Whether they are an extension to the story or straight-up fan service, most popular animes have specials and OVAs. I’m not for or against a special but sometimes we don’t even need one. And when we do, the fans can’t access them in ways that support the studios.

What is an OVA/Special?

An OVA stands for Original Video Animation, they are just like straight-to-VHS discs. They are meant to sell in the home video category instead of TV. OVAs may include specials, movies, unaired episodes, and more. A special can be broadcasted, become an OVA, or be found online. They don’t usually add much to the story but instead, they let the viewer know more about the characters.

Some Don’t Need an Extension

What I mean by that is, some animes don’t seem to need an extension or really anything extra. The ones I’ve watched already have the stereotypical special so they don’t need anything else. A lot of stories already have the stories that most OVAs have like a backstory or beach episode so it doesn’t seem necessary to add one more.

Accessibility

I don’t know if I’m not looking in the right places or something, but OVAs are hard to find. In the end, you’ll have to go to some pirated editions of the special because you can’t get OVAs for cheap. It would be nice if there were easier ways to get those OVAs that supported the animators as well. I’m just hoping that more companies import the OVAs in ways that fans can legally watch them, it’ll help both the company and the fans.

Licensing

A solution to the last problem, licensing is a problem with OVAs and DVD specials only available in Japan. Legal streaming sites such as Crunchyroll and Funimation don’t get to license the majority of extras so many international fans can’t watch them legally. While it gives the OVAs value the studios are just giving pirating websites more support. I just wish that OVAs were given to the animes that need them and that they were easier to access. There is a difference between an anime needing a second season, needing an OVA to wrap things up, and needing both. I hope that the studio can best decide what the series should get.