Where are the Yellow Star cels ?

last modified: Thursday, February 23, 2023 (2:12:20 PM CST)

Long time since the last blog entry :)
And I've been wondering, where are the Yellow Star cels ?
Today I can find cels for pretty much any Yasuomi Umetsu project, even those older than Yellow Star. However, Yellow Star cels are no where to be found. And I'm not even talking about the super high price hentai cels...I'm talking about regular non-pornographic cels from that episode. I've not seen a single one in auctions. In fact I've seen more hentai cels (and even those, not many) from the episode, than any regular cels.
Who has cels from this episode ? Where can they be found if not on auction sites ? No one wants to sell them ? Why don't they at least setup a gallery to show them ?
This is just me venting my frustration, as Yellow Star is almost the only Umetsu project that I don't have s single cel...

Storyboards and cut content

last modified: Saturday, December 04, 2021 (1:02:05 PM CST)

I recently got my hands on a dream item. The Yellow Star storyboards. I started uploading them a while back, but only recently did I reach a point where the large cuts from the episode, can be seen.
And the cuts themselves are interesting and confusing. Interesting because they add a lot of detail that was more or less missing from the episode. But also confusing, because some of them add important details to the episode and do not represent a huge investment in production material.
From my understanding, cuts in old anime or hentai will be done because more scenes, mean more production materials that can be expensive. But some of the cuts in Yellow Star barely have any animation. They are for the most part, just still frames.
Still frames that would nonetheless add quite a bit to the episode.
These cuts do not make any sense to me, but I'm glad that I can at least see them in the storyboards and I'm also very glad to share them with you :)

Wishlist cel! Wishlist cel!!!

last modified: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (7:55:22 AM CST)

Thus far, I was able to gather a few cels that, despite the fact that they weren't on my wishlist, I really wanted. But it has not been easy, to get a REAL wishlist cel...but I finally got one! And it's a beauty and one that had escaped me a while back. But now, I fought back with a vengeance! And it's mine! It's one of those ANFS (Absolutely not for Sale) cels, which I will soon share with you in my gallery! Stay tuned for it and other goodies, which weren't wishlist items, but were definitely must "haves" :)

I knew it...and a request!

last modified: Thursday, September 03, 2009 (3:55:43 PM CST)

That's right. I just got the book I talked about in the last blog entry and Mr Umetsu didn't disappoint in disappointing...When I opened the book, there were 3 or 4 pages not related with Kite Liberator, which led me to believe that all the fuss I made about buying the book, was totally unnecessary, since it actually does have more than Kite Liberator stuff! So I went to see the other 60 or so pages and...yeah, it's all Kite Liberator...

And now the request: Mr Umetsu, if you ever read this, I, as probably one of your biggest fans, request that you go back to your glory days and actually provide your fans with what you set as your own trademarks, in controversial OVAs such as Yellow Star and A Kite, touching moments as seen in the Presence segment of Robot Carnival, brilliant revamps of classic series such as Gatchaman and Kyashan and the funny but violent feel of the Mezzo Forte OVAs! I don't think I'm asking too much am I ? :)

And another one bites the dust...

last modified: Sunday, August 16, 2009 (6:10:23 PM CST)

First of all, an update is coming to celebrate the 10000th hit. I apologize that the update didn't come when the actual 10000th hit occurred, but as you probably know, RL usually does catch up on us :)

Anyway, on to the main reason why I'm typing this. A new Key Animation Drawing book was released...As you probably read in some of the other entries in this section, I'm fairly disappointed with the recent key animation books (volumes 4 and 5), because they are based on Kite Liberator exclusively. And I'm really not a fan of Kite Liberator...
The first 3 volumes of the Key Animation Drawing books, were very good. Mostly storyboards of series/OVAs or movies Mr Umetsu worked on, but they also had awesome original artwork, that was never seen before. Volumes 4 and 5 however, have nothing but Kite Liberator storyboards. Nothing original whatsoever, which was very disappointing for me, since Kite Liberator was probably Mr Umetsu's worst animated feature in the last ten years IMO (the character designs were awesome though). Now, volume 6 comes out and guess what ? Based on Kite Liberator again...*gasp*
As a fan of Mr Umetsu's artwork, I find myself in a dilemma. I do want to collect them all (no Pokemon pun intended), but it's...Kite Liberator...again...
But then I look at the cover art of this sixth volume and look at that: a Umetsu babe as cute as ever. And I think to myself: "The man is luring me in...but I shall resist! NO MORE KITE LIBERATOR I TELL YOU!! NO MORE!!". But one of the auctions for the book, contained not only the front cover, but also the back cover of the sixth volume and...the aforementioned babe, is only wearing panties.........And so I bid on the book....DAMN YOU!

I know I'll only find Kite Liberator storyboards inside this one...AGAIN, but Mr Umetsu totally lured me into these repetitive books, with awesome covers, filled with the sexy girls only he can draw...I know I'm sounding like a perv as I write this. But it's a true story. I bought a book solely based on the "sexy" cover and knowing almost 100% that inside, I'll find only Kite Liberator storyboards...Pathetic isn't it ?

What's wrong with Mr Umetsu ?

last modified: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 (5:33:29 AM CST)

First, I would like to apologize for the lack of updates, but the end of 2008 was a very busy one for me. The beginning of 2009 isn't giving me much time for gallery updates either, but as soon as I can, I will add more goodies :)
Second and on topic, what's wrong with Mr Umetsu lately ? I just acquired his latest "Key Animation Drawing" book (number 5) and it's again, based on Kite Liberator, like number 4 was aswell. Unfortunately, Kite Liberator wasn't very good, so a second book based on it, isn't a good thing IMO. The storyline was horrible and it left so many loose ends, that I already read about Mr Umetsu working on a sequel. I can't say I'm happy with it, since a sequel for something that wasn't good in the first place, isn't exactly promising...The last worthwhile item that Mr Umetsu released was in fact the "Medley of Design" book, that had only the flaw of being too short. In terms of animation, only Mezzo Forte takes the cake, as the last worthwhile production. Given that Mezzo Forte is a 2000/2001 anime, that's over 8 years without anything that Mr Umetsu defined as his trademarks, such as fluid animation, awesome character designs, extreme sexual and/or violent content and storylines filled with action, dark humor and/or taboos. Except for the awesome character designs, which Kite Liberator still has, everything else is mostly gone...:(
As a huge fan of Mr Umetsu, I can only feel disappointed, since I know he can do a lot better! I was hoping that a breath of fresh air, in the form of the announced "Kiss and Cry" could be Mr Umetsu's return to his glory, but it seems it's not going anywhere...

Question for posterity!

last modified: Thursday, October 09, 2008 (9:11:35 AM CST)

I've been neglecting both the gallery and this blog, because RL has been merciless for the last couple of months :)
But I wanted to leave a question here, for everyone to read (and answer hopefully ^_^), regarding something that I thought of, even before I really started collecting cels. The question is related to what will you do, if and when the time comes to move on from this hobby. Will you sell the cels, keep them, even though not really looking to upgrade the collection, or simply pass them on to someone else you know, that also likes them, for free or with a price attached ? Maybe you have another option, that you wish to share. Feel free to do so :)

It arrived!!!

last modified: Saturday, August 02, 2008 (3:59:14 AM CST)

The item I mentioned in my last post, arrived today! And what a beauty it is!! If it's not complete, it's definitely near completion, since it details almost every character in the show. The state of the paper really shows its age. It should be about 15 years old, considering the age of the anime itself. That should give you an idea of what anime this settei belongs to :)
What a relic! I'll try to post some pages in my next update, but no promises, since I had already decided what to upload next. And I'm off to go through it again ^_^

The thrill of the hunt and getting the prey!

last modified: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 (4:32:10 AM CST)

The title is probably self explanatory, so yeah, I won an auction of something I've been looking for, for a while now. And as usual, with these kinds of items, there's a story to be told, which I intend to share here.
The item in question is a settei set of an anime Mr Umetsu worked on (of course ^_^) and I wanted it, almost ever since I started collecting cels, but nothing had been listed in the auctions. However, two weeks ago, a portion of the settei was listed and I finally had the chance to get it and I did. It turns out it was just a small portion of the settei, coupled with some drawings of the anime itself. It was definitely something I wanted too, but it still wasn't exactly what I was looking for. So I kept searching the auctions, until yesterday, where a mysterious listing appeared, that never came up in any of my previous searches. It was it!! I had to bid on it and it was only 4 hours away for the auction to reach its end. No bids were made, but given the nature of the item, I was expecting someone to snipe a bazillion yen's bid in the last 5 minutes. Fortunately for me, there was indeed a bid, but within my budget limits, which allowed me to snag this precious item. Those damn last 5 minutes took a life time to finish :)
Now, I anxiously wait for it, so that I can see more than just the preview pics of the auction. I'm also hoping that it's complete (or nearly complete) as my Mezzo DSA set.

So...much...work...

last modified: Monday, July 07, 2008 (5:18:11 AM CST)

Seems it's becoming a habit, to not update the gallery twice a month, as I had planned before. I did start updating the layout, but have yet to finish it...I'll try to update the gallery in the upcoming weeks, but it's been way too hectic, so no promises! As usual, I already know what I want to add, but I just don't have the time to do it :)

Updates are coming!

last modified: Thursday, May 22, 2008 (3:59:02 PM CST)

Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've been having lots of work at home. I'm currently painting it and it's taking more time than I anticipated. That, coupled with work, certainly doesn't leave me much time to update the gallery. I already know what I'm going to add in the next update...I just need time to prepare the images. So I'll see you soon :)

Anime-Beta's crash and My Drawings

last modified: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 (5:11:30 AM CST)

Seems I was one of the unlucky ones and lost my account in Anime-Beta's crash :(
Anyway, and on to the other news, I'm thinking of restructuring the My Drawings section, so that it includes only drawings inspired in Mr Umetsu's work. That means removing all of the DBZ drawings that are available in that section right now. At first my idea with this section, was to show off my own drawings, whatever they may be, but I guess it makes sense to proceed with this change, since the rest of the gallery is already exclusive to Mr Umetsu's artwork, so why would this section be any different ? :)

Evil Customs

last modified: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 (3:18:09 AM CST)

I'm sure that every cel collector has had a similar (or worse) experience with customs, but this one was too ridiculous not to share.
I received a customs invoice requesting the receipt of purchase. This was a fairly expensive order, so if not charged right, I was going to pay a lot. I can send the receipt by mail and wait to get the package at home, but since I don't really trust customs, I decided to go there myself. This is what I usually do anyway.
So I get there and ask for my package to which they tell me I have to pay a huge fee. Way above of what I had previously calculated. I asked why and when the receipt that came with the package was shown to me, I laughed inside. They were basically charging me for deputy fees aswell. I complained and showed why that was wrong. They were also trying to charge me the full tax, but, at least in my country, tax for artwork is lower than everything else. Since they don't even know what a cel is, they wanted to charge me the full tax. Eventually everything turned out ok. I was charged only on goods price and with the proper artwork tax, but all that because I actually went there myself. If I had sent the receipt by mail. I would probably have received the package a couple of days later, but with a huge tax fee...Evil customs...

Scanner Joy!

last modified: Saturday, March 01, 2008 (3:43:21 AM CST)

At last, I bought a scanner! This means that every single cel/settei already in the gallery, will be updated with better quality images.
This also means that new stuff will take longer to appear, but I'll try to at least have one or two new items, each time I update the gallery. So, stay tuned :)

February hell!!

last modified: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 (4:40:59 PM CST)

Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been a hectic month and every time I think I have time to update the site, something comes up that sucks up my time completely. Anyway, I really need to update the gallery with some goodies I gathered and I really, really need to add the Yellow Star drawings, that I promised a while ago. So, I hope to see you soon :)

Medley of Design WOW!

last modified: Thursday, January 17, 2008 (8:17:40 AM CST)

If you scroll down a bit, you'll notice I made an entry to this blog, where I questioned the existence of Mr Yasuomi Umetsu's sketchbook. And in a way, it seems I was heard. I just received my copy of this new artbook - Medley of Design - and if a sketchbook exists, then this is part of it! It's just awesome. It contains some sketches that originated some of the known artwork, for shows like "A Kite", "Kite Liberator", "Mezzo Forte", "Mezzo DSA" and even "Yellow Star", but it also contains many never before seen sketches. Or at least, never before seen by me ^_^. This is a must for any Umetsu fan, just like the original Artworks book is. It only lacks in quantity, since quality is most certainly there! It's "only" 48 pages long, which for a huge fan of Mr Umetsu's artwork such as myself, leaves a few tears in the eyes and the wish for more :)

No news are good news ?

last modified: Thursday, January 10, 2008 (9:23:46 AM CST)

I guess that's not the case here. I'm sorry for the lack of updates, but it's been a very busy start of the year, including my most expensive purchase ever! I'll take a while to show you "that" cel, because I'm currently back-logging too much stuff, that I want to share first. "That" one is for my eyes only for a while ^_^. All I can say is that it's a cel from Mezzo Forte and it was not on any auction site.
I still need to upload my Yellow Star drawings, but I have yet to photograph them. I really need to buy a scanner. When I do, I'll scan all the cels I have and update the site with the new higher-quality versions. That's a promise :)

Christmas sour gift

last modified: Tuesday, December 25, 2007 (5:19:48 PM CST)

25th of December, Christmas 2007 and there I was bidding on an auction at YJ. And you ask, why was I bidding on something, during Christmas ?! Well, it was not my fault. The seller decided to end the auction today. If I was interested in it, which I was, my only chance to get it, would be to bid on it, even if it meant to lose a few hours during Christmas. So there I was, bidding on some nice Mezzo Forte storyboards, from the first OVA. It was being tough, since I was on a tight budget, due to an expensive purchase I made this month, but I was being able to outbid everyone else. 5 minutes left to the auction's end and I was refreshing the page like a maniac. I had reached my limit, but everything seemed to be going well, since I was still the highest bidder. But the last refresh brought a very unpleasant surprise, called Ziggystardust. When I saw that username, I literally got up and left the room I was in. I had reached my limit and couldn't do anything about it, was it Ziggy or anyone else, but remembering all the stories about Ziggy, I knew I didn't stand a chance, even if I did raise my limit a little bit. And so I was outbid and lost the auction. I was so frustrated. I knew this was going to happen some day, but I always thought it would be with some extremely rare cels. I had already lost an auction this week and really, really wanted to get these storyboards, but Ziggy decided that they would have a new home and it wouldn't be mine...:(
Anyway, enough of my rumblings. A Merry Christmas to you all!

Happy Holidays!

last modified: Thursday, December 20, 2007 (5:35:43 AM CST)

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 2007 is already a memorable year, because I started collecting cels and was introduced to this wonderful community. I'm still new at this, but I already learned a lot from many of you, so thank you and I hope that your dream cel is in your presents bag! Have fun ^_^

No Kite Liberator this year

last modified: Monday, November 26, 2007 (8:57:18 AM CST)

Damn it! I was so eager to see Kite Liberator and everything pointed to a 2007 release, but it seems that it will only be released around January 2008.
The available teaser, is really just that, a teaser. It doesn't really show much and just left me with a "I WANT MORE" feeling.
Even though I'm sure Kite Liberator follows a very similar tone, to the one we saw in the original A Kite, I hope it goes beyond that. In my opinion, A Kite was a masterpiece, but sequels tend to be inferior. Hopefully this is not the case. As far as I could see in that teaser, the character designs and animation, are as good as ever, but everything else is still a blur. With Kiss and Cry stalled, Kite Liberator is the only recent project from Mr Umetsu that I'm waiting for and I really can't wait :)

Elitism in cel collecting ?

last modified: Thursday, November 15, 2007 (7:36:31 AM CST)

This happened to me (even if not directly), not too long ago and fits right in my rumblings, so I thought of sharing it with you.
I'll obviously not use any names, but let's just say I was paying close attention to some YJ auctions, that could interest me. I asked a friend to contact the seller, since usually they don't reply to english questions, in order to be able to actually see a picture of the item being sold. Not only did this person refuse to provide any pictures of said items, but also said something like this: "I don't sell to beginners". I was in awe really. I lost interest in those auctions immediately. I've made quite a few good connections, ever since I started collecting cels, so I never witnessed such behavior before. To me, Cel collecting is a passion above all, but is coupled with some business ethics, so everything was always dealt with professionalism and in a friendly manner. Not this case though. I'm wondering, did this or something similar, ever happened to anyone else ?

Yasuomi Umetsu sketchbook

last modified: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 (5:01:13 AM CST)

Does it exist ? As someone that likes to draw, a sketchbook is a reality for me, so I can only assume that a master artist like Mr Umetsu, has one too. In fact, he probably has more than one :)
I recently bought Mr Umetsu's Key Animation Drawing books and even though I prefer the content of Artbooks i.e. original artwork, I liked what these books offer. They basically show much of the creative process (mainly storyboards), that led the artist to draw what we see in the show itself. This is something I expect in a sketchbook. Not only original artwork (drawings that we haven't seen, even on the existing artbooks), but also rough sketches of the characters, in different positions. The "Yellow Star" artbook and Mr Umetsu's "Artworks" book, contain some of these sketches, which I proudly own.
The sketchbook would definitely be a collector's dream item, probably only reachable, by those that know Mr Umetsu himself at this point. But there's always that tiny little detail, called money, that will surely amount to astronomical figures, if and when this sketchbook is avaiable for grabs ^_^

Artbooks and their revealing details

last modified: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 (11:21:07 AM CST)

I really only started my Yasuomi Umetsu collection, with his "Artworks" book. It's an amazing piece that everyone that likes Mr Umetsu's artwork, should own. I own other artbooks, from other artists, but this one surely takes the top spot, in my artbook collection, due to its exquisite artwork. But given its generic nature (it features original artwork, from almost every show/game, Mr Umetsu worked on), we don't get too many details on those specific shows.
For that, obviously, you need the artbook of the show itself and in it, we'll find some interesting details. Among them, there's the characters age and measurements - waist, hip, bust size (if applicable), weight, height, etc - but also, their favorite color and food. The "Yellow Star" artbook, contains all this info and more, about Ayana (the main female character), which I found very interesting. They don't just create a character for the show. They also give it a personality, besides what we can gather from the Episode/OVA/Movie itself and this is very good IMO. With this info, one might get attached to that character, even more so than we would if we didn't know about it. I guess it means that the character is not limited, to that specific show, to exist anymore.
In the "Mezzo Perfect File" book there's also a lot about the characters, especially Mikura, but I don't remember it being so specific, as the "Yellow Star" book was. As I recall, the only book, that doesn't feature all that much info about their characters, is the "A Kite" one. At least I only remember it mentioning Sawa's age (in both young and older form) and that's it, But I'll have to check it again, to be sure :)
All in all, I like this approach. The characters are not only detailed visually, but also personally. They are still animated of course, but it gives them much more depth. They are not just a bunch of colored drawings :)
Any thoughts about this ? Please share!

Ziggystardust and the bottomless pocket

last modified: Monday, October 15, 2007 (10:34:03 AM CST)

So, I've been hearing lots of stories about Ziggystardust and being a big fan of Yasuomi Umetsu's artwork, I can't help but feel a bit threatened by this character. He/She seems to have a bottomless pocket (or so I was told) and so a "head on" confrontation will most likely result in me losing the item, I so eagerly bided on. I also read a few stories of success against Ziggy, but given his/her bottomless pockets, maybe he/she didn't want those items so bad or just found something else that appealed more to him/her. I mean, to bid over 300k Yen for a cel, is just...well, insane.
Fortunately, I have not confronted this character yet and I hope I never do. But given the fact that my collection, is specific to Mr Umetsu's artwork and that Ziggy also tends to lurk (haunt ?) those auctions, that confrontation will undoubtedly occur.
Maybe I'm giving this person too much credit, but please share your rumblings of past Ziggy confrontations that you either were part of or simply witnessed.

Wishlist or Impossiblelist ?

last modified: Monday, October 15, 2007 (10:33:41 AM CST)

I'm new to cel collecting, but I'm not new to collections. I collect many items and most of them, are, in one way or another, related to art.
But I have to say, that when it comes to wishlist items, I'm at a loss with many of them. I mean, patience is no doubt a virtue, but when I look at some of items in that list, I get a bit frustrated. Why ? Because some (if not all) of them, are probably hidden in a vault, in some guy/girl's private collection, which will either never be shown to the public or, if it's ever sold, it will be done between close friends or family.
Not to mention the out of this earth price tag, any of these items will carry. So even if it does go out, for public sale/auction, it will most likely be unreachable by me. I do have to eat you know :)
That said, I would like to know your thoughts about this. Please share!

Expensive packages

last modified: Monday, October 15, 2007 (10:33:21 AM CST)

Some very expensive packages with some rare cels, arrived today. One of those cels, represents the most I ever payed for a cel. I was bit worried about them, since they took longer than usual to arrive.
Anyway, they arrived and that's what counts. With them, I have a new series from Mr Umetsu's work and I have also increased my backlog of cels (and other stuff), that I want to add to the site.
Oh well, this surely involves more work than I thought, but I know I now have your curiosity spiked :)

Getting Started

last modified: Monday, October 15, 2007 (10:33:06 AM CST)

At last, I opened my gallery to the public!
It's still pretty much under construction, since I have yet to finish the layout and also the images of the artwork I'll be including in the gallery. The ones already available, were placed there for testing purposes only and they'll be replaced with "better" images soon enough ^_^

As you probably noticed, the contents are only related to Yasuomi Umetsu artwork. I'm a big fan of Mr Umetsu's work and want to share with you, what I've gathered until now.

Unfortunately, Rubberslug's policy, doesn't allow me to show some rare items, such as the Cool Devices Plus - Yellow Star artbook, but at least the Settei set from that OVA is allowed :)

Hope you enjoy your stay and come back anytime you feel like it!