It has been announced that a one-hour special of the popular anime series "Sazae-san" (Fuji TV), "Sazae-san Spring Outing Special," will be broadcast from 6:00 PM on March 22nd. In the episode "Sazae Goes to Meet the Killer Whales!", the Sazae-san family visits Kamogawa Sea World in Kamogawa City, Chiba Prefecture. A killer whale show from Kamogawa Sea World was featured in the opening episode of "Sazae-san" from October to December 2025, but this one-hour special will be the first time that Kamogawa Sea World and the killer whale show will appear in the main anime.
The one-hour special will air "Sazae Goes to Meet the Killer Whales!", "The Isono Family Gets Tidy!", "What's Going to Happen to the Cherry Blossom Viewing" and "Tara-chan's Riverside Place". A commercial featuring a collaboration between "Sazae-san" and Nissan Motors will be unveiled during the broadcast.
It was also announced that the "Sazae-san" shop "Sazae-san Shop" (located on the first floor of Fuji Television's headquarters in Daiba, Minato Ward, Tokyo) will be reopening on March 27th. This will be the first renovation in about 20 years.
Fuji TV producer Takeeda Yoshinori commented, "Sazae-san is now in its 56th year on the air. The annual one-hour special will be aired on March 22nd. One of the special episodes, 'Sazae Goes to Meet the Killer Whales!', will feature Sazae's high school classmates. Along the way, they will see the giant monument at Umihotaru, enjoy a foot bath, and be treated to a landscape of rapeseed flowers stretching out as far as the eye can see... We hope that viewers will feel as if they are going on a picnic with the Sazae-san family. Please look forward to the one-hour special!"
"Sazae-san" is based on a manga by Machiko Hasegawa. It began serialization in 1946 in Fukuoka's local newspaper, the evening edition of Fukunichi, and was serialized in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper from 1951 to 1974. The TV anime has been broadcast on Fuji TV since October 5, 1969, and has been a beloved staple of the 6:30 pm Sunday slot throughout the Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa eras. In October 2024, it will celebrate its 55th anniversary, breaking the Guinness World Record for the "longest-running TV anime program."
