A prime example of a long running show scuppered in the US by its release format. 15 volumes at $29.98, you’d have dropped around $450 on this buying it as it came out. With Geneon now gone from the US market and no-one in a hurry to re-license the volumes are very varied in prices, some under the original price, others rising in price. Looking at Amazon UK, I can see the first box set (volumes 1-8) is now going for £190.85, as opposed to the original price of $79.99.
Voted #98 in TV Asahi’s 2005 top 100 anime survey, the popularity of the manga meant it got a sequel series earlier this year. And for a late night anime it pretty much killed it, getting strong ratings for late night anime and running far longer than shows typical for that audience.