Anime-Beta TNG

I hope I didn't post this in the wrong section. Technically, it's not about cels but it is still about the anime and part of the production materials.

Anyway, I notice on Mandarake that there are a number of scripts for various shows up for auction. Are these original scripts that were used by someone that worked on the show? I mean, I know for big movie scripts, there are often reproductions made with copied autographs and what-not. I know scripts are like settei, in that multiple studio copies are made to be given out. But then with settei, people often make copies of those copies to sell. I guess that's my main concern. I want a studio script, not a copy of a script that someone made. Does anyone know if the scripts on Mandarake are original studio scripts or not? Here's an example: http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/auc_e/item ... 4683000076

Also, what's an AR script? Advanced reader?

I have a couple of anime scripts. I don't know where they came from, but I assume they came from people who worked for the anime studio production team. Not sure who might have used them. You just can't tell for sure. One script I have was autographed by several of the anime's seiyuu on the front cover.

The insides are basically all Japanese text so unless you can read them they are not terribly interesting to look at. Mine don't have any pen marks on the inside.

I don't collect them, but i do have several scripts from Ninpen Manmaru. They belonged to Mika Kanai, who did the voice of Ranko the rabbit kunoichi and apparently a couple of other small characters. It's kind of fun - she has her lines circled, other notes, annotations, parts crossed out, and little doodles all over the scripts. It's neat to have a working copy like that imho. The ones I bought are bound like notebooks with the title of the series and episode information on the front.

I imagine most studios probably bind scripts like that, so if they're not bound then they might just be photocopies. It's really hard to tell from the image in the auction. It does say something about the name written in pencil on the front of the script, so it might be a real copy, though I don't see that in the scan. I wonder if it's the front or the inside front sheet that they scanned, since in mine the binding is in colored paper.

Thanks for the info! See, getting an autographed copy from the voice actors is pretty awesome, Keropi. And I agree, jcaliff, that working copies with personal notes and stuff are pretty awesome. I guess sometimes you just take a chance and may get lucky with these things.

Another question, if anyone knows the answer. I put the Japanese text on some of the auctions through an online translator, and some say they come with "studio stamps" on the cover. Do you know what that generally signifies? I guess maybe it's a way to verify authenticity, but does every studio do that?

So, my question here is, what are they worth. I have 3 of them from Cowboy Bebop
that I want to list on eBay with a BIN price, but I have no idea what kind of price to
put on them. Same with some story boards and a book of model sheets for Saiyuki.
I also have a really nice information book from Cowboy Bebop from Knocking on
Heaven's Door. I have no idea what to ask for any of it. >_<

Here is a pic of the script I have. I only have it because I won it in a raffle. As others have mentioned, not terribly interesting to look at. I guess its a cool item if you really like the series.

Sadly I have no idea how much scripts may or may not be worth. I dont even know if there is any demand for them.

Well, as far as value is concerned, it just depends on what any given person is willing to pay I suppose. Like I mentioned, I was looking at some script-collecting sites online, and they had some selling in the thousands! Of course, those were for scripts from big-name movies, and that were autographed by big-name actors and what-not. Some were listed as having been personal copies for said actors. As for anime script collecting, well, I couldn't find any English websites that talked about anime script collecting, actually. Like you all mentioned, the insides are mostly just Japanese text (nothing visually stunning), and unless you read Japanese you probably won't be spending a whole lot of time looking through them. Still, I think it'd be neat to own a part of a production that an actor or other crew-member actually used to do their part. And if there are personal notes inside, or autographs on the cover, or if you can somehow find out exactly who used it on set, then that will certainly add a lot to it's value, whether personal or monetary.

My suggestion, Gonzai, for those Cowboy Bebop scripts, is to test the waters on EBAY if you want to sell 'em. Maybe list one with a starting price that isn't too low, but set a BIN price that is a decent bit higher. Be as descriptive as possible. Say, "authentic script from episode X," "used by someone involved in the production," or things like that, and definitely mention if there are autographs or personal notes inside, and post pics of that stuff. Looking at Mandarake, a lot of the scripts seem to start anywhere from 600JPY to 1000JPY. I found an information book that may be similar to your Bebop one that's starting at 4000JPY. Actually, it looks like a concept book of some sort that came out before the show started or something.

I'm planning to bid on some scripts on Mandarake, so I'll scan them when I get them and post here anything interesting I gather from them.

So I got some scripts in. I got a couple of Sailor Moon Super S scripts, and a number of Sentai scripts. They're pretty neat. The different shows have variations of what's included.

Sailor Moon SS' front covers have a nice picture of Chibi-Usa and Pegasus. The back cover has a little picture of Moon & Chibi-Moon ("Oshiokyo!" pose). The inside starts out with the credits: things like "character designer", "producer," etc. After that there's a blue-colored page that has the lyrics to the Opening theme song on it. Then on the other side, it has the Ending theme song. Then there's a section that tells what characters will be in the episode along with which scenes they will be in. And finally there's the actual script section.

The Sentai scripts have variations within each series. Dairanger starts out with some orange-colored pages that lists some of the show's sponsors. It also has a map after it's theme songs page that shows where filming will be for that particular episode I'm pretty sure. The back cover is pretty neat: a full page color insignia. The Carranger scripts have an extra page that shows a drawing of the Monster-of-the-Week for that episode. I was able to get an AR script along with the regular script for Episode 4. I'm pretty sure AR stands for Advanced Reader's Copy. It simply has the script in it, and there are slight differences in the dialogue from the final script copy. Also the font looks like it was hand-written as opposed to the print in the final script. And my Megaranger script came with a loose piece of paper inside, which looks like a filming schedule for that particular episode (and also the next episode). It has dates, scene #s, script pages, character names, and set numbers on it. Pretty cool. Not many of my scripts have any hand-written notes in them, unfortunately. One of my Carranger scripts does, though, in a few places.

Regarding demand, obviously the more popular shows have more bidders. Sailor Moon for instance. Also, the 1st and last episodes of any given series go for more than the random in-betweeners. And key episodes, where something important in the story happens like the 1st appearance or death of a character, attract more bids as well.

So that's what I've figured out so far. I'll post some images on my Rubberslug site soon. They may not be much to look at, but they'll be there if you're curious.

OK, I've found out a bit more about scripts. Sometimes, the studio will stamp the covers with their logo and number them. Of course, I don't exactly know why they do this. LOL. To show authenticity? To show the number that are made, like they do for some settei? I got some in that are stamped and numbered, but for some reason a previous owner scratched the numbers off, which is annoying. Check out my Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger section if you wanna look at them.

Also, I was able to get some scripts from Choudenshi Bioman that appear to have belonged to the suit actor for Blue Three. If you didn't know, often in tokusatsu the guys doing the fighting in the suits are different actors than the characters in the show. Much like seiyuu, suit actors in Japan are very important. Here are 3 clues that point to this conclusion:
1. The covers have "Bioman 3" written on them. These look more like a personal label to me than an autograph.
http://buraddorun.rubberslug.com/galler ... mID=360578
2. The suit actor for Blue Three, or Bioman 3, is Tsutomu Kitagawa. I found some pictures of a guy who got his Bioman script autographed by Kitagawa, and posted it online. Check out the 3 written on his cover and compare it to the 3s on mine. Don't they look alike?
http://www.rangerboard.com/showthread.php?t=48517
3. Mandarake, where I got all of these from, had some Maskman scripts as well. Unfortunately I was outbid on all of them, but, on all of those covers was written "Blue Mask" in the same handwriting as on my Bioman scripts. And Blue Mask was played by, you guessed it, Tsutomu Kitagawa as well.
http://i50.tinypic.com/2r7ylhl.jpg

It actually looks to me like he signed vertically in the left line of the "B" on Bioman (and the B on Blue Mask). If you compare the script that goes through the line, it kind of looks like his signature from the forum thread. I would guess that they are probably signed by him.

Hmm...you may be right. I noticed the writing in his Bs but couldn't make them out. Well, either way, it's pretty cool.

I have not collected scripts and probably won't start (so little time ... so many orphaned genga) but I really enjoy hearing about what you've learned about these scripts. The amount of documentary material around is immense, and it all points to things you're unlikely to find out about studio practice in any other way. I'm tempted to do a "quirky tour" on cut bags some month, which can actually be very interesting, especially if they are all stamped up with the animators' and supervisors' quirky personal avatars.

Thanks for sharing what you're finding out, BR.

Thanks, Sensei. I wasn't sure, after I had initially asked a lot of questions, whether I should post some of the things I had found or not, simply because there weren't a whole lot of responses and I didn't want to keep a thread going that nobody read. LOL. But, I figured that it would be good info if anyone else was interested in trying to get some for shows they enjoy.

I would definitely be interested in taking a tour of cut bags and the like. I don't own any myself, so I really have no idea of the kinds of cool things that can come on them.

So I've still been picking up scripts here and there, and plan to update my gallery with them. I've landed some cool movie scripts, like a couple of Godzilla movies and a Zeiram 2 which is marked up all over the place, and may have been Kazuhiko Inoue's personal copy. He's done a lot of voice work over the years. I've also seen various scripts used for different stages in production. There are the AR scripts. Then there are draft scripts. And of course you have the final scripts used for filming. Sometimes, in shows, titles or episode numbers change. It's all very interesting to me.

*Edit: Oh, and another interesting thing some collect and I've managed to grab one of is Project Plans. I suppose these are plans for shows that are given to...well, I don't know whom exactly, but they detail a show's overall story, characters, etc. They are also often bound into books the same size as scripts. But sometimes they may be like settei sheets and come in packets. I'm not for certain about that, though, as I haven't purchased any of the newer ones I've seen on Mandarake.