THIS WEEK'S HOT TOPIC
This Wednesday, amid its annual Asian Art Week, Christie’s will launch a novel new online sale: “Anime Starts Here: Japanese Subculture Reimagines Tradition.” It’s the company’s first event dedicated to Japanese anime and manga—two genres that, despite huge international followings, have never fully commanded blue-chip auction blocks.
Across 44 lots, the sale connects contemporary anime and manga with antecedent Japanese influences, from centuries-old ceramics and wood carvings, to rare comics and movie memorabilia from the 1950s onward. Highlights include original animation cels from the seminal Hayao Miyazaki films Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Doraemon; vintage posters for Akira, Godzilla, and Ghost in the Shell; and 21st-century sculptures by Yoshitomo Nara.
There’s a dash of irony in the name of the sale. For Christie’s, “Anime Starts Here” is both ahead of the game and long overdue. If the auction marks a refreshing gesture to a new audience, it also raises the question of why it took so long.
Better late than never, though, as Christie’s stands a good chance to meet or exceed pre-sale expectations. The event is set to run for two weeks, March 18–31, and the majority of its offerings carry estimates under $30,000.
That’s welcoming news for fresh, young collectors entering the institutional auction world for the first time. And while these prices may not add up to a windfall, you can bet that if “Anime Starts Here” does well, there will be more sales like it from Christie’s and its competitors.
Editor’s note: Moving forward, NoReserve will hit your inbox Tuesday mornings.
3…THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE ANIME ART MARKET
1
The market for anime-related artworks offers an accessible entry point for newer collectors, with many examples priced well below the typical thresholds of the contemporary art market. As attention around Japanese animation continues to grow, entering the market allows collectors to participate in a movement still taking shape. Anime-related art is also bringing a new generation of buyers into the art world—many of whom see it as a reference point for their taste.
2
Anime and manga have also gained real institutional and gallery attention in recent years. Since the introduction of Takashi Murakami (who appeared on The Baer Faxt podcast in 2024) and Yoshitomo Nara to the U.S. market in the 1990s by former gallery Blum & Poe, interest in anime-influenced art has steadily expanded. Today, collectors pursue not only original animation cels and ephemera, but also contemporary artists working in this visual language. Recent exhibitions, such as Yoshitaka Amano’s “Apocalypse” at LOMEX in New York and “Art of Manga” at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, demonstrate how institutions are engaging with the growing interest in these fields.
3
Many anime-influenced artworks now fall into a market category sometimes referred to as “red-chip” art. While blue-chip works signal long-established value and art-historical importance, red-chip art responds directly to commercial demand. Anime art fits naturally into this conversation because it draws from visual cultures that have historically existed outside the traditional art canon. As global interest in anime continues to grow, this style of artwork is entering the rarefied art market with increasing force.
A NUMBER TO KNOW
61.4%
The share of lots in Christie’s “Anime Starts Here” sale with a full estimate range below $10,000. Of the 44 works on offer, 27 land in this (relatively) affordable price bracket.
It isn’t just the approachable valuations that should make this auction enticing to new bidders. Anime and manga have become gigantic global businesses with mass appeal. Among US consumers, manga has consistently outsold American superhero comics since 2018, according to data from the publishing industry analyst BookScan. Meanwhile, Netflix revealed last summer that more than half of its accounts worldwide watch anime—an audience estimated to be around 300 million people.
Christie’s is trying to funnel this momentum beyond artwork and memorabilia directly tied to anime and manga titles. The sale also includes artistic precursors, like a surreal Edo-era woodblock print from Utagawa Kuniyoshi (est. $6,000 to $8,000), as well as thematic touchstones, like a cinematically contoured long sword made by the Japanese master craftsman Ono Yoshimitsu (est. $3,000 to $4,000).
Will the sale actually bring in a stampede of new clients? Only time will tell. But when you combine the readership and viewership stats above with the added boost of stars like Oscar-winner Michael B. Jordan, Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu, and livestreaming royalty Kai Cenat all gushing about their love of anime in recent years, it’s easy to understand why Christie’s would be encouraged.
—Tim Schneider / The Gray Market
ASK: ACCESS SOPHISTICATED KNOWLEDGE
Alice S. ASKed: About a year ago, a small French gallery apologized for not having a buying clientele for video art. I see the market has changed a lot, and I would like to know how collectors use the video art available at galleries.
NoReserve: It’s a misconception that video art is too complicated or unwieldy to be of interest to buyers, even those who display their collections at home. However, unlike set-and-forget artworks like paintings and photographs, video art typically requires additional considerations. How is the piece meant to be shown? Is there a time component, or does it play on a loop? Is its hardware critical, and if so, is the technology up to date? Not even the ultra-forward-thinking work of Nam June Paik was prepared for the cloud era after all.
Questions like these determine the logistics of living with video art, but they don’t necessarily make such pieces difficult to display. Often, video artworks come with presentation instructions. Some may arrive in the form of software or a digital file (usually with a backup master copy and a certificate of authentication), others as a standalone sculpture that just needs to be plugged in. Artworks like these can make a collection feel more active and dynamic. Just think: You can have a TV on the wall that is black 90% of the time, or you could have one that displays a living artwork.
Have your own question for the NoReserve team? Reply to this email or reach out to us on Instagram, @no.reserve. Readers whose submissions we choose get a special prize—six free months of The Baer Faxt.
2 MINUTES WITH…
Last week, the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) in Ottawa announced a gift of 24 contemporary artworks by Kerry James Marshall, Brian Jungen, Christopher Williams, and Jin-me Yoon from the Vancouver-based collector Bob Rennie. It’s the latest chapter in the NGC’s ongoing relationship with Rennie, who has now donated 284 artworks to the museum since 2012. The news recalled The Baer Faxt’s 2023 interview with the collector conducted by writer Sarah Thornton. See a snippet of that conversation below, wherein the two reflect on the importance of collecting with a conscious, or view the whole interview ➡️ here.
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