Cels Forum

That's why we love you, Yann, you're so honest! 
But here again is my point of view. I am not a dealer, and if I had 
access to backgrounds that were not matched with cels, I would happily 
buy them rather than breaking a set. Only a few dealers offer backgrounds
separately, however, Usagi's house notably among them. Also, the cels we are 
talking about here are definately B to C class cels at best. If someone can enjoy 
a cel for $5 or $10 and I could pay the remaining $20-$30 for the background, it doesn't 
seem too unreasonable to me. But then, also, I do not consider every single frame of animation 
(or indeed every background) to be art. I truly treasure the backgrounded cel I got from El Hazard, 
it has the most gorgeous colors and trees, but I really had no interest in keeping Jinnai's smirking 
profile in the picture. So the cel is stored separately. I suppose I could just continue to keep a book 
of cels I don't really like on the offchance that one day I don't care for collecting cels anymore 
so that they can once again be placed together. But here's another question:
if there is a gorgeous background from some very obscure anime, should you not buy it just 
for the background? Should you leave it in case someone someday likes that anime and 
would appreciate the set, or should the background be enjoyed separately from the cel, for its 
own merit. 
I guess that's part of the issue to me: is my appreciation of the art in the background less valid because as the 
result of my separation of cel and background there are now 14 frames of a profile of a nonmajor character 
on the market without backgrounds rather than 13 frames without a background and one with it?
Again, discussion is always welcomed.