Labubu has already been sold for $150,000.
The auction house Christie's has launched its first online auction entirely dedicated to anime. The auction features movie posters, animation cels (original film frames from cartoons), and illustrations of characters that have long become part of Japanese pop culture – from Totoro of Studio Ghibli to Doraemon. In this way, Christie's hopes to attract a new audience.
The selection includes both recognizable images of iconic characters and rare items from animation history. An illustration featuring the main character from the eponymous anime Sailor Moon is valued at up to $7,000. A vintage Godzilla poster could sell for $30,000. Another notable lot is a single cel from the Doraemon series: the character is depicted in a tatami room surrounded by toys, and it is expected to fetch up to $2,500.
Before the advent of digital animation, artists manually painted transparent plastic sheets to bring characters to life against a still background for the cinema screen. This work required immense precision and time. After filming, many of these sheets were simply discarded, making the surviving examples rare today. This is why cels from iconic animation works have sharply increased in value and are increasingly attracting the interest of collectors and the art market. Vintage movie posters have also risen in price. The auction will last until March 31.
Christie's emphasizes that they want to show the connection between anime and traditional Japanese art. The most expensive lots at the auction belong to the classical art segment.
Among historical works, the famous print by Katsushika Hokusai "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" stands out. Its value may reach $60,000. Another well-known Hokusai lot is a print depicting a woman and an octopus in a close embrace. It is expected to sell for up to $25,000.
Despite the fact that auction houses have long focused primarily on traditional collectors, the market is increasingly adapting to younger buyers. This refers to Generation Z and millennials, who are changing the very logic of art demand. According to a study conducted in the fall by the contemporary art fair Art Basel and Swiss bank UBS, this audience often makes choices influenced by social media, eagerly purchases pop culture items, and particularly values things related to self-expression or nostalgia.
For instance, in February, American blogger and boxer Logan Paul set a Guinness World Record by purchasing the most expensive Pokémon card in history. Its value exceeded $16 million. The deal, as reported by the auction platform Goldin, took place in Dubai after several months of complex negotiations.
Young buyers have also turned the Labubu figures into a notable cultural phenomenon. At an auction in Beijing last year, a life-size Labubu figure sold for over $150,000.
Interest in Japanese mass culture is also evident in museum settings. In recent years, major museums, including the de Young Museum in San Francisco and the British Museum in London, have held separate exhibitions dedicated to anime and manga.
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