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Last TV Anime With Physical Cels Makes Digital Transition

The Sazae-san television anime announced on Friday that it will be making the change from cels — transparent sheets on which animation frames are drawn — to digital production next month. According to the Association of Japanese Animation, Sazae-san was the only anime remaining on the air that used hand-drawn cel animation, and with it changing to digital, there will be none left.

For a long time, anime was drawn cel by cel, with each cel being photographed. However, digital computer animation was introduced in the late 1990s, and became the focus of anime producers. The Doraemon anime also switched to digital in 2002.

The anime adaptation of Machiko Hasegawa's Sazae-san manga began airing in 1969, and the show celebrated its 45th anniversary of airing this year. The anime has had over 2,250 episodes (with about 7,000 short stories) as of September 1, and constantly ranks high on the Japanese TV rankings. Sazae-san was also recognized by the Guinness World Records committee as the longest-running animated television series in the world earlier this month.

In addition, a live-action drama special adapting author Machiko Hasegawa's life is scheduled to air in November. A special retrospective on the past 7,000 stories will also air this fall, along with the fourth live-action special starring Arisa Mizuki as Sazae.

Source: 47 News