Smallish but interesting update: CCS, Saiyuki, Inuyasha

[sensei]

I've finished up one of my increasingly modest updates, and while it may not have the quantity of some other collectors with bigger budgets and longer wishlists, it still has its little rewards.

From Saiyuki Gensomaden, a small but (as always with this series) handsomely designed genga of Kanzeon Bosatsu aka Kannon Bodhisattva aka Guan Yin the Enlightened One, usually known simply as The Merciful Goddess. (One of my favorite mythological figures: I always imagine her as something like the Virgin Mary taking a much-deserved Saturday night off in the local celestial tavern.)

From Cardcaptor Sakura, a pretty cel of Sakura sitting in an eerie armchair in creepy Eriol's parlor of sinistry.

We later find out it's the chair that Clow Reed was sitting in when he died.

But Inuyasha is the biggest winner this time around, thanks to an interesting lot of sketches from the CGI episodes. My favorite is this one of Inuyasha snarling over his shoulder at Kagome. (Her attention to a medieval ancestor of one of her classmates has made him edgy, perhaps, shall we say, a teensy bit jealous?)

And (the highlight this time around), after nine years of collecting, I've finally taken the plunge and bought my very first cel from this series: Inuyasha about to clobber a modern-day crook in Kagome’s world.

How could I resist? It matches a rough genga that I got this summer (I believe by the series' overall animation director Yoshihito Hishinuma) and, much to my surprise, it lingered on YJ just at the upper limit of my new beer-budget retirement income.

And ... he's got the baseball cap on, the one that magically prevents anyone in Kagome's modern world from noticing that he's half-human, half-canine and is dressed in full medieval warrior's garb. I'd coveted a cel of this kind, but never thought the market would allow me even to put something like this on a wishlist. But ... to he who waits ... the Merciful Goddess eventually shows grace.

Enjoy!

[Macron one]

Nice additions! I recognize the Sakura and InuYasha cels from YJ, particularly the InuYasha wearing his baseball cap. I was tempted to bid on that myself, but didn't because I had already just ordered a couple of cels, including the two semi-expensive ones from Asylum.

You've got some outstanding Sakura cels in your gallery BTW. Being new to this hobby i'm constantly amazed at many of the great cel collections on Rubberslug. Of the ones i've looked at thusfar, Rallihir's gallery and yours have the best assortment of Sakura cels. I'm particularly impressed by those sequences you're collecting. I hope you manage to complete that Fly card capture sequence someday.

[ReiTheJelly]

Always a pleasure to see your gallery being updated!

[Cordelia]

Lovely additions as usual

It's always nice to match a sketch to its cel or the other way round. Something tells me that won't be your last IY cel....the production quality for this series is high and there are very good deals to be had on YJ nowadays

[sensei]

I recognize the Sakura and InuYasha cels from YJ, particularly the InuYasha wearing his baseball cap. I was tempted to bid on that myself, but didn't because I had already just ordered a couple of cels, including the two semi-expensive ones from Asylum.

Yes, that's the peculiar challenge of YJ bidding: many times it all depends on who's watching with a fistful of yen when the auction winds down. I'll look at dozens of cels, mark half a dozen to watch, and maybe bid on one, or none if they all look problematic. But over time there are just enough situations like this: other people watching but for some reason not bidding. The nice thing about the Sakura cel is that there were several really nice items going up at the same time, and so I could sneak in and nip it (actually someone had the same idea, but I bid two bits more).

You've got some outstanding Sakura cels in your gallery BTW. Being new to this hobby i'm constantly amazed at many of the great cel collections on Rubberslug. Of the ones i've looked at thusfar, Rallihir's gallery and yours have the best assortment of Sakura cels. I'm particularly impressed by those sequences you're collecting. I hope you manage to complete that Fly card capture sequence someday.

Thank you! Rallihir's gallery was an inspiration and a despair for me when I was beginning. I called it the "Louvre" of CCS and MKR galleries, and I doubted if I'd ever have anything like the material he had. In a way, I still don't: he has had contacts and reserves that I can't match, and so his hanken collection is and always will be unparalleled. But it gave me a sense of taste in what to look for, and eventually I nabbed some cels that are as good as some of his. We had an enjoyable meeting a few years ago at a sushi bar outside of Philadelphia, and I hope we can get together (with cel books in hand) again.

I'd like to get more of those Fly Capture cels, but, in the usual way, once it became known that I was angling for them, they became much more competitive. But I did get one more this year, so there is hope.

Always a pleasure to see your gallery being updated!

Thank you, Rei. If it were not for a tight budget (tighter for Christmas) I'd be raiding your sale left and right.

It's always nice to match a sketch to its cel or the other way round. Something tells me that won't be your last IY cel....the production quality for this series is high and there are very good deals to be had on YJ nowadays

I feel like I need to be focusing my efforts rather than starting up new galleries. But you're probably right: I have most of the CCS and TnN that I ever wanted in life, and with these series becoming increasingly competitive, I probably am going to go for material that is gradually becoming more available and reasonable in price. I was very happy with the crisp lines and bright colors of this cel, especially as a lot of MKR is visibly line-faded, even from the small dealers' scans. So I probably will keep IY cels on my regular trap line.

[syan]

I like the new Sakura. Nice and symmetric, plus her cute kimono!