Thats interesting. Depending on the studio in 
Japan some are making considerable strides 
towards using more digital technology for 
painting and the creation of various anime 
series. I.e. Pioneer is really moving towards CGI 
is evident in many of their more recent works too.

One of the most revered (by collectors at least) 
studios STUDIO GHILBI hasn't made a complete 
transition per se to CGI or digitally animating 
seqeunces. But Miyazaki himself addressed this 
growing issue amongst studios and the future of 
the anime industry as a whole in various 
interviews. Check out Animage back issues when 
MONONOKE HIME was released they had a two issue 
interview with him.

And as many know in Ghilbi's previous film 
MONONOKE HIME a considerable part of the film 
incorporated CGI (clearly observable in the 
possessed giant boar sequence & Achitaka's 
possessed arm scenes et al) married with 
traditional cel animation. The results were IMHO 
breathtaking.

Even Disney in the U.S. is making considerable 
strides to push the limits of CGI and digital 
animation while still incorporating traditional 
cel animation. It is true the look of cel 
animation has positive points but efficiency and 
maintaining a tight production schedule is not 
two of them. Hence some of the reasons why 
student animated shorts or portfolios rarely if 
ever have full cel animation.

Personally I love traditional animation which is 
why I got a formal education in it at the Academy 
of Art College. Computer animation as well as CGI
used in feature films by large studios such as 
ILM, PDI and PIXAR do stress the importance of 
traditional animation over knowing any one 
commercially available 3D animation program. This 
is mainly done b/c all animators benefit from a 
solid background in traditional animation before 
learning any inhouse application.

So definately enjoy the cels while they last in 
five to tens years the anime and animation 
industry as a whole might very well move in a new 
direction. ^_^