V-Cinema

Japanese V-Cinema is the direct-to-video industry that appeared in Japan in the 1980s. The term is a trademark of Toei Company but has been used in the West to describe any Japanese direct-to-video or -DVD release. Unlike its Western counterpart, this industry has a considerably better reputation, with directors making V-Cinema movies sometimes by choice, due to the creative freedom afforded by the less stringent censorship of the medium, and the riskier content the producers will allow.

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Notable examples are director Takashi Miike, who has released several direct-to-video films after his theatrical debut, and Takashi Shimizu, whose Ju-on series of films started out as V-Cinema, becoming surprise hits as the result of favorable word of mouth.

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Incidentally, former television performer Masashi Tashiro has acted as V-Cinema's director after he was dismissed from the entertainment world, too.

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The term OVA (Original Video Animation) is applied when the film in question is anime.

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Japan: For other uses, see Japan (disambiguation)....

Direct-to-video: ....

Toei Company: Toei Company, Ltd. (東映 Tōei) is a Japanese movie studio. It also owns Toei Animation....

V-Cinema related Images and Photos (experimental)

Cinema	Cinema Pathe	Cinema Verite (BD)	Cinema Verite (DVD)
Cinema Paradiso	Cinema Noir 2011 Wall Calendar	Cinema Noir 2012 Wall Calendar	Dancing Cinema 2012 Wall Calendar
Cinema of Fear Leatherface Stylized Rotocast Figure	Cinema of Fear Tiny Terrors Freddy & Jason Mini Figures Set	New Pornographers: Twin Cinema	New Pornographers: Twin Cinema