OVA is an acronym for "Original Video Animation", and is actually a term for an anime (or piece of anime) that is released only to DVD.
Most of the time an OVA is a special bonus for people that buy the DVD version of an anime. An enticement to spend money, as it were. OVAs range from being complete extra episodes to complicated back stories to omakes. OVAs can sometimes give creators a chance to add on content or story that they couldn't fit into the original series.
Examples of anime series with OVAs:
Black Butler by Yana Toboso, with it's lengthy side story "Ciel in Wonderland", which was an offshoot of the canon.
Fullmetal Alchemist with it's animated short "Chibi Party", which offered a look at the "actors" celebrating after the movie "Conqueror of Shamballa".
Hope that explains it all! :D
--LeXa--
How about defining omakes and cannon (which I think is spelled canon, unless you mean off-shoot literally).
ReplyDeleteYep, those are my next two definitions on the list! ^^
ReplyDelete