(item number) 3010
(title) Doraemon Cel
(size) 466×308mm
(side note) With layout and video
(Character) Minamoto Shizuka
(Condition Rating) 7
(cell number) 96,A1
(starting bid price) 80,000 yen
(comment) This cel was from "Nobita's New Fashion," an original anime special broadcast in the spring of 1998. In this episode, Nobita, feeling resentful after the Gians members showed off trendy fashion to him, uses his secret gadget to make outrageous fashion trends sweep through the town. This cel was used in a fantasize scene where Nobita made up “21st-century fashion trends,” stripped Gian and the others down to their underwear, and then imagined what would happen if the trend caught on with Shizuka-chan. To be more precise, this is the "cel actually used in the episode" but only Shizuka's upper body was shown on the CRT TV.
Shizuka-chan is known as an unparalleled bath-loving character, and bath scenes became a staple not only in the original manga but also in the old anime series, movies, and terrestrial broadcasts alike. However, by the mid-1990s, depicting nude girls was becoming shunned. Even in films, which offers a certain degree of freedom in expression, the depictions of nudity has ceased since the 1996's "the Galaxy Super-express". In "Drifts in the Universe", released the following year, skin is correctly blocked out by the use of depiction of water, suggesting that 1997-1998 marked a watershed in the depiction of nudity in the animated Doraemon series. Incidentally, exposure became even more controlled with the new Doraemon series and beyond, and it seems the back view (which was edited to be invisible when it was broadcast on Terrestrial TV) depicted in the movie “Secret Gadget Museum” was likely last appearance. From 1998 to the present, Shizuka-chan's nudity has remained implicitly taboo.
This 1998 cel, seemingly going against the trend of the times, is impressively detailed compared to previous bath scenes, perhaps due to its stillness. It's a fitting finale to the numerous nude scenes in the original Doraemon series. However, perhaps due to its visual impact, prior to its release, restrictions were put into place, with only the upper body appearing on screen, and even then, it was blurred with a filter effect, limiting the view to just three seconds. There are signs that the animation paper has been corrected to prevent the entire cel from being panned up, which is unfortunate considering the passion of the production team that went to the trouble of using large-format cels.
It's fascinating to see the circumstances that were hidden at the time of broadcast coming to light through the discovery of these cels, and this is part of the appeal of intermediate productions. Perhaps this cel will become a living witness that will pass on the expression that existed in the anime "Doraemon." Along with respect to the collectors who preserve this disappearing animation expression, we sincerely hope that this item will be passed down so that future generations can rediscover its true value.
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