Tezuka Productions Cel Appraisal

Princess Knight Original Production Cel

This item is an original production cel from the classic Japanese anime series "Princess Knight" (also known as "Ribbon no Kishi"). The cel features a single character,presumably Princess Sapphire, rendered in a distinctive classic anime style. The character is depicted with dark hair, large expressive eyes, and fair skin, wearing a white and red outfit that includes puffed sleeves and an upright collar, indicative of a royal or heroic figure. The background appears to be a hand-painted production background, featuring a castle wall or fortified structure in shades of blue and purple under what looks like a dramatic sky. The cel itself is an acetate sheet with the character hand-painted in vibrant, opaque colors. As an original production cel, it shows the unique brushstrokes and slight imperfections inherent in hand-drawn animation. While specific condition issues such as paint loss, fading, or cel-sticking are not clearly visible in the image due to the distance and framing within a catalog, generally, these are common concerns for vintage animation cels. The item is presented within a catalog page, mounted or depicted as if matted within a neutral-toned mat, likely beige or light brown, and possibly housed in a simple wooden frame, though only the mat is distinctly visible around the artwork. The catalog entry itself indicates specifications such as 'original cel', production years '1967-1968', 'Tezuka Osamu' as the director, 'Mushi Production' as the production studio, and 'Background image is original'. The quality of the linework and color application suggests professional craftsmanship typical of animation studios of that era. Its age, dating back to 1967-1968, places it firmly within the foundational period of broadcast anime, making it historically significant.