Meaning Of Acronyms OVA, OAD, ONA, OST, PV In Japanese

Wondering what is the meaning of acronyms OVA, OAD, ONA, OST, PV in Japanese. Check it out here!

The Japanese entertainment industry is rich with specialized acronyms like OVA, OAD, ONA, OST, and PV, each encapsulating unique aspects of anime and music production.

These abbreviations signify different formats of animation and sound, from exclusive releases to promotional content, shaping the way fans engage with their favorite media.

Meaning Of Acronyms OVA, OAD, ONA, OST, PV

Meaning of OVA and what does it stand for? 

OVA stands for Original Video Animation. It is a special or a one-off adaptation that is released after the TV series intended for a small group of viewers and are usually free of advertising. 

   

They are much shorter than regular TV episodes, have a limited budget, are not original stories and do not have to follow any broadcast codes.

• Related: What is the meaning of Ganbatte
• Related: Meaning of Shinzou Wo Sasageyo

What does OVA refer to?

The word OVA can mean original video, a  common example of an OVA is the movie titled Gunbuster.

In simple terms, an OVA  is an animated film that doesn’t air on the television and are often abbreviated as oav because they are made on home video. Despite the name, oavs are referred to as  short anime films produced by Japanese animation studios. 

A good OVA will have subtitles in English, which is useful if they are being viewed by an international audience. 

So just keep in mind that an OVA is used to differentiate anime from the movies and contain more content than the standard TV show. Generally there are two kinds of OVA:OVAs and One-Shots. 

The first OVAs were released in the late 1980s and considered  adult anime.They are more violent as compared to their  TV counterparts and are regarded as inferior to regular anime. 

They are not recommended for children but nevertheless, they are a great way to watch anime as it is a quick and easy way to learn more about the genre. In other countries, they  are not considered anime at all.

Meaning of OAD What Does It Stand For?

The acronym OAD stands for Original Animation Disc (or DVD), it is a type of OVA but is specifically for manga volume releases instead. 

What does OAD refer to?

An OAD is also called a tankoubon 単行本, a physical disc, a DVD or Blu-ray and is an anime bundled into a manga volume. 

A manga or a light novel that has a manga adaptation gets  an anime adaptation that is broadcasted on television, the studio animates the OAD but doesn’t air it on TV but includes it as a manga bonus volume which is released after the anime tv series has ended. 

An OAD is a single episode of more and extra content and is generally short like a  10 minute duration.

A manga volume that has an OAD in limited edition or gentei-ban ( 限定版), is way more expensive than the normal edition.

Examples of OAD:

A good example is Fullmetal Alchemist, a series with a number of OADs. Another one would be My Hero Academia. The series Attack on Titan  has around eight OADs that were  released this year. You don’t even need to watch the original series to understand the overall story. 

This is true  for all OADs because they are meant to just  add to the audience’s understanding or knowledge of a series. An example for a limited edition OAD is the seventh volume of Asobi Asobase (あそびあそばせ). The normal edition is sold for 660 yen, the limited edition is 4900 yen.

Meaning of ONAW and What Does It Stand For?

The  acronym ONA stands for Original Net Animation. It is an anime that is first made available online by posting episodes on Youtube, Douga, Vimeo and Niconico or streaming it on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Crunchyroll and Furnimation.

What does ONAW refer to?

Simply put, it refers to the anime series directly released to the internet for streaming instead of broadcasting it on the  television. Almost all anime shows are aired on certain channels in Japan but at times they are directly released to the streaming market, so such animes are often referred to as ONAs. 

In recent times, the amount of ONA anime has been increasing. This could be due to the increase in streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. 

You can easily choose from a collection of thousands of fantastic anime and watch it on your own time.They completely differ from OVAs.

OVAs  V/S ONAs:

OVAs and ONAs are incredibly different. While OVAs are released in home video formats or DVDs, they have a minimum cost. ONAs are directly released on the internet or streaming services and  can be posted freely on the internet or kept behind a subscription system. While OVA is a Japanese term, ONA can be sued outside of Japan.

Types of ONA:

• Exclusive content: Some ONAs are created with other online platforms in partnership that get exclusive rights to the anime which can be used to advertise on  the platform. They may be  released on TV or as DVDs at a later date.

• Vertical Anime: These are made exclusively for smart phones so that audiences can view it vertically.

• Bonus Anime: Some are bonuses that are made available online.

• Doujin Anime: They have limited budget and ar emad ebay hobbyists called doujin.

Examples of ONAs:

Following is a list of few ONA shows loved by all anime watchers:

• The King’s Avatar 2
• B: The Beginning
• Fog Hill of Five Elements
• Sword Gai: The Animation
• Time Of Eve
• Aggretsuko
• Armor Shop for Ladies & Gentlemen

Meaning of OST and What Does It Stand For:

The  acronym for OST is Original Sound Track, this is an original piece of music which is a complete song in an  anime series unlike Opening (OP) and Ending music (ED).

What does OST refer to?

OST could be either background music, theme music or incidental music that is not limited to the anime universe only as you will find this in almost every movie and TV show too. In a broader sense, OST is the original music that is recorded and filmed by a singer of that particular anime. The OST is unquestionably a vey important component in every anime film or series, which we know and adore.

OP V/S OST:

An OP is a piece of opening music that is  used to launch an anime beginning, characterize a protagonist or fill in the gaps that aim to prepare people for the anime. On the other hand, OST are original songs solely produced for anime authorized for use in films, anime, or TV shows. 

Examples of OST:

The following list of anime are few examples with OST:

• Attack on Titan
• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.
• Samurai Champloo
• Naruto: Shippuden
• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
• Tokyo Ghoul
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Made In Abyss
• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba
• Fairy Tail
• Death Note

Meaning of PV And What Does It Stand For?

The acronym PV stands for Promotional video,which  refers to some short videos with some elements of the anime like scenarios, characters, or other elements  accompanied by a background narration for the purpose of promotion.

What does PV refer to?

For the purpose to promote an anime, film, OVA, ONA etc, these videos may be released during or at the end of the series to encourage the purchase of related products. They differ from trailers which are parts of the film or series, together before the release.

Acronyms OVA, OAD, ONA, OST, and PV: FAQs

What does the acronym OP stand for?

It can refer either to Overpower which means to show the anime character is extremely powerful. Strong, intelligent and skilled. Or it can also refer to Opening which means the opening of the anime which consists of a series of images that may or may not contain the theme song,  main characters, plot tips and spoilers.

What does the acronym MC stand for?

MC stands for Main Character or the protagonist, who plays the main or hero role in the anime. There are certain cliches about him such as the fact that he never dies, he is always good looking and so on.

Conclusion:

We have discussed the meaning and importance of these acronyms. So, I hope you now have better clarity on these famous acronyms. I am pretty sure you must have come across them in some way or the other both in anime and manga. 

These are just some of the few things that makes anime so popular and makes us fall in love with it even more. 

There are certainly more acronyms that might be a tad bit confusing at times but don’t you worry at all because you can always comment below or research further on it.  I hope you like this post and how these acronyms play a role in anime. 

Also Read

• Meaning of Tatakai and Tatakae
• What Does Nico Nico Nii mean