I've always been aware of those links. But I've also been here since when the only links in that section were a "MAL" and a "MU" link (no pretty icons even, just plain text), so idk, maybe it's a frog in the boiling pot thing. A lot more external link types have been added since then. lookit
all these requests for more external links
Maybe the reason it's harder to notice now is that there are too many flashy icons, and for some reason that puts a perception filter on this area that makes people's eyes just naturally skip over it? I don't have a problem with it though, I can see it just fine.
@DANDAN_THE_DANDAN if you only just noticed "Official English", be sure to watch out for "Bookwalker" links, too! Bookwalker is a pretty cool manga ebook store/online reader with lots of official English translations, although the web reader is a bit more awkward to use than the one here, imo. The Japanese version of the site has doujinshi as well. e.g.
this AkyuSuzu one-shot by Nakatani Nio.
(Side note: Would be nice to someday get proper i18n support for these links so that we can have "Official French", "Official Italian", etc. as well.)