I went back and looked at when the anime that I have purchased, or in the process of buying, were first released in the US to see if they were relatively spread out or bunched together.
Well, it appears they are bunched together. The anime I purchased, at least in their original releases, totaled 45 DVDs, here is the list:
Ai Yori Aoshi (8)
Angelic Layer (7) [I bought the 5-disc re-release]
Chobits (6) [I bought the 8-disc thinpack release]
DNA2 (5)
Fruits Basket (4)
Koi Kaze (3)
Last Exile (7)
Please Twins (4)
World of Narue (1 - they dont sell the 4 DVDs individually)
= 45 discs
So, how many of those were released, by year?
2002 - 1
2003 - 21
2004 - 17
2005 - 6
Also, as many as 4 series were being released at the same time, with Fruits Basket, DNA2, Ai Yori Aoshi, and Chobits all being released at the same time between March 2003 and May 2003; as well as on October 14, 2003, when 2 series ended and one series began, thus having DNA2, Ai Yori Aoshi, Chobits, and Angelic Layer briefly being released at the same time.
The biggest individual day? October 14, 2003, which saw the release of DNA2 #5 (and the box set), Ai Yori Aoshi #5 (also ending the release of the first season), and Angelic Layer #1.
The only other month which saw 3 releases was November 2003, with Chobits #5 (11th), Last Exile #1 (18th), and Angelic Layer #2 (25th).
I suppose the most “modern” anime I’ve been watching are Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, which is scheduled to begin it’s US release in October 2006, and I”s Pure, which isn’t even licensed yet.
