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I've notied that there are many who don't know the difference between OVA and anime series (I having been one of them). There I've searched and came up with this! For those who already knew... well I'm not talking to you blaugh wink . However! If you wish to add/correct somthing feel free to!

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Anime: Anime, which is short for animēshon from the English word "animation", in the western world most popularly refers to the medium of animation originating in Japan, with distinctive character and background aesthetics that visually set it apart from other forms of animation (e.g. Walt Disney films, Warner Bros. short cartoons). Japanese comics (manga). Some anime storylines have been adapted into live action films and television series.

Series: A bunch of single instances of programing refered to as an episode tied together. Each episoded contributes to telling a certain story, but at the same time. With in each episode it contains another, much smaller, story. Which is often relevant, or once again contributes to the main, larger, story.

Each episode is often 15-60 min long. However in the world of Japanese animation, it's often seen to be 25-30 minutes long. Containing at least 15 episodes and more.

OVA: Original Video Animation (orijinaru bideo animēshon?), is a term used in Japan for anime titles that are released directly to retail sale, without prior showings on TV or in theaters. OVA is sometimes used, perhaps inappropriately, to refer to any extremely short anime series or special regardless of its release format. OVAs are broken into episodes. OVA media (tapes, Laserdiscs, or DVDs) are usually sold with just one episode each. Episode length varies from title to title, and might be anywhere from a few minutes to two hours or more per episode. An episode length of 30 minutes is quite common, but this is by no means the rule. In some cases, the length of episodes in a specific OVA may vary greatly, the first 6 episodes could last around 30 minutes, while the last 2 episodes last 40 and 50 minutes respectively. An OVA series can run anywhere from just one episode (essentially a direct-to-video movie) to dozens in length.

An OVA isn't a remake! It contains a different main story that is different from an anime series. However at the same time it, in some way may contribute to the series.Many popular anime begin as Original Video Animation, and later grow to become popular television series or movies. Tenchi Muyo!, for example, began as an OVA but went on to spawn several TV series, three movies, and numerous spinoffs. Other OVA releases are made as sequels, side stories, music video collections, or bonus episodes that continue existing TV series or films, such as Love Hina Again and Wolf's Rain.

OVA animation is well regarded for its high production quality. OVA titles generally have high budgets and therefore the technical quality of animation is almost always superior to TV series and may equal or exceed the quality of movies.

learn something new everyday :]

Awe! Awesome job. (:
I've watched so many OVA's
and seriously was wondering what that even meant. D:

--I'm a girl

Nice synopsis! I've known what an OVA series was, but always had difficulty in explaining it to other people. Now I can just refer them to your handy little precis biggrin

:looking at this again:

3, 6, and 12 episoded anime's don't count as series? :

Huh. I never knew what OVA stood for. Thanks for this! mrgreen

Thanks for the Info xd

I've been meaning to ask what OVA stood for! Thanks!