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Lot's of tweets about a self-centered VA who thinks everyone has the same access to anime as his speck of the world. Well, here's a reminder that some people don't have that access.
You might be saying, "but you live in Japan! You have all the anime you could ever want". If you're that sort of person, be prepared to be whacked with a large paper fan. Helmet not provided.
Here's the truth of "simulcasts". For the vast majority of Japan, they are "inadvancecasts". We have to wait upto 2 weeks AFTER you've watched an episode before we can see it. So no wonder many turn to piracy. Having an episode spoiled 2 weeks before we can see it is not fun.
And that's assuming a best-case scenario that we even get a streamed version! The whole distribution model in Japan is designed to limit access to a small audience.
This starts with shows being picked up be regional TV stations that are only broadcast to tiny parts of the country. Some of these might go to cable channels, but those are pricey and don't guarantee full continued access.
AT-X for example, costs approx. 2500 JPY a month in addition to the Sky Perfect fees and mandatory channel package (which, combined, can set you back another 2000 JPY depending on options).
TV channels are also prone to dropping shows for a variety of reasons. Interspecies Reviewers was dropped because of whiny pissants who think sexy anime shouldn't be shown at 3am.
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 was dropped mid-season due to a real earthquake. Almost 10 years later, and it still has returned to a TV channel. It likely never will.
So if we're lucky, 2 weeks after you've watched cool show whatever, we might see it on a streaming service. Best case, that's Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Anime Houdai, or another similar service that has a set monthly fee.
Worst case, we have to pay a "pay to view" per episode for a limited viewing window (between 72 hours and 4 weeks).
We might luck out months down the line, and find DVD rentals with 2 episodes per disc drip fed over a year. But rental stores rotate their selection relatively quickly. Good luck finding that show you missed last year.
Perhaps you'll go old school and buy the show instead. Hope you've got a spare thousand dollars. You'll be paying around 80 to 100 USD for a two episode disc. These too, remain in stock for less than a year. After that, you're at the mercy of Amazon Market place markups.
