Personal Collection: Genma Taisen / Harmagedon Cels (1983 - 1984)

 

(A hand painted cel created July 12th of 1974 by an anonymous female animator. I purchased this one last year from Yahoo Japan Auctions around December.) 

Harmagedon strangely rocked my world and became a massive hyper fixation for months. In reality, I haven't technically stopped thinking about it, but at the height of my immersion, I was watching it once to twice a day. Sometimes it was done out of mere pleasure, other times it was done to pick it apart and find all manners of mysterious clues. 

Katsuhiro Otomo is back in the news again after a recent photoshoot cum interview, so seeing the titular character designer behind 80s Vega show up proudly again made me think about my beloved Harmagedon once more. 

I found the latter cel on Yahoo Japan Auctions around late 2024, sometime around December, and had to have it. Given the dearth of Harmagedon cels on the web (or perhaps scenes that I want), I was happy to purchase this item given its unique context. 

Illustrated and ultimately based off of a resoundingly well known poster by Madhouse, the bylines for this particular listing touched me - "Please note that this is a doujinshi cel and has not been used in real life. Please only purchase if you understand this. This was created by my older sister, who used to be an animator, and has a beautiful finish with no overflow or uneven coloring." 

While not official, its one of a kind and highly unique. As many who do know me well can attest, I'm a big fan of Vega. I'm still hunting for a cel of Arietta to this very day (pray for me that one shows up!), U was able to acquire a cel from one of my absolute favorite moments in the film proper. This was a bit later in December of 2024 or even January of this year - I don't quite remember. All the same, do enjoy it - I am still seeking a proper frame for it as its attached to a very mysterious douga that I'm trying to identify. 

(Acquired from Yahoo Japan Auctions last year or early this year, this piece is very vibrant!)