Are TV mini-length series replacing the OVA?

[Ty]

Perhaps it's just me in that I feel there are no good OVAs around anymore save for a few, but it feels like the number of OVA series have declined a lot in the last few years. It seems to me like short TV runs like REC, Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora, Shinigami no Ballad, etc. have supplanted 3 and 4 episode OVA runs that used to be common (like Geobredders for example).

Does anybody else feel the OVA has gone the way of the dodo with this trend? I, for one, won't miss them much since the recent mini series have demonstrated superior storytelling and characterization anyway.

This isn't meant so much to be an "is the OVA dead" discussion since that's been done. Rather do you agree with me in that the spirit of the OVA will be carried in the future by shows like REC?

[golthin]

[ QUOTE ]
Xcalibur said:
Perhaps it's just me in that I feel there are no good OVAs around anymore save for a few, but it feels like the number of OVA series have declined a lot in the last few years. It seems to me like short TV runs like REC, Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora, Shinigami no Ballad, etc. have supplanted 3 and 4 episode OVA runs that used to be common (like Geobredders for example).

Does anybody else feel the OVA has gone the way of the dodo with this trend? I, for one, won't miss them much since the recent mini series have demonstrated superior storytelling and characterization anyway.

This isn't meant so much to be an "is the OVA dead" discussion since that's been done. Rather do you agree with me in that the spirit of the OVA will be carried in the future by shows like REC?

[/ QUOTE ]
The mini series as you call them have always been around. You just notice them more because with the ability of people to "obtain" these episodes with the help of the internet they are more noticeable. The decline in OVA has nothing to do with the miniseries, but just a fact that OVA don't sell as well as TV series. There is lot OVA out there.
thing like FMP TSR the tessa OVA, Hellsing, Tenchi and other are still around.

[Gatts]

[ QUOTE ]
golthin said:
There is lot OVA out there.
thing like FMP TSR the tessa OVA, Hellsing, Tenchi and other are still around.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe he is talking about original series OVA like Yukikaze, and Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan instead of series continuations such as Initial D 4th stage and Amaenaideyo Katsu.

[Lego]

In the last couple of seasons you have a decent ammount of shows going the twelve to thirteen episode route, and coming out really good. I don't mind if a series is short as long as the story advances well enough.

[Njr Scrawl]

IIRC in the interview (archived somewhere) with Jonathan Clements, he said that the short TV series - especially "graveyard" slot (& I guess by extension satellite) is the modern equivalent of OVAs - since the increase in animation quality.

When OVAs first started, they were mainly either independent works or spun-off from manga &/or video games. MOre TV series were as well, but were as much or about merchandising.

[Skywise]

The problem with OVAs is that they're fully dependent on video sales and advertising from it. At least with things shown on TV not only do you get money from the TV company, but you also get a lot more exposure to your product. OVAs aren't totally dead yet, but they're a much harder sell - especially if you want to keep a higher budget per episode than you'd do for TV.

[something]

I hope so. While I don't particularly like either in comparison to 26 episode series (I even think 13 episodes is too short 90% of the time), I will most certainly take a series that takes six weeks to release over one that takes six months per episode. [Original-story] OVAs suck ass.

[quenelf]

Well I was going to say, if REC's an example of the quality level we can expect then I hope not.

Then I realised that actually, yeah, I might not have liked it much but it was still vastly better than most OVAs /images/graemlins/happy.gif

(Really, didn't OVAs mostly die about a decade back?)

On the topic of short series though, i.e. those significantly less than 13*25 mins, in general I'm against it. I think 13 eps is a decent length of time for a story; anything less is a bit limiting.

--quen

[aquapermanence]

[ QUOTE ]
disarm said:
I will most certainly take a series that takes six weeks to release over one that takes six months per episode. [Original-story] OVAs suck ass.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hold the opposite opinion--so long as that time and a corresponding budget are dedicated toward making a higher quality product, then I'll take it even if it means waiting 3 years to get a 6-episode series. Photon certainly benefited from it, with each episode greatly enriching the world of the story.

Of course, I wouldn't mind at all if all the episodes were completed and then released in a relatively short time-frame, or if the production time could be compressed without sacrificing quality. Unfortunately, very few series will meet the level of animation, design, and story quality that I'm looking for anyway, so if they're gonna go that route I figure crank 'em out fast so we can get watching.

What I'm really against seeing is the style of show that reminds the viewer of its basic premise in each episode, be it OVA or TV. I'd rather see the viewer given credit for being able to follow along with a story and characters, whether they're watching from week to week or renting volumes months apart, rather than hindering the show's development with constant reiteration of givens.

[Njr Scrawl]

[ QUOTE ]
I hold the opposite opinion--so long as that time and a corresponding budget are dedicated toward making a higher quality product, then I'll take it even if it means waiting 3 years to get a 6-episode series. *Photon certainly benefited from it, with each episode greatly enriching the world of the story.

[/ QUOTE ]

!!!!!????? Either I've missed something in watching, or your post is missing a smiley /images/graemlins/stunned1.gif

*bolded in bewilderment.

[aquapermanence]

[ QUOTE ]
Wrath of the Njr said:
[ QUOTE ]
*Photon certainly benefited from it, with each episode greatly enriching the world of the story.

[/ QUOTE ]

!!!!!????? Either I've missed something in watching, or your post is missing a smiley /images/graemlins/stunned1.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm quite serious. I've enjoyed the way that OVA series like Tenchi, Photon, and Spaceship Agga Ruter have been able to build each episode upon the contributions of the previous while also managing to take the show in seemingly spontaneous directions. In the case of Photon, the only Kajishima show with an actual ending (so far), it was very pleasing to see all those very disparate elements wrapped up into a cohesive whole. The culture and mythology brought about by the existence of Aho spells was revealed in such a way that the viewer could take a voyeuristic pleasure in figuring out the rules without feeling like they were being beaten over the head in the finale. The same is done with the Light Hawk Wings and, of course, Taiyo's mysterious power.

/images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif I can admit to not liking the show much at first, largely thanks to the presence of the Pochi's. I'm not a fan of mascot characters, or of self-deprecating physical comic relief types. Nonetheless, after watching the series a few times they and the rest of the characters completely won me over. It's nice to see a show that doesn't shy away from showing its characters run around completely naked, getting hurt in all manner of over-the-top ways, and also carrying through the consequences of their actions. There are pretty girls, but Photon doesn't avoid giving them ugly expressions or personalities, and for it they become more rounded, more real, and more attractive than the cookie-cutter types you would find most other places. Even without the girls around the ideological struggle between Photon and Papacha is fascinating to watch, and their "never give up" attitude is endearing, where in most other shows it would come off as trite or pathetic.

I have to think that the very long release period for this show contributed to the density of plot developments and the richness of the characterizations in some way. Reportedly this was the very reason that Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki was delayed in Japan--that Kajishima was taking a more hands-on approach with the production after being disappointed by the way GXP was handled. Whether that's honest truth or marketing spin we have no way of knowing, but common sense says that taking your time and knowing what you're doing yields a better result than throwing a project together in a hurry. For the sake of quality of presentation, then, I'd rather animators took the time that they needed on a few deserving OVAs than churn out 13-episode TV shows that were never given a chance to be more than mediocre.

[Ty]

I think the problem is that nobody in Japan is making OVAs like the ones you describe now . The OVA seems to be a tool for following up H-games these days sadly.