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Following her work on Beastars, which featured an animal cast, author Paru Itagaki sought to create a different kind of story. She cited the 2010 film The Wolfman as an influence, noting that Benicio del Toro's transformation inspired the character Sanda's own metamorphosis. Itagaki reflected that while she initially approached the action scenes with seriousness, she later found them humorous.^[1] The author also held a particular attachment to the Isetan Shinjuku department store, having frequently accompanied her parents on shopping trips there. This connection led to her desire to use Isetan as a setting, resulting in the story's school being a renovated version of the store.^[2] With the narrative involving Santa Claus, Itagaki also considered the Christmas season an appropriate and enjoyable timeframe for the story.^[2] Itagaki had wanted to draw a manga with human characters for a long time, but she did not commit to the idea until her late twenties. She described her thirties as a period of adulthood where she contemplated the transition from childhood, which inspired the creation of Sanda.^[3]

Prior to Sanda, Itagaki published a one-shot chapter titled White Beard and Boobs (白ヒゲとボイン, Shirohige to Boin) in Nihon Bungeisha's seinen magazine Weekly Manga Goraku on September 7, 2018.^[4] The one-shot featured Santa Claus and a sex worker. Itagaki later discussed with her editor at Weekly Manga Goraku her interest in reusing the Santa Claus character in a new series aimed at a younger audience. Her editor agreed, on the condition that she first create a one-volume manga for the publisher, which resulted in Drip Drip (ボタボタ, Bota Bota).^[5] Its collected volume was released in April 2021,^[6] and Sanda began serialization three months later in Akita Shoten's shōnen magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion on July 21.^[7]

For the anime adaptation by Science Saru, director Tomohisa Shimoyama cited animator Yoshinori Kanada as a major inspiration for his work and expressed a fascination with Itagaki's artistic style.^[8]

^ Catig, Gary (July 5, 2025). "'Sanda' world premiere impresses audience and creator Paru Itagaki". Retrieved October 24, 2025.
^ ^a ^b 変にラブコメに走らないところがすごい [2]. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. December 3, 2021. Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
^ アニメ SANDA放送記念特別クロストーク. Weekly Shōnen Champion (in Japanese) (44). Akita Shoten: 40. October 2, 2025.
^ 「BEASTARS」の板垣巴留が描く初の人間マンガ、ゴラクに読切で掲載. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 7, 2018. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
^ "Bonus ~How I ended up Drawing Drip Drip". Drip Drip. Viz Media. October 18, 2022. pp. 216–217. ISBN 978-1-9747-2449-9.
^ 板垣巴留が描く、愛を求める潔癖症な女性の物語「ボタボタ」が単行本に. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. April 7, 2021. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
^ Cite error: The named reference Sanda-ANN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Chik, Kalai (July 6, 2025). "Science SARU's SANDA Premiere Panel with Paru Itagaki". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 29, 2025. Retrieved October 26, 2025.

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