Now, I wonder why anyone does. But that’s getting off the track a bit.

All I know is I’m only interested in the Friday venue. I’m sick of all these j-pop acts I don’t have time to see, anyway.

Take a look at the top sellers list, and you see very few new series titles actually penetrating deep into the consciousness of anime fans (Code Geass and Ouran being the two exceptions).

Also, the facts are that the number of titles being released in Japan is well down from previous years.

The thing is that this is an indication, to me, of two things:

1) The fans believe that far too many titles have been _made_, much less licensed (I hear the over-licensing canard time and again — but that can only mean that the companies in Japan are, in the eyes of the fans, over-producing.)

2) Those few fans who are still paying would rather the anime companies liquidate (Best Buy anime reduction, anyone?) at fire-sale prices, without regard to any future for the pay model of the product.

Boy, am I glad I am banned from Anime Expo. Dear God, to think of how little that show is going to have this year…