Three dedicated auctions featuring Studio Ghibli, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon and Naruto, among others, with estimates reaching €29,000
Works originally used in pre digital animation production, now extremely rare as industry gradually shifts to fully digital processes
Auctions starting on January 16th and closing on the 26th, 27th and 28th
Amsterdam 15 January This January, Catawiki, the leading online marketplace for special objects, unlocks a rare supply of original anime production art from Japan. In collaboration with Japanime Art Gallery, based in Tokyo and Kyoto, more than 120 original cels, hand-drawn sketches and figurines will be offered in three dedicated auctions, including an original drawing by Hayao Miyazaki himself. Sourced directly from Japanime’s gallery, these studio-made works have been largely inaccessible to European buyers. Now, for the first time, they are available in a curated series that celebrates anime as a true art form.
Original drawing of Kodama, the Tree Spirit in the animation movie Princess Mononoke (1997), personally sketched by Miyazaki and estimated at €29,000
Anime and manga: from mass entertainment to cultural powerhouse
For much of the 20th century, anime and manga were considered everyday entertainment. Today, they are central to global pop culture, shaping fashion, cinema, gaming and the visual language of the internet, especially with the rise of Japan’s influence on western cultures. In 2023, the global anime industry generated nearly 20 billion US dollars in revenue. a scale that forces a wider reassessment of these works not just as commercial phenomena, but as historically and culturally significant art forms whose preservation matters for future generations.
Highlighted items
Studio Ghibli
Studio Pierrot (Naruto)
Four preliminary drawings of Itachi Uchiha (Young Version), Naruto Shippuden (2007), estimated between €650-€800
Toei Animation (Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon)
The significance of animation artwork explained
These artworks were never meant to be preserved. Cels and drawings were practical tools used in the animation process. They were photographed, reused, stored without care or discarded entirely to liberate storage space, which explains why surviving examples are so rare today. As the industry shifts to digital production, traditional materials are becoming increasingly scarce, and what remains takes on new cultural value: each piece becomes a fragment of animation history and a tangible link between the artist’s hand and the moving image.
“Animation cels were never intended to be standalone artworks.” explains Natalia Accardi Guerrero, Catawiki animation & Disney expert, whose own mother was an illustrator. “They were working materials, handled quickly, reused endlessly and often thrown away. That is precisely why the few that survive today matter so much.”
