Sensei's Upgrade 2011.02 (May Madness)

[sensei]

The first part of my post-Lent purchases are now up, with another set needing to be scanned. But this will need to wait until June, due to a conference I am attending next week. Still, there are some nice pieces to appreciate.

CCS was, as often, one beneficiary. For me a highlight was


This set-up of Yukito tending the unconscious Touya at the end of "The Scene."

Another was


Meilin vs. The Fight Card in a cut for which I've been lucky to find sequence-mates.

The Rayearth OVA gallery got another cel:


Ferio picking on Fuu while hovering overhead and saying everyone's gonna die anyhow. (He actually thinks she's cute and wants to see her get that jewel glowing and start flipping cars like everyone else in the OVA.)

But I'm starting to develop an interest in older anime as well, thanks to several Betarians' influence. My Microid S gallery (1973, Toei) is richer by five cels, some very nice. I especially like this one:


Yanma ("Dragonfly") in the clutches of Maimai ("Gypsy Moth") or maybe vice versa. The series is, as one might expect from the influence of Osamu Tezuka, especially rich in entomological concepts.

Also from the vaults, this treasure:


The human and semi-human questers from the opening animation of Maeterlinck's Blue Bird: Tyltyl and Mytyl's Adventurous Journey This 1980 Office Academy production looks quite intriguing from what I've learned about it.

Character design was provided by Leiji Matsumoto, already famous for his Space Battleship Yamato, also produced by Office Academy. Matsumoto also was the original creator of the Space Pirate Captain Harlock manga series (1977-79). The overall animation director was Toyoo Ashida, who had served in the same capacity for the Space Battleship Yamato movie (1977) and later was overall animation director for Fist of the North Star (1984+) and the Vampire Hunter D OVA (1985).

Maeterlinck's children's story is not well known in the United States, but it remains a classic in Europe, and I was intrigued to find that the anime Blue Bird version is still running in syndication on Italian cable TV after over a quarter of a century's exposure there.

Another more predictable treasure:


The arch-villainess Suigintou from the Rozen Maiden OP animation. This is a lovely sketch that is in many ways much more effective than the image's appearance on the screen, where it was blurred by the dark setting and overlaid by the credits to the studio staff.

And looking around you'll find more interesting stuff. Watch for a second half in about a week and a half, with more mean women with sharp objects and Golden Age anime.

[iceman57]

Also from the vaults, this treasure:


The human and semi-human questers from the opening animation of Maeterlinck's Blue Bird: Tyltyl and Mytyl's Adventurous Journey This 1980 Office Academy production looks quite intriguing from what I've learned about it.

Character design was provided by Leiji Matsumoto, already famous for his Space Battleship Yamato, also produced by Office Academy. Matsumoto also was the original creator of the Space Pirate Captain Harlock manga series (1977-79). The overall animation director was Toyoo Ashida, who had served in the same capacity for the Space Battleship Yamato movie (1977) and later was overall animation director for Fist of the North Star (1984+) and the Vampire Hunter D OVA (1985).

Maeterlinck's children's story is not well known in the United States, but it remains a classic in Europe, and I was intrigued to find that the anime Blue Bird version is still running in syndication on Italian cable TV after over a quarter of a century's exposure there.

MY GOODNESS AN OP CEL !! (apparently with matching BG, or from the sequence).
Title cel sold last year in BWA about 10,000 JPY, I forgot to bid on it, shame on me. I confirm that this is a classic in our good old Europe basically called "The Blue Bird" and with an extremely pleasant title song (see french video).

[JWR]

Nice update, Glad you could get in one last one before the 3:00pm Eastern time end of the world.

I really like the quiet sceen of Yukito at Touya's bedside.

[sensei]

MY GOODNESS AN OP CEL [from Blue Bird } !! (apparently with matching BG, or from the sequence).

Thank you, Benoit. That was one that I thought would make you notice, though Microid S also deserves attention due to the contributions of Kazuo Komatsubara (subsequently Animation Director, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind). The BB OP was one that I found in a random troll, looking through items being offered by a seller that I associated with very good offerings. There are cels that make you stop, and some that make you stare, and a few that make you say "MY GOODNESS!!" That was one of the latter.

I don't think the BG is matching, though it goes well with the cel. The seller thought it might be, but honestly said he wasn't sure. But in watching some of the streaming video, I found that this cut is also used from time to time as a bank with different backgrounds, so it might be that the two were used together. However, my impression is that it's too new for the cel.

I really like the quiet scene of Yukito at Touya's bedside.

That was another "stop and stare" item, and in really good condition. I like getting items that may not be stellar pieces on their own, but which fit well with the collection that I already have.

Thanks for visiting. I'm glad there remain a few non-blessed souls left on earth to stop by and look. From now on it's all termites, taxes, pestilence, famine, plague, line fading, and increasingly unfavorable exchange rates for all currencies against the yen.

[tex-chan]

I sent you a feedback message last night through RS, although it occurred to me afterward that it might get lost in your spam filter. (That happens to my mail from RS sometimes. >.O)

So, thought I would pop in to congratulate you on yet another stunning and meaningful update to your amazing collection! I have not yet had the time to go through and read all your thoughtful (and always thought provoking) commentary, as I only had time last night to look at the pretty pictures and skim comments. But I am looking forward to delving deeper into the information on your new items soon -- perhaps later this evening, if I can steal away some quiet time for myself.

My absolute favorite (probably totally predictable on my part) was the cel of Yuki watching over Toya. Actually, I feel I should say "scene" instead of "cel" because I think it's amazing and so meaningful that you have the entire scene captured right there for all of us to visit. And it is so amazingly beautiful ... emotional ... and just perfect. From the moody blue of the background, to the smaller stature of the figures -- seeming to indicate, perhaps, that both of them are much smaller than they would like to be in the face of the forces around them -- and, finally, that one moonbeam falling "just so" across Toya's bed. Just ... wow! Not only a beautiful addition that fits perfectly into your collection, but a meaningful piece that tells an entire story at a glance.

My second favorite was the OP cel from Bluebird. I know absolutely nothing about that show, but I was struck by the motion and expression in the cel. Love the colors and the animals' designs are incredibly intriguing.

I also found your Rozen Maiden OP very intriguing. I love the motion to the image, and her beautiful hair. And that expression on her face ... Wow! Super spectacular!!

Congrats, again, on many lovely additions. And here's hoping to see many more.

[teggacat]

As usual, I enjoy your updates Sensei, always well
presented and thought out, as always, very nicely done.
Once again, hard to pick a fave but this seems to be a real
popular eyecatcher, that BlueBird cel is simply wonderful!
Thank You for sharing!

[benten]

Your expositions on your additions are always interesting. However, the treatise accompanying the Bluebird cel is utterly fascinating. Congratulations on your new acquisitions!

[sensei]

So, thought I would pop in to congratulate you on yet another stunning and meaningful update to your amazing collection! I have not yet had the time to go through and read all your thoughtful (and always thought provoking) commentary, as I only had time last night to look at the pretty pictures and skim comments.

Thank you, Tex. I know you are a collector who engages very deeply with your collection, and so your praise means much to me. A young teen went through Confirmation at our church today, and my wife and I were invited to her home for a luncheon. At the end she and I came together near the door, and we started chattering about things we had just encountered or heard about. A mutual friend who was standing by commented, not unkindly, "Now I know why Mary Jo likes Mr. Ellis so much." Those who really see the depths in the genre do share a very special bond.

Your comments on the Touya/Yukito "scene" are interesting. That was one that I expected to get some competition on, but other moody nightscapes had gone up before, and maybe I was lucky in that people figured it was just another minor character falling asleep during Eriol's dark magic trial in Ep. 69. In any case, it is very pretty in person, and like others coming up for sale, in excellent condition.

The Suigintou sketch was not as lucky a find: I had a tough battle to get it, and luckily it came up right after Easter when I was best heeled. But it is worth it: others from the cut have come up and also gone high, but this one has the eerie shudder that I wanted. A classic "evil woman with violence on her mind" (and yes, after I get some academic work done, I am going to work on that "Malicious girls with sharp objects" quirky tour of my gallery and my sick subconscious.)

that BlueBird cel is simply wonderful!

Thank you, tegga and tex, on this one. That was one that made me click, then look hard, and -- OMG, the cat has a white form-fitting bodice! And a fluttery skirt ... and elbow-length black gloves and knee-length black stockings! I was fascinated enough to take a look at the OP animation (available in both Japanese and Italian on YouTube, though I perversely like the Italian theme music much better) and that convinced me that the cel (if not the bg) was genuine and worth going after.

One nice thing is that the auction was one of those where the seller donated 10% of the final sale price to the earthquake/tsunami relief effort.

If you're willing to bear with no subtitles, I've since found that the whole Italian dub is available in streaming video. It is a series of great interest, with quite a few very interesting scenes. The apparitions of The Water and The Light are very effective, and one suspects that CLAMP watched this series with interest when it first came out.

Thanks to all the non-Raptured who stopped by to visit!

[sensei]

The treatise accompanying the Bluebird cel is utterly fascinating. Congratulations on your new acquisitions!

Thank you, benten (you slipped in as I was writing the above) for bearing with my academic propensities. One thing I enjoy about obscure series is the challenge of finding information and putting it together in my head. I sometimes wonder if I'm writing these descriptions for myself, but lately I'm finding that some of these are getting quite a few hits, as they start to show up in Google searches for these series.

I didn't get this in, but there was actually an improvisational theatre production based on Tyltyl and Mytyl's Adventurous Journey (as the anime is sometimes called) that played in New York City in 2009. I read a couple of reviews, and critics said it was totally incomprehensible. But they conceded that it played to packed houses through its entire run. So there is some awareness that there is something worth knowing about this series, and in any case I'm sure Maurice Maeterlinck is happy observing the ongoing adventures of his characters from his little nook of Raptureville.

He must have regretted being born 80 years too soon. There is a story that Maeterlinck was invited by MGM to submit some scenarios for possible movies. He sent in a bunch of these, and the studio mogul reading them came dashing out of his office holding one in his hand and exclaiming, "My God! The hero of this one is a bee!!

Heh. That one would have gotten Maeterlinck a standing contract with Toei or Nippon Studios, and with the proper collaborating graphic artists, I'm sure he could have produced some worthy manga as well (he did a major work on the social life of termites). As it is, his major claim to fame is being the author of the libretto of Debussy's opera Pelleas et Melisande. Well ... that's immortality too.

[sensei]

Dunno what's going on.

[toonybabe]

I really like that Bluebird cel too. It looks like my kind of show, but I've never heard of it before - it looks like I've got more anime to watch!. Congrats on the update!

[sensei]

Thank you, toonybabe. You can currently get streaming video of the Italian dub at this website:

http://tyltyl-mytyl-e-luccellinoazzurro.blogspot.com/

(Plus annoying popups, so put your blocker up a notch. However, the videos themselves so far have tested malware free.)

[iceman57]

If you do appreciate fairy guideline giving magic powers to kids, maybe you may make a try with "Clémentine"...