Star voice actor is 85 happening 25.
When folks outdoors of Japan consider anime, the works of Studio Ghibli or beloved sequence like Dragon Ball or Sailor Moon typically come to thoughts. However for Japanese folks, a quintessential anime is Sazae-san, and for good purpose because it has been gracing Japanese TV screens for a whopping 55 years and counting, totaling some 2,500 30-minute exhibits give or take – way more in case you rely the truth that every present is definitely made up of three completely different episodes.
In honor of its fifty fifth anniversary, Guinness World Information has bestowed two new awards upon Sazae-san. The primary continues to acknowledge it because the longest-running animated TV program on the planet and the second honors its star Midori Kato for the longest profession as a voice actor for a similar character on an animated TV sequence.
Now 85, Kato resides the dream of being perpetually 24 by way of her character of Sazae Fuguta and exhibits no signal of stopping. She has as soon as once more damaged her personal award given final time in 2019 to have fun the present’s fiftieth anniversary, and upon receiving it this yr, stated: “I hope that even your grandchildren will proceed to look at!”
Many individuals got here out on-line in assist of Kato and Sazae-san’s continued success.
“I used to look at Sazae-san each Tuesday and Midori Kato is superb! She’s additionally completed the narration for Makeover! Dramatic Earlier than & After for a very long time.”
“Congratulations! We stay up for seeing you attain new heights sooner or later!”
“Her and Masako Nozawa are in a league of their very own.”
“Superb report! She’s one among a form and hasn’t aged since I used to be a child.”
“Sazae-san has been on the air since I used to be born and have become a part of my weekly routine.”
“Typically I activate Sazae-san on Sunday evenings and it all the time relaxes me. Many of the actors have been changed on account of previous age or loss of life, however the brand new voices don’t really feel misplaced.”
The enjoyable nature of the Sazae-san sequence is a giant a part of its unimaginable longevity. The present has by no means tried to push the envelope or outdo itself and maintained a gradual output of easy, timeless humor. And once I say “timeless” I imply that in essentially the most literal sense.
Naturally, being a cartoon the characters don’t age however what’s distinctive about Sazae-san is that their setting doesn’t age both. The characters nonetheless use rotary telephones and hardly even use their CRT tv set which at the least appears to have been up to date to a late-’80s mannequin. This stuff by no means actually stand out, nevertheless, and it makes the general environment really feel extra cozy slightly than outdated or deliberately retro. It’s type of like visiting your grandparents’ home.
▼ It’s normally solely jarring after they do commercials and the household is abruptly driving round in a 2020 Nissan Serena with sensor help.
There’s additionally the household dynamic that would appear nearly alien in trendy instances wherein Sazae is about 10 years older than her brother and sister, suggesting Sazae’s father was despatched off to serve in World Struggle II quickly after she was born. However that too is only a matter of truth and by no means actually dwelled upon, a lot in order that you can mistakenly assume Sazae’s siblings are her children and never lose an oz of enjoyment due to it.
▼ Certainly, numerous viewers – presumably most viewers – have at one level mistakenly however understandably assumed Katsuo and Wakame are Sazae’s children slightly than her siblings.
All of it works due to the sequence’ down-to-earth humor and storylines that concentrate on the household slightly than the world that should be altering round them. In that approach, it continues to attract youthful viewers in with its cute jokes and holds onto older viewers with its comforting sense of stability and reliability.
The present’s fifty fifth anniversary can be celebrated on Fuji TV by displaying rigorously chosen “masterpiece” segments from 6:50 to 7:00 p.m. every evening from 25 to 29 November and a one-hour particular on 1 December. For individuals who have by no means seen it, this might be an excellent entry level as a result of regardless of the dearth of robots or magic it truly is a giant a part of anime’s DNA.
Supply: Guinness World Information, Every day Sports activities, X/@livedoornews
Photographs: Guinness World Information
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