DALLAS, TX.- It’s hard to quantify just how thoroughly anime has impacted Western sensibilities, though we can certainly trace the cycles of rising awareness and fandom of this manga-derived Japanese art form. In the U.S., we started in earnest in the 1960s, with imported dubs of the renamed Astro Boy and then Speed Racer; then the reworked imports Battle of the Planets and Star Blazers in the 1970s, Robotech in the 1980s, and by the late 1990s, titles like Akira, Sailor Moon, and the Evangelion series were becoming household names, along with, of course, the English dub of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. Dragon Ball, the anime based on Akira Toriyama’s original manga, is one of the most successful franchises in animation history, and from Oct. 18-22 Heritage pays tribute to the late, great Toriyama, as well as other VIPs of the animation world (animators, producers and characters) in its sweeping The Art of Anime and Everything Cool...Volume V Signature® Auction.

This event is, notably, Volume V in Heritage’s record-setting, multi-million-dollar annual “Anime and Everything Cool” series; this time it takes place over five days and with more than 2,300 lots overall, and is indeed about legends: Legends of anime and those who brought the form to the West, and works starring legendary cartoon characters from the Western animators and studios that shaped animation history, including production cels of iconic scenes featuring the Peanuts gang, Grinch, The Simpsons, Scooby-Doo and far more.

“It is with great pride that we bring The Art of Anime and Everything Cool Volume V to auction,” says Jim Lentz, Heritage's Vice President of Animation and Anime Art. “This sale has grown in popularity beyond our wildest dreams and is our largest sale of this auction category ever!”

Akira Toriyama died earlier this year and, in honor of the artist, a highlight of this auction is more than 80 lots drawn from four decades of various entries in the Dragon Ball franchise, from Goku and Bulma’s first adventures all the way through Dragon Ball GT. Dragon Ball was many an anime fan’s introduction to the fascinating world of Japanese animation, and these production cels — including dynamic key scenes of the character Vegeta in the episodes “Vegeta’s Pride” and “The Losses Begin” — are sure to spark a blast of nostalgia, not to mention other key production cels featuring Goku, Frieza, Broly and more in some of the series’ most famous fighting and adventure sequences.

In a testament to anime’s worldwide popularity, there are more than 900 anime lots in this auction, and many of the best have ties to an outfit called Streamline Pictures. This was the company that, beginning in the 1980s, focused on the production of imported Japanese animation for U.S. audiences and gave America its first tastes of legendary anime properties such as Robotech, Akira and Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki’s Delivery Service among many others. A collection of significant anime cels on offer come from the collection of Streamline founders Carl and Svea Macek, including gorgeous production cels and rare Streamline materials from Akira, Robot Carnival, the cult-fave international feature Heavy Metal, and of course Robotech, which like Dragon Ball was the first anime title many American viewers flocked to. The Maceks, from behind the scenes, made the anime genre a new constant and favorite in our pop-culture landscape, and this collection is a testament to Streamline’s taste and influence.

This is in fact the largest selection of anime that Heritage has offered over one event. One-of-a-kind hand-painted production cels, animation drawings, original hand-painted production backgrounds and rare original manga pages from fan favorites Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, and Outlaw Star as well as Golden Boy, Ranma ½, Urusei Yatsuraand many more are among the anime gems that hit the block later this month.

As the name of the auction indicates, this event isn’t only anime. “Everything Cool” is an understatement given this auction also boasts the largest collection of classic cartoon characters that Heritage has ever offered in one go. In terms of legendary animation, you don’t get much more beloved than A Charlie Brown Christmas, and this auction boasts a handful of production cels and works from the 1965 classic, including a hand-painted production cel on its hand-painted key master background of Lucy and Charlie convening over Lucy’s Psychiatric 5-cents Help office and a character production cel with master background featuring the Peanuts gang walking out into the snowy night to see their Christmas tree.

On the Christmas front: Connoisseurs of Chuck Jones’ animation and Dr. Seuss’ Grinch will rejoice that Heritage has landed a number of gorgeous production cels, storyboards and more from the 1966 special How The Grinch Stole Christmas — many signed by Jones — that depict key scenes and characters from the story and, notably, several elusive and desirable production cels of the “blue-eyed Grinch”, a.k.a. Grinch after his change of heart, when his jaundice-yellow eyes turn bright blue as he realizes he needs to save Whoville’s Christmas rather than wreck it.

Jones’ energy also reverberates through this one-of-a-kind Bugs Bunny statuette that belonged to voice genius Mel Blanc. This “Oscar” is shaped to resemble the most famous character Blanc voiced and is modeled after Bugs’ appearance in the 1944 short What's Cookin' Doc?, where he demands a recount at the Oscars. The award was created especially for Blanc and gifted to him by the studio when he was recovering from his near-fatal car accident in 1961. It's a priceless piece of animation history and a testament to the lasting impact of this iconic voice actor and the characters he brought to life. “The Art of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies is in full force for this sale,” says Lentz. “This may be our largest vintage Warner Brothers studio offering we have ever had.”

Among the most sought-after collectibles in animation art are production cels of The Simpsons' couch gags—the famously innovative and ever-changing intros to the series’ episodes. Heritage boasts production cels from across The Simpsons long run, including six couch-gag production cels that span nearly two decades. Here’s Homer, Marge and gang as topiary; here they are breaking the fourth wall.

There are at least four generations who associate cartoon Valhalla with Saturday morning. Two classic childhood favorites that anchored the height of that magical era, the crime caper Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? and the DC-hero-packed Super Friends, are represented here by the kind of animation artwork that speaks to the caliber of animation that Heritage is known for. An early stock color model cel from Scooby-Doo featuring Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne, Fred and Velma running became a repeat motif of the show and a part of its opening titles. The 12-field, 3-peghole cel was created in 1969 and is among the first classic “run” cels from the show. Likewise, a bold presentation “pitch” cel from Super Friends features Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Superman, plus Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog cheerfully facing the viewing audience. This original hand-painted gem was used by Hanna-Barbera to sell the show to sponsors and the network for the show’s first season in 1973. This historic find has been in the archives of one of Hanna-Barbera’s executive artists for all of these years.

“This may our largest animation art auction of the world’s most recognizable cartoon characters we have ever assembled,” says Lentz. “It really has... ‘Everything Cool’ in it!”