Is Sazae San Depressing?

March 18th, 2007 by Roaf

It’s Sunday evening in Japan, and all across the land people are suffering from “Sazae-San Syndrome.” Sazae-San is a popular, long-running family cartoon that has been broadcast every Sunday at 6:30pm on Fuji TV for thirty five years. Although the show is light-hearted and extols simple family values, it tends to depress people because they have come to associate the program with the end of the weekend. Upon seeing the closing credits of the show, viewers start to think of returning to work or school the next day and become overwhelmed with feelings of melancholy and worthlessness.
Among those most vulnerable to the condition are people without hobbies, or those who spend the weekend at home watching TV. Young men and women living alone are also known to be afflicted with homesickness while viewing the nostalgic family show.
Who would have thought a good-natured show like Sazae-San would have such a potent power to bum people out?
Read more at the marvellous blog Mari’s Diary