At over 7000 episodes and counting, this is the longest Japanese animation series in history (and has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for being the longest running animated television series in the world).
This was the last anime series to use traditional cel animation; around 2013 it converted to digital production.
Most of the major characters are intentionally named after seafood, as creator Machiko Hasegawa wanted to hearken back to times of full stomachs (The series began in 1946, just after World War II, when much of the population was still on the brink of starvation):
- Isono comes from "iso", or "beach"
- Fuguta comes from "fugu", or "blowfish"
- Namino comes from "nami", or "wave"
- Masuo comes from "iso", or "beach"
- Fune means "ship"
- Sazae is a horned turban shell sea-snail
- Tara means "codfish"
- Namihei comes from "nami", or "wave"
- Katsuo is a skipjack tuna fish
- Wakame means "seaweed"
- Norisuke comes from "nori", dried seaweed used to wrap sushi
- Taiko comes from "tai", a sea bream
- Ikura means "salmon roe".
Machiko Hasegawa insisted that no merchandise be made of the series, including home video release. This has made past episodes, especially those before the introduction of video recording, very rare to locate and view.
From 1969 to 1991, Sazae ended each episode by tossing a bean or rice cake in the air and catching it in her mouth. This was changed when doctors at Tohoku University Hospital and the National Center for Child Health and Development raised concerns that children may try to imitate Sazae and potentially choke on food.
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