Kazushige Sanda
| Kazushige Sanda | |
|---|---|
| Sanda character | |
Kazushige Sanda and Santa Claus, as illustrated by Paru Itagaki | |
| First appearance | Sanda chapter 1: "Everything's Bright, Am I Aging?" (2021) |
| Created by | Paru Itagaki |
| Voiced by |
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Kazushige Sanda (Japanese: 三田 一重, Hepburn: Sanda Kazushige) is the protagonist of the manga Sanda by Paru Itagaki. Sanda is a 14-years old boy who is descended from the lineage of Santa Claus (サンタ クロース, Santa Kurōsu). Throughout the series, he helps his friends with problems connected to the Christmas tradition.
Sanda is shown to frequently switch between two forms: his Sanda form and his Santa Claus form. He summons his Santa Claus form by wearing red clothing and reverts back to his Sanda form by eating a candy called Bratty Beans. While in his Santa Claus form, he exhibits superhuman traits and strength reminiscent of traditions associated with the legendary Santa Claus, such as fire resistance, the ability to detect lies, and the ability to grow skis on his feet.
For the anime adaptation, studio Science Saru wanted to properly animate Sanda's transformations and actions, which led to Sanda and Santa having different voice actors, Ayumu Murase and Hiroki Tōchi, respectively. For the English dub, Edward A. Mendoza and Ben Balmaceda respectively voiced the two sides of the protagonist.