is an original video animation

Original video animation

, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...

 (OVA) anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series that was released in Japan from 1994 to 1997. The series consists of fifteen episodes divided into four parts. First Program consists of episodes 1 through 7. Second Program is 8 through 13. Third Program and Final Program are episodes 14 and 15 respectively. Key is a serious and somewhat dark drama with elements of science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

, supernatural

Supernatural

The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...

, and action.

The central character of the story is Tokiko Mima (nicknamed "Key"), a robot

Robot

A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...

 crafted by her scientist grandfather, Murao Mima. Every year, on her birthday, Dr. Mima builds Key a new body, each one size larger. Upon his deathbed, Mima records his will on audio tape, revealing that Key can become human with the aid of 30,000 friends. Key must do this quickly before her battery runs down.

Overview

Key the Metal Idol is a unique series in many regards. It was originally produced and sold as an "experimental" title. Therefore, the original release media (VHS Tapes

VHS

The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 and LDs

Laserdisc

LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...

) were priced very low, at 2,500 yen for a single-episode tape (With the first episode retailing at 1000 yen.) or 5,800 yen for a 3-episode LD. This was less than half the typical price of OVA titles at the time. As the series progressed, the episode lengths and volume costs continued to increase. The final volumes were priced 9,500 yen each, which was in line with other titles at the time.

The series is also unusual in that the episodes are of varying length. The first thirteen episodes are approximately 25 minutes each. The final two episodes are 95 minutes each. In addition to the OVA series, Radio Drama

Radio drama

Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...

 CDs were made. The anime and soundtrack were released in the United States by Viz Video on eight VHS tapes and three DVDs in 1997-2000, and later all together as a box set in 2004.

Cast

Character	Japanese Actor	English Actor
Tokiko Mima	Junko Iwao Junko Iwao is a Japanese voice actress who has also released several CD albums as a J-pop singer. Her most notable role is in Cardcaptor Sakura providing the voice to Sakura's best friend, Tomoyo.-TV Anime:*.hack *.hack//Roots...	Nicole Oliver Nicole Oliver -Education:She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from York University, and additional training from the British American Drama Academy in Oxford and London.-Career:...
Sakura Kuriyagawa	Miki Nagasawa Miki Nagasawa is a female Japanese voice actress born in Hokkaidō and raised in Fukushima. Formerly affiliated for Haikyo, she is now affiliated with Atomic Monkey.-Anime:* After War Gundam X as Perla Ciss* Akihabara Dennou Gumi as Kamome Sengakuji...	Megan Leitch Megan Leitch Megan Leitch is a Canadian actress probably best known for playing Samantha Mulder on The X-Files.- Roles :*Samantha Mulder in The X-Files*Brenda Cosgrove in The Highwayman episode of Dead Man's Gun*Librarian in It...
Shuichi Tataki	Toshiyuki Morikawa Toshiyuki Morikawa is a prolific Japanese male voice actor from Yokohama, Kanagawa, was affiliated with Arts Vision. Lately, however, he has become the head of that a voice actor company he founded in Apr 2011. His name is also sometimes mistranslated as Tomoyuki...	Jerry Todd Ian James Corlett Ian James Corlett is a Canadian animation voice artist, writer, and musician. He is the creator of Studio B Productions' animated series Being Ian and Yvon of the Yukon....  & Peter Kelamis Peter Kelamis Peter Kelamis is an Australian-born Canadian actor and comedian.-Life and career:Kelamis was born in Sydney, Australia of Greek origin. In 1985, Kelamis enrolled in the University of British Columbia...
Tomoyo Wakagi	Yanaka Hiroshi	David Kaye David Kaye David V. Hope , known professionally as David Kaye, is a Canadian American actor who is better recognized for his work as a voice actor...
Jinsaku Ajo	Shou Hayami	John Novak John Novak John Novak is an actor and anime voice actor who frequently does voice work for the Ocean Group based in Vancouver, Canada....
Sergei/"D"	Jurota Kosugi Jurota Kosugi is a Japanese voice actor. His deep voice is often used for rough and imposing characters. He is well known for playing the role of Sukashii from Kyattou Ninden Teyandee and Asuma Sarutobi from Naruto....	David Sobolov David Sobolov David Sobolov is a Canadian voice actor. David began his creative career as a french horn player in pit orchestras and small ensembles, then studied acting in New York with the legendary Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse...  & Mark Gibbon Mark Gibbon - Filmography :* Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead as Rusty Nail * Totally Awesome as Tv Coach * Stargate SG-1 as M'zel * The Chronicles of Riddick as Irgun * Smallville as Deputy...
Prince Snake-Eye	Eken Mine Eken Mine was a Japanese voice actor from Nagasaki, Japan.-Anime:*3000 Leagues in Search of Mother *Alps no Shōjo Heidi *Anime Sanjushi *Candy Candy *DNA² *Doraemon...	Don Brown
Hikaru Tsurugi	Shinichirou Miki	Brian Drummond Brian Drummond Brian Drummond is a Canadian actor. He also serves on the board of directors for the New Westminster-based Urban Academy along with his wife, Laura Drummond, also a voice artist. He and his wife serve as vice-president and president, respectively.- Career :Drummond was born in Salmon Arm, British...
Murao Mima	Kouichi Kitamura	Harvey Gold Harvey Gold Harvey Gold , born in Akron, Ohio, U.S.A., is an American guitarist, bassist, and keyboardist for the avant-rock/New Wave band Tin Huey. When the band members first went their separate waysin 1982, he also became a film and video producer...
Miho Utsuse	Chiyako Shibahara Chiyako Shibahara is a Japanese voice actress she affiliated with 81 Produce.-Anime:*Akuei to Gacchinpo *Bakkyuu HIT! Crash Bedaman *Bakusou Kyoudai Let's & Go WGP *Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie...	Saffron Henderson Saffron Henderson Saffron Henderson is a Canadian voice actress and singer and the daughter of Bill Henderson of Chilliwack fame. She has voiced various characters from anime series...
"A"	Ogata Mitsuru	Ward Perry Ward Perry Ward Perry is an anime voice actor who has voiced characters for a number of anime dubbed by the Ocean Group in Vancouver, Canada. He is mostly known as the voice actor of Dragonball Z Villain Kid Buu.-Credits:...
"C"	Sugawara Junichi	Michael Dobson

Main characters

• Tokiko "Key" Mima Tokiko, nicknamed Key, is the robotic granddaughter of Murao and Tomiko Mima. She is almost always very timid quiet, and expressionless. She lived with Dr. Mima and his assistant Wakagi until she was seventeen, when Dr. Mima died in a mysterious accident. Key received his will on tape, urging her to find 30,000 friends, which would make her human. Somehow, Key is able to become an extremely powerful human for short period of time during extreme emotional stress. Key's presence is disruptive to Ajo's PPOR robots, and Ajo is fascinated and horrified by her. Key's best friend is Sakura, whom she was in junior high with.
• Dr. Murao Mima Dr. Mima is Key's grandfather, a kindly scientist and puppet craftsman. His expertise in engineering and puppeteering led him to become one of the leading pioneers of robotics. However, upon meeting his wife Tomiko in Mamio Valley, he became interested in the use of her supernatural powers in robotic design. He later developed a technique for constructing and operating robots, known as the Mima Formula, but Mima eventually halted his work after realizing his research depended heavily on testing on his wife and daughter.
• Tomoyo Wakagi Dr. Mima's research assistant, as well as Key's bodyguard and protector. He has experience in the military, but has been affected by something that happened in the last war, as well as a feud with Sergei. He is a skilled fighter and wields many unconventional weapons, including a wrist-mounted slingshot that fires explosive bullets. He also carries an electronic device resembling a laptop computer for detecting Gel emissions and their source.
• Sakura Kuriyagawa Sakura is Key's oldest friend, an independent and kind young woman whom is very protective of Key. She and Key attended the same junior high in Mamio Valley, where they became friends because they were both outcasts. Sakura moved to Tokyo where she works several jobs, including delivering pizza, running a video store, and directing traffic at construction sites. She rescues Key from Tamari's "studio" while delivering pizza, and later lets Key stay with her. She is in love with Tataki.
• Shuichi Tataki Tataki is a very close friend of Sakura, and later a big supporter of Key and her emerging career as an idol. He is a big fan of Miho Utsuse and is the president of her fan club, very knowledgeable about her career and music, but is frustrated by Production Minos's extreme secrecy. Tataki is also a big fan of martial arts and weight lifting.
• Sergei / D Sergei, known most often by his code name D, works for Ajo and is charged with special missions. He is very cold and aggressive, skilled at operating the PPOR robots and follows various military tactics. He also possesses superhuman strength and endurance, as a result of artificial enhancement. He is sometimes seen taking in Gel as a way to retain his strength.
• Prince Snake-Eye Prince Snake-Eye is the leader of a religious cult, The Church of the Golden Snake Savior. He has convinced his followers that he has supernatural powers, but is good at heart. Snake-Eye claims to have received divine revelation from "The Golden Snake King" when he was bitten by a poisonous snake during a trip through Mamio Valley. Snake-Eye is among the first to realize that Key has some kind of extreme power, and fascinated by her, tries to convince Key to use her powers for healing in his cult.
• Miho Utsuse Miho is an extremely popular idol singer and rock star. After viewing one of her concert videos, Key decides that she wants to be like Miho. Miho becomes Key's role model, with Key hoping if she can muster tens of thousands of fans like Miho, then surely Key will become human. Miho was scouted into showbusiness by Tamari, then commissioned to Production Minos. Ajo uses her in his experiments, and the "Miho" seen on stage is actually a humanoid PPOR robot controlled by Miho from a distance. This process is extremely strenuous on Miho's health.
• Hikaru Tsurugi Tsurugi, considered a young prodigy by most, is a famed dance choreographer, producer, live performance director, author and screenplay writer. Tsurugi was hired by Production Minos to assist with Miho's promotion, responsible for choreography and voice coaching. After Miho's rise to stardom, Tsurugi was shut off from Miho, feeling betrayed by he way she seemed to absorb all his secrets of showbusiness. Tsurugi later discovered Key, and became interested in teaching her after seeing her briefly be human.
• Seiichi Tamari Tamari is the owner of V&A, a seedy company that produces low-budget adult videos. He also acts as a talent scout, finding girls who might make it big as idols, and then delivering them to major talent agencies in exchange for commissions. Slick and laidback, he is not above using coercion or violence to further his business. Tamari originally scouted Miho into the music industry, but has shown interest in Sakura as well. After having his life saved by Key, he has a change of heart and becomes a strong supporter of her.
• Jinsaku Ajo Ajo is the president of Ajo Heavy Industries and Production Minos. He has a strong fascination (perhaps even a fetish) for mechanical parts and mechanisms, especially the clockwork automatons he collects. Ajo was originally an officer in the Japanese Army during World War II. His fascination with Automatons and his military experience sent him into the weapons business, where he developed the PPOR robot, partially by stealing research notes from Dr. Mima. His goal is to perfect and sell the PPOR as a remote-controlled robot soldier, and for that he needs secrets that only Dr. Mima knows.
• Staff A, B and C These are three young codenamed scientists who work on Ajo's secret projects for both Ajo Heavy Industries and Production Minos. They are usually seen doing PPOR testing and Gel extraction. Though they are highly paid, Ajo is not above using violence to ensure they obey his orders and maintain secrecy.

Important places and things

• Mamio Valley is a small town in a secluded, rural area of Japan, the hometown of Key's grandmother. Dr. Mima eventually moved to Mamio Valley, where he met and married Tomiko. The Shinto shrine at Mamio valley is dedicated to Ame-no-Uzume. The maternal line of Tomiko's family were traditionally miko
  Miko
  is a Japanese term that anciently meant a "female shaman, spirit medium" who conveyed oracles from kami , and currently means a "shrine maiden; virgin consecrated to a deity" who serves at Shinto shrines.-Word:...
  
  at that shrine, and all exhibited supernatural powers.
• Ajo Heavy Industries is a large robotics corporation, of which Jinsaku Ajo is the President and CEO. While Ajo Heavy Industries is not legally allowed to export weapons, Ajo is using the company to develop and illegally sell his robot soldiers to foreign countries.
• PPOR Robot The PPOR is a type of humanoid combat robot developed by Ajo Heavy Industries. In its standard configuration, it looks like a humanoid skeleton. PPOR robot technology is based on the Mima Formula. The robot is powered and controlled by a component Ajo calls the power box, which is filled with gel. The PPOR is both significantly stronger and heavier than a human, but are capable of performing many of the same actions as a human. The operator of a PPOR can talk through a microphone; the words are in turn "spoken" by the PPOR. Controlling a PPOR is an extremely strenuous process and they are prone to malfunction, as the PPORs are far from being fully developed.
• Gel is a pink gelatinous substance that contains a person's will and life force. In its natural form, it is colder than dry ice, and must be kept contained or it will dissipate. Gel can be forcibly extracted from a person through the use of the proper kind of machine. However, this process weakens the person significantly, as gel extraction is literally the process of pumping away a person's life. If too much gel is extracted, the person becomes comatose and may even die. On the other hand, gel is a powerful medicine that can heal anything. If a healthy person is injected with Gel they become stronger than a normal human, as is the case with Sergei. Dr. Mima discovered that Gel may be used as power source and control mechanism for robots, but once he learned the truth about the gel extraction process he halted his research on moral grounds, something which Ajo was not happy about. Ajo Heavy Industries collects gel from human sources, such as homeless people or enemies of the company, in order to fuel PPORs.
• Production Minos is a show business production agency that is wholly owned by Ajo Heavy Industries. Production Minos officially exists to market Miho Utsuse's music and concert program. In reality, it is a front for the further development and promotion of the PPOR robot. The "Miho" which appears on stage, as well as her backing band, are actually PPOR robots.
• Mima Formula The Mima Formula is a set of principles or rules for the construction and operation of robots, based on Gel as a kind of fuel and control mechanism. The basic principle is that gel can be extracted from a person and placed into the robot. The gel then powers the robot and also allows it to be controlled only by the person who provided the gel. The Mima Formula states that gel that has been extracted from a person will only work with its original owner, and that gel extracted from different people cannot co-exist in the same container. This is why Sergei can control the original PPORs quite well, as they run on the gel from him, and why Ajo's scientists cannot properly operate the PPORs.
• V & A is a company owned by Seiichi Tamari. V&A's main business is the production of pornographic videos and magazines. Key ends up at the V&A "office" during the first episode. The name "V&A" is a bit of a joke. In Japan, pornographic videos are often abbreviated "AV" for "Adult Video". "V&A" is just these two letters switched around.