REVIEW: ‘Sanda’ Episode 4 — “Zeus, Smasher Of Textbooks”

Sanda Episode 4, “Zeus, Smasher of Textbooks”, continues with the fight between Kazushige Sanda (Ayumu Murase) and Saburo Yaguida (Hiroaki Hirata), leader of the St. Nick Pursuit Unit. While Sanda and Yaguida are fighting, Shiori Fuyumura (Umeka Shouji) reminisces about a core memory she had with her best friend, Ichie Ono (Anna Nagase). After the fight and Ono’s funeral ceremony, the school dynamics change when the students see Santa for the first time and think he’s God. On a separate note, Fuyumura begins to open up to Sanda/Santa a bit more.

The fights in Sanda Episode 4 are nothing grandiose or new; however, the composition and angles director Tomohisa Shimoyama selects make the fights interesting to watch. There are camera tilts, zoom-ins, and zoom-outs that frame its characters in a way that doesn’t feel boring or stale. Even from previous episodes, Shimoyama consistently flexes their blocking in film knowledge.

The eradic music in Sanda Episode 4 epitomizes the tone of the whole show.

Sanda Episode 4 contains numerous score beat switches throughout the fight and episode, making the show sound audibly discordant. Perhaps this suggests the overall tone of this show and its story. This semi-dystopian Japan is set in a strange society where children are revered as national treasures, going as far as letting them commit murder without consequences.

Throughout Sanda and Yaguida’s brawl behind the school gymnasium, there are some jazzy piano and brass instruments prominently featured, switching up beats around two or three times. Then, there’s also some EDM and house beats, backed with subtle jingling bells. And somehow, this all works for the fight sequences because they’re fast-paced and drive up the tension well. 

Even in the slower, emotional moments, the score is subtly there with some slow, funky beats. Only in certain heavy dialogue exchanges does the score vanish, allowing the voice actors to shine. This happens in Sanda Episode 4 during a heartfelt exchange between Sanda and Fuyumura. After Fuyumura’s sudden realization during Sanda’s skirmish with Yaguida, Fuyumura starts to open up emotionally to Sanda. 

Sanda Episode 4 dives deep into Fuyumura’s teenage psyche.

“I like you this way, Sanda,” Fuyumura says, putting a red coat over Sanda to transform him into the bigger Santa Claus form. This whole five-or-so-minute conversation between Sanda and Fuyumura is the strongest theme this show has explored so far. Fuyumura is questioning everything about her sexuality, what she’s attracted to, and grappling with her childlike tendencies versus her adultlike ones. 

Sanda also has some character development this episode, as he thinks to himself: “How many times a day does she switch between being a child and being an adult?” This is an identity conundrum for a 14-year-old because it’s a major transitory time in their lives. The great part is that the anime shows Fuyumura going through this confusing time in her life through flashback moments with Ono, as she blushes seeing the naked David statue in their school textbook. 

Sanda Episode 4 shows a lot about its characters, rather than telling the audience who these characters are—leaving their moralities up to the viewer to decide. Despite Fuyumura’s stoic, grown-up presentation, she craves hugs from someone bigger than her. This is likely why she makes Sanda transform. This vulnerable moment also hints that Fuyumura might not have parents to hug anymore, so she craves that physical touch behind her tough and tall exterior. 

Sanda Episode 4 has too many Beastars references.

So far, the most jarring aspect of Sanda is how often it references Beastars. Yes, this is another Paru Itagaki adaptation, but does the audience need to be constantly reminded of that with little easter eggs spread out across the season? Maybe for the die-hard Beastars enthusiast, this is a nice nod. The “God-pa” plushies are fairly cute, and could be a real-life merch item if Sanda gets more popular. Otherwise, the Beastars plushies in this episode and the poster in Episode 3 come off a little too self-indulgent for the mangaka to include these hidden references.

Sanda Episode 4 is the strongest episode yet—providing entertaining fights and in-depth emotional conversations, and set pieces. With the right scoring and music choices, this anime continues to evolve and flesh out a complex society where Japan’s birth rate is dwindling. The tease at the end of this episode introduces a new character named Niko Kazao (Misato Matsuoka), hinting that she’s another piece of the puzzle to solving Ono’s whereabouts.

Sanda Episode 4 is streaming now on Prime Video, with new episodes every Friday.

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