Episode 155 - Sanda

Episode 155 - Sanda

Author: Trash Manga Friends December 18, 2025 Duration: 1:30:29

It's Chriiisssstmaaaas! And this year, more than any other, we're on brand, as we discuss Sanda! No, I've not misspelt that, it's the seasonal tale of a boy called Sanda who has the power to turn into Santa Claus. Set in a world where Christmas doesn't exist anymore and the kids can do literally no wrong. All done by the Beastars mangaka. Intrigued? So were we...

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Welcome to That Time I Started A Podcast To Read Trash Manga With My Friends And Actually Most Of Them Were Trash But Some Of Them Weren't!

Or The Trash Manga Friends Podcast, for short.

New episodes drop every fortnight, where our trio of Sean, Mike and Phil read the first two volumes (or equivalent) of a manga, webtoon, manhua or manhwa, analysing every little thing to discuss what's good, what's bad, but mostly, what's trash. Five years in, we're just getting started, as trash never ends, and neither do we. So please, come join us and listen to our book club slash never-ending existential nightmare!

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Follow us on social media! Links to all platforms on our site - https://trashmangafriends.carrd.co/

Sean, our forever host, is on Bluesky & Twitch - https://bsky.app/profile/slazo.bsky.social ~ https://www.twitch.tv/slazoking

Mike, our streamer extraordinaire, is everywhere @Bersekrer - https://bersekrer.carrd.co/

Phil, our trash overlord, is on Twitter @PheNaxKian - https://twitter.com/PheNaxKian

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Support the official release! Sanda is licensed by Titan Comics - https://titan-comics.com/c/2292-sanda/

Want to check out the anime? It's available via Amazon Prime! - https://www.amazon.co.uk/SANDA/dp/B0FMYV57N6


Ever find yourself in a comic shop or scrolling through a digital library, staring at a cover that’s either brilliantly absurd or just plain baffling? That’s the exact feeling we chase on Trash Manga Friends. It began as a simple, slightly ridiculous idea: get a few friends together, pick out the most questionable-looking manga we could find, and see what happened. What you’ll hear in each episode is the genuine, unfiltered result of that experiment-the laughter, the groans, and the occasional, very real surprise. While our title promises a deep dive into the wonderfully weird and often poorly executed corners of the manga world, we’ve discovered that not everything under that “trash” label is without its merits. Sometimes a bizarre premise hides a strangely compelling story, or a cliché character arc suddenly takes a turn that makes us all stop and reconsider. This podcast is really about the shared experience of discovery, of judging books by their covers and then thoroughly debating whether we were right or completely wrong. We read them so you don’t have to, but we also end up celebrating the hidden gems and the gloriously odd choices that make this medium so endlessly fascinating. Join our conversations for a mix of sincere critique and affectionate roasting, where the definition of “trash” is always up for debate.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 164

Trash Manga Friends
Podcast Episodes
Episode 93 - Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Sousou no Frieren) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:52:26
The world of anime calls to us once more with that rarest of series – a fantasy that isn't an isekai! No, instead we're pondering what happens to the hero's party in the years, decades and centuries after their journey i…
Episode 92 - FLCL [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:45:51
Sean is running the show more so than usual, as he provides his take on a classic 00s series in FLCL! But how on Earth do you adapt something so unique to manga? Is it even possible? We discuss the Fooly, the Cooly and e…
Episode 91 - Elfen Lied [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39:36
Mike's taking charge this time and dragging us back two decades to a world of Linkin' Park and Evanescence when we cover the iconic manga Elfen Lied! Did its mature themes stand the test of time, or was it pure edgelord…
Episode 90 - The World God Only Knows (Kami Nomi Zo Shiru Sekai) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30:15
As surely as night follows day, does a romcom series follow an isekai one. But it's a classic, as we discuss The World God Only Knows, where one visual novel and dating sim god is tasked with translating those skills to…
Episode 89 - Wise Man’s Grandchild (Kenja no Mago) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:32:53
We're back to ol' inevitable this time, as we tackle yet another isekai manga in Kenja no Mago, aka Wise Man's Grandchild! Fantasy world? Check. Ridiculously overpowered protagonist? Check. But will it be checkmate once…
Episode 87 - Dark Gathering [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:27:32
Anime tie-in time has arrived once again! And the spooks are out early this year as we tackle Dark Gathering, a supernatural horror manga about one lil' girl's quest to catch 'em all to help save her family and friends f…
Episode 86 - ReLife [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:32:29
Imagine taking a pill that could take you back 10 years? Not in time thankfully, who wants to relive the past decade, but back to your youthful good looks and high school banter. That's the premise of webtoon ReLife, but…
Episode 85 - Fairy Tail [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:29:57
Year 4 is here and we're kicking off with a banger - the legendary, crticially acclaimed and super successful shonen manga Fairy Tail! Will our trio love Hiro Mashima's magnum opus, or be rebuffed by its zany antics and…
Episode 84 - Trashtacular Tournament Arc the Third Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:27:21
The group stages are over, it's time to whittle our remaining 15 series 1v1 until only one remains! Which will join Solo Leveling and Look Back as Not Actually Trash? And what will be thrown into the slurry pit of Trashe…