First things First...

If a couple of months ago (08/2003) you would have told me I'd be making a webpage about cels, I would not have believed you.

If you would have told me I would be making a webpage about MY cels, I probably would have laughed in your face.

You see...

I  d o  n o t  l i k e  c e l s !

I was very happy trying to get my dvd-collection started, buying the odd graphic novel after I stopped collecting comics and getting my hands on a statue or two.

And then it started...

A person who is very important to me, ( I call her Uende throughout the site ) started to develop an interest in cels. Not my problem because...

I  d o  n o t  l i k e  c e l s !

In the next couple of weeks to follow, she bombarded me with pictures of what I can only assume was each and every anime cel on the entire internet and asked my opinion which, ( being male and all... ) I would gladly provide.

Then the shift came. From the start I always found the cels to be rather pretty. But not my thing. But in a mere couple of weeks I went in my responses from 'very nice' over 'Oh my God !' to a genuine 'Drooooool'.

This is the cel that started it all back in August '03. When I first saw it, it was in possesion of the person who showed me all the cels. It was her first cel and she called it "Funny Face Ranma".

It was THIS CEL that made me want to get into collecting. Now, six months later, the cel is mine and I didn't even buy it.

It is a gift for my 30th birthday. She gave me her first cel which also had become an absolute wishlist cel of mine (although I never told her that). If anyone can come up with a nicer or better idea for a b-day gift, let me know.(I'm certain I won't get any mails on this topic).