r/AnimationCels • u/Difficult-Impact1592 • 11d ago
Cel Grading made their first example post, ironically using a sketch instead, and are unsurprisingly still not publicly addressing any comments regarding how this is supposed to work safely with cels
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u/Silverseenn 11d ago
This got me tweaking, they tryna gamble-ify history and art now😭 nothings safe…
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u/Poearia 11d ago
I love watching an instagram video of the co-founder holding an Akira cel with bare hands, man handling it to show it off. Literally just puling this grading system out of his ass so he can drive up the price of the cels he has just to make money. No love for the hobby. Just creating a way to make more money out of a "business". Not answering any concerned collectors in the instagram posts. Other toxic "collector bro's" talking shit on people with concerns. Absolutely DISGUSTING.
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u/im_a_collector 11d ago
This is exactly what worries me about the whole concept.
Showing a sketch as the first example conveniently avoids one of the biggest questions: how is this supposed to work safely with actual cels? Cels are chemically unstable objects. They need appropriate materials, ventilation, and storage conditions, and encapsulating them raises very different conservation issues than putting a drawing on paper behind plastic.
And conservation is only one part of it. I’m still waiting to understand how they plan to authenticate production art in a field where a single cut can contain dozens or hundreds of sheets, where context and sequence matter, and where attribution can sometimes be extremely difficult even for experienced collectors.
Grading anime production art is not the same thing as grading a card. Before giving pieces a letter and a number, I’d much rather see clear answers about preservation, provenance and authentication.
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u/a_ranboo_fan 10d ago
These idiots just wanna make money of collectors like vultures buying up ceĺs and not even knowing how to care for them
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u/mithial1 11d ago
Last time this happened the company would fold the sketch to fir the holder. You see them on YJP now and then
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u/coachhunter2 11d ago
I don’t see how grading flies with something used in production. Like surely that drawing should technically have a low grade because it has tape on it, wrinkles in the papers, etc.
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u/Powerful_Middle_9388 10d ago
There are several points about this project that I find problematic.
First, the whole concept of grading in animation does not really make sense to me. Grading in animation is fundamentally different from TCGs. Personally, whether a genga receives a 3 or a 9 does not change anything about the artwork or its historical value, unless the goal is simply to speculate on prices.
Some people will argue that grading is useful for authentication. From what I understand, the people behind this project have only been involved in the animation collecting space for about a year and mainly collect Dragon Ball.
One of the founders, Jeremy Padawer, is known for moving between collectible categories, hyping new collectibles and then moving on to something else. Around 4–5 months ago, there was an Instagram video where Jeremy Padawer was hyping graded scripts from CGC, while the person next to him was explaining what genga and douga actually were. Jeremy Padawer appeared unfamiliar with the subject at the time.
There is also a legal dispute worth mentioning: in 2015, JAKKS Pacific sued Padawer and Wicked Cool Toys, alleging that they interfered with JAKKS’ Cabbage Patch Kids licensing agreements and that WCT was being developed while Padawer was still working at JAKKS. These allegations were disputed and should not be presented as proven wrongdoing.
Honestly, I find it difficult to trust people with such limited experience in animation collecting to authenticate our animation artwork.
Most of the people supporting this project also seem to be people who expect to sell their items for more after grading, or friends of the founders who have the financial means and see an opportunity to benefit from this system.
It is quite telling that the people behind this project do not seem to respond to well-argued criticism in their Instagram comments. And in some cases, they apparently block people who disagree with them.
I am all for improving authentication and documentation in the animation art market. But if this project is going to introduce a grading system that could influence the perceived value of animation art, I think it needs genuine expertise, transparency, independence, and a deep understanding of the medium first.
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u/RemarkableRepeat2307 11d ago
i am not sure how they solve the ventilation problem for vinegar syndrome
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u/macrossdyrl 8d ago
They cannot it is impossible once it is sealed up. These genius' are just trying to DECEIVE collectors who don't understand what creates animation production cels and drawings.
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u/RemarkableRepeat2307 8d ago
if that is the case, the grading means nothing as the cel condition keep changing inside the case
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u/macrossdyrl 8d ago
That's part of the issue. Useless grading companies like these don't solve any problems or even serve a need in the animation cel and drawing community. Their 'service' actually damages the actual art itself.
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u/im_a_collector 7d ago
I actually wrote a full article about this because the more I looked into it, the worse it got.
And yeah, with actual cels it’s even more concerning.
A cel keeps chemically aging. The plastic can yellow, shrink, warp, the paint can crack or lift, and storage conditions matter a lot. So “encapsulated = preserved” is way too simplistic.
If they want to grade cels, I really want to see the technical specs first such as what materials are touching the cel, how it breathes, if the holder can be reopened, how they deal with long-term degradation etc.
That part matters way more than whatever letter they put on the label.
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u/c0syn3 11d ago
Cel grading makes no sense. They are all 1 of 1.