The TV anime "SANDA," based on the manga by Itagaki Paru, known for "BEASTARS," is currently being broadcast on MBS, TBS, and other networks in the late-night anime slot "Animeism." Set in a near-future Japan where children are overly protected in an era of extremely low birth rates, the unique "Santa Claus" hero action series has attracted attention for its innovative expression by Science SARU and its dynamic visuals that make Itagaki's powerful drawings appear to come to life. The anime is being produced by director Shimoyama Tomohisa, known for works such as "Yurei Deco" and "SUPER SHIRO." We spoke to him about the unique attention to detail that goes into anime and the behind-the-scenes production process.
◇Realistic and unrealistic storyline, strong characters
"SANDA" is a manga serialized in "Weekly Shonen Champion" (Akita Shoten) from July 2021 to July 2024. Set in a near-future Japan facing an era of extremely low birth rates, children, the nation's treasure, are cared for and protected by adults in boarding schools. Santa Claus, who gives children hope and dreams, is seen as a dangerous person and is targeted for elimination. When middle school student Kazue Mita's classmate Shiori Fuyumura tries to assassinate him on a snowy December 25th, he discovers that he is a descendant of Santa Claus and decides to become Santa Claus and fight against adults to protect children.
The story begins with a shocking scene in which Mita is attacked by his classmate Fuyumura with a knife in hand in a classroom early in the morning. Shimoyama said he was attracted to the "powerful grip of the opening story."
"Early in the morning, Mita is attacked with a knife by a female classmate in the classroom, and then stabbed by another classmate after school that same day. The next day, the girl comes to science class with a bomb strapped to her stomach. If you just take this story out of context, it has an incredibly strong plot, but if it's not constructed properly, it becomes a sloppy story that a child would come up with. But I think the strength of the characters, who are able to make it appealing, is a big factor. Mita completely mistakenly believes that the knife attack is a sign of affection due to her clumsiness. I was impressed by the strength of Mita's own beliefs and the depth of her acceptance."
Fuyumura knows that Mita is a descendant of Santa Claus, and uses this power to fulfill his wish to find his missing best friend, Ono, by taking seemingly crazy measures. "If you just take these elements out, they may not seem very convincing, but the force of the characters, the drawing power, and the great expressions at key points make those flashy parts interesting, and you'll want to see more," he says of the story's appeal.
He said he felt that the story's setting, set in an era of extremely low birth rates, was "nicely realistic and nicely unrealistic."
"Regarding the extremely low birthrate, looking at the current reality, it certainly seems like a reality. I also thought it was a wonderful leap of imagination that everyone has forgotten about Santa Claus because the number of children has decreased. Also, Santa Claus is not a legendary figure, but is instead portrayed as the ability of a certain family. Itagaki Paru has described SANDA as "a story about boys and adults," but by becoming Santa Claus, Mita is forced to become an adult, only to immediately return to being a child again. I think that a normal person would go back and forth between childhood and adulthood in their mind, and acquire adult-like qualities along the way, but by forcing themselves to become adults, it is more concentrated and I think that this is what makes the story so appealing."
◇Representing an oppressive school Santa's special "red"
The first thing Director Shimoyama focused on when adapting "SANDA" into an anime was the depiction of Daikoku Aigo Academy, the setting of the story.
"When manga is turned into an anime, it's colored. And not just the characters, but the backgrounds as well. The backgrounds are often larger than the characters, so we focused on carefully depicting the school to add color and make it more convincing that the characters exist in situations that may seem absurd."
The original author, Itagaki, revealed that the school was modeled after the Isetan Shinjuku store in Tokyo, and director Shimoyama was said to have agreed, saying, "I see."
"After learning about this, I went back to see the Isetan Shinjuku store. The interior has a modern, clean feel, but the exterior is made of old-fashioned stone, and is heavy and heavy. The school where the story is set protects children, but it is also a place of management, and it is a building that has a very oppressive feel. I felt that if I could create such an image, I would be able to do so. From there, I wanted to reflect on the screen what I saw and felt, such as weight, hardness, and size."
At the beginning of the story, the school is given a monotone color scheme, expressing a sense of claustrophobia and oppression. What really stands out in this setting is the "red" of Santa Claus. The main character, Mita, transforms into Santa Claus by wearing red clothing, blood, or other red items, and the red of Santa was set as a special color.
"In fact, many different shades of red appear in the story. The school jerseys worn by the students are red, as are the red-clad special investigation team, a rival organization tasked with capturing Santa. The real world is filled with many different shades of red. Of all these variations in red, I wanted Santa Claus's red to be the most heroic, flashy and eye-catching. For the other reds, I changed the saturation, tried to make them a little more purple, or green, and tried to make them slightly different from Santa's red, being careful to differentiate them from Santa's red."
◇Suspenseful imagery that highlights the characters' presence
As Director Shimoyama said, "SANDA" is also appealing because of its strong characters, each with their own quirks. How did Itagaki try to express the characters he draws in the anime?
"In order to make the characters look appealing, I was conscious of their appearance and how they behaved within the story. As for the visuals, they have great expressions at key points, so I wanted to capture that. Itagaki Paru's drawings are powerful and dynamic, so I worked hard to make sure that the momentum of the lines was reflected in the anime."
There has been a lot of feedback on social media, with people saying things like "The teacher's drawings are moving," but it is said that it can be difficult to express the lines of manga in animation.
"The nuances of those lines aren't just created by drawing them all, but are brought out by applying effects uniformly to the drawings and other processes such as photography to bring out the nuances of the lines. Sometimes the nuances are weak when drawn alone, so we supplement them with photography."
As for the story, we focused on making the characters' presence stand out.
"In scenes where you can really feel the presence of the characters, I want to recreate the impression I had when I first read the original work. 'SANDA' is a story in which everyone, including Fuyumura and Amaya (Isshi), gathers at Mita's place with their wishes, and since the characters' personalities are reflected in those wishes, I think it will be appealing if I can portray that well."
Director Shimoyama says, "I choose the means and techniques that will leave a lasting impression on the viewer," and one of those is the use of light and shadow. In important scenes, the difference between light and shadow is particularly clearly expressed.
"It's partly my own preference, but the work 'SANDA' is dramatic and has elements of suspense, so I found it easy to create suspenseful images. For example, in a coming-of-age story, a situation where a classroom is illuminated early in the morning before the sun has fully risen, with soft light slanting and shadows falling, can be presented as 'the beginning of a refreshing story.' However, in 'SANDA', this becomes the beginning of the suspense. In the scene where Mita and Fuyumura are restrained by Amamiya, the sunlight from the sunset creates a light that suggests 'danger.' Because the drama is so strong, I was able to create images that were rich and strong."
Director Shimoyama's "strong image creation" stands out even in the powerful action scenes, including the one with Santa. He says that in action scenes, the staff often show expressions that far exceed Director Shimoyama's expectations. "It's something that only happens in group animation, and as a result of each individual bringing their own ideas of 'this is interesting,' the result is a wonderful image. It's a very fortunate coincidence," he says.
Regarding the future story, he said, "There are still many mysteries, so I hope you will look forward to seeing how they turn out. From now on, characters with even stronger personalities than those who have appeared so far will appear. Visually, there are plenty of highlights to be seen, so I hope you will look forward to it." We can't wait to see what Mita and Santa Claus and his friends do in action.
