Ask John: Will There Be a Resurgence in the OVA Format?

Question:
If Japan can hold on to its economy recovery, do you think we will see the OVA format become the heart and core of the industry as it was in the 80s and early 90s?

Answer:
This is a very interesting question because it deals with not only the future of the anime industry, but also with its present condition and the effects that the current status of the anime industry will have on its own future. I wish I could say otherwise, but I honestly don’t believe that I know enough about the current state of Japan’s anime industry to be able to confidently answer this question. I’d like to propose a theory, but it’s a theory based on second hand reports and speculation more than confirmed facts. I can’t accurately predict the future. I can only guess. And my guess is that the heyday of the OVA format is in the past.

During the 1980s, the so called “golden period” of anime, the OVA format – anime made for primary home video release – was a booming genre. OVAs ranged from single episodes of length varying from a few minutes to feature length, to series like Legend of the Galactic Heroes that had over a hundred made for video episodes. Beside just the sheer number of OVAs released during the 80s, the OVA format allowed for a virtually unprecedented degree of creativity in the anime industry. Without the budget and production time restrictions of television animation, and without the need to make theatrical anime that would appeal to a wide audience, the OVA format allowed animators to create highly personal and expressive works, and series in unusual genres and series that were intended for small, target audiences. In practical terms, the OVA format during the 1980s was often a practical blank canvas for animators and directors to experiment with and indulge their creativity. The OVA format in the 1980s and early 90s spawned unusual and visually creative works including Twilight Q Part 2, Take the X Train, Dragon’s Heaven, Robot Carnival, Manie Manie, and Gosenzosama Banbanzai. The OVA format during the 80s and early 90s also saw the debut of numerous anime franchises now considered classics, including Patlabor, Bubblegum Crisis, Gall Force, Gunbuster, Giant Robo, Kodomo no Omocha, Guyver, and Tenchi Muyo. The OVA format was also instrumental in the development of the erotic anime genre which, like it or not, has made tremendous contributions to the maturation and growth of the anime art form.

If the OVA boom of the 80s was one of the catalysts that ushered in a new creative renaissance in the anime industry, another boom in the OVA genre could once again stimulate the anime industry with a fresh explosion of creativity and diversity. But I have some doubts about the possibility of another OVA boom occurring for two primary reasons. First, there may not be enough literal manpower in the Japanese anime industry to inspire another OVA explosion, and second, there may be too much corporate pressure opposing a renewal of the OVA boom.

According to common reports, the workforce of Japan’s anime industry is decreasing. Entry level animator jobs don’t pay enough to comfortably live on, and advancement takes a long time. When there are many other higher paying jobs with better benefits available to young Japanese workers, there’s little reason to enter the anime field. But at the same time, demand for anime has never been higher. With a limited workforce, studios may be putting all of their resources into producing television animation. In fact, the increasing number of short anime television series broadcast late at night and targeted at small, specific demographics may be taking the place of OVAs. Coupled with a possible lack of spare manpower to literally animate OVAs, the demand for new anime may preclude the option for OVAs. Most production studios can only animate whatever a sponsor is willing to fund. I don’t know for certain that Japanese corporate sponsors and television networks are urging animators to work on TV anime instead of video anime, but I think that assumption may be logical. Almost by definition, OVAs are expensive productions targeted at small audiences. Investing the same or similar money and effort into the production of television anime reaches the same target audience, and possibly more viewers. There are still OVAs made and released in Japan, but the advent of late night television broadcast, and internet broadcast, may have usurped the position and need for most of the OVA format. These days, OVAs including the St. Seiya Hades Saga, Project Blue Chikyuu SOS, and Wings of Rean are being produced as TV series instead, or premier as pay-per-view TV specials. Furthermore, series with niche market potential that could have been produced as OVA series, like Victorian Romance Emma, Bartender, and Flag, are now produced as television or internet series instead.

The OVA format is not dead and shows no sign of becoming extinct, but I don’t think that it will ever suddenly, sharply rise in frequency again. There may be practical reasons hindering a potential second OVA boom. Furthermore, there may not be a reason for a second OVA boom. I think that there’s still a great deal of creativity at work in the contemporary anime industry, and despite a decline in OVA releases, we’re getting a bigger quantity of anime, and a wider variety of anime now than ever before.