Original video animation
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Original video animation (.
Format
Like anime made for television broadcast, OVAs are sub-divided into episodes. OVA media (tapes,
Many popular series first appear animated as an OVA, and later grow to become television series or movies.
OVA titles generally have a much higher budget per episode than in a television series; therefore the technical quality of animation can generally surpass that in television series; occasionally it even equals that of animated movies.
OVA titles have a reputation for detailed plots and character-development, which can result from the greater creative freedom offered to writers and directors relative to other formats. This also allows for animated adaptations of manga to reflect their source material more faithfully. Since OVA episodes and series have no fixed conventional length, OVA directors can use however much time they like to tell the story. Time becomes available to expand upon significant background, character, and plot development. This contrasts with television episodes (which must end somewhere between 22 and 26 minutes) and with films (which rarely last more than two hours). In the same way, no pressure exists to produce "filler content" to extend a short plot into a full television series. The producers of OVA titles generally target a specific audience, rather than the more mass-market audience of films and television series, or may feel less constrained by content-restrictions and censorship (such as for violence, nudity, and language) often placed on television series. For example, the Kiss×sis OVA series generally contains more sexual themes than its television counterpart.
Much OVA-production aims at an audience of male anime enthusiasts. Bandai Visual stated in a 2004 news release (for their new OVAs aimed at women) that about 50% of the customers who had bought their anime DVDs in the past fell into the category of 25- to 40-year-old men, with only 13% of purchasers women, even with all ages included.[4] These statistics cover Bandai Visual anime DVDs in general, not just OVAs, but they show the general tendency at this point[citation needed]. Nikkei Business Publications also stated in a news-release that mainly 25- to 40-year-old adults bought anime DVDs.[5] Few OVAs specifically target female audiences, but Earthian exemplifies the exceptions.
Some OVAs based on television series (and especially those based on manga) may provide closure to the plot – closure not present in the original series. The Rurouni Kenshin OVAs, to name one series, exemplified numerous aspects of OVAs; they were slightly based on chapters of the author Nobuhiro Watsuki's manga that had not been adapted into the anime television series, had higher-quality animation, were much more violent, and were executed in a far more dark and realistic style than the TV episodes or the manga.
Dark realism featured in Masami Kurumada's famous manga Saint Seiya. The anime adapted two of the three arcs in Kurumada's manga—the project to adapt the third arc to the anime never started. As Kurumada had completed his manga in 1991, its third act was finally adapted to anime, releasing the episodes as OVAs, starting in 2003 and finishing in 2008, at last adapting Kurumada's manga completely to anime.
Most OVA titles run for four to eight episodes, and some only have one. They tend to have a complex and continuous plot[citation needed], best enjoyed if all episodes are viewed in sequence. This contrasts with television series which may either feature short, related "mini-stories" or exist without a unified plot. Many OVA titles can be thought of as "long films" that just happen to be released in parts. Release schedules vary: some series may progress as slowly as 1–2 episodes per year. Some OVA titles with a lengthy release-schedule ended up unfinished due to lack of fan support and sales.
Many one-episode OVAs exist as well. Typically, such an OVA provides a
History
This section possibly contains original research. (April 2010) |
OVAs originated during the early 1980s. As the
The earliest known attempt to release an OVA involved
During Japan's economic bubble, production companies were more than willing to spontaneously decide to make a one- or two-part OVA in the 1980s.[11] They paid money to anime studios, who then haphazardly created an OVA to be released to rental shops. Judging from sales, should a longer series be deemed feasible, TV networks paid for most of the production costs of the entire series.[12]
As the Japanese economy worsened in the 1990s, the flood of new OVA titles diminished to a trickle. Production of OVAs continued, but in smaller numbers. Many anime television series ran an economical 13 episodes rather than the traditional 26-episodes per season. New titles were often designed[by whom?] to be released to TV if they approached these lengths. In addition, the rising popularity of cable and satellite TV networks (with their typically less strict censorship rules) allowed the public to see direct broadcasts of many new titles—something that previously would have been impossible. Therefore, many violent, risque, and fan service series became regular TV series, when previously those titles would have been OVAs. During this time period most OVA content was limited to that related to existing and established titles.
However, in 2000 and later, a new OVA trend began. Producers released many TV series without normal broadcasts of all of the episodes—but releasing some episodes on the DVD release of the series. Examples of this include the DVD-only
See also
References
- G4. Archived from the originalon 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
- ^ "魔法先生ネギま!~もうひとつの世界~公式HP" [Negima! Magister Negi Magi!: Another World Official HP] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
- ^ 今日の5の2 初回限定版コミック ~公式サイト~ [Kyō no Go no Ni Limited Edition Comic Official Site] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
- ^ "[ 女性向けアニメションDVDを連続発売 ] バンダイビジュアル株式会社". Bandai Visual. 2004-09-22. Archived from the original on 2006-10-06. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
- ^ "日経BP社|ニュースリリース". Nikkei Business Publications. 2003-06-11. Archived from the original on 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
- ^ "Specials - Anime in Retrospect: Bubblegum Crisis". Animefringe. December 2005. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ "4th Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki Announced After 10 Years". Anime News Network. October 16, 2015.
- ^ The Artifice. Archived from the originalon September 30, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- ^ "Fight! Iczer-One TV Airing Censorship Isn't Even Trying". Anime News Network. March 7, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ "AIC Ad: New Megazone 23, Pretty Sammy Projects in the Works". Anime News Network. February 21, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ "JAPAN'S BUBBLE ECONOMY". www.sjsu.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
- ^ Sevakis, Justin (March 5, 2012). "The Anime Economy". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ Beveridge, Chris (December 12, 2003). "Love Hina Christmas Movie". Mania. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ADV Films.