Ask John: What Are The Rarest OVAs?

Question:
What are some of the most rarest OVA ever?

Answer:
The OVA/OAV format – anime made for home video release – premiered in December 1983 with the debut of director Mamoru Oshii’s four episode sci-fi series Dallos. In the 25 years since then so many OVAs have been produced and released in Japan that attempts to catalog the rarest of them is virtually futile. While I may be familiar with a lot of obscure anime, I’m sure that I’m not familiar with the rarest of rare anime OVAs. I’m also hesitant to encourage the elitist attitude that watching or being familiar with obscure anime makes one a “better” anime fan than other less knowledgable fans. Anime is a hobby, not a contest. However, despite the obstacles to composing an informative answer to this question, I’ll try my best because I think there’s some educational value in this question.

The mid and late 1980s w ere the heyday of the OVA format. Japan’s national economy was exploding, and anime producers had plenty of money to fund the production of esoteric anime – short series for small audiences, and artistic and personal projects. Many of these OVAs are now long forgotten because they simply weren’t memorable. Especially bad OVAs become legendary, like Dog Soldier, Bavi-Stock, Riki-Oh 2, and Kinban no Mokushiroku ~ Crystal Triangle. There are also respected cult classics and major hits like Bubblegum Crisis, Dragon Half, Megazone 23, Iczer-One, Robot Carnival, and To-y. But the majority of forgotten and obscure OVAs have been forgotten for one of two reasons. Either the OVA had very limited distribution, or it simply wasn’t good or bad enough to make a lasting impression in the consciousness of the anime fan community.

Certain OVAs are very rare becuase of their very limited distribution. The Maze Bakunetsu Jiku OVA, for example, was only available to Japanese collectors that purchased all of the TV series home video releases then mailed in a coupon to receive the bonus OVA. The 2007 and two episode 2008 Gakkou no Kaiden anime specials are rare because they were released exclusively as free bonus DVDs included in monthly issues of Plecomi Bun Bun magazine. X Japan’s anime music video for the 1994 song “Rusty Nail” was released only once in 1999 as part of the limited edition X Japan Perfect Best CD set. In 2003 American manga publisher Fanboy Entertainment released a subtitled DVD of the five minute long Angel’s Wing OVA. This is probably the rarest commerically released American anime DVD, and I don’t know if this Japanese produced OVA was ever distributed in Japan.

Compiling a list of obscure and forgotten OVAs is a daunting task, made more difficult by the fluid standards that define “obscure.” Since different fans are familiar with different anime, titles that one person considers obscure may not be obscure to someone else. Rather than try to be comprehensive, allow me to be anecdotal. Merely within the past month I’ve watched forgotten OVAs including Greed (1985), Makaryuudo Demon-Hunter (1989), Apfelland Monogatari (1992), High School Jingi (1992), Alice in Cyberland OVA 1 (1996), and Dream Hunter Rem OVAs 2-6. Near the top of my seemingly infinite pile of anime that I hope to eventually watch are obscure OVAs including Dead Heat (1987), Watt Poe to Bokura no Ohanashi (1988), Ai to Ken Camelot: Mangaka Marina Time Slip (1990), Hidari no O’clock!! (1990), and Hard & Loose (1992). I suspect that most, if not all of these titles are ones which the vast majority of American anime fans have never heard of. In fact, there are probably a lot of contemporary Japanese fans that aren’t familiar with these old and forgotten OVAs.

In my years as an anime fan I’ve watched countless obscure OVAs that most American anime fans aren’t familiar with: Ohayo Althea, Gakuen Benriya Series Antique Heart, Hoshineko Full House, Uchuu Kazoku Carlvinson, Kigyo Senshi Yamazaki, Oryuu no Mimi, Kyomu Senshi Miroku, Nineteen, Mainichi ga Nichiyobi, Tenjo Hen Utsunomiko – just to name a few. I don’t watch all of these forgotten OVAs to be a “better” or more experienced fan than others. I watch these obscure anime because I enjoy expanding my familiarity with anime and watching anime that are new to me. And no matter how many obscure anime I seem to watch, there are always more that I’m not familiar with. I’m not rich. I don’t live in Japan. I don’t speak or understand Japanese language fluently. Yet I’m still able to uncover and watch these forgotten shows. Considering the obstacles that I face, if I’m still able to track down obscure old anime, any determined American anime fan can likewise unearth old OVAs.

On a related side note, I’ve never been able to locate a copy of the 1992 OVA “Neko Hiki no Ororane” (Ororane the Cat Player). I’d very much like to watch this forgotten anime, so if anyone can advise me on how to acquire a copy of it, I’d appreciate the assistance.