Original video animation (オリジナル・ビデオ・アニメーション,
Orijinaru bideo animēshon?), abbreviated as
OVA (オーブイエー / オーヴィーエー / オヴァ,
ōbuiē, ōvīē or ova?) media (and sometimes as
OAV by
English-speakers), are
animated films and series made specially for release in
home-video formats. The term originated in relation to
Japanese animation (
anime).[
citation needed] Most producers of OVAs release them
direct-to-video, without prior showings on
TV or in theatres; however, there may be very rare occasions where, for example, the first part of an OVA series is broadcast for promotional purposes. OVA titles were originally made available on
VHS, later becoming more popular on
LaserDisc and eventually
DVD.
[1] Starting in summer 2008 the term OAD (original animation DVD) began to refer to DVD releases published bundled with their source material manga