Like it or not, computer colored animation is 
here to stay. I was in Japan very recently and 
was part of a tour (the first one they have ever 
given) of Studio Pierrot. Utilizing scenes from 
the Saiyuki movie and a walk-through tour that 
took us from the first concept all the way to the 
finished product, we got to see just how our 
modern anime is made. It was a very fascinating 
experience, and one which I wouldn't trade for 
anything, knowing I was walking around in the 
very building where some of my favorite shows 
were made, and meeting the character designers 
and the animators themselves.

But, veering myself back on target, while 
initially computer colored anime isn't a huge 
cost saver, it is definitely a time saver and a 
quality increaser. And that, more than the 
concerns of a fan market that buys 
their "production waste", is what drives a 
studio. They can produce longer series now more 
easily, and as a fan not just of the 
collectability of cels/sketches but the 
watchability of the source material, delights me 
to no end. Frankly, and I'm not intending any 
offense here, but a petition is more likely to be 
taken as an insult towards their business 
practices than a compliment towards the works of 
art they produce. 

I never thought I would be a sketch collector, 
either. And then there was this little show 
called Prince of Tennis that ensnared me in its 
ruthless grasp. BTW, for those who do collect 
sketches and the like, almost ALL backgrounds are 
still hand-painted and are just as stunningly 
beautiful as the ones for traditional cel-made 
shows. Mandarake was *gooooood* to me on the 
Tenipuri front while I was there. ^___^

*pitches my two yen to ya*

~kea