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Making sense of the order


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orochimaruSanin



Joined: 05 Dec 2008
Posts: 35
PostPosted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 1:17 am Reply with quote
Hello all.

Considering almost all animes out there have OVA / Special episodes, is there any simple way of knowing the sequence in which the episodes mingle along with the OVAs and specials mix up?

Many a times I have ended up watching the anime and then going on to the OVA only to realize that it lies in between ep 7 and 8 of a 13 episode anime which makes it not so much of a fun to watch.

Any sites/tips would be appreciated.

Regards.
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spooksmagee



Joined: 02 Apr 2007
Posts: 182
Location: Rochester, NY
PostPosted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 1:31 am Reply with quote
I know this reply sounds dumb and obvious, but I really can't phrase it any other way: Use ANN's encyclopedia or the various discussion threads in this forum. It's actually very well organized and usually reveals when the OVA fall in a series.

Or, you know, Google. Wink
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orochimaruSanin



Joined: 05 Dec 2008
Posts: 35
PostPosted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 1:49 am Reply with quote
spooksmagee wrote:
I know this reply sounds dumb and obvious, but I really can't phrase it any other way: Use ANN's encyclopedia or the various discussion threads in this forum. It's actually very well organized and usually reveals when the OVA fall in a series.

Or, you know, Google. Wink

> I know this reply sounds dumb
No, not at all, any kind of help is appreciated. Smile

BTW, the point you missed from my original post was that I needed a central and slick repository for such things. Of course it is possible to google around and read a lot of anime blogs to make sense of things but I believe that there always is a better way. I just thought that there might be a better resource/site out there which is geared for such things and the subscribers of ANN might be in the best position to advise me on this.

And regarding your reference to ANN, it's not always true. E.g. the anime series "Sumomomo Momomo" has 22 episodes and 2 OVA's but ANN makes no mention of the OVAs. Plus, what I am looking for is between which two episodes does an OVA/special lie which ANN doesn't tell me [or so it seems?].

Regards.
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7400
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 4:34 am Reply with quote
orochimaruSanin wrote:
Plus, what I am looking for is between which two episodes does an OVA/special lie which ANN doesn't tell me [or so it seems?].


It isn't always the case, but for some OAVs there will be a comment between the descriptions and production/staff/cast info that will say where an OAV lands in a series. Other times they might be in the trivia section. If you're actually asking, the Sumomomo Momomo OAVs are considered episodes 23 and 24 according to another site that I'm not sure if I can link to since they list fansub groups.

Emerje
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Rika-chama



Joined: 19 Feb 2008
Posts: 87
PostPosted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 4:26 pm Reply with quote
I use wikipedia, it works for everything
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theknight



Joined: 16 Jul 2008
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 4:46 pm Reply with quote
Rika-chama wrote:
I use wikipedia, it works for everything

I would use the ANN encyclopedia over wikipedia. Wikis can't really be trusted.
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Dorcas_Aurelia



Joined: 23 Jul 2006
Posts: 5344
Location: Philly
PostPosted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 4:51 pm Reply with quote
There is no obvious rule for where an OVA will fall in regards to a series. Many times it will be a sequel or continuation, but there is no guarantee. Sometimes there isn't an official designation of what episodes the additional material falls into. Sometimes it doesn't matter. Sometimes you have to watch the OVA and figure it out yourself. Wikipedia is probably the most comprehensive source for finding when specifically an episode is set, but then you have to deal with spoilers. You're best bet would probably be to find an anime forum and search for or ask about an individual series.
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Kruszer



Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 7994
Location: Minnesota, USA
PostPosted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:25 pm Reply with quote
Also sometimes the OVA or movie in question just doesn't fit into the series....at all. The Dragonball Z movies for instance are confounding to the established timeline.
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bllanosr



Joined: 31 Dec 2006
Posts: 212
PostPosted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:38 pm Reply with quote
Kruszer wrote:
Also sometimes the OVA or movie in question just doesn't fit into the series....at all. The Dragonball Z movies for instance are confounding to the established timeline.


I'm not sure if this applies, but the Tenchi Muyo OAVs (or OVAs if you prefer) were always some wierd alternate version of the original storyline.
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EricDent



Joined: 28 May 2008
Posts: 997
Location: Georgetown, TX
PostPosted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:53 pm Reply with quote
^Not according to the creator of Tenchi. Those & GXP & Dual are the only "Canon" stuff.

I always thought the DBZ movies were basically a re-do of certain arcs of the show.

Anyways, not really sure about some of the OVAs, some have a place with the anime, while others are "side stories". It really depends on the series/OVA.
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pparker



Joined: 13 Oct 2007
Posts: 1185
Location: Florida
PostPosted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 10:27 pm Reply with quote
Dorcas_Aurelia wrote:
Wikipedia is probably the most comprehensive source for finding when specifically an episode is set, but then you have to deal with spoilers.

QFT. Wiki is by far the best at listing and organizing in one place all media concerning a title and explaining chronological and other relationships between them. But yes, spoilers galore and questionable quality otherwise, plus tangents that can be really wacko Rolling Eyes
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orochimaruSanin



Joined: 05 Dec 2008
Posts: 35
PostPosted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 7:33 am Reply with quote
> Wikipedia is probably the most comprehensive source for finding
> when specifically an episode is set, but then you have to deal
> with spoilers
*sigh*

> Sometimes it doesn't matter.
Yes, but unless I can be very sure whether it really matters or not, it does matter. Wink

> You're best bet would probably be to find an anime forum and
> search for or ask about an individual series
I just wanted to make sure I had all my resources before asking a question and being told to RTFM. Smile

OK, one last question, does the release date of the OVA always decide its order? i.e. suppose an OVA was released 6 months after the anime ends, is there any chance that it *doesn't* actually lie after the anime?
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pparker



Joined: 13 Oct 2007
Posts: 1185
Location: Florida
PostPosted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 7:44 am Reply with quote
orochimaruSanin wrote:
I just wanted to make sure I had all my resources before asking a question and being told to RTFM. Smile

OK, one last question, does the release date of the OVA always decide its order? i.e. suppose an OVA was released 6 months after the anime ends, is there any chance that it *doesn't* actually lie after the anime?
No, there's no guarantee an OVA or movie will fit in any particular spot in an anime timeline.
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DuelLadyS



Joined: 17 Mar 2006
Posts: 1705
Location: WA state
PostPosted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 8:08 am Reply with quote
An OVA just means the show was popular enough to warrant a lil' more content. There's no way of telling what that content will be- prequel, sequel, mid season addition or total spinoff.

If it were me, I'd just watch it in production order. No, there's no guarantee it'll be in show order, but at least it'll be in the same order people following the show saw- so I can't imagine it would be that detrimential to the experience if it was 'out of order'.
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pparker



Joined: 13 Oct 2007
Posts: 1185
Location: Florida
PostPosted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 8:22 am Reply with quote
Thanks, DuelLadyS, that was a better answer. But to give a specific example, you can even have an OVA that replaces content within an anime. Tsubasa's Tokyo Revelations OVA (3 parts) animates part of the manga that was not animated in Season 2 of the anime. But what it actually does is replace the last part of the anime. The anime had veered away from the manga and used episodes written by the anime production company instead of the original creators, CLAMP. They weren't happy with the animation job overall, so they contracted with another production company to continue the animation, and what they decided to do was animate the "skipped" parts of the manga. In terms of timeline, you would watch that OVA series somewhere after about the 20th(? too lazy to look up) episode of the second season of the anime series.

I'm not telling you RTFM when I say, read the wiki entries just for timelines. Their articles do almost always explain this type of information if you are really wanting to stick to timelines (as I do, so I feel your need).
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