Possible Sailormoon fancel

cutiebunny · Post by **cutiebunny** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:35 am

I have become quite suspicious of this item -

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sailor-Moon-anime-M ... 7C294%3A50

Due to several 'errors' on the item. Here are 3 screenshots made from a an original, high quality DVD -

If you watch this sequence, it appears that while Haruka(blond) is speaking, Michiru(turquoise hair) is not moving. There is no difference in her coloration, any slight painting errors, etc. This seems to indicate that the Michiru layer is possibly its own layer. I also believe that the Haruka layer is its own layer, with an additional layer being the mouth. However, as I do not own anything from this sequence, I can not be certain.

There are some other slight diferences -

1) The shading in Michiru's hair does not match up to any cel in the sequence. The shading on the bottom right portion of the hair is the most obvious of them all. The cel makes it look like a glob.

2) The cel does not extend enough. Notice on my screenshots how much of Haruka's jacket is shown. The cel in question is not painted up to that portion. Additionally, the shading on the red portion is not correct.

3) Haruka's goggles are supposed to be grey with black shading. They're just black in the cel in question.

4) What is up with the purple scarf in the cel in question? It looks like a big glob of white has been painted on top. It definetely doesn't look like the one in the anime.

5) In the first screenshot(which matches the one listed on E-bay)Haruka's mouth is not correct.

While it's possible that the pixalation quality of the cel on E-bay might be low, it can't account for all the differences I've found in just a brief examination.

Thoughts?

sailorsv13 · Post by **sailorsv13** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:42 am

Sorry I posted on this a bit after you did so I will post here instead. I agree with you, I think this was a fan cel made by a talented artist* and sold on Yahoo Japan a while back.

*well when I say talented artist I suppose I mean without the obvious lack of attention to shading and clothing detail ^.^

majinuub · Post by **majinuub** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:56 am

I noticed that cel and what made me question it was Michiru's scarf

. The colors are a bit off to me as well but it may be the scan/photo quality.

redwolf · Post by **redwolf** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 2:06 pm

I definitely vote fancel. The scarf fur is really the biggest clue. Check out Michiru's neck as well... It's shadowed in the auction cel, but not in the screenshot.

From what you said about the scene, I agree that there probably should be separate layers. It's hard to say for sure, but the auction looks like it's just one layer. Also, I'd think the edges of an original would extend a bit farther (showing more of their jackets, and more along the top and sides). There would be zero room for error or adjustment when filming this shot if this cel were a real production cel.

The cel is also in pristine condition. Not always damning when it comes to Sailor Moon cels, as I have one that was showing very little if any fading from the S series, but when you combine it with all the other clues...

pixie_princess · Post by **pixie_princess** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 2:11 pm

I've got a sketch of Michiru here: http://galexia.rubberslug.com/gallery/i ... mID=199360

and the scarf looks way different then the cel. I'm not sure if it's from a little before or after.

ReiTheJelly · Post by **ReiTheJelly** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 2:53 pm

Did Sailormoon ever do test cels for sequences?

pixie_princess · Post by **pixie_princess** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 3:12 pm

I'm not sure, but I have seen sketch scans from the Healed Galaxia sequence where a few were reversed. I think Luna Art might know since she's the care taker of a substantial SM collection.

cutiebunny · Post by **cutiebunny** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 3:34 pm

I have one of these cels from the Healed Galaxia sequence. I also own another cel(and sketch) from this sequence. While the later one is facing the way shown in the anime, the sketch is not. That's the only test sequence I know of, but if there was one sequence, it would be safe to assume that there were others. I just haven't seen any(that I can recall) in all my years of collecting from this anime.

The fact that the cel has no fading is a concern as most Toei cels of this age have some fading. I have a few(small amount) that are from the S - Sailorstars season that, as of yet, do not, but I believe that is largely due to how the item has been cared for. Sometimes I receive cels that are wrapped in several layers of polypropelene bags, and to me, that indicates that it was cared for by someone who understood the fragile nature of cels and how to care for them. And, in some cases, it was because the outline was done in a different color(blue).

I would be cautious of bidding on this cel for the above reasons. I do not believe that it was used in the final product.

iwakuralain16 · Post by **iwakuralain16** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:50 pm

majinuub wrote:I noticed that cel and what made me question it was Michiru's scarf . The colors are a bit off to me as well but it may be the scan/photo quality.

Same. The scarf is what caught my eye on the other post.

logorzat · Post by **logorzat** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 7:28 pm

Oh no! I bid on this cel before I saw this post! Now what do I do?

sailorsv13 · Post by **sailorsv13** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 9:16 pm

logorzat: I think you should contact the ebay seller with a link to this thread showing clearly that this is not an original cel (or even ebay). You should not have to be penalized for the seller's lack of knowledge of what they are selling. I am almost positive this cel was done by a popular fancel artist on Yahoo! Japan a half a year ago or so (because also listed at the same time was the shot of Setsuna and Hotaru from the same sunset sequence in ep. 200). I wish I would have saved the auction page. That fancel artist, however, does not write production sequence numbers on their fancels in order to sell them as originals. That says to me that someone likely purchased the fancel and wrote a fake sequence number later in order to sell it as an original. I am not accusing the ebay seller as the one trying to scam, they could have been scammed by someone else...although this is the first time I've seen the fancel relisted, so I dunno.

I have never seen any SM test cels but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Still...I have a hard time imagining the animators making such large mishaps on a test cel, it wouldn't be a reflection of their level of professionalism.

kodoku_na_tabi · Post by **kodoku_na_tabi** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:04 am

I have the auction page saved. It sold in July of 2007 and was clearly identified as a fan cel. There was no sequence number on it.

Here's the pic:

iwakuralain16 · Post by **iwakuralain16** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 9:47 am

kodoku_na_tabi wrote:I have the auction page saved. It sold in July of 2007 and was clearly identified as a fan cel. There was no sequence number on it.

WOW! good going on keeping the scan!

logorzat wrote:Oh no! I bid on this cel before I saw this post! Now what do I do?

The auction is for a pretty long duration... you still have time to cancel your bid?

ReiTheJelly · Post by **ReiTheJelly** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 1:44 pm

Unfortunately eBay runs almost solely on the idea of caveat emptor.

pixie_princess · Post by **pixie_princess** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 1:52 pm

Is it possible that it could be considered a "bootleg" or "item significantly not as described" situation? It's described as a rare production cel. The fact that it is a known fancel and misrepresented (to or without the sellers knowledge) might help her a bit.