Sunday night in Japan is “Sazae-san syndrome” time. The country’s longest running television animation (see the official site of Sazae-san), this family comedy has occupied the prime time between 6:30 and 7:00 pm slot since its 1969 debut. The syndrome, which is called "sazae-san shokogun" in Japanese, refers to how people get depressed when the show is over because it means that the weekend is over. The next day is again the start of work week. So naturally some people feel depressed. Indeed, Sazae-san is a Japanese cultural institution. 

Originally created in 1946 as a humorous family comic strip, the stories are about a cheerful housewife whose husband and son live together with her parents and young siblings. Sazae is a type of shellfish and all members of her family have unusual seafood names like her younger sister Seaweed and son Cod. At its inception, Sazae was branded as a “feminist” for her outspoken personality. Further her meek husband sparked a prototype of the submissive son-in-law known as the “Masuo type.” But socially progressive characters were welcomed at a time when postwar Japan was ready for change.