animation cel of a girl in the water with a red hat on her head
FRANCOIS EPIN ART & DESIGN CONSULTING

191 - Ranma ½ (らんま½) Ranma Hand-painted celluloid sheet used in th…
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Estimate €180 - €250
Sale commission
Description
Ranma ½ (らんま½) Ranma Hand-painted celluloid sheet used in the production of the anime series, based on the manga by Rumiko Takahashi (高橋 留美子). Executed in ink and gouache. Produced by Studio Deen 1989–1992, Japan H24 L26.5 cm This celluloid sheet depicts one of the most iconic scenes from Ranma ½: Ranma in his female form emerging from a wave, visible from the head down to mid-chest, in the moment immediately following a transformation triggered by contact with cold water. The wave is the most abrupt and sudden trigger for Ranma’s transformation — more immediate than rain, more spectacular than a simple bucket of water. Emerging from a wave with her head visible up to mid-chest is the quintessential emergence shot: the character reappears on the surface in her female form, her body still half-submerged in the water that has just changed everything. It is that moment suspended between the transformation and the reaction — Ranma has just become a girl again, and the shot captures that threshold perfectly. The mid-chest reveal is a deliberate and recurring visual choice in the series. Rumiko Takahashi explicitly built the character of Ranma around the constant contrast between an inner male identity and a female body imposed by the curse — and the shots of her emerging from the water are precisely those in which this contrast is most physically visible. The character’s consciousness, inner voice or personality do not change: only the body changes, and the mid-chest emerging from the water conveys this change directly. In *Ranma ½*, these shots of the character emerging from the water are among the most meticulously crafted in Studio Deen’s output — the animator must simultaneously render the movement of the wave, the texture of the water trickling down the face and through the hair, and the clarity of the character’s expression within a close-up frame.
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About the sale Knights, Armour and Samurai + Animation Art Selection
Auction location
Auction time 06/28/2026 at 3:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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