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Sazae-san Hosts Her First TV Program
posted on by Kim Morrissy
The iconic Sazae-san from the TV anime of the same name is hosting a four-hour long TV special on November 22 to commemorate the anime's 50th anniversary. Sazae-san will be hosting alongside acclaimed journalist Akira Ikegami to explore the history of Japan over the past 50 years. The cast of the sequel live-action TV special will appear as guests.
The show's set will be constructed to look like the Isono house and the surrounding neighborhood. The anime staff has also produced a colored 4-koma strip from Machiko Hasegawa's original manga. A special animated segment of the show will involve Ikegami interacting with the anime's characters and revealing unexplored aspects, like the secret behind Namihei's hair and what would happen if Masao cheated on his wife.
Ikegami commented that Sazae-san is like a symbol of a Japanese family, and that its constant presence on Sunday evenings represents peace and familiarity. "It also allows us to project our feelings of what it means to be a family, whether it's the kind of family that we want in the future, or what we had in the past," he said. "It's loved by everybody."
The anime adaptation of Machiko Hasegawa's family life manga Sazae-san began airing in October 1969. The anime is usually the highest ranked animated series in Japan each week. In 2013, the show was awarded the Guinness World Record for longest-running animated television series.
The anime's 50th anniversary plans also include collaborations with popular television programs, an exhibit, depicting real-life families in the series, and a sequel stage play set 10 years after the anime, and a live-action TV special set 20 years after the anime.
Source: Comic Natalie
