Sometimes the main character hogs the screen—but the real flavor comes from the side characters. Luckily, anime has a habit of giving its best supporting players their moment through OVAs and spin-offs that let them steal the show. These aren’t bloated filler—they’re essential viewing that add depth, grit, or straight-up fan service (the good kind).
Here are 8 side-character-focused OVAs where the blade, the gun, or the wit finally gets its time in the sun:
1. Lupin the IIIrd: Goemon’s Blood Spray
Goemon is the stoic samurai in Lupin’s chaotic world—a man of few words but ridiculous skill. This OVA dials up the violence and the pathos, turning a background swordsman into a tragic, nearly mythic figure. The animation is sharp, brutal, and utterly gorgeous—this is the side of Goemon we deserved to see.
2. Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal
Technically a prequel, but make no mistake—this is Tomoe’s OVA. It takes Kenshin’s origin and centers it on his tragic relationship with Tomoe, whose quiet strength and subtle emotional arc outshine Kenshin’s blade. The tone is somber, mature, and emotionally devastating.
3. Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail
Roberta, the demure maid turned Terminator, gets her own brutal revenge arc here. The OVA dives into her trauma and obsession, elevating her from “cool background character” to tragic antihero. The violence is unflinching, and Roberta’s moral unraveling is gripping as hell.
4. Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
Forget the space operatics—this OVA brings Gundam down to Earth, literally. Shiro Amada and his squad fight gritty ground battles where the focus is on the human cost of war. Side characters like Karen and Sanders shine here, giving us one of the most personal and grounded takes on the Gundam universe.
5. Naruto: Kakashi Gaiden
Kakashi was always cool, but this is where he became a fully realized, tragic figure. The OVA focuses on his childhood, his fraught relationships with Obito and Rin, and the origins of his cold demeanor. It adds layers to one of Naruto’s most beloved characters, and the fights are peak early-Naruto quality.
6. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
Rohan Kishibe is one of the most delightful weirdos in Diamond is Unbreakable, and this OVA gives him his own Twilight Zone mini-anthology. Each episode is a self-contained, eerie, stylish mystery with Rohan acting as your unreliable guide. It’s JoJo without the punching, but with all the attitude.
7. Patlabor: The Early Days (Patlabor OVA 1988–1989)
Before the TV series blew up, this OVA gave us incredible depth on the Special Vehicle Section 2 crew. Characters like Noa and Asuma, initially side players in the broader mecha genre, get full arcs exploring the day-to-day realities of piloting giant robots. Grounded, funny, and occasionally intense, this is some of the best character-driven mecha storytelling out there.
8. Fate/Zero: The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II (OVA)
Waver Velvet—one of the younger, weaker participants in the Fourth Holy Grail War—becomes an underrated star here. Now a professor and mage detective, he investigates supernatural mysteries while wrestling with survivor’s guilt and the shadows of past wars. It’s character-driven Fate content with a noir twist.
