Urgle!!

[Moop]

*Sigh* Where to begin? About four years ago, I bought a cel, notable because it was my first purchase in a couple of years, and I was awed by the rarity...and honestly thrilled to add it to my collection. BUT. After quite a bit of reflection, I realized that my heart wasn't really in the hobby anymore; I no longer checked YJ twice a day, as I had for the previous six or seven years (omg, scary!) - it was more likely to be twice a month. My favorite cel dealers were closing down one after another, or at the very least, not updating. Even Mandarake was a rare visit. I was burnt out - probably because I'm Old Skool; cels and their matching douga & genga move me more than straightforward CG artwork does. I don't know why, but that's just what I resonate to: from sketch to paint, not sketch to computer. *Please don't toss tomatoes at me; I can't help being born in the wrong decade.* Anyway, yeah. I kinda just...stopped. My only connection to AB was when I decided that I'd rather support another hobby, and I popped by to sell off a bit of this one. Pretty sad, considering the endless hours of heart-pumping excitement I used to get over each and every auction.

And then...and then...a few weeks ago, my daughter put in one of my old YYH DVDs and started to watch. If there is anyone here who still remembers me, they may (or may not, lol) recall that YYH was my collecting weak spot. I have hundreds of cels and sketches from about a dozen other series, but YYH is the only one that I ever bothered to truly maintain in my RS gallery. Aaanyway, first I just smiled to see her watching it - after all, she was no more than a gleam in my eye when I started collecting. Then, I sidled in and sat next to her. Wow, who knew the YYH boyz were still as adorable as ever? Then I hauled out my cel books for the first time in ages to actually look at the contents, rather than to find cels during a sales period. Then...hey, if you believe for even one second that this is actually a hobby rather than an addiction, let me set you straight. I've been clean for four years, but I got high off of really looking at those beautiful things, knowing that they were mine to enjoy and protect...but of course, one look was no longer enough. Two days ago I purchased my first cel in four years for an absurd amount of moolah, and I am waiting with bated breath for it to arrive. I think that my hands will probably shake like an old drunk's when I open the package and get my first peek. Apparently I have unexpectedly fallen off the wagon.

It makes me truly melancholy that this hobby is not what it used to be. I cringe when I write that, because I sound like my granny talking about her lost youth...but those of you who were around in the heyday know exactly what I mean. Every frickin' day was full of argh-do-I-bid-on-that-one-or-that-one choices. Still, I'm coming back into it with eyes wide open. I know the old standbys have dried up, and I don't suppose I'll be buying much - but I'm ridiculously happy to even be sticking my toe in the water again. And yes, if you happen to have any YYH that you want to part with (and I'm talkin' about good stuff, not a cel of Yusuke's left eyebrow), do PM me and we'll talk.

AND...on a final note. (I heard that collective sigh of relief. Hush.) I have maybe 10 cels on my ultimate wishlist. As in, the chances of seeing them are less than an ice cream truck's in hell. Nevertheless, one was offered to me a few years ago when I had other, more pressing expenses (read: child), and even though it practically broke my heart, I had to say no-but-no-ouch-NO. Another, I just found out sold on Mandarake less than two years ago (figures it would happen while I was ON the wagon) for a frickin' song. Wrawrrrr! I literally almost cried when I saw that. But, that's life and I'm nothing if not pragmatic. All I want now is to know where it went! I'd throw money by the fistful...okay, fine, wheelbarrowful at the new owner if they were interested, but if not, I'd really just like the opportunity to admire it in a gallery. If you happen to know where this beauty went: http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/auction/it ... dex=259764 or its sibling: http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/auction/it ... dex=259763 I would be beyond the narrow confines of grateful and into the realm of indentured servitude if you would share the info in a PM.

Hm. I think I may actually be done! In retrospect, what a dopey, rambling post. Does it really fit in under general production art? Or is it Wish List? Or MSN/Mandarake? Or Anything? Meh, none of the above, I guess, so mods, do your worst and move me if you must. *Waves happily at any old friends who may still be here, and hightails it before those tomatoes start sailing in*

[JWR]

I still remember you so welcome back.

And no there is nothing wrong with not being interested in collecting from CG series. I actually held our for a while till my wife found the series Ai Yori Aoshi and fell in love with the story and wished for some artwork from it.

[Moop]

JWR, I remember you, too. You are, and always were, a gentleman and a scholar. Thanks for the welcome. Yeah, I can't argue with your wife - the artwork from Ai Yori Aoshi is stunning. In fact, I admire the artwork from a lot of CG series, and even own a smattering! Overall, though, I'm just an old prune - or is it, conversely, incredibly childish? - when it comes to what I like to add to my books. Pencil is lovely, and I want it alongside my cels...but paint speaks to me. Must be those primary colors, lol.

[teggacat]

Hey, Moop, welcome back, and yes I too remember you.
Must say you wrote a very well worded and heartfelt post,
and many of us old timers can certainly relate to your words.
And just every once in a while that rush still comes over me when I find
that special cel………..

[kathpatty]

Welcome back!
I loved reading your post.

[zerospace]

Heh, Moop... I remember that BWA and those 2 cels. Gorgeous, they are. I hope you find out where they went!

Welcome back to the hobby! I haven't totally left, but I'm definitely not in it the way I used to be.

[sensei]

Then...hey, if you believe for even one second that this is actually a hobby rather than an addiction, let me set you straight. I've been clean for four years, but I got high off of really looking at those beautiful things

Good to see you, Moop! You're right, though. I do every so often grab down a cel book for Smaug-style gloat-and-wallow time. (Usually change the cel bags in the process.) Yes, it's a quite different collecting scene now, one that's shifted from a radical buyers' market to something that now favors sellers, or, more accurately, keepers. It's hard to predict prices, too, especially for my favorite CCS. A nice lot of genga went up this morning, starting at 500 yen. I looked at it with my 15-year collector's eye and said "3000 yen." So I lodged an Autobid for somewhat more than that, with a backup bid of a little even more than that, and the latter was about half of what it finally went for.

I try to hold to a principle that I developed early on: not to make the "getting" part of the hobby more important than the "having." The extreme form of the opposite approach we both saw ten years ago: people who would spend large sums for their "wishlist," then put it up for offers soon afterwards in order to pay for the next "wishlist" that showed up on the market. You're to be respected for having the backbone to think of the financial consequences before (sob!) turning down the "wishlist" you were offered. While the joy of getting a nice piece is unique and deeply satisfying, it doesn't pay for the worry that follows if it truly does wreck the budget you use for yourself and your family.

But, yeah, how to gratify the joy of "having"? I do enjoy my various cel-book and sketch-box "crawls," but I too wish there were a bigger active community that would support activities beyond the annual cel/sketch contests and the open houses. And I wish I had a wider variety of venues where I could talk about and display items in my collection. Golly, I'd love to have some kind of event centered around a screening of the Nakamura film A Tree of Palme accompanied by a gallery with some of the items in my collection. (The ones of the Kooloop tree are so huge they need to be seen to be appreciated.)

Anyhow, the more people who toss in ideas and think about how animation art collecting could be more of a public endeavor, the more I think this group will make the transition from "OMG look what just went up on YHJ!" to "The Art of YYH: A Curator's Treasures."

But, yeah, I got a CCS Movie 1 cel not long ago, and when I opened the box, I sat and stared at it for a long time: color, pose, condition, all primo. And that same old tingle that I felt 13 years ago still came over me.

[cutiebunny]

Welcome back, Moop. I hope you stay for a while. We're a much smaller group that we were when you took leave, but, I think we're also more tightly knit.

..Maybe?


The struggle is definitely a real one when it comes to collecting. Many of us take a hiatus now and then, but the urge to buy something pretty is ever present.

[lunacels]

Hi Moop! Welcome back to Beta!

Glad to see you rediscovered your collection love--the same happened to me when my son started asking to see my cels. I hope you'll stay awhile!

No idea where those Mandarake beauties ended up, but they are gorgeous!

[Jadeduo]

*Waves at Moop*

Welcome back!

Very interesting post, it's good to see older collectors come back. I agree with Sensei it is sad that we aren't big enough to do more than the Open Houses and Contests. As they are A LOT of work, we need new blood to get those interested in the hobby again! However I am all for old blood coming back and putting the toe back in the water as it were.

When I see those harmonies, I wish I collected YYH, but erm probably not a good idea, if you have wagonloads of money... LOL J/K

Jadeduo

[Moop]

I try to hold to a principle that I developed early on: not to make the "getting" part of the hobby more important than the "having." The extreme form of the opposite approach we both saw ten years ago: people who would spend large sums for their "wishlist," then put it up for offers soon afterwards in order to pay for the next "wishlist" that showed up on the market.

Ah, and there you have it in a nutshell. This hobby has two parts, of course...the hunt and pounce, which is exhilarating and oh-so-satisfying...and the simple joy of ownership. I guess that as in most things, the adrenaline rush part tends to be the memorable one - so when it peters out or ends entirely, and you're left fussing endlessly with books full of the same stuff you've been looking at for years, the thrill really is, quite literally, gone. After that, it's in each of us to decide why we got into it in the first place. I sort of forgot for awhile, and it really took a particular event to remind me. Honestly, I hope I remember better this time. I can't swear that I will, but I'll certainly try - especially since I've realized after one of those humdrum dry spells that I really do love nearly all of my bits of plastic. It looks like I will be getting at least three amazing pieces into my books over the next couple of weeks (one arriving today - EEEeeeEEEee!) , but this time I'm going to try and keep that in perspective; I'm thrilled about seeing them, yes...but I'm reminding myself that they will still be *just as special* in five years. An iconic A1End ED? Are you kidding me? Just because a marriage is long does not mean that it has to be boring.

I'm astonished at how familiar all of the names are of people who stopped by to say hi! Hi, everyone! Astonished - and at the same time, wondering exactly where everyone else went. I took a small trip down memory lane by opening some of the oldest topics available on this board - and the names of posters read like a forgotten who's who...people I used to chat with regularly by PM, and who filled the board daily with their comments and observations and humor. I wonder where they went, and if they are still collecting, or if they went through a blah period like mine, or if they were just more interested in the social aspect than the art (lol, some REALLY major post counts back then...). The forum has certainly undergone some changes over the years, and to be somewhat horrible, there was a period during which a bit more pompous bluster than I could deal with blew through the door, so even the social aspect kind went kaput for me. I wonder if anyone else left for that reason...? I fell in love with my cels all over again, but if I had peeped back in here and that particular atmosphere had still been active, I probably would have tiptoed right back out without stirring the pot. Now I feel kind of guilty, because the community is so tiny! So maybe the real question is, is it just AB that's become little, or it the whole hobby? Is it because the best plastic and paper are so few and far between? Is it because people are hoarding instead of selling? Most hobbies have a constant flow of participants who come and go, but this one...it really seems like everyone is drifting away without having anyone take their place. Pretty sure that either the world has ended or AO is still around on occasion, but where the heck did vampyreshoujo and birdie, my fellow YYH collector, go?? Grumble. I guess I'll have to see if I can remember the password on my old AB email address...I'm betting they're both somewhere in there...

Crap, I'm rambling again, lol. Anyway, it really is nice to see the familiar faces, so to speak. And Sensei...that is flat out the best signature I've seen in years. I don't know whether to laugh or grimace sympathetically!

[zerospace]

where the heck did vampyreshoujo and birdie, my fellow YYH collector, go?? Grumble. I guess I'll have to see if I can remember the password on my old AB email address...I'm betting they're both somewhere in there...

vampy is still out there somewhere. Every so often she pops up on my radar for one reason or another. I don't know if she's still into cels, but she's around.

[Moop]

Oo, thanks zerospace! Now I must figure out a way to dredge her up and make her come back here and talk to me.