Happy New Year and well wishes for everyone! For tonight I'm posting something not figurine for once. (Don't worry I have many more figure related posts in the future) A gift from my family, I finally got my hands on something dear to my childhood.
I'm sure everyone who enjoys anime as an adult can recall their first anime. Mine was the rather random/campy/parody-ish action comedy of Samurai Pizza Cats. I can't explain it honestly. As a child it had bright colors, silly faces, robots, fights, pizza, princesses, a fake Tokyo and explosions. How could it not be good? Even as a adult I go back and re-watch episodes from time to time. The added perk being the rather 'adult' innuendo/political humor it had that I missed as a child. So when I actually got hand painted cels and background from the show, I was deeply touched.
Speedy and Guido were my favorite cats... er Samurai Pizza Cats. They had great relationship that went from loving to loathing and back again. They had each others backs in battle and otherwise competed for the attention of the female citizens of the 'doomed to be attacked' Neo Tokyo. This set is a background, and 2 cels (one signed off on). Obviously kept in excellent condition which I intend to continue. It may seem meaningless to some people, but the feeling of holding something from your childhood is just wonderful.
Here is a shot of the background, which is skillfully rendered. The holes in the sheet are for the placement for photography during the actual animation process. It's a pleasure to see the order number (of when a backround is used in a show) and all of the background intact. It's like holding a little piece of history.
Here is a little bit of detail to show off the hand painted quality and to show how easily a background like this works with a little bit of zoom. Sadly I only barely recall the episodes, and through the years my brain misplaced where this location exists in the context of the show. (I recall it being a airport runway/hanger tarmac for some reason.)
Here is the cel of Speedy Cerviche alone. Front and Back. The holes in the top were for setting the cels over the backgrounds. By the by, painting cels is a laborious task. (I've painted a few before.)
Guido Anchovy gets a turn next. Front and Back. Guido is the top cel in this set so it has the signature(or possibly a note) in the corner. Usually these were either signoffs on completion by the artist after cels were used or after cels were sold/released. They actually don't retain more value because of it, but that doesn't matter since it's endearing to have with the set.
An odd item most would say, but one of the gems of my collection. As for display, I actually leave them in an air tight box in my closet (out of sunlight or any potential spills/folds). I only handle them when I want to enjoy them or photograph them (as in this case). I hope this was a little different and interesting for an entry, and more will come in the new year.
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