Summary
- Anime studios create impactful and well-paced OVAs to captivate viewers with bonus episodes.
- OVA episodes like Black Lagoon’s Roberta’s Blood Trail confront darker themes and characters.
- Legend of the Galactic Heroes OVA with 110 episodes features a grand, politically charged sci-fi action adventure.
Anime has forged a lasting legacy, with some memorable hits that have become classics that stand the test of time. From romance to the supernatural, numerous series have left their mark, but sometimes, anime studios go above and beyond regarding OVA episodes of various hit shows.
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Studio Ghibli combines spectacular animation with heartwarming stories to bring movies unlike any other, and we rank them to see which is the best.
Known as bonus episodes, these instalments cover side stories that couldn’t be added to the original show or depict important backstories regarding certain characters. Impactful and with a well-paced narrative, these anime OVAs have the power to captivate and leave you wanting more.
8
Gintama: Love Incense Arc
2016
Gintama’s Love Incense Arc OVA masterfully blends Gintama’s trademark chaotic, comedic elements with a tragic story that resonates with its audience. Comprising two episodes, the OVA’s story follows an outbreak in Yoshiwara of a strange incense that makes people fall in love with the first person they see.
While Tsukuyo and others struggle with battling the effects of the love incense, Gintoki is his usual chaotic self, collecting ‘honeys’ wherever he goes. They manage to pinpoint the one responsible, discovering that it was Hotaru – the person monologuing in the beginning and Tsukuyo’s friend – who had caused the incense to detonate and spread throughout Yoshiwara. Although Hotaru’s motivations are saddening, the OVA ends on a hopeful note for all.
7
Noragami OVA 3: The Yatogami Serial Murder Incident
2015
Yato is back at it with his chaotic antics and Noragami’s OVA 3 perfectly encapsulates well-timed hilarity with a bit of a murder mystery mixed in. As usual, all the voice actors killed it in their respective roles, especially Hiroshi Kamiya, who did a swell job bringing Yato’s dramatics to life.
In this episode, Yato and his Regalia, Yukine, follow Hiyori all the way to a ski resort, where they run into other characters like Bishamon’s retinue. All of them end up staying in the same cabin, but Yato becomes the target of a demented author, determined to recreate a series of murders for his novel. What follows is a comical sequence of murder attempts, with the author slowly losing his mind over how Yato can’t seem to die, not realising he’s an immortal god.
6
Kamisama Hajimemashita: Kako-Hen
2015
One of the most iconic and classic romance anime, Kamisama Hajimashita, wrapped up its storyline with a twist and a conclusion that satisfied fans in its four-episode OVA series, Kako-Hen.
As the protagonist, Nanami, prepares for another average day tending to the shrine, Tomoe’s life hangs in the balance after he collapses seemingly without reason. Nanami, determined to save him no matter the cost, travels back to the past to stop Tomoe from being cursed and ending up as he was in the future.
Throughout the original anime, we hear mention that Tomoe was once in love with a human woman, which would usually make Nanami jealous. However, in one of the best time travel arcs ever made, Nanami is revealed to be the woman Tomoe falls for.
5
Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail
2010
Black Lagoon is already a classic anime of the early 2000s and its five-episode OVA, Roberta’s Blood Trail, did not disappoint. The OVA’s story revisits a character that appeared in earlier episodes, Roberta, who appeared in Roanapur to save the kidnapped Garcia Lovelace. Now, with her as the central focus, Roberta returns to action after Garcia’s father, Diego, was murdered.
Roberta spirals out of control and shows how she’s a one-man army, seemingly uncaring that virtually everyone is hunting her as she tries to start a war. As is usual with Black Lagoon, Roberta’s Blood Trail doesn’t shy away from confronting darker topics and the sensitive themes of vengeance, grief and letting go.
4
Hellsing: Ultimate
2006
Essentially a remake of the original 2002 anime, 2006’s Hellsing: Ultimate is widely considered to stick to the manga more than the first iteration. Certainly, Hellsing: Ultimate gives more depth to its characters than 2002’s Hellsing, as well as providing more compelling, gory action scenes and adapting more story arcs compared to the original.
The main focus of the story sees the Hellsing organisation’s struggle to defeat the villainous forces of the Millennium, although there are other factions involved. Hellsing’s best vampire hunter, Alucard, steps to the frontlines due to the rising cases of vampire attacks, with the story building up to the inevitable final clash against the Major.
3
Attack On Titan: A Choice With No Regrets, Parts 1 And 2
2015
Before this OVA, fans had long anticipated an episode depicting the background and history of one of Attack on Titan’s most popular characters, Levi Ackerman. And boy did the studio deliver with the two-episode A Choice With No Regrets.
The story details Levi’s history as a criminal in the underground district, surviving alongside fellow thieves Isabel and Furlan. He draws the eye of Erwin Smith and is taken to the surface, where he fully intends to betray and escape the Survey Corps. This OVA series ticks all the boxes when it comes to narrative pacing and gripping action sequences and, paired with an awesome soundtrack, does justice to the tragic backstory of Humanity’s Strongest Soldier.
2
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust And Betrayal
1999
A visual and storytelling masterpiece, Rurouni Kenshin’s four-episode OVA, Trust and Betrayal, is a prequel to the original Rurouni Kenshin anime. Considered to be one of the best OVA series ever made, Trust and Betrayal is truly thought-provoking and keeps as close to realism as it can, while exploring themes of violence, redemption and tragedy, with a gorgeous soundtrack to back it up.
The anime follows the story of skilled swordsman Himura Kenshin, who flees his mentor to join the fight to restore the Meiji regime to power. After killing a bodyguard, he ends up running into a woman named Tomoe, not realising she’s the fiancée of the bodyguard he’d killed and is working to kill him as payback. However, the two end up falling in love, and in this brutal world Rurouni Kenshin presents, it can only end in tragedy.
1
Legend Of The Galactic Heroes
1988
An OVA that consists of a whopping 110 episodes, Legend of the Galactic Heroes (or Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu) is an intergalactic sci-fi action adventure that’s well worth the investment. Set way ahead in the future, humanity does what it does best by being embroiled in another war, this time between two major powers: the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance.
The story centres mainly on two ambitious, yet brilliant men – Reinhard von Lohengramm and Yang Wenli – set on opposing sides of the conflict. Politically charged and ahead of its time, Legend of the Galactic Heroes is one to watch if you’re keen on grand settings, well-paced storytelling and a power struggle for the ages.
