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Quite right, the money american companies pay to license an anime title goes somewhere. Also, I'd rather have a nice DVD of a good title, than a fansub, so those companies that pick up the shows I want, I'd like to reward them by buying their product, thus giving them incentive to sell me more of what I like to buy.
Downloading fansubs spreads awareness of anime, but the only way it supports anime is by building a fanbase to make titles popular enough to warrant licensing, when they may otherwise be passed over.
If you're really gung-ho about supporting anime, but don't like what the american companies do, then you should stop downloading fansbsubs after you decide you like a series, and buy the DVDs direct from Japan. A word of warning, save a lot of money because DVDs in Japan go for far more than they do in America. We're talking 50 bucks an episode. You should also buy merchandise directly from Japan, but again, it's often more expensive than waiting for a company to release the same merchandise in America, with few exceptions.
Fansubs are illegal. It's just that Japanese companies generally don't care, and American companies see it as free promotion, up until they license the product. The moment it's licensed, the American companies need the fansubbing to stop so they can sell the licensed DVD, so sites like AnimeSuki pull shows the moment they're licensed because (1) They're nice guys and see this as the right thing to do, and (2) to avoid getting sued right into the poorhouse.
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