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We know 話 can be used as a counter for, including but not limited to, anime
franchise episodes. But if I understand it right, 話 refers to an episode as a
completed, ready-for-consumption work.

That doesn't seem to be the exact same case with 本 though, which, apparently,
can be also used for similar purpose. In this
[interview](http://www.style.fm/as/01_talk/n_yutaka01.shtml "interview") they
refer to episodes with 本 (random quotes):

> **中村** そうですね。『エヴァンゲリオン』でやったのは、その２本だけですね。
>
> **南** 最初は、ひとりひとりが沢山カットを持って、それぞれが３ヶ月で１本作りましょうと言って始めたんですよ。
>
> **中村** 多分、シリーズの最後の方だったら、３人３ヶ月で１本出来たかもしれないですけれどね。

But they also use 話 when they refer not specifically to a number of episodes
that Nakamura's got to work on, but to an episode itself which is a part of a
completed franchise:

> **小黒** もう１ **本** 参加した弐拾四 **話** 「最後のシ者」はどこを？

At the same time, we know that 本 is usually used in regards to movies,
computer software, and video games. And
[here](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1410159794)
someone suggested an interesting theory as to why. If we were to base off of
that theory, any episode is a collection of cuts, which in turn are
compilations of cels with drawings (not really true these days, but whatever),
and any episode also consists of lots of writing (including writing that
precedes the drawings itself and sets the way they are going to be,
essentially being the ソース), hence 本.

So my question is – am I right assuming that 本 is the counter that should be
used specifically in the context of an episode _production_ , but not when
it's finished? If so, how come it is that way, providing the theory above is
wrong.

Thank you.
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counters anime
Counters 本 and 話 within the context of anime production (need sakuga fans' insight)
I might be wrong, but it seems that 話 is used for tv series mostly. 本 is for
movies and stand alone/special episodes. As for why 本 is used as such, I can
only guess, but maybe it originally came from the meaning of script(kind of
book).
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* One stand-alone movie would be 一本 for sure.

  * 話 is for TV series episode, for sure.

According to the following samples, 1 DVD is sometimes (or often) counted as
一本, or 1巻.

(They are asking, [How many episodes in 1 DVD ?] )

  * detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp › ... › アニメ、コミック › アニメ 2011/05/28 - テレビアニメAirのDVDは一本に何話入っていて、何本ありますか？ 二話ずつ入って六本だったと思います。

  * 銀魂のdvdって、一本に何話収録されていますか？今から全話レンタル ... detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp › ... › アニメ、コミック › アニメ  
基本1巻に4話収録されています。 ... シーズンその壱1巻は2話ですし、15分で1話の場合もあるので巻によって違います。 初めの頃の話は ...

  * detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp › ... › アニメ、コミック › アニメ 2016/04/08 - アニメ「氷菓」のレンタルDVDは1本辺りに何話収録されていますか？？調べたら収録時間80分とあったので3話ずつでしょうか？？？ 各巻2話収録の全11巻です(全22話)収録時間の80分は映像特典を含めた物になります...

DVDって１枚、２枚と数えるのかと思ったが、商品になったら、 １本、２本、… １巻、２巻、… が多いのかもしれん。

（Volume 1, 2）１巻、２巻、… というのは漫画コミック本の影響か？
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You're on the whole right about 話, that it can be straightforwardly translated
as "episode", which means, the counter represents the viewpoint of audience
who enjoy the content of the work through the media regardless of its
production form.

As for 本, it's difficult to give a generic explanation because it's a highly
abstract word nowadays, but roughly has nuance to emphasize physical and
tangible aspects when referring to an intangible work; somewhat similar to
saying "a piece of work". In this sense:

> 一話見た ~ "watched an _episode_ " ←→ 一本見た ~ "watched a _video_ "

In this interview, I can easily imagine they use 本 visualizing their
deliverable product to the TV station: _an episode's worth of master film_ (or
_tape_ , or _data_ on disk, or whatever). Though less probable here, 本 also
can stand for a defined chunk of task or job, so some usages in the interview
might be able to be interpreted in this way.
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