My story is not an old one. I got my first cel n 
1999 as a Christmas gift from a friend in England.

When I first became an anime fan, I loved 
Anipike.com, and spent hours browsing for images. 
Somehow or another I came across a directory for 
cel dealers, and soon was pining for a cel of my 
own. In that ancient year of 1999, I was not yet 
employeed, and my parents didn't believe in 
allowance. I shared my wish with a friend of 
mine, and she offered to buy me a cel from anime-
cel.com as a Christmas present. It was a simple 
but cute cel of Usagi from Sailor Moon making a 
very silly face, and I cherished it dearly.

Later on, for my birthday, this same friend 
purchased me another cel. This time it was a cel 
of Nuku Nuku from the TV show both crying and 
sweatdropping. Again I loved it. My two cels 
weren't what most collectors would consider high 
grade, but to me they were a treasure.

Eventually I did get a job, and was able to buy 
cels on my own. Sadly I lost contact with this 
friend of mine, and despite my best efforts have 
not been able to find her again. If I ever do, I 
intend to show her the collection I've amassed... 
but also the fact that my first two, gifts from a 
wonderful friend, are my most cherished.

I can't believe it, but it's been about five 
years since I got my first cel. Now I have well 
over fifty cels, and I still love the hobby as 
much as ever. :)

Series I'm currently collecting: Master of 
Mosquiton OVA (my specialty series), All Purpose 
Cultural Catgirl Nuku Nuku (mostly the first OVA, 
but a few of the TV series), Pocket Monsters, 
Twin Signal and Tenchi Muyo.