Sazae-san is celebrating its golden anniversary with a bang! As we previously reported, the long-running anime series is having a 3-and-a-half- hour TV special in celebration of that 50th anniversary. It will have both animated and live-action parts as well. And now, the staff have revealed the live-action part’s main cast in costume:

The cast, from lrft to right, includes Yoshie Ichige as Fune, Masatou Ibu as Namihei, Gaku Hamada as Katsuo, Yuuki Amami as Sazae herself, Hidetoshi Nishijima as Masuo, Mayu Matsuoka as Wakame, Ryou Narita as Tarao, and Hiyori Sakurada as Hitode Fuguta.

Hitode has never appeared in the anime, and she only appeared in one chapter of the manga… way back in 1954. She is Sazae’s daughter and Tarao’s younger sister.

The anime portion will feature some fantasy elements, as well as take a look at the past of Sazae’s family, as they go on a family trip. It will also feature 28 real-life families from the anime’s setting of Shigaoka. They were chosen specifically to appear in the special, and the anime portion will even show their names.

As for the live-action portion, it will be a sequel to the live-action stage play. It will take a look at the family 20 years in the future.

The episode itself will also mark the end of an era for the anime, as this will be the last time Hideyuki Tanaka will be voicing Masuo Fuguta. He has voiced the character since June 1978 and is now retiring from the role after the special airs.

source: Comic Natalie