Warning: Violence, nudity, suggestive content and spoilers!
The secret’s out: Santa is in the school! He didn’t need to come down a chimney, but rather the desperate pleas of his only believer. But then it goes from bad to worse when the principal discovers the truth and calls a covert hit squad to take down the mysterious Father of Christmas. Well, it can’t be all bad, unless the vessel of Santa turned out to have an arranged marriage at birth, threw down the gauntlet on whose going to be the vessel’s partner. All the while searching for a lost girl who turned out to be not so lost. It’s true turmoil covered in tinsel with the latest volume of SANDA.
There and Back Again
This writer has mentioned before that there have been a few translation errors in their previous article, so we’re still trying to intercede on the actual duration of Ono’s disappearance, but that doesn’t really matter now, because she’s back. But, not for long, her brief reappearance sends Sanda, Fuyumura, and Amaya into a mad panic to get to her, only for her to run away and disappear again. More confused than ever, the trio had to stop their search because the principal decided to throw a surprise funeral in memory of the very person they had just seen back amongst the living.
The catch, Principal Oshibu knows the formal wear of the students is red, and that if any of the students just so happened to turn into a giant, muscular old man with skies on his feet, he’d find his quarry. Fuyu is clearly not ready to give up on Ono, so she takes it upon herself to do what any 14-year-old girl who misses their best friend would do: blow up a funeral. Sanda figures it’s to keep his secret safe, but he also understands Fuyu’s not going to let this mockery of Ono’s memory be used as a ploy for the principal.
I’m Getting Too Old For This
The Saint Nick Pursuit squad, they’re unit chief is Saburo Yaguida. He never liked the idea of being the superior agent on the unit solely because he had encountered Santa before. Though grippy in his old age, he understands the need for his unit in apprehending Santa. The rule of law is set on protecting and nurturing children, and nothing could be more detrimental to that law than the existence of those who can find a way to break it. By that, we mean that Japan in the future has structured its nation to foster child rearing to bring its population back to a more sustainable level. Which is why they facilitate every possible measure to make sure that happens, and that last thing they need is that one thing that could overturn their manufactured system: hope.
God-Man
Through hope, the idea of something better, better than forced order by an authoritarian government. Without an idea, the students of Daikoku Aigo Academy, the future of Japan, will blindly follow the orchestrated whims of a system built to control them. With Santa exposing himself, and we mean REALLY exposing himself, to the students at Ono’s funeral, it set the stage for a way to break away from the structured control of the system.
The principal already knew Santa existed and the power he brings due to the power he gets from children, so why try so hard to dispose of him rather than use it to restore the population? The problem is simply that he’s made of magic, and that his power can’t be measured or contained and used like some wishing machine. In order to use his magic, children have to believe in him, and since they’re all controlled by the government, it goes against the system that’s been put in place, thus going against their own interests and authority.
The Boy is Mine
Sanda has had an arranged marriage since he was a baby. Enter Niko Kazao, his future betrothed, filled with the most care-free, privileged brattiness that no one could stand, especially Fuyu. As soon as she’s on the scene, she throws down the gauntlet between her and Fuyu, declaring “Kazzy” (Sanda) as her one true future husband. Right now, the infatuation between Sanda and Fuyu is still a work-in-progress, but almost immediately, Fuyu is ready to declare war on Kazao.
Only Fools Fall in Love
Speaking of infatuation, it seems it might end before it even began. Sanda can’t maintain his Santa form if he’s in love with a child, meaning Fuyumura. His fighting Yaguida again when he transferred to the academy undercover as the new PE teacher proved that. And since Yaguida can’t fight a child, the fight ended in a stalemate. If Sanda can’t be Sanda anymore, he can be with Fuyu, but then he won’t be able to help her find Ono as he promised. Also, Yaguida is equally in hot water; he can’t fight a child nor arrest Sanda without proof that he’s Santa. If he doesn’t capture Santa by the month’s end, Oshibu’s going to punish him with a heart transplant.
Final Thoughts
The SANDA series is an excellent slice-of-life story when incorporating a more altruistic turn by adding a character from the LGBTQ+ community. Fuyumura identifying as gender fluid really helped flesh out the character more, which is understandably difficult in a modern Japanese culture. SANDA takes place in a fictional future, so sometimes Japanese manga writers can get away with it. But the only one they can’t get away with it, is with Oshibu. Again, structured control would prevent intimate relationships between those of the same gender, as well as arranged marriages at birth. Now with Ono back, we’ve got a love quadrangle with her, Fuyu, Sanda, and Kazao. Can the four of them carry out Santa’s true purpose or is it going to be a mad squabble for love supremacy? Stay tuned until the next volume of SANDA.
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