Your most cherished gallery item?

[sensei]

Seeing the thread about the item that cost you the most money made me think of a related matter: price disregarded, what is the item (cel, sketch, background, shikishi, whatever) that you cherish more than any other? It might be one of the first items you collected, or one associated with a favorite experience (such as meeting an eminent animator or director), or just something that speaks to you directly.

I'll start with this one:


CCS Ep. 7: Sakura gets ready to seal The Thunder


That's one that for me is tangled up in my early reaction to Cardcaptor Sakura, which I came to love and still love (Clear Cards not so much...). It was a classic moment in one of the early costumes, wearing a costume that has kawaii connotations, but in with an intensity that is anything but pink and cute. I'd wanted a cel from this particular cut, and I'd tried for a couple of them unsuccessfully. Then, in my first weeks of access to Yahoo Japan (thanks to Shopping Mall Japan), I saw this one -- the strongest image of the whole sequence -- come up, and at a time when I had some extra cash.

When the auction finished up, I was in the depths of a nasty winter cold, but it wasn't severe enough to make me forget when it was time to get in and bid my max. After I confirmed that I was the winning bidder I went back to bed and my meds. Nothing could prepare me, however, for when I opened my SMJ shipment a month later and saw how intense that Look really was. I've spent more for other items, and gotten some that are much scarcer and (arguably) more valuable as animation art. But this one remains the one that gives me more shivers than any other.

[JWR]

It is very hard to narrow down to one to share for there is a lot of emotional attachments to a lot of the images my wife and I have collected over the years.
But I will share this one. I must add it as a link to my gallery cause I still can't figure out the linking to amazon pictures to get it to work here.

http://ryan.rubberslug.com/gallery/inv_ ... mID=186243

Ranma 1/2 OVA "The Two Akanes! Ranma Look at Me!"

I still to this day think this is one image that captures Akane's beauty perfectly and after years of admiring it in a friends collection I was very pleased that I was able purchase it from them when it was offered to me.

[ginga123]

I never thought I’d ever have an emotional attachment to a piece of paper, but I can’t help it when it came to this man. We had a special connection when we met and I’m so glad to have known him before he became famous. I really enjoyed spending the weekend with him, walking and talking; laughing and smiling; and getting to know this amazing man.

http://gag.rubberslug.com/gallery/inv_i ... mID=447552

I wrote a letter to him. Hopefully, I’ll get a reply. Wish me luck.

[tarakatsuki]

With as many cels as I've got, one simply can not choose just one favorite

So here's a few of my top contenders:

I just adore this one of Kagome resting peacefully on Inuyasha's back

I also have a thing for Inuyasha in his hat and getting ready to fight and take down the bad guy

But also this one of his hat, hence my profile picture here

Or how about a cute and sweet InuKag scene?

Can't forget about some shirtless, full youkai Inuyasha

Or this beautiful oversized human Inuyasha

[cutiebunny]

This was a difficult topic for me to answer. I own a lot of stuff, which I suppose was only bound to happen considering how much I bought during the first 10-15 years in this hobby. Prices were relatively low compared to now and there was a wide variety of things available to buy. But, if there was one item I couldn’t sell and one that I feel best represents my collection, it’s the Ikuko Itoh sketch of Mercury’s Aqua Rhapsody - http://cutiebunny.rubberslug.com/galler ... mID=424961

Collecting artwork added a rich layer to my early adulthood. Attending conventions caused me to leave my comfy corner of the world and shaped me into a more outgoing person than I was before I started collecting artwork. I’ve traveled the world for artwork and shared my food with both collecting friends and artists alike. Had it not been for anime/manga and the desire to own a fragment from my favorites, I feel like a good chunk of the people I care about would not be in my life had I not traveled to conventions to meet both them and those that worked in the manga/anime industry. I would not have had the adventures I have had without them, and for that, I will always be thankful.

This particular sketch was acquired while in Japan with a friend who I met through Rubberslug and who has shared many an adventure with me. She was the one who noticed the sketches in the back of the shop and, despite the price, encouraged me to not be cheap and buy them. I did not know, at the time, that I would meet the artist who drew them the following year at a convention. I brought a good chunk with me to the convention, and seeing her peruse her work years later was meaningful.

[sensei]

I still to this day think this is one image that captures Akane's beauty perfectly and after years of admiring it in a friends collection I was very pleased that I was able purchase it from them when it was offered to me.

It really is a lovely image, and I can think of several cels that I've gotten simply because they handle a given character in a striking and unusually beautiful way. A lot of times that signals the influence of a really good animation director and/or key animator.

I sympathize with your problems with making a link: AB works differently from other websites, and so lots of things have to be done different. Anyhow, your link didn't work, but a little hacking around led me to the right RS page. Definitely an image worth sharing:

http://ryan.rubberslug.com/gallery/inv_ ... mID=186243

[sensei]

I never thought I’d ever have an emotional attachment to a piece of paper, but I can’t help it when it came to this man. We had a special connection when we met and I’m so glad to have known him before he became famous.

That is amazing: and the sketch Shingo Tamagawa did of you is very delicate and full of thought. I see that this artist has gotten quite a bit of attention for his You Tube short animated film Puparia. The stills I've seen from this have a lot of the same quality as your sketch. A wonderful gift and memory.

[sensei]

I also have a thing for Inuyasha in his hat and getting ready to fight and take down the bad guy

Oh, yeah. We both have a thing for this particular scene, which is so dramatic, so in character, and so funny in many ways. And that baseball hat!

[sensei]

if there was one that I feel best represents my collection, it’s the Ikuko Itoh sketch of Mercury’s Aqua Rhapsody - http://cutiebunny.rubberslug.com/galler ... mID=424961. I did not know, at the time, that I would meet the artist who drew them the following year at a convention.

That too is a wonderful experience and memory. I too have some sketchwork by this master animator, which is very important to me in developing a real sense for what makes an individual animator distinctive and masterful. But I've not had this really rare opportunity to connect the artwork to the living artist.

[ginga123]

Thank you sensei.

[JWR]

I still to this day think this is one image that captures Akane's beauty perfectly and after years of admiring it in a friends collection I was very pleased that I was able purchase it from them when it was offered to me.

It really is a lovely image, and I can think of several cels that I've gotten simply because they handle a given character in a striking and unusually beautiful way. A lot of times that signals the influence of a really good animation director and/or key animator.

I sympathize with your problems with making a link: AB works differently from other websites, and so lots of things have to be done different. Anyhow, your link didn't work, but a little hacking around led me to the right RS page. Definitely an image worth sharing:

http://ryan.rubberslug.com/gallery/inv_ ... mID=186243

Thanks Sensei , I tend to forget that I have to "visit" my gallery while not logged into it to get the correct link which is different so I fixed the main post

[jiangdc]

Hard to pick up the most cherished one, but would like to share story behind this item.


This is an shikishi drew by Nishi Terumi. From anime named < Fushigiboshi no Futagohime> or <Twin Princess of Wonder Planet>. I was a big fan of this anime during roughly grade 3 in primary school. I remember that I became really excited around 7am in the evening, I open the TV and switch to the Children's Channel and wait for the two princess and their fantastic journey. The next day, me and my best friends will meet during class break time and talk about that episode. I also remember my friend was yelling something like " Fine should merry Shade" and I was like "wohoooo yeah". Those memories still come to my mind sometimes, and luckily, I am still in contact with those friends and we still once talked about this anime after 1x years passed.




Nishi Terumi also expressed her nostalgic feeling when she was finishing this shikishi since Futagohime is also special to her. This anime was her first project as Chief Animation Director.

[sensei]

I was a big fan of this anime during roughly grade 3 in primary school. I remember that I became really excited around 7am in the evening, I open the TV and switch to the Children's Channel and wait for the two princess and their fantastic journey.

This really is a heartwarming story that I can relate to in distant ways. There was not much animation on TV when I was that age: all I can remember was old, old episodes of "Popeye," which was very violent and often quite crude in message, especially the ones done as pro-US propaganda during WWII (the less said about these the better). But I recall waiting with excitement for the Beatles to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show (I was in 8th grade as I recall). And it was an evening of great satisfaction four decades later to see Ringo Starr life in one of his tours, this time with my young daughter who was also over-the-top in excitement. Sadly I never met any of the Beatles privately, so your story is all the more special, I'm sure for the animator as much as for you.