There are a lot of good anime out there this year, but sadly, when they’re over, they’re over — or are they? These days, more and more series are getting extra, not-aired-on-TV OVA episodes that often don’t show up on legal anime streaming sites. So, let’s take a quick look at some of these “missing episodes” that have come out over the past year.
Attack on Titan
Episode Title: “Ilse’s Journal”
What It’s About: Ilse’s Journal is a prequel episode to the anime that follows Ilse, a young survey corps member and only survivor of a Titan attack. This episode follows her interaction with one peculiar titan and serves as the secret motivation for several of the series’ other characters.
Where to Get It: The Attack on Titan manga Volume 12 Special Edition.
Read our reviews of the series here and here.
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU
Episode Title: “There’s No Choice But To Wish Them Happiness Right Here As They Arrive At Their Destiny”
What It’s About: Hachiman and the rest of the Service Club are tasked with writing a bridal magazine designed to promote love and marriage among high schoolers. Soon, however, it devolves into a series of challenges to see who would make the perfect housewife — or, in the case of Hachiman, house husband. (It’s easily the funniest episode of the entire series.)
Where to Get It: The special edition of the My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Vita game.
Read our review of the series here.
Future Diary: Redial
Episode Title: “Data Migration”
What It’s About: This OVA serves as an epilogue to the entire series and shows what happened to all the characters of the series in their new lives. But even surrounded by a peaceful, normal life, Yuno can’t help but feel that something important is missing.
Where to Get It: The special edition of the Future Diary Redial manga.
Read our full review of this OVA here and of the full series here.
Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet
Episode Titles: “Abandoned Fleet” and “Altar of a Rare Beauty”
What It’s About: There are actually two extra episodes of Gargantia that never aired on TV. The first follows our heroes as they come across an abandoned fleet of ships. The second episode, from the third Blu-ray, shows what happens to Ledo’s commander, Kugel, after the two were separated in the series’ first episode.
Where to Get It: The first Blu-ray box set and third Blu-ray box set, respectively.
Read our review of the series here.
Accel World
Episode Titles: “Reverberation” and “Vacation”
What They’re About: Taking place after the events of the series, the first of these extra episodes tells the story of a mysterious character in the school network and its ties to a game that’s the clear precursor to Brain Burst. The second episode is your standard “everyone goes to a hot spring” plot — but with a fun twist.
Where to Get Them: The special editions of the PS3 games Accel World: Ginyoku no Kakusei and Accel World: Kasoku no Choten.
Read our full review of these OVAs here and of the full series here.
Blood Lad
Episode Title: “I Am Not a Cat”
What It’s About: This episode takes place right where the final episode of the series leaves off and follows Staz and Fuyumi as they head to Demon Acropolis. However, their progress is impeded when they encounter a group of vampire hunters.
Where to Get It: The special edition of the Blood Lad Volume 10 manga.
Read our review of the series here.
Of course, these are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to extra episodes. For a more complete list, check out AniChart.
Comments
5 responses to “Bonus Anime Episodes You Might’ve Missed This Year”
I think it’s a bit weird calling an OVA (original video animation aka released on video only) a “missing episode”, since they’re right there on the video that they’re released on, in order to tempt you to buy it. They’ve been doing this for decades now.
I prefer to call them pointless filler episodes that contribute nothing to the real story. But of course some anime have no real plot/story anyway though, so I guess if you’re a fan of them, go nuts.
Sometimes the extra episodes are anything but pointless filler. With comedies they let the creators go nuts with offbeat settings and circumstances, and so are frequently amongst the funniest episodes released. With drama series, they can fill in background that’s otherwise lacking (although it’s more common to just go nuts with swimsuit/hot springs episodes). For example, with Oreimo, the real conclusion of the anime is held over for some episodes released after the original series formally concluded.
It’s a little ironic that you criticise anime for being plotless (and yes, some are basically plotless) when so much Western animation is so profoundly lacking in plot (a mechanism to encourage syndication). The frequency with which actions in anime have real, long-term consequences is one of the things that pulled me into it in the first place…
Haha yeah the swimsuit ones were pretty much the ones I was talking about.
To be clear, I was criticising plotless anime, not anime in general, as I am a fan of the well written, non softcore porn ones.
Mirai Nikki (Future Diary): Redial, really changed the story’s ending, to me it felt like the proper conclusion to the series. The first half of this OVA did feel a little bit like a filler but by the end I was so glad I watched it.
If it’s not part of the real story, it’s filler.
Thats the way the cookie crumbles 😛
I get real sick of alternative universe anime movies. Don’t know why it’s so much of a thing nowdays.