki. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Itagaki marked her first U.S. appearance alongside director <\/span><b>Tomohisa Shimoyama <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and producer <\/span><b>Kohei Sakita<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W4zrUXjYyTo\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SANDA<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0is a story set in the near future of Japan \u2013 a world where the magic and joys of youth and Christmas are long forgotten, but not for Sanda <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kazushige, a small boy who secretly comes from an ancient bloodline of Santa Clauses, complete with Santa-powers, buff magical oji-san transformation sequence (alongside a roaring live audience cheers), and the natural Santa-instincts to protect the hearts and dreams of children. Sanda\u2019s intimidating classmate, Shiori Fuyumura, seeks to unveil his secret by any means necessary to unravel a mystery. For fans of Itagaki\u2019s previous work, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2025\/07\/05\/beastars-final-season-part-2-debuts-in-2026-drops-new-visual\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beastars<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Science Saru is creating a true present with a delightfully chaotic and energetic animation that matches Itagaki\u2019s work of this action-packed series full of heart, which was met with impressive audience reception, and was also Itagaki\u2019s first time watching the finalized series live.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1_SANDA_AX2025_-70-scaled.jpg?resize=696%2C465&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"465\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">From Left to Right: SANDA Creator Paru Itagaki, Director Tomohisa Shimoyama, Producer Kohei Sakita<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anime Trending was excited to speak with Director Shimoyama and Producer Sakita in this interview to unwrap <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SANDA<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the heart that is at the center of this series that we\u2019re most looking forward to this season.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This interview has been edited for clarity.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/3_SANDA_AX2025_-107-scaled.jpg?resize=696%2C465&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"465\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">SANDA Director Tomohisa Shimoyama. Photo Provided.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>Shimoyama-san, <\/b><b>what were your thoughts when Science SARU approached you with the offer to direct <\/b><b><i>SANDA<\/i><\/b><b>?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>Tomohisa Shimoyama<\/b><b>:<\/b> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SANDA <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is unique, both in its story and the creatives behind it, so I was excited to make it happen in the actual anime! Dentsu and Science SARU offered it to me directly, saying, \u201cThis is something we want to make with you,\u201d and that&#8217;s how it originally started.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/SANDA-teaser-PV-screenshot.png?resize=696%2C392&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">\u00a9\u677f\u57a3\u5df4\u7559\uff08\u79cb\u7530\u66f8\u5e97\uff09\uff0fSANDA\u88fd\u4f5c\u59d4\u54e1\u4f1a<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>The concept of a muscular Santa who fights against injustice in the world is hilarious, yet almost endearing. What were your thoughts when reading <\/b><b><i>SANDA<\/i><\/b><b>?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>Tomohisa Shimoyama: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A muscular Santa is not that rare, and I\u2019ve seen that [before], but I think that&#8217;s a unique opportunity to see how it\u2019s going to work in the story design. Another part that I\u2019m looking forward to that is more unique in the storyline is that [contrast] where the main hero is both muscular and is kind of kawaii (childlike), [like] the spirit of children maturing to adults, and to see the growth of those two.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>Kohei Sakita: <\/b>My<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0first impression was that a muscular Santa Claus is not rare in Japanese culture, since the impression of Santa Claus differs per person. One of the things I\u2019m most excited for is Paru-sensei\u2019s unique take where Santa looks older, but inside his heart is that of a child, which is more like the nature of a human being, and is close to the world we\u2019re living in.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4_SANDA_AX2025_-124-scaled.jpg?resize=696%2C465&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"465\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Producer Kohei Sakita. Photo Provided<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>What are your favorite parts about working on <\/b><b><i>SANDA?<\/i><\/b><b> What are the most unique aspects of <\/b><b><i>SANDA<\/i><\/b><b>?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>Tomohisa Shimoyama:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> As a creative individual, Paru-sensei\u2019s images are really powerful and have many emotions and facial expressions. So those are some of the things I was excited to work with. In the story, Sanda transforms and looks older, but his heart is still a child\u2019s. Those gaps in between how Sanda actually feels are something characteristic of this work, especially in the spirit where Sanda feels conflicted when recognized as an older man, so there\u2019s a lot of growth in how he feels as a person.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>Kohei Sakita: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a unique storyline in the world that\u2019s happening in Japan too, the world lacks children due to the decreased birth rate. That\u2019s something behind the story of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SANDA <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as well. Sanda is going to have more conflicts between the differences of immature and mature, adults and children, and boys and girls; those kinds of conflicts within him are a unique point.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2_SANDA_AX2025_-100-scaled.jpg?resize=696%2C465&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"465\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">SANDA Creator Paru Itagaki. Photo provided.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>How did Paru Itagaki-sensei\u2019s art style and storytelling for the <\/b><b><i>SANDA<\/i><\/b><b> manga influence your approach to the anime\u2019s character art and visual direction?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>Tomohisa Shimoyama:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> There are a variety of points I like as impressions, but the biggest part was that there are more emotions and expressions in the faces, so that was something I wanted to make sure was translated into creating the anime for sure.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">In addition to that, when we work on animation for emotions and characters, we work with a team, and if it\u2019s a bigger team, I get to see the changes get applied. But I wanted to make sure to focus on the emotions of the characters to have more direct emotions and expressions. So that was the biggest point I wanted the team to know so that everyone would be on the same page.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>Kohei Sakita: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the producer, I wanted to make sure everything directly translates from the original manga to anime.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: initial; font-size: 12pt;\">Our character designer,\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"color: initial;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Masamichi Ishiyama<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: initial; font-size: 12pt;\">-san, is the one leading the character designs, and when we make more composite effects or something, that is something I want to make sure we translate all the details from the manga to the anime to align with the expressions that Paru-sensei wanted to do as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/5_SANDA_AX2025_-122-scaled.jpg?resize=696%2C465&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"465\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Paru Itagaki Live Drawing of Sanda and Fuyumura. Photo Provided.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>During the <\/b><b><i>SANDA <\/i><\/b><b>panel, Paru Itagaki-sensei commented on the transformation sequences in action for the first time, calling them \u201cabsurd in an exciting way.\u201d <\/b><b><i>SANDA<\/i><\/b><b> is a high-energy series that focuses on nuanced themes. How did that feel, hearing Paru-Sensei\u2019s thoughts, seeing the anime for the first time, and what themes stand out most to you about <\/b><b><i>SANDA<\/i><\/b><b>?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>Tomohisa Shimoyama: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My impression was that all the viewers and fans had fun! I was so happy to see people really excited for the animation, too. I had a conversation with Paru-sensei, and for example, the scene with Fuyumura in the beginning, or when he gets stabbed by Fuyumura before transforming \u2014 parts that Japanese audiences took more seriously \u2014 the fans in the US were laughing and having fun. It was a new finding to see the differences between different cultures and countries!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Turning the question back to you, these scenes were pretty violent and intense. How did you feel about that? Was it funny because something unexpected happened? What kind of feelings did you have?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-08.jpg?w=696&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>The key thing is that <\/b><b><i>SANDA<\/i><\/b><b> is earnest, upfront, and genuine. We feel that the honesty and emotional transparency in the episode were receptive to American audiences. The heart of the series is the interactions between Furuyama\u2019s intensity. When the height difference changes and Sanda\u2019s looking down on her, she\u2019s just a scared child, and there\u2019s so much human emotion that gives meaning behind the action and violence that\u2019s happening on screen. The laughter from the audience felt like an excitement and anticipation laugh since this is the starting point, and it\u2019s only going to get crazier from here.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>Tomohisa Shimoyama: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m going to make sure to tell Paru-sensei what was happening there because we were wondering, \u201cWhy were people laughing at these serious scenes?\u201d <em>(laughs)<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>Kohei Sakita:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It was a different series from my first impressions of the manga. And I expected reactions from the fans, but I\u2019m definitely learning from your comments right now. At the same time, I realize that this was what impressed me from the beginning, and I found out that that\u2019s probably what I like the most as well.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SANDA_AX2025_-29_2-scaled.jpg?resize=696%2C464&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>What parts of <\/b><b><i>SANDA<\/i><\/b><b> do you believe will make a lasting impact on viewers?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>Tomohisa Shimoyama:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> First of all, the visuals, the music, and the creativity are all great in quality, so that\u2019s something we want to cherish and make sure fans are excited for as well! I also want to make sure that people\u2019s thoughts and wishes are going to be translated properly into the story so that it\u2019s more human. [There are also] communications that I really want to make sure are translated into the anime directly from the original manga.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b>Kohei Sakita: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we\u2019ve seen in the first episode of the premiere, in future episodes, there will be more unique characters. [There\u2019ll be] more unexpected behavior and seeing the difference between what I feel and what\u2019s expected, so those differences and gaps I\u2019m more excited about, and also it\u2019s going to be those expectations of characters of different genders, ages, and maturity levels. All those fan expectations and differences are going to be something I\u2019m excited to see.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SANDA_AX2025_Stage_web-1_1-1-scaled.jpg?resize=696%2C417&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"417\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">From right to left: Creator Paru Itagaki, Director Tomohisa Shimoyama, Producer Kohei Sakita. Photo provided.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PG9F1afLT-Y?t=1s\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SANDA <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">will begin broadcasting on <strong>October 3rd, 2025<\/strong>. Future streaming sites have yet to be announced. Please see the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sanda.red\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">official website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and Science SARU\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sciencesaru.com\/en\/works\/SANDA_en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for more information.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Sanda-teaser-visual-2-scaled.jpg?w=696&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Christmas comes early this year \u2013 Science SARU premiered the first episode of their latest anime series, SANDA, at Anime Expo 2025 to an impressed audience, including renowned manga artist and SANDA\u00a0creator Paru Itagaki. Itagaki marked her first U.S. appearance alongside director Tomohisa Shimoyama and producer Kohei Sakita.\u00a0 SANDA\u00a0is a story set in the near [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":91559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1053,137,138,10],"tags":[14,4086,10954,729],"class_list":["post-132906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-feature","category-feature","category-interview","category-anime","tag-anime","tag-paru-itagaki","tag-sanda","tag-science-saru"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/sanda_teaservisual-1-e1720629626312.jpg?fit=1180%2C666&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n4QV-yzE","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132906"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132906"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134172,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132906\/revisions\/134172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}