I watched Millennium Actress for the first time in ages this evening. I can’t remember when I last watched it, to be honest. As incredible a film that as it may be, it rarely calls out to me when I’m scanning my DVD collection, looking for something to watch. Nor is it the most entertaining of Satoshi Kon’s films; I’d give Tokyo Godfathers the nod in that respect. However, I think it’s his most interesting film, at least from a conceptual standpoint. It’s funny how it practically teeters on the edge of collapse for an hour and a half. Perhaps that’s why I go so long between viewings. It’s as frustrating as it is wonderful.
Once the end credits rolled, however, I got to thinking about theatrical anime. Or the lack thereof. If you ask me to list the most influential anime films of the past year, only Byousoku 5 Centimeter comes to mind. The previous year, only Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo and Tales from Earthsea. It seems that, in any given year, you can count the number of major anime theatrical features on one hand. Yet, in the same time period, somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred new TV series will debut.
I suppose there’s not much of a market for anime films. Only major releases from Studio Ghibli and movies associated with popular TV shows seem to perform well at the box office. However, Studio Ghibli can only release a new film every couple of years. And even though Naruto and Pokeman movies are a dime a dozen, I don’t think anyone cares all that much with the exception of the children of Japan. Every few years, something unique will come along and capture the public’s attention - the aforementioned Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo, for example - but it almost seems as if animated theatrical features are more an oddity in Japan than they are here in the United States. Funny, ain’t it?
And just as anime films have become rare, so have direct to video OAV releases. The OAV format was fairly popular as late as the 90s - I suspect it had something to do with Laserdiscs being well-suited to OAV length episodes - but it almost seems as if the age of the OAV has since come and gone. Yes, you still see some single episode releases and follow-on TV series specials, but true, multi-episode, standalone OAV series have become a rare sight indeed.
It’s a shame, really. TV series have long been the bread and butter of the anime industry, of course, but a lot of stories are better suited to film or OAV format. After all, how many times have you finished a twelve episode TV series and thought to yourself, “that would have worked better as a six episode OAV?”
A lot of times, I’d imagine.
And there are some rare series I wish they gave the 26 episode treatment instead of 12 episode treatment. I think the dvd region code was the true killer of OAV. In the 80s, OAVs could move across the border much faster and easier, thus I have seen more OAVs and movies compared to TVA. Japanese animators knew of this, and expected reasonable international sales of the Laser discs. The region code meant they need new formatting and advertisement for every new region. Why did they make those regions? Sometimes I wonder how far below 95 the average IQ of entertainment industry executives are.
If you think that region coding is a net negative for anime sales in foreign countries (or that foreign sales were more than a tiny fraction of the total market in the 80s), you would do well to brush up on your history a little. ;p Put bluntly - without region coding, Japanese companies would have to find some other way to discourage reverse importation, and virtually everything that they can do for that is on the otaku’s nightmare scenario list. Easiest way is to simply say “don’t put Japanese audio on the disc”…
What killed the OAV was the funding, not the sales. Making an OAV is pretty risky when compared to a TV series. Sales tend to drop off significantly after the first volume or two, for all but a few hits; if you’re relying on those sales as your primary source of revenue, that means that it’s almost inevitable that your production will hit a point where it is no longer profitable. Contrast that with the relatively safe production environment of a TV series, where at least you have a guaranteed budget (even if it’s low) and the video revenue is only the secondary stream. You might not break the bank, but you won’t go bankrupt either.
With the new acceptance of a 13-episode anime series length (or even as short as 12 or even 10!), the incentive to tell a story in a short OAV rather than a short TV series is reduced. There’s plenty of concepts that won’t stretch to 26 eps, but if you can get 5-6 out of it, you can probably take it a few further. And what’s the return on writing a tightly-plotted seven-episode series if you never get to make 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7?
And so the market evolved. The vast majority of Japanese-sourced funding for anime comes from TV networks - networks that want shows to air, not to go on a shelf in a video store. At this point, multi-episode OAVs are so unusual that it’s just plumb hard to find a capital backer to get your production going in the first place.
i was hoping you’d atleast MENTION Tekkon Kinkreet.
Ghost in the Shell SSS! But movies are crappy, series are always superior.
Also, if you think about it, the end of the OAV era coincided with the end of the cel animation era. Perhaps the adoption of digital techniques allowed for more accelerated production schedules and increased bang-for-the-buck in the animation department, such that projects which previously would have only been possible in OAV format were now possible in an extended TV series format.
In other words, the OAV format was just as much a result of technical and production time limitations as it was anything else, and when those limitations were lifted with the advent of digital animation, the value of the format began to decrease. Now, several years on, we’re seeing OAV quality production in standard TV series.
I remember reading that the collapse of the OVA market was a purely financial thing. Essentially you could produce a 13 episode TV series with mediocre production values for the same amount of money it takes to animate a nice looking 6-episode OVA. Of course, with TV series, you also have added perks - like advertising money, building a pre-video release fan-base and so on, while with OVAs, you’re literally risking everything on the quality of a story many people may not be interested in. In these modern times, you could say completely original OVAs are a rather romantic concept, which is a shame, because as you’ve pointed out, they offer an artistic freedom and creativity.
No love for Paprika?
Tekkon Kinkreet I found surprisingly typical(?) myself, though admittedly it had that little Studio 4c twist. I particulary liked the city imagery in the film, but by god I’m never going to get used to those characters looks :p
“And just as anime films have become rare, so have direct to video OAV releases. The OAV format was fairly popular as late as the 90s - I suspect it had something to do with Laserdiscs being well-suited to OAV length episodes - but it almost seems as if the age of the OAV has since come and gone. Yes, you still see some single episode releases and follow-on TV series specials, but true, multi-episode, standalone OAV series have become a rare sight indeed.”
You’re not watching enough porno anime.
For some reason, I thought Paprika was a 2005 release. Looks like it was 2006. I actually haven’t seen it yet, so I can’t really compare it to Satoshi Kon’s other films.
Oioi. I don’t like anime movies as much usually, FWR. Even movie-length OVAs sit better with me. I can’t really be asked to explain why, but I just never feel like watching an anime movie. Something about it standing alone just irks me. Even movies I really like don’t go in my top 20 list. Dunno why.
That’s a really good post you put up there, Jeff. I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the OAV and fature film format lately, so it was a bit odd when I stumbled upon this(I regularly visit and lurk here a lot too but for whatever reason, rarely get around to commenting).
Some of my favourite pieces of anime are feature films or OAVs (Macross Plus, Shinkai’s stuff, those of Satoshi Kon and so on) but in a way it’s their rarity that makes them special. A new series isn’t a big event but I was waiting anxiously for news about Byousoku 5cm and Paprika for instance. You’re absolutely right on Millennium Actress too - it’s up there in my all-time top ten I think.
In terms of the OAV, the above comments paint a grim but painfully accurate picture. OAVs are expensive, and it’s not often they’re made at all these days. Macross Zero is one of a dying breed really, although it benefits from being part of a bigger franchise so is a pretty good bet in terms of investment.
In a way, I’m actually surprised that it’s so tough these days: the ‘net surely gives all the room for advertising and discussion that a new release needs. It’s interesting that you mention the changes in technology too - CGI allows big budget features to look even better but it also makes it cheaper and easier to make more modest productions. I’ve been intending to expand on this idea already (thanks again for this post, because it’s helped me get the thoughts in order) but I think there’s a possibility that the likes of Voices of a Distant Star and Pale Cocoon are the beginning of a new trend in which computers allow smaller groups (or even individuals) to make animated films without the worries of financial risk that has been discouraging the larger studios.
Kakurenbo, too. That’s another short, largely CGI, small-team production, and is really quite good. It was licensed and released in the US — I’d hoped that Pale Cocoon would follow in its wake, but it hasn’t happened yet (though really, I think the gem on the Pale Cocoon disk is the short-short Aquatic Language).
Kakurenbo is a short little thriller about a game of hide-and-seek in a supernaturally bad part of town. The artists hit on a clever idea to get around the limitations of CGI — the game is played with all the characters wearing masks, the creatures they encounter are animated temple sculptures. Thus, there’s no need to get fluid facial expressions, which CGI is terrible at (Kakurenbo’s artists put all their effort into the expressions of the eyes and the posture of the characters, and it’s very effective), and the fact that the demons move stiffly is a natural result of the fact that they’re sculptures, not creatures.
And Studio 4C was releasing a small film every year or so for a while — Noiseman Sound Insect, Open the door, Comedy. These probably stray from OAV into art festival animation, but some of them are quite good. They need to put more of their art into print.
Kakurenbo is more an OAV. I don’t know if it ever got proper film time…
And as WAH noted, there are plenty of OAVs out there; large amounts of them are porn. In fact there are probably a couple dozen OAVs out every year since whatever “collapse,” which is more than anime movies.
But then again, we’re talking about two different things. Films are films, they can be 5 minutes long or 150 minutes long; but OAV is a release format. Serialized episodes topping out at the 30-minute mark instead of the 23-minute mark?
There still are OAVs (that is not porn) out there. What have you watched lately?
@ Martin: You are onto something: there’s no real need for an OAV format if indie studios can release stuff online, as some have done, as a way to get promotion. It might be necessary as a way to get money for studios who can’t secure a better deal, but for studios that can, it becomes something that’s only sensible if the finances made sense to begin with.
Interesting discussion here; I’d never really given much thought to that shift, but what you guys are saying makes a lot of sense. Good food for thought. :)
I don’t know if porn is really all that applicable to this discussion. After all, in what other format but direct-to-video would such content be released? You’re never going to find it on the big screen or on TV (envelope pushing TV series notwithstanding). So, of course there’s plenty of porn being released in what is, essentially, OAV format. But my concern is with non-pornographic OAV releases, of which there are now very few.
As for what (new) OAV series I’ve watched lately… as far as standalone, multi-episode OAV series are concerned, I’m drawing a blank. There have been a few TV series follow-on OAVs (Maria-sama ga Miteru, Ichigo Mashimaro, Genshiken), but nothing standalone. I’m not suggesting that standalone, multi-episode OAV releases are no longer being produced. However, they’re definitely being produced in fewer number compared to, oh, six or seven years ago.
There was the new Tenchi OVA released a while back. Right now I think there is a Helsing OVA retelling the story closer to the manga. There was the Gunbuster/DieBuster/Aim for the top!/whatever name it goes by OVA. The To Heart 2 OVA that premiered this year.
I mean, I know these OVAs have been over shadowed by the glut of TV animation, but they haven’t quite dried up yet. And honestly, were there all that many OVAs being released at once in the past?
Porn is totally a good parallel to anime, personally. Plenty of porn gets TV time, granted you won’t find it unless you pay for it. But a fair amount of TV anime is likewise available only if you pay for it (hello Clannad?).
That’s not even mentioning the internet.
jal also said: “As for what (new) OAV series I’ve watched lately… as far as standalone, multi-episode OAV series are concerned, I’m drawing a blank. There have been a few TV series follow-on OAVs (Maria-sama ga Miteru, Ichigo Mashimaro, Genshiken), but nothing standalone. I’m not suggesting that standalone, multi-episode OAV releases are no longer being produced. However, they’re definitely being produced in fewer number compared to, oh, six or seven years ago.”
I think there were never really a lot of direct-to-video anime to begin with. The few that we have today are just not being watched by you, really; perhaps you would have watched one or two more back in the days, but it doesn’t speak much. There is definitely less today and the ones that we have today are less marketed and overshadowed by a surge of TV anime that more than just replaced what would-be OAV material.
Off the top of my head, I don’t think you watched Karasu? Freedom? Murder Princess? Hellsing Ultimate? Project ICE? Sakura Taisen 5? :D Those all had one+ episode released in 2007.
I guess Diebuster (is sorta old)?
My bad; Karas is 2006. My point is still there are plenty of OAVs today, less than before but I don’t really remember too many of them even back in the early 90s.
Without sitting down and running the numbers, I can’t make any solid comparison between the number of OAV releases today and the number of OAV releases in the past, but my impression (which is what I’m sharing here) is that there are fewer OAV releases today. Also, my impression is that many of today’s OAV releases are of the one episode variety.
I mean, you can list recent releases until you’re blue in the face, but it doesn’t really mean much unless you do the same for, say, 1998. Or 1995. Or 2002. Or whatever. You get the idea. And I’m guessing that’s an exercise neither of us wants to bother with right now. I know I don’t have any desire or intention to do so.
It’s possible I overstated the decrease in the number of OAV releases - don’t know either way without doing a detailed analysis - but I feel fairly confident in my belief that there are fewer OAV releases today than in the past. And on that point, we seem to agree.
As for your elaboration on the porn issue, I’m not sure I follow. Or, rather, I’m not sure what your point is, other than “anime and porn have a close relationship,” to which I’d agree. In my post, however, I was specifically referring to non-porn releases. I thought that much was understood. Sure, plenty of porn is being released in an OAV style format (as it always has), but that says squat about how much non-pornographic anime is being released in the same format. For the sake of this discussion, it’s apples and oranges.
My point is that your impression doesn’t really allow you to make the generalized statements you were making. They are better suited to be supported by actually listing stuff. You made some big statements about OAVs that are clearly not things which can stand on just your impression alone.
Because as I read your post, you are basically saying “oh hey I enjoy a few movies out there lately because there are only a few movies. Where did all the OAVs go?” I think it’s fair to comment that they’re still here, even if the end of the OAV era has sort of come and gone. Now that it’s cheaper to produce OAVs, I think we are seeing a resurgence of sorts.
It just didn’t seem right. Sure, you are entitled to your impression but at least do your reader the favor by saying that’s your impression, and not some decidedly clear market condition.
It definitely is a shame that they don’t make movies like they used to. I was only able to start watching anime movies this year and some of them are absolutely breathtaking. I really enjoyed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and 5cm Per Second. 5cm Per Second hit me especially hard because of the incredible impact of the ending.
Though I noticed no one has mentioned Mind Game yet. I personally found it to be one of the most enjoyable movies I have seen, yet it probably did not receive the attention it deserved due to its very avant-garde approach and its bizarre animation style. However, I guess it was a 2004 production…