Original video animation, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV, are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA series may be broadcast for promotional purposes. OVA titles were originally made available on VHS, later becoming more popular on LaserDisc and eventually DVD. Starting in 2008, the term OAD began to refer to DVD releases published bundled with their source-material manga.
Fruits Basket, sometimes abbreviated Furuba or Fruba (フルバ), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. It was serialized in the semi-monthly Japanese shōjo manga magazine Hana to Yume, published by Hakusensha, from 1998 to 2006. The series' title comes from the name of a popular game played in Japanese elementary schools, which is alluded to in the series.
Naruto is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. The story is told in two parts – the first set in Naruto's pre-teen years, and the second in his teens. The series is based on two one-shot manga by Kishimoto: Karakuri (1995), which earned Kishimoto an honorable mention in Shueisha's monthly Hop Step Award the following year, and Naruto (1997).
Case Closed, also known as Detective Conan, is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday since January 1994, with its chapters collected in 101 tankōbon volumes as of April 2022. Due to legal problems with the name Detective Conan, the English language releases from Funimation and Viz were renamed to Case Closed. The story follows the high school detective Shinichi Kudo who was transformed into a child while investigating a mysterious organization and generally solved a multitude of cases by impersonating his childhood best friend's father and various other characters.
Pokémon, abbreviated from the Japanese title of Pocket Monsters and currently branded in English as Pokémon the Series, is a Japanese anime television series, part of The Pokémon Company's Pokémon media franchise, which premiered on TV Tokyo in April 1997.
Bleach is a Japanese anime television series based on Tite Kubo's original manga series of the same name. It was produced by Studio Pierrot and directed by Noriyuki Abe. The series aired on TV Tokyo from October 2004 to March 2012, spanning 366 episodes. The story follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper—a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife. In addition to adapting the manga series it is based on, the anime periodically includes original self-contained storylines and characters not found in the manga.
Gin Tama is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi. Set in Edo, which has been conquered by aliens named Amanto, the plot follows life from the point of view of samurai Gintoki Sakata, who works as a freelancer alongside his friends Shinpachi Shimura and Kagura to pay the monthly rent. Sorachi added the science fiction setting to develop characters to his liking after his editor suggested doing a historical series. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2003 to September 2018, later in Jump Giga from December 2018 to February 2019, and finished on the Gin Tama app in May and June 2019.
Haruhi Suzumiya is a Japanese light novel series written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito. It was first published in 2003 by Kadokawa Shoten in Japan with the novel The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and has since been followed by 11 additional novel volumes, an anime television series adaptation produced by Kyoto Animation, four manga series, an animated film, two original net animation series and several video games.
One Piece is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation that premiered on Fuji TV in October 1999. It is based on Eiichiro Oda's manga series of the same name. The story follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a boy whose body gained the properties of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit. With his crew of pirates, named the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy explores the Grand Line in search of the world's ultimate treasure known as "One Piece" in order to become the next Pirate King.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a Japanese anime television series adapted from the original Fullmetal Alchemist manga series by Hiromu Arakawa. Produced by Bones, the series is directed by Yasuhiro Irie, written by Hiroshi Ōnogi and composed by Akira Senju. The series was conceived in order to create a faithful adaptation that directly follows the entire storyline of the original manga, after 2003's Fullmetal Alchemist anime series strayed away from it to tell its own story.
Marvel Anime is a series of four anime superhero television series and two direct-to-video films produced in collaboration between Marvel Entertainment, Japanese animation studio Madhouse, and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan. The four twelve-episode series, based on Iron Man, Wolverine, X-Men, and Blade, aired in Japan on Animax between October 2010 and September 2011. An English-language version aired in North America on G4 between July 2011 and April 2012. Each of the series, guided by writer Warren Ellis, largely features Japan as the setting for the storyline.
Haikyu!! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Haruichi Furudate. The story follows Shoyo Hinata, a boy determined to become a great volleyball player despite his small stature. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from February 2012 to July 2020, with its chapters collected in forty-five tankōbon volumes.
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shūichi Asō. Following a series of one-shot chapters published from 2010 to 2011, the manga was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from May 2012 to February 2018. It was followed by a short serialization of 4-panel chapters published in the same magazine, and two one-shot chapters published in Jump GIGA in May and July 2018. Shueisha collected its chapters in twenty-six tankōbon volumes.
Dragon Ball Super is a Japanese manga series written by Akira Toriyama and illustrated by Toyotarou. A sequel to Toriyama's original Dragon Ball manga, it follows the adventures of Goku and friends during the ten-year timeskip after the defeat of Majin Buu. It began serialization in Shueisha's monthly shōnen manga magazine V Jump in June 2015. The manga is simulpublished in English by Viz Media and by Shueisha on their Manga Plus platform.
Sword Art Online: Alicization is the third season of the anime series adapted from the light novel series Sword Art Online, written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. It is animated by A-1 Pictures and directed by Manabu Ono. It covers the first part of the "Alicization" arc and adapts from the novel's ninth volume, Alicization Beginning, to the fourteenth volume, Alicization Uniting. The second part of the anime, titled Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld, adapts from the novel's fifteenth volume, Alicization Invading, to the eighteenth volume, Alicization Lasting. While not covered in the light novels, Alicization takes place after Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, as it incorporates elements from the film not in the novels.
Pokémon Journeys: The Series is the twenty-third season of the Pokémon anime series and the first and titular season of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, known in Japan as Pocket Monsters. The season premiered from November 17, 2019, to December 4, 2020, on TV Tokyo channel 7, and in the United States, it releases as a streaming television season that premiered from June 12, 2020, to March 5, 2021, on Netflix, making it the first Pokémon series not to air on conventional broadcast television in the United States, unlike previous series. It premiered in Canada on Teletoon on a weekly basis from May 9, 2020, to June 5, 2021. This season follows the adventures of Ash Ketchum and new protagonist Goh as they travel across all eight regions of the Pokémon franchise, including the new Galar region from Pokémon Sword and Shield. Supporting characters include Professor Cerise, a Pokémon researcher who oversees Ash and Goh's missions, and his daughter Chloe, Goh's childhood friend. On April 23, 2020, The Pokémon Company International announced that Netflix has secured the U.S. rights to release future seasons, starting with "Pokémon Journeys". Episodes were released in quarterly groups of twelve. On September 13, 2020, it was announced the anime will switch from airing on Sundays to Fridays on October 9, 2020. The show began airing on September 1, 2020 on Pop in the United Kingdom. The show aired on Pop Max on August 30, 2021. The show began premiering in India in Hindi dub on YouTube on a weekly basis on Friday from October 29, 2021.