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Answerman - Why Did So Many OVA Series End Prematurely?

Paiprince wrote:

I have to admit, I used to regard the OVA era in a very biased positive light, but after taking off the goggles and sifting through the ones in my backlog, my god, there was a LOT of crap.

I don't think anyone is arguing that the OVA era was always good. Like any sort of anime (or media in general) there's always a variety ranging from great to crap.

What I think is special about the OVA era is the sheer volume of anime that was made at that time. Like the original article said there were many new directors given the chance to make new titles that otherwise would never have the chance to see the light of day. Given the sheer number of niches involved there's something for everyone.

True, but I much prefer the structured state of anime which now as much as it gets criticized for "playing it too safe." While the Wild Wild West OVA age gave birth to new talent and gems,

Paiprince wrote:

True, but I much prefer the structured state of anime which now as much as it gets criticized for "playing it too safe." While the Wild Wild West OVA age gave birth to new talent and gems,

I'm kind of curious about why. Don't get me wrong--there were a lot of crap OVAs. But that's not harmful to the viewers like us. Maybe we try a title and we think it sucks. That's nothing new--we do that now. The only difference is that the OVA days gave us a wider assortment of things to choose from.

Also don't forget that shows that you or I might think are awful might be right up someone else's alley. I don't see how there can ever be a downside to more variety--worst case scenario is that you simply don't watch all of it.

Hellsoldier wrote:

Take My Revolution

Hehe, it was good to hear Masami Okui sing Rinbu Revolution at Animax Musix 2014, but I'd love to hear the Adolescence Rush mix performed live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYsiNdqYiSY

Lol, the first time I saw bara, I thought I'd be physically sick.

Shounen-Ai is a better genre to go with. A lot of people may not know the difference but it's not as heavy with the smut as yaoi is. It actually focuses more on the emotional part of the romance instead of the sex. Kouga Yun's Earthian is one good example. There's also FAKE....but avoid the OVA and just read the manga lol It's too bad El Gato Souji won't be animated; the manga is really beautiful. D:

Yami No Matsuei is my favorite shounen-ai title....and its anime adaptation isn't too bad either.

timber wrote:

In the cyberpunk genre, I would also add: - Armittage III Other OAVs I quite like: - Angel Densetsu - Black Magic M66 - Freedom - Gall force - Gunbuster - Homeroom Affairs - Hotori : Tada Saiwai wo Koinegau - Locke the Superman - Macross Plus - Pale Cocoon - Plastic Little - Project Blue Earth SOS - Shinigami no Ballad - They were 11 - TO

Gotta add Genocyber and MD Geist on that list too. Someone mentioned those earlier.

I have to admit, I used to regard the OVA era in a very biased positive light, but after taking off the goggles and sifting through the ones in my backlog, my god, there was a LOT of crap. Aside from the inconclusiveness, I had to vouch that they aped a lot from famous titles like Blade Runner, 1984, Top Gun, Star Wars etc. which were very popular during that time. I would say a lot of the OVA's during the 80's and early 90's fell under three categories: Space Opera, Cyberpunk and Post-Apocalyptic. After that, there was more of a preference toward D&D style fantasy series with Lodoss in the helm. So I guess this is just a preference thing. Won't jump into the mindset that "it's old, then it must be good!"

Animation quality is perhaps the only thing that trumps traditional OVA's from the TV anime. The Gundam OVA's come up to mind as pinnacles of how visually stunning anime can be. Then again, this is Sunrise we're talking about.