This anime has been running for 55 years and has broken its own Guinness record.

Important points

• Sazae-san is an anime with lasting influence and has over 2,700 episodes and a Guinness World Record.
• The series began as a forward-thinking manga that challenged gender roles. It later developed into a light-hearted slice-of-life story.
• Sazae-san has been broadcast since 1969, stopping only twice due to unusual circumstances. It still maintains its popularity as a family program.

Nowadays, a good portion of anime that airs in Japan are also broadcast overseas. Maybe not at the same time. But they have finally received an official international release.

This was a big change from just a few decades ago. But there is one series that has been airing in Japan for many years. It appears to have rarely been released in America. The anime is also a decades-old hit that has been listed in the Guinness World Records. Sazae-san–

What exactly is Sazae-san?

Sazae-san Starting to be Yonkoma Manga (four-panel short stories Often has comedic content) by Machiko Hasegawa in Japanese newspapers. This story started in the local newspaper. But Hasegawa was later invited to write stories for the Asahi Shimbum in Tokyo, and the stories were published daily from 1946 to 1974, when Hasegawa finally retired. (Unfortunately, she passed away in 1992.) The manga has been collected into 68 volumes, containing more than 6,000 volumes.

Sazae-san The manga was very forward-thinking for its time. Sasae Fukata was no ordinary housewife. She tended to dominate her husband. And at one point she even became a feminist. Her neighbor didn't do all this very well. Because Sazae often subverts gender role expectations. But despite these political issues But most of these stories are light-hearted life stories. And it's not a dark critique of society.

The story was then adapted into animation. Sazae-san It first aired on October 5, 1969 on Fuji TV, and no one could have ever imagined that it really would. So what will this animation look like?

More than 2,700 episodes aired in Japan.

Since 1969 Sazae-san New episodes were aired every week during the weekend. It is usually the most watched weekly anime on Japanese TV. What is behind such a successful series? It is family entertainment. Parents and children Watch together on TV It's actually big news when a seasonal anime has more views than this classic weekly entertainment.

Despite the political “tone” of this area Sazae-san Often dealing with various matters It's always been handled gently, and things have actually changed from the original. These days, the anime is seen as a nostalgia for the “good old days,” and Sazae is now a regular family housekeeper. She might seem a little clumsy. But it's not exactly feminism. Even though she is an icon of Japanese TV.

Sazae-san only took two breaks.

Reruns only occur during difficult times.

This year is considered the year that It's the anime's 55th anniversary with more than 2,700 episodes. (And it's still counting!) You might be wondering if the series ever had a break. And it really is, but Only twice due to extreme circumstances– In the year 1975, amidst the oil crisis Sazae-san New episodes ran for one month in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So they had to re-run the episodes, which is a big deal for animations with tight schedules.

Due to the milestone and 55th anniversary, Guinness World Records recognizes the series as the longest-running animated television show, according to SoraNews, a record. Sazae-san Conquered for her part (indeed, it's now her second win), Guinness has also awarded actress Midori Kato the award for voicing the same character (Sazae) ever since. Since then, Kato, now 85, has received the same honor.

In summary, this story is as much a story about the daily lives of ordinary people as it is about ordinary people's lives. With many sitcoms, the only difference is that Sazae-san is an “animated sitcom,” and you don't want to ask your mom to change the channel when she's been treated to decades of Sunday animated entertainment in Japan.

unfortunate,
Sazae-san
It is not officially available to watch or stream in English.