This year, the Heritage Auctions house in Dallas, Texas, is paying special homage to anime with a three-day headlining event: The Art of Anime and Everything Cool Auction.
With more than 900 lots and 300 pieces of anime art on display, the sale is packed with animation pieces from critically and culturally acclaimed films and series. The auction will spotlight top selections from the Glad Anime Museum Collection, including production cels, vintage anime cels, master and key master setups, model sheets, and more.
The prime highlights of this auction derive from the stunning animation movie Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo. A production cel setup and sequence from the film display key motorcycle scenes: The former shows off Akira‘s characters sticking up security guards in an armed hovercraft in a hand-painted piece measuring 16 inches by 14 inches, while the latter depicts a hand-painted rendering of Kaneda in an action-packed motorcycle moment from the final scenes of the film, measuring a whopping 52 inches by 12 inches.
Joining the ranks of Otomo’s work are pieces from Osamu Tezuka — creator of Astro Boy — and, of course, Hayao Miyazaki. Fans can experience the magic of Miyazaki with a variety of production cels and key master backgrounds from iconic films such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and more. One piece features the scene of Yakul waking up Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke, accompanied by its matching original animation drawing of Ashitaka, rendered in graphite and blue pencil. It measures 11 inches by 8 inches on a 14-by-10 inch setup.
Additional highlights include animation cels from Sailor Moon, Ghost in the Shell, Dragon Ball, and Robot Carnival. Fans will be able to experience the finest works in their precise production stages, hand-crafted and primed for display in any personal anime art collection.
The Art of Anime and Everything Cool Auction will take place from June 25-27. Lot viewing is by appointment only, and fans can find more auction info here. Worldwide bidding will launch soon at comics.ha.com.
