Sanda Vol 3 Review

 

Sanda Vol 3 Review

Creator: Paru Itagaki

Letterer: Bensidi Ayoub

Translation: Motoko Tamamuro & Jonathan Clements

Editor: Louis Yamani

Designer: David Colderley

Publisher: Titan Manga

Price: $12.99

Release Date: May 19, 2026

 

Principal Hifumi Oshibu has a problem. The state has charged him with safeguarding the children in Daikoku Welfare Academy. In this era of low birth rates, the government segregates bathrooms according to age. Children wear unisex school uniforms. And due to the protective drugs coursing through their bodies, they never sleep.

 

Yet one of his former students has slept. And after one night of sleep, Ichie Ono ran away ashamed because she had reached puberty. Even though she's snuck in occasionally, Hifumi Oshibu tried to hold a funeral for her. And knowing that Santa Claus is also lurking around his school, he laid a trap. But Saburo Yagiuda of the Saint Nick Pursuit Unit didn't capture Santa Claus when he appeared. And before he destroyed the funeral, Santa appeared as a nude, muscular man reminiscent of a Greek god.

 

Now, all the children worship Santa Claus as a god, and are thinking about puberty. Can Saburo Yagiuda capture Santa Claus before Hifumi Oshibu condemns him to an early death? And what will the government do when they realize that Hifumi Oshibu has lost control of Daikoku Welfare Academy? Let’s leap into Sanda Vol 3 and see!

 

Story

Shiori Fuyumura is regular in her habits. The girl rarely smiles. She brings explosives to dangerous situations. And Fuyumura does her laundry at the same time each day. But when Hitoshi Amaya and Kazushige Sanda wonder why she's taking so long, they discover that Ichie Ono has returned to the school. And they find Principal Oshibu standing over the girls. Sanda has had trouble transforming into Santa Claus lately. He has struggled to accept that he is a child and an adult. Yet when he finds the girls in danger, he sheds his boy form and becomes Santa Claus, the children's protector.

 

In Sanda Vol 3, Sanda wants to cling to his childhood. But just as one night of sleep transformed Ichie Ono, Sanda is growing more comfortable with life as a grown-up. So far, he has protected his friends with his imposing size, his impressive musculature, and his explosive transformations. He has also proven adept at fleeing danger. Yet when Santa Claus must fight to protect children from danger, he recognizes he needs to learn how.

 

In this future of declining birthrates, Japan is trying to preserve its shrinking population. While the government imposes its ideology on society, it exerts strict control over the adolescent period of people's lives. The government recognizes that children are full of energy, creativity, and enthusiasm for life. Yet they are more prone to act on their anger, or even kill out of curiosity. Recognizing this, the government protects them by not punishing them for killing adults. Yet the rules that protect the children from aging also protect the adults from children with an inclination to kill in Sanda Vol 3.

 

Art

Shiori Fuyumura has never felt like she belongs. And unlike her fellow students, she sleeps every night. Although she towers above them, her body exhibits no signs of puberty. When she meets Ichie Ono, Fuyumura recognizes that her friend has grown taller. Yet Paru Itagaki’s art reveals that Ono has matured in other ways.

 

Like the Incredible Hulk, Kazushige Sanda’s transformations into Santa Claus have often ripped his school attire from his body. But when Sanda rushes to protect Fuyumura and Ono from the Principal, Hitoshi Amaya, topples a container of tracksuits on Sanda. The red clothing transforms around his adult body, giving Santa Claus a sporting look with a characteristic red hood in Sanda Vol 3.

 

Bensidi Ayoub places dialogue in balloons of varying sizes and shapes. Dialogue enlarges and emboldens as situations grow fraught, while dotted lines surround lowered voices. Thoughts fill jagged cloud balloons, shine inside burning suns, and hover before characters and backgrounds. Sound effects accompany battles, bodily enhancements, and Niko Kazao teaching Sanda to see women in their proper light. Thanks to Titan Manga for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Do we improve with age? Or, despite increases in physical strength, do the traumas we experience as we age weaken us? Principal Hifumi Oshibu believes that children represent the epicenter of Human evolution. So while he tries to preserve them in their state of perfection, he sacrifices his Humanity to maintain the illusion of youth in Sanda Vol 3.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Sanda Vol 3.

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Sanda Vol 2.

 

For how this series began, see my review of Sanda Vol 1.