SANDA: Fall 2025 Preview

One of the more intriguing entries this fall is SANDA, based on the manga by Paru Itagaki, the creator of Beastars. That pedigree alone makes it worth a look.

The setting is a near future Japan where the birth rate has collapsed so severely that children have become society’s most precious resource. Adolescence has been artificially stretched out to preserve youth, and old holidays like Christmas have faded into legend.

Into this strange world steps Sanda Kazushige, a middle school student whose life is upended when his classmate Fuyumura Shiori accuses him of carrying a curse that might help locate her missing friend. The two set off on an adventure to uncover the truth behind the disappearance, and the lost magic of Christmas itself.

The series streams on Amazon Prime Video with new episodes on Fridays, and early viewers have given the opening episode a warm reception.

My take: A dystopian mystery wrapped around the forgotten magic of Christmas is such an unusual hook, and coming from the mind behind Beastars, I trust it to be genuinely strange in the best way. This is one I am eager to keep watching.