Illegal? Not hardly. Anime has almost never had a hard street date unlike Hollywood titles. Practically ever anime title is a soft street date as well as many independent and small studios. Retailers will almost never get fined for selling discs early. Anime companies want to avoid antagonizing retailers. Besides, it's a sale and generates even more early buzz for said title.
Slashdot Mirror
Illegal? Not hardly. Anime has almost never had a hard street date unlike Hollywood titles. Practically ever anime title is a soft street date as well as many independent and small studios. Retailers will almost never get fined for selling discs early. Anime companies want to avoid antagonizing retailers. Besides, it's a sale and generates even more early buzz for said title.