The second type of anime is Original Video Animation, or OVA. These are most
similar to television miniseries. The number of episodes can range anywhere from
two to twenty episodes and are normally released directly to video. The different
episodes in a series normally have a very continuous plot making it confusing to watch them out of sequence. Each episode relates to the last one, making one long story. They
are also of very high quality animation, close to that used in films, and sometimes even surpassing. Shows such as RahXephon went directly to video in America,
but have still managed to gain much recognition and many followers. This kind
of anime can also be turned into a series shown on television such as Gundam Wing and
Tenchi Muyo (Halsall).

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"RahXephon" |
The last type
is anime as television series. These shows are typically of lower quality than
that of the other two due to the budget having to be spread out. A full season
consists of twenty-six episodes each averaging about twenty-three minutes. As
in many live-action television series, episodes are commonly unrelated to each other so viewers would not have to have seen
the previous ones to enjoy the one they are watching. They also use “eyecatch”
scenes before and after commercial breaks and have opening and closing credits like other television series. Titles that become very popular will sometimes span across all three of these types. Some good examples are “Tenchi Muyo which was originally an OVA, [and] spawned three movies,
two television series, as well as several spinoff titles and specials;” and Ghost
in the Shell, which started off a movie and produced a TV series (Wikipedia).

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