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I'd agree with Random32 above me on the piracy issue and also add that the popularity of anime has been closely linked to its internet subculture for quite some time now. Shows like Dragonball Z spiked popularity in anime internationally just as internet speeds were reaching the level for pirating the shows online. You had a disparate international audience with few options for watching up-to-date anime shows other than the internet. Unlike with books, TV, and movies, for most there was/is no physical counterpart to the internet for watching and discussing anime. By necessity the fans were forced to congregate online, and are much more centralized because of it. There weren't any other options.
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