New Anime Exhibition Gives Iconic Series Super-Realistic Makeovers

When most people think of what the longest running animated television series is, nine out of ten [...]

By Evan Valentine

When most people think of what the longest running animated television series is, nine out of ten times, your average television viewer is going to say "The Simpsons". Originally created in 1989 by animator Matt Groening, if you were to say that this was in fact the longest cartoon, you'd be wrong! Sazae-San is an animated slice of life comedy that has been running in Japan since 1969 with an astonishing 2500 plus episode run. In honor of this long running series, an exhibit in Japan is bringing these characters to life in a completely unique fashion.

The online source Kotaku posted details about the exhibit held at Tokyo's Fuji TV station which brings Sazae and her family into the real world:

For those unfamiliar with Sazae-San, which is probably a good deal of you, the series follows the the titular character Sazae and her family which includes her parents, her children, and her husband as they discover mundane hilarity in their day to day lives. Much like Seth McFarlane's Family Guy, the family also has an anthropomorphic pet in the form of their cat who walks upright named Tama. The television series was based on an manga titled "The Wonderful World of Sazae-San", created by Machiko Hasegawa, that ran for over 25 years with 10,000+ comic strips to its name.

The Real
(Photo: Fuji TV)

The exhibit itself will feature each member of the family that are brought to life by the artistic creator, Amazing JIRO, who had this to say about his work:

"When I first received this story, I wanted to do 3D animation and games in 3D, so I was very happy. However, I was immediately pressured to create the image of "Sazae-san", which celebrates the 50th anniversary of Japan's most famous national anime and broadcast. I was confident that my company, Jyuroro, would make 2D a reality in 3D, but this time there was a lot of pressure. Mr. Hampei had a lot of information such as age wrinkles and hairstyles, and it was interesting to have 2D in 3D. Sazae-san was the most important character in the protagonist, so I was particular about the impression. I was also particular about my hair style and I had a hard time fixing it many times. Sazae's family's skin feeling, eyeballs, hair, made to stick to the pores. We hope you will come and feel the "real".

What do you think of these inspired, somewhat creepy real life interpretations of the Sazae family? Do you have a familiarity with the series? Would you recommend that readers check it out? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime!

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