While I can’t deny that Hyla’s and Yann’s 
explanations could account for the differences 
between the cels and the DVD, they seem a little 
far-fetched.  

1.  Hyla suggests that AIC re-drew the entire 
sequence for the home video release.  That would 
be nice, but why go to all that effort?  Both the 
cels and the DVD images are quite acceptable from 
an artistic standpoint (especially compared to 
some of the crappy work they've done on some 
other shows).  It would be difficult to catch the 
differences without pausing the video, and I 
would be surprised if AIC would go to the expense 
of replacing the sequence for the few insane fans 
(like me) who might want to make screen 
captures.  

2.  Yann suggests that these cels could be 
missing from the DVD due to data compression 
during the transfer from film to DVD.  I count 31 
distinct images of Belldandy in the sequence.  It 
seems unlikely that all 12 of the cels for sale 
are missing due to compression, while no cels 
corresponding to the DVD images have appeared for 
sale.  (Admittedly, I have seen only a small 
fraction of all the AMG cels that are for sale.)  
On the other hand, my 10 AMG cels from other 
parts of the movie are on the DVD.  

All 12 of the cels have significant differences 
from any of the images on the DVD.  In this post 
and the following 3, I have attached images of 
the 12 Belldandy cels that I have seen from this 
sequence in case anyone is interested in looking 
at them.  

Probably the only way to resolve this would be to 
look at the original film.  Anyone got a copy?  
Absent that, it appears that people will have to 
decide for themselves what to believe about the 
authenticity of these cels.