Forum - View topicWhy are OVAs formatted like TV shows?
|
Goto page 1, 2 Next |
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
TheVok
Posts: 613 Location: North York, Ontario, Canada |
|
|||
|
By which I mean, why are anime productions that go straight-to-video (and were always planned as such) produced in a TV format?
Many of them seem to comprise 22-minute episodes, each attached to an opening sequence, end credits and a next-episode preview, even though these are not necessary within the home-video medium. I used to see more OVAs of odd, inconsistent length, but lately I've been renting and watching more that are, for all intents and purposes, TV-friendly but just never were intended for TV. What up with that? Last edited by TheVok on Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:12 am; edited 3 times in total |
||||
|
||||
|
Ohoni
Posts: 3421 |
|
|||
|
I'm not sure, but there are many possible reasons. For one thing, the creators are likely comfortable with the TV show format, and see no reason not to use it in some cases. For another, like with most films, OVAs can always end up on TV, even if that wasn't the original distribution method, such as how RoD or FLCL ended up on Adult Swim, so maintaining a TV friendly format can only increase the potential profitability of the series.
|
||||
|
||||
|
fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
|
|||
|
I don't see why you wouldn't want an OP or an EP. That I think brings about a little more commercialism that the series can attach to itself, since series promotion can stem quite a bit from the songs they choose to have for their series. And I think this is true as well: they are probably formatted for TV, because sooner or later they probably do get shown on TV.
|
||||
|
||||
|
Oronae
Posts: 165 |
|
|||
|
Don't forget that a number of OVAs are continuations of TV shows (Hunter x Hunter) or were origially planned to be TV shows before becoming OVAs (Megazone 23 and Gunbuster).
|
||||
|
||||
ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
|
|||
|
If we're talking about it in a general sense I think 20-25 minutes is just an ideal time for a multi-episode video story. Any shorter is clearly isn't going to give you enough time to do much in a single episode and the more you break it up the more disjointed it will be.
Now as for making it longer, when you go much past a half hour you're looking at a long time to fill for something that's just one episode of something. Also, shorter episodes means more episodes. If they're being sold 1 episode per disk that means you can sell more DVDs with the same amount of content. As for OPs and EDs, when you think about it most video media has this kind of thing. Movies are the only ones that don't but they still have an opening sequence and closing credits. The main reason they don't need actual OPs and EDs is that there are not multiple parts and so a reusable and recognizable OP/ED is useless. |
||||
|
||||
Richard J.
 Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
|
|||
The OPs and EDs are a clear source of cash. Plus, as has been mentioned, they could always get the OVA on TV later, which means it only makes the series more profitable potentially to have it in a TV friendly style. Besides, it's what people are used to. If you give someone something in a format that they aren't used to or aren't expecting, they may reject it. (Kind of like how most people are used to live-action and reject anime even if it's an anime they should like.) |
||||
|
||||
walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
|
|||
|
I know quite a few OVAs that are longer than that, like 40-50 minutes. The OVA can just really be as long or as short as it needs to be.
|
||||
|
||||
|
Paludis
Posts: 46 |
|
|||
what? that's a pretty whacked system if true. |
||||
|
||||
|
Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 7584 Location: Wales |
|
|||
|
I really fail to see your point - why shouldn't OVAs have an opening and ending sequence? Where else would they put the credits? I've yet to see a film without opening and ending and they aren't designed for TV, same goes for Disney's straight-to-video releases etc. Since OVA are episodic a preview of the next episode makes sense since it serves as an advertisement for the next volume. I can't really comment on the length as I have no idea what the average or modal length of an OVA episode is, but nothing else strikes me particularily as "tv format".
|
||||
|
||||
|
TheVok
Posts: 613 Location: North York, Ontario, Canada |
|
|||
Sorry, I should have been clearer; I mean it's strange when a DVD contains more than one episode in an OVA series that each episode is framed with the same opening and closing credits, which strikes me as redundant given the packaging. |
||||
|
||||
|
TheVok
Posts: 613 Location: North York, Ontario, Canada |
|
|||
Yes, I acknowledged those in my original post (and an example would be Blood: The Last Vampire or Dead Leaves), but it does seem that the vast majority of OVA anime productions are formatted like ongoing TV series. |
||||
|
||||
|
TheVok
Posts: 613 Location: North York, Ontario, Canada |
|
|||
I'm referring specifically to the 22-minute OVA episodes, which are very clearly modelled on timing that was established in the medium of television but is not inherent to home video releases. There are American equivalents, but they tend to be packaged differently. For example, 'Futurama: Bender's Big Score' and 'Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story' were straight-to-video 'movies' that were timed so as to be split up later on TV in serialized fashion. But while you might sense the breaks every 22 minutes or so, the movies don't suddenly stop partway through for ending credits, then continue after the opening credits repeat. |
||||
|
||||
HyugaHinata
 Posts: 3505 |
|
|||
It's all got to do with bargaining power. At present, there must be more anime companies with more episodes than there are free slots on TV, especially during prime time. Another thing is that new shows get aired on free-to-air channels. Most people won't pay to see unknown and untested shows. Wasting time watching something you don't like on TV is bad enough. |
||||
|
||||
|
walw6pK4Alo
Posts: 9322 |
|
|||
The reason for this is because the show has the amount of content to either be too long for a movie or too short for a show. Or it just matters what it is. OVAs can do anything they want, and having it set up like a TV show, but longer, just seems to work rather well. |
||||
|
||||
Kirkdawg
 Subscriber Posts: 742 Location: California, USA |
|
|||
|
@Richard J
I question your generalization about the reaction fans would give 'if OVAs were released any other way than fans would probably reject it'. I don't think the quality of a product doesn't include the format it's released in, although at a certain point it does lose its appeal at the unrealistic extremes (i.e. a 2 minute episode or 5 hour episode). Walw6p, You're suggesting that TV formats sell better than others; I would argue that the formatting has little impact on sales. When you're considering purchasing an OVA, do you look on the back side to see what format it's in? |
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group