OVA vs OAV

[Dylonius Funk]

Which do you prefer? I am partical to OVA since it rolls of the tounge easier and in these days of discs, calling it a video seems archaic. Though OAV is the more old-school term, and can still work since video can be used as a general term, not necessarily meaning just tapes.

[mifuneral2]

I use both, interchanging them on a whim since they mean exactly the same thing.

[Azumangaman]

OVA because it sounds better.

[Lumberjack]

I use OVA, but really couldn't care one way or the other.

[eobert]

I usually use OVA, but sometimes I say OAV. I don't consider one or the other more correct though.

[something]

I prefer OVA for the same reason -- it's easier to say, which is all that matters to me because there's no real difference between the two, so it doesn't matter.

[Suwako Moriya]

I've used both before and don't really pay attention to which one I used more often. I could answer one or the other only to end up using the term I did not mention.

OVA was the first one I saw, so it's the one I continue to use. Though I admit the first time I saw it, I stopped and blinked at the screen a few times, wondering what this particular aspect of the reproductive system had to do with Tenchi. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Garrett Jax]

I use both myself.

However, there were times where I saw it used in its lower-case form in a sentence and it just looked funny as "ova" due to that also being the plural of ovum. /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

Edit: LexiJ, you and I must have seen the same post at one point because I was thinking the same thing.

[Gersen]

I use OAV because it's much easier to say and sound better (in french) even though, technicaly, OVA is more correct.

Gersen

[DanielJr]

OVA is more fluid and easier to say.

[Pyocola]

OAV rolls off the tongue much better than OVA in Swedish so that's what I use, in writing though I tend to use OVA.

[ScorpioEyez]

I always use OVA, just easier to say.

[EmperorBrandon]

I've always preferred OVA, as it seems the more common and correct one.

[touma]

[ QUOTE ]
I am partical to OVA since it rolls of the tounge easier and in these days of discs, calling it a video seems archaic. Though OAV is the more old-school term, and can still work since video can be used as a general term, not necessarily meaning just tapes.

[/ QUOTE ]
Doesn't the "V" stand for "video" in OVA also? If not, what does OVA mean?
In any case, I mostly use OVA. About the only time that I use OAV is when I am replying to something that already used that, just to try to be less confusing.

[Suwako Moriya]

OVA= Original Video Animation
OAV= Original Animated Video

More or less that's it. Still I wonder if people would change their votes if they said both in their unabbreviated forms and in plural. Videos or Animations? Hmm...

[TAS]

[ QUOTE ]
mifuneral2 said:
I use both, interchanging them on a whim since they mean exactly the same thing.

[/ QUOTE ]
I remember a Newtype (Japanese) a few years back that had both in the same full page ad. OAV in the large title, OVA in the body of the ad.

[Jimmie M]

I voted both but on further reflection I think I do use OVA more often than OAV (For those titles in my sig anyway).

[citicslmatts]

It depends on whoever I'm chatting to - I'll use whatever they use, just so they know what I'm talking about.

[golthin]

I used both, it is like Nihon/nipon /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[fantasydewdrop]

OVA exclusively. Rolls off my toung easier. And I'd be subconciously tempted to pronounce OAV strangely.

[touma]

While reading this thread I noticed that I am different in the way that I pronounce these.
Most of you seem to use them as words while I always say them as individual letters, even when just thinking about them. So for me it is "O" "V" "A", not "ova."
What this means, in context, is that I have no reason to choose one over the other because of how it sounds. But still, I do consistently use OVA.

[Suko-chan]

[ QUOTE ]
Touma said:
While reading this thread I noticed that I am different in the way that I pronounce these.
Most of you seem to use them as words while I always say them as individual letters, even when just thinking about them. So for me it is "O" "V" "A", not "ova."
What this means, in context, is that I have no reason to choose one over the other because of how it sounds. But still, I do consistently use OVA.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never heard anyone actually pronounce OVA & OAV as Ova & Oav... (yet). /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

I, myself, buy OVAs on DVD.

[Philemon]

I use OVA because it is easy for me to pronounce it, even though as another poster mentioned it is plural for "ovum" ("egg" in Latin). I wonder the reason some European posters on this thread felt that OAV is easy for them to pronounce.

By the way, is the "video" part in OVA/OAV irrelevant because it is a reference to the old VHS format?

[sawmill]

IIRC, on a DVD extra explaining Anime, it was said that some publishers preferred OVA over OAV because AV because AV could be associated with Adult Video. From what I've seen since then, OVA seems to be more common on the DVDs themselves (if mentioned at all) than OAV.

[Pyocola]

[ QUOTE ]
Philemon said:
I use OVA because it is easy for me to pronounce it, even though as another poster mentioned it is plural for "ovum" ("egg" in Latin). I wonder the reason some European posters on this thread felt that OAV is easy for them to pronounce.

[/ QUOTE ]
For me it's because like Touma, I also pronounce each letter individually instead of trying to make it sound like a word.

(With that said, if I were to speak in English I would use OVA, whether I pronounced it as a word or not.)

[Lego]

I've always used OVA, as it sounds more natural to me. OVA rolls off my tounge compared to having to pause for a moment and say OAV.

[Garrett Jax]

[ QUOTE ]
Suko-chan said:
[ QUOTE ]
Touma said:
While reading this thread I noticed that I am different in the way that I pronounce these.
Most of you seem to use them as words while I always say them as individual letters, even when just thinking about them. So for me it is "O" "V" "A", not "ova."
What this means, in context, is that I have no reason to choose one over the other because of how it sounds. But still, I do consistently use OVA.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never heard anyone actually pronounce OVA & OAV as Ova & Oav... (yet). /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

True, but when you see it used in lower case form (OVA not OAV) it looks odd.

For example, it personally catches me "off guard" when I see a post or something along the lines that reads, "what did you think about the ova of [insert anime title]?" It's all in lower case and if you're skimming through posts and whatnot your mind reads it as ova not O.V.A. To which I usually do a very brief double-take and move on, realizing that they're referring to the anime's OVAs /images/graemlins/happy.gif

But that's just me /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[naiera]

[ QUOTE ]
Pyocola said:
For me it's because like Touma, I also pronounce each letter individually instead of trying to make it sound like a word.

(With that said, if I were to speak in English I would use OVA, whether I pronounced it as a word or not.)

[/ QUOTE ]

Funny, I do the same and find "OAV" to be a very silly thing to say.

I much prefer OVA and believe it to be the one and only truth /images/graemlins/devil.gif

[Philemon]

[ QUOTE ]
Juraian Knight said:

For example, it personally catches me "off guard" when I see a post or something along the lines that reads, "what did you think about the ova of [insert anime title]?" It's all in lower case and if you're skimming through posts and whatnot your mind reads it as ova not O.V.A.

[/ QUOTE ]

I may jokingly believe the poster is asking about the "eggs" ("ova" is plural for the Latin word for egg, which is "ovum") of an anime title, which is a strange thing to ask.

[DocWatson]

[ QUOTE ]
Philemon said:
By the way, is the "video" part in OVA/OAV irrelevant because it is a reference to the old VHS format?

[/ QUOTE ]
No, because "video" is used irrespective of the recording medium (OAVs/OVAs were also released on laserdisc, and possibly Betamax), not just VHS, and is meant in opposition to "television broadcast" and "theatrical film". As an aside, I've seen the term "OV" ("Original Video") used in Japanese to refer to live action direct-to-video releases.

BTW, these posts to the ANN Ecyclopedia Forum are relevant to the topic at hand: Dan42's (http://animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=294041#294041) and dormcat's (http://animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=294197#294197).

[perigee]

[ QUOTE ]
Philemon said:
I may jokingly believe the poster is asking about the "eggs" ("ova" is plural for the Latin word for egg, which is "ovum") of an anime title, which is a strange thing to ask.

[/ QUOTE ]
Unless someone is asking about Easter eggs. /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

[Mateo_home]

I use either because I can care less which one is the "official" one. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Touma said:
Most of you seem to use them as words while I always say them as individual letters, even when just thinking about them. So for me it is "O" "V" "A", not "ova."

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it's just that the "ova" joke is too easy to make. When saying it, I always naturally say "O" "V" "A", just as I'd say "O" "A" "V". I still think OVA is easier to say.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Philemon said:
By the way, is the "video" part in OVA/OAV irrelevant because it is a reference to the old VHS format?

[/ QUOTE ]

ODVDA? OADVD? /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

OBDA! OABD! ...OHDDVDA, OAHDDVD... quite a mouthful.

[fantasydewdrop]

[ QUOTE ]
Pyocola said:
[ QUOTE ]
Philemon said:
I use OVA because it is easy for me to pronounce it, even though as another poster mentioned it is plural for "ovum" ("egg" in Latin). I wonder the reason some European posters on this thread felt that OAV is easy for them to pronounce.

[/ QUOTE ]
For me it's because like Touma, I also pronounce each letter individually instead of trying to make it sound like a word.

(With that said, if I were to speak in English I would use OVA, whether I pronounced it as a word or not.)

[/ QUOTE ]
. . . People say it as a word? I've only heard people spell it out as letters.

[fantasydewdrop]

[ QUOTE ]
Mateo said:
I use either because I can care less which one is the "official" one. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Ah, but you do care a bit? How much? /images/graemlins/tongue.gif Saying that you "can care less" means that you do care at least a little, because if you didn't, then you couldn't care less. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif </grammar nazi>

[bci110]

I use both abbreviations, but the majority of the time I use OVA because IMO it's more technically sound (original video animation). The only time I use OAV is when I'm posting on the Anime News Network forum since that's the term they use in their Encyclopedia entries.

[Puppet Master]

OVA out of habit

[akcoll99]

I tend to say OVA for the same reasons, it just kind of flows off the tongue easier. It's also the term I was introduced to first, and just kind of stuck with me.

[ZhenJi]

I say OAV, ova makes me think of an egg.

[Vicserr]

I use both, but I use OVA more than OAV

And I normally say it as a word, not spelling it /images/graemlins/stunned1.gif

[leongsh]

OVA. That's what I've been using all this time.

There was a Japanese site, now-defunct, that had an English section that explained why it should be OVA and not OAV due to some queries he/she obtained. This is due to OVA = Original Video Animation, whereas OAV = Original Adult Video.

[Mateo_home]

[ QUOTE ]
KasiTL said:
[ QUOTE ]
Mateo said:
I use either because I can care less which one is the "official" one. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Ah, but you do care a bit? How much? /images/graemlins/tongue.gif Saying that you "can care less" means that you do care at least a little, because if you didn't, then you couldn't care less. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif </grammar nazi>

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess what I meant to say was, if someone says one over the other, I'm not going to get all anal over it. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Drakonis]

I don't use either term. The phrase it stands for is vague and nondescript when you consider animation in general. Someone dropped the ball when they coined it. Should have been DVA (Direct to Video Animation).

[ObiKenobi]

OVA is the only way I've seen it written by Japanese companies and otakus I've talked to so that's what I use. The only place I've ever seen the usage of OAV is within the american fandom.

[MrNice]

[ QUOTE ]
Drakonis said:The phrase it stands for is vague and nondescript when you consider animation in general.

[/ QUOTE ]They aren't phrases though, they are acronyms, and like all acronyms, they have a meaning beyond the simple spelling out of what the letters nominally stand for. As acronyms, there is no vagueness in their meaning.
(Which is why most peoples responses have come down to which one rolls of the tounge/"sounds" better, and not analysis of which word ordering makes most sense, and why the earlier point about spelling out the plurals is pretty spurious.

[DocWatson]

[ QUOTE ]
ObiKenobi said:
OVA is the only way I've seen it written by Japanese companies and otakus I've talked to so that's what I use. The only place I've ever seen the usage of OAV is within the american fandom.

[/ QUOTE ]
See my post above for an explanation of this.

[Kouji Tamino]

I don't know why, but OAV just... bothers me. I use OVA.

[Chloe]

[ QUOTE ]
Kouji Tamino said:
I don't know why, but OAV just... bothers me. I use OVA.

[/ QUOTE ]

I could not have put it more ambiguously myself.... I concur! /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif OVA just sounds better.