Seriously considering buying this Eva cel, think it's safe?

For the n00bs of cel collecting and production art . . . and for some of us old-timers, too. Post your questions on anything that puzzles you.
Post Reply
AndyAsteroids
Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2016 3:29 am

Seriously considering buying this Eva cel, think it's safe?

Post by AndyAsteroids »

So first off here is the cel in question

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Asuka-Langley-S ... 2060672490

I feel fairly certain that it's real, I went through my End of Eva dvd to this exact frame and it matches up flawlessly. The scene in the show is zoomed in a bit so the cel is actually showing a bit more than you would normally see,specifically around the edges like the chin and outer parts of the shoulders, this is fairly reassuring to me, should it be? The sellers feedback appears to be flawless, even when I check the specific feedbacks for his other cel sales. Anybody dealt with this guy before?
It would be a great help if anybody could take a look at the listing and photos and tell me what the think. I feel fairly safe, but for that kind of cash I'd really appreciate it if someone with more experience than me could give their take.
User avatar
cutiebunny
Yosutebito - Hermit
Posts: 1936
Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2005 1:55 pm
Location: Rockin' da Cats-bah
Contact:

Re: Seriously considering buying this Eva cel, think it's safe?

Post by cutiebunny »

Let me first ask you this - Do you truly love the image of this cel or would you regret owning this if something else that was nicer and for the same price popped up?

My thought is that, if you're going to spend money on artwork for your own personal collection that you will treasure, you should get exactly what you want. Especially if you're going to spend almost 1K on any one item. This should be a cel that, every time you see it, you will still be surprised that you own it.

That being said, if you don't have to have an Asuka cel at this very moment, I'd recommend being patient and check out Mandarake. They ship internationally. Here's a link to their closed Evangelion auctions. A lot of cels have been sold and IMO, most of the Asuka cels are much nicer (and all cheaper) than the E-bay cel.

http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/auction/it ... Evangelion

But to answer your question, while I think the cel listed on E-bay is authentic, I have not done business with the seller. But I, like many others, have done a lot of business with Mandarake, and would recommend being patient, saving up and, when you see something that grabs you, go all out on it.
User avatar
KinoLRB
Kishin - Fierce God
Posts: 313
Joined: Tue Dec 03, 2013 3:36 pm
Contact:

Re: Seriously considering buying this Eva cel, think it's safe?

Post by KinoLRB »

Hey there. First off, welcome to Beta! :) Don't be afraid to post questions and share your collection. We're all very friendly and here to help.

I've been collecting EVA cels for a few years, and the cel you're interested shows all the hallmarks of legitimacy. What you did was smart--matching the cel against the frame in the film. This is my technique, and if the match is perfect, then it's a go for me.
AndyAsteroids wrote:The scene in the show is zoomed in a bit so the cel is actually showing a bit more than you would normally see,specifically around the edges like the chin and outer parts of the shoulders, this is fairly reassuring to me, should it be?
Yes, this is normal. With almost any cel, some of the image is not captured by the camera. For example, look at this cel of Unit-01 as compared to it's matching screenshot (from my collection). You'll see that quite a bit of the cel did not make it into the final shot.

http://celluloidcentral.rubberslug.com/ ... mID=371735

There's also a bit of line-fade on your cel (not bad by any stretch, and it's a great piece). EOE is a pretty old film, and I would be suspicious of a "perfect" cel from the film--not that they don't exist, but slight signs of age are reassuring in this case. Also, I happen to know that a good number of cels from this particular sequence have appeared on the market in the last few years. All the images I have seen, from multiple sellers, have been consistent in appearance. One last note: the seller was kind enough to post pictures of the back of the cel. If you move your magnifying glass across the image, you can see fuzzy white patches on the paint, remnants of a sketch or perhaps a piece of paper that was stuck to the back at some point. This is atypical for a fake. They're usually crisp and clean, and in suspiciously great condition.

Looking at all the evidence, there's nothing about this cel that screams fake or would lead me to believe it's forged. I have bought from the seller before and have been very happy with them. Of course, there are no 100% guarantees, but I personally wouldn't hesitate buying this particular cel because I was afraid it wasn't real.

That said, I have to agree with Cutiebunny. You might want to sit tight and search for a while longer before jumping. In addition to mandarake, Yahoo Japan is a great source, if you haven't been out that way. You can buy from them using a deputy service. I use shoppingmalljapan.

Here's the link to their website:

http://www.shoppingmalljapan.com/
AndyAsteroids
Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2016 3:29 am

Re: Seriously considering buying this Eva cel, think it's safe?

Post by AndyAsteroids »

Wow, first off thanks for the warm welcome and detailed replies, I'm glad I took the time to come here and post!
I am pretty fresh to cel collecting,I grew up around my mothers collection of Hanna Barbera cels and have been in love with animation since before I can remember.
I don't really see myself buying a very large number of cels, but more pieces that I really want.
This is pretty close to being an ideal piece for me personally, the specific scene, the sequence it's from being one of my favorite sequences in all of anime, the character, the expression.
It's not so much that it's an Asuka cel, but this SPECIFIC Asuka cel, and I know I might be able to find another from the sequence for cheaper, but I also don't want to leave it up to chance.

Just to reaffirm myself I watched through the movie again and there are only a few,very specific,frames I would take over this one.
Those being VERY specific and very unlikely to see the light of day like this one from the last two seconds of the movie http://imgur.com/Q8P1LZN
or this one which is a single still image so it seems very likely to be a single unique cel http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p176 ... suka02.jpg
Wouldn't be surprised if Anno himself had those tucked away somewhere

So I think I'm gonna go ahead and go through with it in the morning, but for the future I think I'm gonna take you guys advice and start a little 'cel fund' for any other potential big purchases.
That link to the deputy service is actually great, took a quick look and did some searches(saw a few Serial Experiments Lain cels which got me excited) and I can definitely see myself using this in the future, as well as keeping an eye on Mandarake from now on.
User avatar
KinoLRB
Kishin - Fierce God
Posts: 313
Joined: Tue Dec 03, 2013 3:36 pm
Contact:

Re: Seriously considering buying this Eva cel, think it's safe?

Post by KinoLRB »

You're welcome! :) Happy to help. Congrats on the purchase! I love that sequence too, Asuka's finest hour.

Be sure to check the auctions regularly, especially if you're also interested in collecting Lain. They are rare, but do pop up occasionally.

As for EVA cels, mandarake is a great source, but the prices tend to hit the stratosphere sometimes. New EVA cels are added less frequently on YJ, but the prices tend to be lower.
User avatar
cutiebunny
Yosutebito - Hermit
Posts: 1936
Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2005 1:55 pm
Location: Rockin' da Cats-bah
Contact:

Re: Seriously considering buying this Eva cel, think it's safe?

Post by cutiebunny »

Congrats on not only finding something from the exact sequence you want, but close to the exact frame that you want. I can't think of too many times where I've been able to locate and purchase the exact frame that I wanted in all my years of collecting.
AndyAsteroids wrote: Wouldn't be surprised if Anno himself had those tucked away somewhere.
Eh...it's sort of a mixed bag when it comes to older animators. A lot of ol' timey time animators I've met, like Haruhiko Mikimoto, are strongly against the retention of artwork of projects they've worked on, and they seriously dislike people who collect that artwork. I've yet to meet Anno, but asking him if he's retained anything from the series that he worked on would be interesting. It's a question that I usually ask convention guests. Some are really excited to talk about it and others, like Mikimoto, grumble and go as far as labeling those people who collect artwork to be losers. I recommend heading to an anime convention if you can. Not only is it a good way to meet other collectors (especially at the larger gatherings), but sometimes they get a guest that you might be interested in, and it's nice to say that you met someone who worked on a favorite series.

As far as deputy services go to buy off of YJ, I recommend Buyee - http://www.buyee.jp. I've been super impressed with their packaging skills. You might get a case of bubble wrap with your purchases, but they take a lot of care when packaging so that things don't get flattened or squished.
User avatar
Jadeduo
Senpai - Elder
Posts: 912
Joined: Sun May 23, 2004 2:46 pm
Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land
Contact:

Re: Seriously considering buying this Eva cel, think it's safe?

Post by Jadeduo »

Second to all of what has been said... Looks like you got your first cel congrats!

And WELCOME! ^_^

@kinoLRB I don't know if you saw but they are bringing one of the Background Artists from one of the Kino's Journey Films... to Otakon this year... He is currently an Art Director for Charlotte. LOL, because of you that was the only title I recognized that he worked on!!

From Otakon's Website:

Kazuki Higashiji
Art Director

Kazuki Higashiji has created many worlds as an art director for projects with P.A.WORKS and others. Higashiji, together with the other creative members of P.A.WORKS, has created series such as Charlotte, Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea, Hanasaku Iroha: Blossoms of Tomorrow, Tari Tari, and Angel Beats!.

The worlds that Higashiji illustrates are not just realistic but full of emotions, likable characters and stories. His artwork is the pillar that structures the fascinating worlds in many P.A.WORKS animation series. There will be a section dedicated to Higashiji's art at P.A.WORKS 15th Anniversary Exhibit at Otakon 2016. Higashiji will be performing live drawings and panels as well.

http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?sh ... torid=9179 Ani DB Page - Usually a better place to get animator creds LOL ^_^
User avatar
KinoLRB
Kishin - Fierce God
Posts: 313
Joined: Tue Dec 03, 2013 3:36 pm
Contact:

Re: Seriously considering buying this Eva cel, think it's safe?

Post by KinoLRB »

Jadeduo wrote:@kinoLRB I don't know if you saw but they are bringing one of the Background Artists from one of the Kino's Journey Films... to Otakon this year... He is currently an Art Director for Charlotte. LOL, because of you that was the only title I recognized that he worked on!!

From Otakon's Website:

Kazuki Higashiji
Art Director
Happy I was able to help--even in such a roundabout way lol! :) Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Jadeduo! Man, I would love to meet anyone who had an input in the show. Gotta get to Otakon one of these years.
AndyAsteroids
Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2016 3:29 am

Re: Seriously considering buying this Eva cel, think it's safe?

Post by AndyAsteroids »

cutiebunny wrote:Eh...it's sort of a mixed bag when it comes to older animators. A lot of ol' timey time animators I've met, like Haruhiko Mikimoto, are strongly against the retention of artwork of projects they've worked on, and they seriously dislike people who collect that artwork. I've yet to meet Anno, but asking him if he's retained anything from the series that he worked on would be interesting.
Thanks again! Seems like you have a good group of folk here. And yeah, Anno,and a lot of artists/animators/creators, is a fairly odd duck. They're usually the first to downplay their own work and don't seem too hung up on past accomplishments. So on second thought he might not have a single one. I guess my point is that, whoever has those cels was probably able to hand pick them or had an absurd amount of cash on hand (Robin Williams for example, may he rest in piece, was a huge Eva fan and supposedly had some cels). Actually this will be my second cel, my first cel is actually a Lain cel, of her sister Mika. I do want to eventually get one of Lain herself so I'll be combing the sites from now on now that I know where to look.
Post Reply