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Manga: Sazae-san

The character, Sazae Fuguta.

An ancient Japanese comic strip that dates back to 1946 and, perhaps more notably, holds the world record for the longest running animated series of all time � new Sazae-san episodes have been airing since October 5, 1969, making it a pop culture staple of Japan. It almost always has higher TV ratings in Japan than any other anime (and even most other TV shows period), and by a significant margin. Airings of Sazae-san in its Sunday evening timeslot regularly have viewership numbering over a tenth of the entire Japanese population. In other words, it's a pretty big deal. Despite this, it is not very well known outside of its home country (hence, the lonely singular block of text). The series centers around Sazae Fuguta, a somewhat typical Japanese housewife with very young siblings. Each episode of the anime is made up of three self-contained stories. It focuses on aspects of traditional Japanese daily life and culture, and hearkens back to an earlier, simpler, less-rushed time (since both series are so old), and relies on a Japanese sensibility to appreciate. Hence, its popularity in Japan and obscurity everywhere else.

Compare it with La Familia Burron

in Mexico, who also deals with similar topics and also being a Long Runner.

Tropes associated with/seen in this series include:

Art Evolution: The animation style was much more cartoony in the very early episodes.
- Also, the series (particularly the comic) happened to cover the period where "traditional" Japan was replaced by "Westernized" Japan. Early in the comic's run, most characters, including Sazae herself, wore traditional dress (kimonos, geta, etc). By the time the anime started over 20 years later, most characters had switched to wearing Western clothing.
Lipstick Mark
Long Runner: The animation example. It began in 1969 and still runs to this day, over 40 years later. Over 2,000 half-hour episodes have been made.
- The anime has been running for even longer than the Long Runner comic it was based on, which lasted 28 years (1946 to 1974).
Norio Wakamoto: He plays many, many characters on the show. No wonder it's been so successful.
Pok�mon Speak
Slice of Life: Helps to explain its popularity in Japan and obscurity everywhere else.
Theme Naming: Most of the major characters are named after seafood, reflecting the time period the strip was created in (one of the aims of the creator was to hearken back to times of full stomachs.)
Three Shorts: Since its first episode, the show has followed this format. Thus there's like 6,000 segments altogether.