Still in shock - My 2nd Acquisition (56k Warning)

[Pixel]

Very late last Wednesday night, I was feeling kinda down because I was feeling that some anime memorabilia I would like to have was probably out of reach. I thought I might feel better if I could find a more reasonable Azumanga Daioh production drawing I would like to have.

I was looking at two different drawings, an I wasn't feeling happy with either at the time. I was just about to set up to buy one of them, when it occurred to me I could make one more search before I decided. I didn't expect it to matter, but I thought, what the heck?

Upon scrolling down, what I found did not merely break the tie, it vaporized it and took my bad mood with it.

You know how sometimes, when you look for things to collect, you find something and you feel like you just know? Well, I had that feeling,

I went from stunned, to nervous, to anxious, to borderline esctatic, all in about 30 minutes.

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Marmalade Boy
Episode 68 - "Indecisive Lovers [Goodbye...Ginta]" - Ginta lays it on the line. (this title mine)
Loc. @ Runtime (approx.) - 00:19:38
Left: SUZUKI Arimi, Right: SUOU Ginta


The Cel




The Douga - Note the paint from the cel on the douga.





Final Production Frame, as best I can tell. Sorry about the low quality.



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https://drive.google.com/open?id=17fOt_ ... 8kZC8a7Oci - Video Clip From Episode 68, including scene depicted in cel.


To put if mildly, I was floored! I simply did not expect this at all-my very first animation cel, and the matching douga came with it!

Like Azumanga Daioh, I didn't like everything about Marmalade Boy. What I did like however was brilliant!

I had actually seen this cel/douga for sale sometime back, maybe even before I acquired the Azu E6/C13 Layout/correction I've went on so much about. I had not seen the associated scene from Marmalade Boy in probably about 12 years, but I remembered what it was I was looking at. The scene represented above is one of those that stuck in my mind through the years. When I first saw it on eBay, it was not where I could reasonably buy it. I did not process it much in my mind, but it lingered there at the fringes all the same.

At some point before late last Wednesday night, the seller put it on sale. When I realized it was now within reason, the processing took over fast and furious. I immediately began frantically searching online to validate the cel within the series. I couldn't remember the episode name or number, but I did remember part of what Ginta said to Arimi in the scene, and was able to narrow it down to the last few minutes of Episode 68, near the end of the series.

My initial feeling was reinforced when I watched the scene play out. I was convinced it was something special.

I will try to set the story up as succinctly as I can, though with 67 full episodes prior, it will be a tall order. I'm partially going from memory here, so feel free to correct me if I make a mistake. Also, this being Shoujo anime, it will be impossible to do this without massive spoilers, so be aware of that if you've never seen the show.

==================WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!====================

When the show begins, KOISHIKAWA Miki (the star/female lead), and Ginta had been in love, but things happen and it kind of falls apart. MATSUURA Yuu (co-star/male lead) comes along, and he and Miki fall for each other.

Meanwhile, Yuu has a sort of romantic past with Arimi, but that too does not work out. When Arimi finds Yuu together with Miki, and is made aware Ginta still has feelings for Miki, Arimi hatches a plan to make her jealous by pretending to be Ginta's girlfriend. Ultimately, this backfires in spectacular shoujo fashion, and Arimi and Ginta slowly fall for each other.

Fast foward to Episode 68. Yuu has left for America to study architecture. This causes tremendous strain on his relationship with Miki. In the process, a young man named TSUCHIYA Kei enters the picture and proceeds to woo Miki. Eventually, she breaks things off with Yuu, and it seems like she and Kei will get together. This sets Ginta off, and he begins to think he would rather have Miki than let Kei-kun have her. Understandably, Arimi becomes greatly alarmed, eventually prompting her to break up with Ginta. He asks her to meet in front of their fountain. When he gets there she has left him a Jet Memo toy with the word "Sayounara" in katakana on it. In effect, "It's over between us."

This snaps Ginta out of his stupidity. He instantly realizes that not only is Arimi most important to him, he can't bear the thought of losing her.

Sometime later, Miki is very rudely informed by Ginta's cousin, ROKUTANDA Tsutomu, that her break-up with Yuu precipitated the apparent failure of Ginta's and Arimi's relationship as well.

Miki sets up a plan to try and make things right. She has Tsutomu's girlfriend Yayoi bring Arimi to an amusement park. Tsutomu does the same with Ginta. They lead them both to a ferris-wheel ride, and shove them inside a car together. It is inside this ferris-wheel car that the scene including this cel takes place.

At first, they both start to speak at once. The after a few awkward moments, Ginta finally blurts out that it was all his fault, for not making it clear that Arimi was more important to him. He explains about his silliness regarding Miki and Kei, then becomes very excited as he says that all of that vanished the instant he thought he would lose Arimi. He then states emphatically that Arimi is most important to him. It is the trailing edge of this statement, "...Arimi da!", that I recalled in the original Japanese all these years later when looking at this cel on eBay.

The camera switches from him to Arimi to show a brief reaction, then returns to Ginta where he says. "It has to be you, Arimi." As he finishes speaking this time, the camera pans from a three-quarters view of his head facing forward-left, around to a profile view close-up of his eye. The camera quickly zooms out from his eye to a centered wide-shot of the two of them looking at each other, and stops. For just a very short time, neither of them speak or even move. The camera is still. Finally, Arimi begins her reply. It is from the start of the close-up of Ginta's eye in profile, through to just before she opens her mouth to speak, that I think I have in the cel above. I don't know if they made any cels for the panning action, or simply moved and zoomed the camera on this one.

There are two possible places in the entire cut this frame could be from, but I know it is the first one because of Ginta's expression. He may look angry, but he is actually determined. This young man finally understands who he truly loves, and that is what is being expressed here, in my opinion. His expression changes in the second one, so it is not that one.

To me, this seems like it is part of the most important moment in their relationship, and perhaps the most important moment shared between them throughout the 76-episode series. What Arimi says next could easily change their entirely future together. While her initial reaction a few seconds earlier seems to suggest a happy ending for both of them, it still seems to me there is a bit of suspense until she speaks.

As far as the cel itself goes, is is not in perfect condition. There is some paint loss, some of it came off on the matching douga at one point. It is still however, beautiful for an animation cel over twenty years old. I love the line work on Ginta's shirt, all those folds in the sleeves, the lines of his pockets. His hair is nicely detailed, and with full context, his expression is unmistakeable.

Arimi is much more simply dressed but is nonetheless stunning, in a way that frankly seems unique to her vis-a-vis the other girls. Her lips are pursed, almost pouting. I love this expression. Seeing it on the actual cel really brings it home, and makes me feel really bad about the low quality of the production screen cap.

The people who put this scene together obviously knew what they were doing. Her blue hair works remarkably well, and she looks very much like a girl on the cusp of womanhood. My memory is a bit fuzzy, but it seems like her character development over the course of the series is probably the most pleasing I've come across in anime.

I was never sure whether to talk about voice-acting, as this is an animation forum, and technically voice-acting could be said to be it's own thing. However, I feel I must do so here. Voices can add so much to a scene, even when you don't really comprehend much of what they are saying.

Arimi was voiced by HISAKAWA Aya, who is fantastic here. She gives Arimi just the right feel vocally, and actually enhances Arimi's visual appeal in the process. When Arimi goes just a bit high register and says, "As horrible as I am, do you still like me?" as the scene starts to approach the end, I'm thinking-"Buddy, if you don't take that lovely girl in your arms RIGHT NOW and plant a kiss on her that will blast her socks off, I'm coming in there and I'm kicking your silly tail myself!"

Ginta is voiced by KANEMARU Jun'ichi who according to Wikipedia, has provided the Japanese voice of Sonic the Hedgehog since Sonic Adventure. He also gives a sensational performance. I can feel the drama and tension in Ginta's voice as he makes his declaration. Both of them worked extremely well together through the course of the show. I mean Sonic the Hedgehog, how cool is that??

All of the voice actors did really well, IIRC. From what I can tell of Japanese dialogue anyway.

The seller shipped the cel and douga together in a file folder wrapped in clear plastic. He had a piece of tissue paper separating them. The tissue paper is on the back of the cel [!] I left it there for the time being, as I'm afraid to try to remove it. I placed each item in it's own 11x14 art bag, placed them back in the folder, and laid them mostly flat. I know it's not the best, but I'm hoping to get an Itoya 9x12 art portfolio delivered soon that I can use to properly store them both. I understand this is something that should be properly stored. The seller never notified me it shipped. I assumed it might not even ship until Monday, when I saw the envelope in my mailbox.

I didn't realize until sometime after I bought it that the seller had set up a Best Offer on it. I really don't care. The price included shipping, and it was definitely worth it in my opinion.

I don't have the background. The production background is rhetorical, a visual/dramatic signal to the audience as opposed to a representation of the surrounding environment. It may have been used with more than one character cel.

One thing I'm not certain of-is this indeed the still frame after Ginta says "It has to be you, Arimi.", but before her reply? Both characters are on the cel, does that mean it is indeed a still?

If this is the still shot, how many of this identical cel would have been made for it? Am I way off base in interpreting the importance of this cel as pertains to this series? I mean, it's not the series leads, Miki and Yuu. It isn't in mint condition, either.

When I got into this, no one told me what a wild ride I was in for!

EDIT: I forgot to mention, the douga is labeled in pencil "B-25" in the top left, while the cell has "B26" in red marker in the upper right. What do these numbers mean? Should I try to get the red marker off of the cel?

[sensei]

To answer just your last question: No, don't remove the "B26" from the cel. That's the sequence number and is often a key piece of information about the place of the cel in the cut (or sequence) and potentially a token of its authenticity. The fact that the douga is "B25" suggests that, if you examine it very carefully, you'll find that it is subtly different from the cel. That's because it goes with the frame just before your cel. (Probably: I'd have to have matching scans to be sure.) That's very common with some series, as the dougas were interleaved with the cels after they were photographed. When these stacks were handled by the jobbers who were hired to haul away studio trash like this it was easy for them to put the wrong douga with the cel, either the next one or the one before. That's a pity, but not a serious issue, as the douga (and the paint on it) helps authenticate the cel and vice versa.

But the sequence number does help identify where this cel comes in. Cels usually get photographed "on threes," reflecting a projection rate of eight cels per second. So B26 would probably appear a twitch after three seconds into this cut. (I'd guess -- if one cel got held for a longer period, then it might be later yet.) Anyhow, if you have the scene, it would be possible to go through it frame by frame and count the cels used. If there are two moments that look like your pose, one earlier than 3 seconds and one later, then you probably have the later pose. The "B" in the sequence number means there was a moving "A" layer that was used under this cel, maybe the one that creates the "mood bubbles" you show in your screen cap.

Concerning the tissue paper, that won't do the cel any harm and should come off easily if you moisten it slightly (as by leaving it in a bathroom when you take a shower). Or you could leave it be for the duration. You don't want to peel off any of the paint in separating them, especially in the hair tips which are often very fragile.

Anyhow, congratulations on getting a memorable "first cel," one that reflects a scene that is obviously meaningful for you. You now "own" an eighth of a second in that very scene. (And yes, Hisakawa-sama is a terrific seiyuu, best known to me as the devilish "beast of the seal" Kero-chan in Cardcaptor Sakura.)

[Pixel]

Here is a link to the seller's picture. They are better than mine, though the seller cut off the bottom of the cell in the photo. When I first saw the difference, I though I'd lost some paint on Arimi's shirt. I almost began to freak out. I'm OCD like that.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/x1EAAOSw ... -l1600.jpg

To answer just your last question: No, don't remove the "B26" from the cel. That's the sequence number and is often a key piece of information about the place of the cel in the cut (or sequence) and potentially a token of its authenticity. The fact that the douga is "B25" suggests that, if you examine it very carefully, you'll find that it is subtly different from the cel. That's because it goes with the frame just before your cel. (Probably: I'd have to have matching scans to be sure.) That's very common with some series, as the dougas were interleaved with the cels after they were photographed. When these stacks were handled by the jobbers who were hired to haul away studio trash like this it was easy for them to put the wrong douga with the cel, either the next one or the one before. That's a pity, but not a serious issue, as the douga (and the paint on it) helps authenticate the cel and vice versa.

So I likely don't have the matching douga. This probably isn't the initial frame where the camera stops? I did post a link to a video of the scene up there to try to bring better context to what I was saying. I don't really like the heart-shaped ferris wheel cars, but oh well.

If the action is still for a brief period, would they need more than one character cel for the still portion?

I can't see it clearly myself, but is Arimi in the process of speaking in my cel? I would love that if it were true, but it's not the end of the world if it's not.

But the sequence number does help identify where this cel comes in. Cels usually get photographed "on threes," reflecting a projection rate of eight cels per second. So B26 would probably appear a twitch after three seconds into this cut. (I'd guess -- if one cel got held for a longer period, then it might be later yet.) Anyhow, if you have the scene, it would be possible to go through it frame by frame and count the cels used. If there are two moments that look like your pose, one earlier than 3 seconds and one later, then you probably have the later pose. The "B" in the sequence number means there was a moving "A" layer that was used under this cel, maybe the one that creates the "mood bubbles" you show in your screen cap.

I'm not real sure how to calculate it's location, because I don't know where the cut boundaries are exactly. Eventually, the camera switches to a close up of Arimi tightening her hands around Ginta's. Does that camera change mean the cuts change? Her mouth is open in the last frames before the camera swaps. I'm using the term "camera" as an abstraction of what's really going on with the cels. It's easier for me to think that way.

Frankly, I enjoyed the Ginta/Arimi dynamic much better than Yuu/Miki anyway. To me, Ginta and Arimi not only fit together better than Yuu and Miki, they fit better than Ginta and Miki seem like they would have.

Anyhow, congratulations on getting a memorable "first cel," one that reflects a scene that is obviously meaningful for you. You now "own" an eighth of a second in that very scene.

Thank you. I like to think that the scene might be meaningful for others as well, if not now then someday. At first, I thought I would stay with paper memorabilia, these cels from what I hear can be difficult to maintain and store. I just felt like I had to go for it, though.

As I said it is not in perfect condition, but I am relieved it is in no worse shape than it is for its age, and all the travel. This cel was at Toei Animation in Japan some 23 years ago? That's incredible.

To supposedly have founded a genre, as well as being the source of one of anime's most enduring memes-the now infamous "[MAI] WAIFU"-Azumanga Daioh seems to have largely been forgotten. It's not very deep really, so that may be part of it. Marmalade Boy, on the other hand-nearly everywhere I've seen it discussed, it's remembered very fondly. I am by no means an expert, and I know shoujo (literally "girl") is a rather broad genre, but when I hear that term as regards manga or anime, Marmalade Boy is exactly what I would expect. I could easily be wrong, but I rather think it is on track to one day be regarded among the most beloved animes of the 90's.

In any event, it is cool to have just a small piece of it.

I think someone else here may have said something similar, but every time someone pops in a Marmalade Boy DVD and watches this entire episode from it, anywhere in the world (assuming frames aren't dropped for PAL regions or anything), they will at some point, for just a split-second, see a recording of a photo of this cel. One of many thousands of cels that, along with the audio and voice-acting, made the DVD they are watching possible in the first place.

That's rather mind-blowing when you think about it.

I considered framing the cel, but from what I have read here it's too risky. I have an Itoya art portfolio coming, but UPS screwed up and delivered it to a Post Office some 60 miles from where they should have. I have some microchamber paper coming too. I plan on both this cel and the Azu layout getting some of that.

(And yes, Hisakawa-sama is a terrific seiyuu, best known to me as the devilish "beast of the seal" Kero-chan in Cardcaptor Sakura.)

Fun fact: Kero-chan speaks Kansai-ben. Sings it, too.

As for Hisakawa-san, I think she is still voice-acting today. After hearing Arimi, it's very easy to see why. I enjoy Hisakawa's work not only as Arimi, but also as P.E. teacher KUROSAWA Minamo in Azumanga Daioh. Kurosawa-sensei is a very sweet, likeable character, but not that much more sensible than the other teachers ultimately. (Some of the students call her Nyamo-chan, and she really doesn't hide her displeasure over it very well.) I watched Marmalade Boy years before I knew what Azumanga Daioh even was. Nyamo-chan's voice sounds almost just like Arimi, but perhaps a bit more mature. Now that is what I call a nice bonus!

[sensei]

A lot of issues here -- and I don't have a lot of time (eleven days to Christmas...) but let me clarify a few things.

Japanese animation studies use the term "cut" (just transliterated from English to Katakana Japanese) to refer to a sequence of images that are all part of one sequence of images from the same point of view. When I viewed your clip, I could see that the perspective keeps shifting: Ginta alone, Arimi alone, both of them with Ginta on the left, both with Ginta on the right. Each of these had to be planned, drawn, painted, and photographed individually, though (as happens in your case) sometimes a cut is broken in the middle with a quick shift to something else.

Your cut begins at 2:05 of your clip. The perspective first shows only Ginta in close-up, then the camera seems to "track back" or pull up and away from the surface of the cel, showing Arimi on the left side of the frame. That pose stays still on the screen for about two seconds. Then at 2:08, that cut is interrupted with shifts to the two characters' hands, then Arimi's face in close-up. At 2:18 your cut continues. Arimi's head is bowed and Ginta's eyes blink. He says her name, and Arimi lifts her head and looks at him, and then he has his little bit of dialog.

OK, now I look verrrrrrry closely at the shadows and highlights for both your cel and what I see in the video. Your cel can't be part of the cut after the interruption, because the shadows on Ginta's shoulder are different. So it has to be part of the first part. It looks to me, after a couple of viewings, like the studio animated the "track back" instead of physically having the camera on the light desk move back over the cel. That's because if you pause the video repeatedly you can see the shadows on Ginta's shoulder change. And the seam that runs down his shoulder toward his arm also changes, being nearly straight at one point, then zig-zag as in your cel. Also the lock of hair at about 10:00 on the outline of the top of his head changes from frame to frame.

That tells me that this part of the cut was done with a series of different cels. Your cel is somewhere in that opening "track back" sequence, which looks like a still image but actually was done with a series of cels that show Arimi and Ginta getting progressively smaller and smaller. That process, I'd guess, accounts for the unusually high sequence number.

Anyhow, this screen grab from the middle of the track-back (clock still says 2:05) looks to be a good match for your cel in the shoulder shadows, the zig-zag seam, and the little hair lock on the top edge of Ginta's head. The highlights in Ginta's hair (which are devilish hard for a forger to match exactly) also look right. You might want to explore that part of the cut more closely to see if there is a stronger match.

[Pixel]

A lot of issues here -- and I don't have a lot of time (eleven days to Christmas...) but let me clarify a few things.

Indeed, it proabably isn't the best time of year to get into this hobby. The genga was an early Christmas present, and it sort of started to snowball. While that acquisition was more or less planned, this one caught me completely off guard. When I got the genga, the last thing I expected to be talking about here a week or so later was a rather dramatic shoujo anime cel, and it's place in episode production.

I got so excited about it I couldn't help but talk about it. I want to thank you for taking time out from everything to study on this.

Your cut begins at 2:05 of your clip. The perspective first shows only Ginta in close-up, then the camera seems to "track back" or pull up and away from the surface of the cel, showing Arimi on the left side of the frame. That pose stays still on the screen for about two seconds. Then at 2:08, that cut is interrupted with shifts to the two characters' hands, then Arimi's face in close-up. At 2:18 your cut continues. Arimi's head is bowed and Ginta's eyes blink. He says her name, and Arimi lifts her head and looks at him, and then he has his little bit of dialog.

OK, now I look verrrrrrry closely at the shadows and highlights for both your cel and what I see in the video. Your cel can't be part of the cut after the interruption, because the shadows on Ginta's shoulder are different. So it has to be part of the first part. It looks to me, after a couple of viewings, like the studio animated the "track back" instead of physically having the camera on the light desk move back over the cel. That's because if you pause the video repeatedly you can see the shadows on Ginta's shoulder change. And the seam that runs down his shoulder toward his arm also changes, being nearly straight at one point, then zig-zag as in your cel. Also the lock of hair at about 10:00 on the outline of the top of his head changes from frame to frame.

Great job breaking it down, and fantastic attention to detail.

Animating a simulated pan out effect must have been a very laborious, expensive process. I suppose the animation director wanted fine-grained control over the panout. I noticed some jitter over the course of the effect, which to me agrees with your assessment of an animated pan out.

As far as collecting goes, a sudden reality check from external forces will probably slow things down for me for awhile. I should probably start working on storing what I've already got.

About storage-I have two 9x12 Itoya art profolios, they have acid-free black "mounting paper" in the sleeves. Do I need to remove that paper from the sleeve before storing the cel?

[sensei]

About storage-I have two 9x12 Itoya art profolios, they have acid-free black "mounting paper" in the sleeves. Do I need to remove that paper from the sleeve before storing the cel?

No, the paper is useful to keep the cels separate. Do bag the cel so that it does not stick to the paper in the profolio, and also leave ample room for the cel to shed fumes. I slit the bags down one whole side, which still protects the cel but lets it outgas freely. Store the douga separately in its own bag. It used to be customary to slip it in behind the cel in the profolio, but archival thinking now suggests that dougas are better stored away from the chemically active cel. If you have two profolios, you might plan on using one for plastic and one for paper.

[Pixel]

Hello, again.

I've been trying not to be so much of a chatterbox with the questions with a busy Christmas ahead for all, but I've hit a couple of snags trying to take care of this cel and douga.

I got some microchamber paper and loaded it behind the cel. Bag and all in the Itoya 9x12 folder. but, the bag (meant to store 9x12 art) is too big to fit the folder properly. I've included a pic below. Sorry for the flash photo, but you can see the plastic of the cel bag kind of scrunching up. Will it be okay to leave the cel like this awhile? I don't like it, but it seems I'm going to have to try and get my hands on an 11"x14" profolio.

Or two-I can only guess why, but the douga (remember it's for the previous cel) is larger than this cel! The douga is actually about 9.5x10.5". It will fit neither the 9x12 bags, nor the 9x12 itoya. I've just left it in an 11x14 art bag. If you have time to ponder it a moment, would you have an idea why the douga is so much larger than the cel coming after it?

[sensei]

I got some microchamber paper and loaded it behind the cel. Bag and all in the Itoya 9x12 folder. but, the bag (meant to store 9x12 art) is too big to fit the folder properly.

I'd say that if the cel is not being scrunched, the simple solution would be to trim a bit off of the bag. That should be left as open as possible to allow the cel to degas safely anyhow. But in truth 11x14 is the size I use for all my cels, with a few larger sizes for special cases. The extra room is beneficial as it allows extra room for ventilation. BTW, microchamber paper will in time stick to the back of the cel,

the douga (remember it's for the previous cel) is larger than this cel! The douga is actually about 9.5x10.5". It will fit neither the 9x12 bags, nor the 9x12 itoya.

Yes, it's interesting that the standard height for cels is 9 inches and the standard height for dougas is 9.5 inches. I don't know why. Possibly because they were conventionally interleaved with the cels during transit, so the fresh cel paint on the back of one cel would not transfer to the front of the next cel. The extra 1/4 inch on top and bottom provided security on that front.

Most collectors used to keep the cel and douga together, slipping the sketch into the profolio behind the bagged cel. But the archival standard now is to store paper artifacts separately from plastic ones (if possible: often the two come stuck tight together). So that should go in whatever storage you use for your Azu sketch. And, yeah, label them both clearly so that you can reunite them later if needed (as when, God forbid, you resell the cel).

[Pixel]

I'd say that if the cel is not being scrunched, the simple solution would be to trim a bit off of the bag. That should be left as open as possible to allow the cel to degas safely anyhow. But in truth 11x14 is the size I use for all my cels, with a few larger sizes for special cases. The extra room is beneficial as it allows extra room for ventilation. BTW, microchamber paper will in time stick to the back of the cel,

The cel has a piece of tissue paper stuck to the back already, while that should limit sticking of the microchamber paper, I meant to place the microchamber paper in front of the cel anyway. I got nervous and in a hurry, and kind just did it the other way. I've got two 11"x14" itoya coming. Should I still cut off part of the bag for ventilation? If so, which edge do you recommend be cut, relative to the cel facing you right side up?

Yes, it's interesting that the standard height for cels is 9 inches and the standard height for dougas is 9.5 inches. I don't know why. Possibly because they were conventionally interleaved with the cels during transit, so the fresh cel paint on the back of one cel would not transfer to the front of the next cel. The extra 1/4 inch on top and bottom provided security on that front.

Most collectors used to keep the cel and douga together, slipping the sketch into the profolio behind the bagged cel. But the archival standard now is to store paper artifacts separately from plastic ones (if possible: often the two come stuck tight together). So that should go in whatever storage you use for your Azu sketch. And, yeah, label them both clearly so that you can reunite them later if needed (as when, God forbid, you resell the cel).

Does the douga need its own art bag, or can it go directly into a suitable sized profolio/sleeve?

I dare not even try to say whether I might ever sell this cel. I've learned not to make such statements not knowing how things will go. I will say this, I actually had other things in mind for my first cel. I wasn't even sure I would ever collect cels. They can be difficult to properly care for.

However, when I realized this one was within reach, that's when I really started to think about it's place in the series. I really got excited about it then. Marmalade Boy at it's core is a romance shoujo, at least I see it that way. At times very high drama for a tv cartoon. The entire scene including this cel, despite the juxtaposition of the rather silly setting, is quite dramatic and powerful, IMO. I can feel something happening between these two characters, just by looking at a photo of the cel. That makes sense, considering that's the basis of traditional animation in the first place, photos of cels.

When this series started out Arimi was in love with Yuu, while Ginta desperately wanted Miki. In this scene, both of the characters learn that you don't always get what you want, but sometimes what you get instead is at least as good in its own way, if not even better. I feel a little bit like that about this cel. That's remarkable, the story told by the cel basically echos my feelings about the cel at least in some respects. Does that happen very often in collecting?

As to the Azu genga, I'm torn (that's not the best choice of words in context is it?) about what to do with it. I've been making preparations to display it with archival considerations (UV-protective acrylic, acid-free art bag, acid-free matting and backerboard). I'm concerned that visible light will fade out the lovely pencil work over time.

I thought about displaying the Marmalade Boy cel too, but it's just not stable enough at all I'm afraid, and I don't know how many cels from this cut are still in existence. I suspect there are at least a few, but how many I couldn't say.

[sensei]

The cel has a piece of tissue paper stuck to the back already, while that should limit sticking of the microchamber paper,

OK, I forgot that. No, leave the MC paper where it is. That is the most chemically active side of the cel anyway.

I've got two 11"x14" itoya coming. Should I still cut off part of the bag for ventilation?

I'd slit it down one side, the long (width) side. Pick the side that will have more room, generally the part toward the spine if you place the cel at the bottom of the sleeve

Does the douga need its own art bag, or can it go directly into a suitable sized profolio/sleeve?

If you have one profolio just for paper art, then it should be fine just tucked into the sleeve.

Sorry for the haste: a lot on my plate this season.