Landmark event contains over 1,200 lots that you can own.

For all the movies and merchandise Studio Ghibli has produced, nothing is more coveted amongst fans than the production art, which is usually only reserved for the eyes of those who work behind-the-scenes.

Now, to help mark the studio’s 40th anniversary year, a large portion of this sought-after production art is going up for auction, with 70 lots covering posters, sketches and anime cels. Held by U.S.-based Heritage Auctions, some of the highlights include a rare production cel and key master background from Kiki’s Delivery Service…

▼ …and a production cel from My Neighbour Totoro, showing the Catbus perched on the rooftop of the Kusakabe Family home.

▼ A heartbreaking scene from Grave of the Fireflies is also available.

Artwork from Castle in the Sky, Porco Rosso and Princess Mononoke are also included, and in addition to the Ghibli lots, there’s an even wider array of anime art available, in what the auction house is calling The Art of Anime, Vol. VI. Heritage Auctions is billing this as a landmark event, as it’s their largest-ever anime art auction, containing over 1,200 lots covering multiple genres and decades.

▼ Other gems include works from Sailor Moon, Pokémon, Akira and Dragon Ball Z.

In addition to the anime lots, there are plenty of manga options, including original works by legendary greats such as Osamu Tezuka. Other highlights include story pages from Phantom Detective, Big X, and Ultraseven.

▼ Original manga page from Jiro Kuwata’s Phantom Detective.

In terms of the Ghibli lots, the rooftop Catbus cel mentioned above currently has the highest bid — US$5,750 as of this writing. Hot on its heels is the previously mentioned Kiki cel, currently at $5,111. On the other end of the spectrum, we have a cel showing Yutaka Matsuno, with production background art, from the studio’s 1993 TV film Ocean Waves, which is sitting at a very affordable $10.

▼ This video provides an overview of the lots available in the auction.

The Art of Anime, Vol. VI is currently accepting proxy bids online, with the auction taking place from 22-24 March. It’s a rare chance to own a piece of art from the anime and manga universe, and we can’t wait to find out which lots end up attracting the highest bids, and what those bids will be.

Source: Press release
Images: Heritage Auctions, HA.com
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