10 Frogs: Funny Fish Production Cel + Dōga (Toei Video/Tohokushinsha/Trans Arts, ca. 1990s)

10 Frogs: Funny Fish Production Cel + Dōga (Toei Video/Tohokushinsha/Trans Arts, ca. 1990s)
An original hand-painted production cel paired with its matching pencil dōga (animation drawing), featuring a wonderfully expressive funny fish character from the charming children’s anime 10 Frogs (10-biki no Kaeru).

Produced by Toei Video and Tohokushinsha, with animation by the boutique studio Trans Arts, the series adapts the popular picture books by Hisako Mado and Michiko Nakagawa. Directed by Masahiro Hosoda and designed by Hirokazu Ishino, 10 Frogs brings to life a colorful world around Gourd Swamp, filled with light-hearted creatures like this quirky fish — likely a supporting character from one of the direct-to-video or TV specials. A joyful and rare cel from a beautifully animated yet under-the-radar gem of the '90s.